The Honda Owners Club

If you've been washing rusty water through the carbs, you'll probably need to clean the out as the slow/idle jets are only 0.016" and rust particles can/will block them leading to rough slow running and tickover (don't ask how I know this...)

http://www.wemoto.com are brilliant for batteries.

Starter switch has tiny spring(s) so be very carefull if you strip down the handlebar switch. Trace the circuit back first.

Well done on the price! Mind you, if the seller had said "tank full of water, no battery and starter doesn't work" in his listing you may have been the only bidder!

Keep us posted.

Well i have spent the last however many evenings out on the bike and the missus is beginning to wish i had never bought it i suspect........

Last Friday she eventually started! I drained the water from the tank, cleaned out the tank as best i could, took the carbs off and having been filled with water for the last few years they were in a bad way. All 4 floats were seized, none of the pins would come out so i could not drop the floats off and clean out the needles properly, the main jets, too my utter suprise, were not blocked, but the pilot jets........

I spent best part of a week soaking them in petrol/carb cleaner, even tried coca cola overnight! i culd evenually see daylight through them so decided to fit the carbs ack up together, replace them on the bike and try my luck.

The starter button was not working, and on closer investigation was found to be disconnected and taped up. I of course re-soldered it and attempted tp start up, only to find the main 15 amp fuse blown. A quick test reveled the starter solenoid was shorted internally, fitted a new one and she turned over when the button was pressed, progress at last.

I changed the oil and renewed the filter before i attempted to start her up, then came the moment!

She started!! I was a little shocked, as i had only done a visual inspection of the points and not even unscrewed a single plug!!!

She is running rough, but rev's on all 4 so engine, as i suspected, sounds OK!

A few questions though,

1. It sounds as though the starter motor is sticking in, as she starts i'm sure i can still here the starter engaged as she picks up, is this normal?
2. Engine seemed slightly noisy/rattly until i pulled the clutch in, although not overly noisy, are there any gearbox/bearing issues on these models?
3. There is obviously going to be an ongoing issue with the rust contamination in the fuel tank, 2 thoughts, should i spend on a rust remover for inside the tank i have seen advertised or try to get another tank? my plans are to get it running and MOT'd now, use her for a while to find out any issues/problems, then, perhaps over the winter, strip down to the frame, re-build and go back to the original colour (red), so how available would a tank in original colour be? (i realise i could be talking nonsense here!).

Cheers,

Smudger.

Well done (so far).

1. Starter sticking is bad but you could be mistaken. The sprag/starter clutch is designed to disconnect the starter motor when the revs of the engine exceed those of the starter. At this point the starter motor will continue to churn (and flatten your battery) until you release the button. These starters are only rated for intermittant use - if you let them run for too long something will melt. If the motor really is still running, check the wiring again and disconnect the solenoid to check.

2. They all do that sir...
Clutch rattle is a feature of these bikes (and a fair few modern ones too). Nothing to worry about as long as the rattle goes away when you pull the clutch lever. To quieten it you will need to balance the carbs. After stiiting a while, each carb will be slightly out of balance with the others (ie the metering of fule will be a bit different due to different throttle slider positions). Each cylinder will "fight" against the others leading to an inbalance that causes the clutch basket to rattle. Balancing the carbs requires a Carbtune or vacuum dials and should only be attempted once all other tune-up activities have been done (timing, plugs, cam chain etc)

3. A tank will cost from £50 to £500. The one you have now is probably worth £50. If you don't want a £500 tank, then I suggest the rust cleaning and prevention method. There are loads of ways of doing this, from Coca-Cola to lining it with Kreem or POR-15 (Google them for more info)

Thanks for the tips Steve, I'm sure i may be mis-taken re the starter clutch, i felt it would have made a lot more noise had this been the case plus i have not read anywhere that this is a 'known' issue...

I need to get it running properly first, the carbs are all over the place so a bit difficult to tell whats what at the moment. I need to remove the carbs again to give them a thorough clean out. I just did the bare minimum before to get the bike running, not wanting to waste too much time just in case etc...what are your thoughts on ultrasonic cleaning? I can get it done locally but boy oh boy is it expensive! The local chap is quoting 60 pounds per carb!!! Mind you they will come back like new apparently...

Point taken about the tank mate, I think I'll go down the POR-15 route, 17 quid if i remember rightly, then get the tank painted in the original colour. Do you know how i can get the original colour? i was going to phone Mr Honda @ David Silver spares...

I have down loaded a load of pics off the net of the original bike for clarification as to what it should have etc.

BTW, that OE exhaust is not blowing!!!!

Steve.

A picture of the old girl,

Tyres needed, any ideas please?

smudger wrote: Do you know how i can get the original colour? i was going to phone Mr Honda @ David Silver spares...



Steve.

Any decent paint shop should be able to match paint from a panel or you could use rs paints http://www.motorbikepaint.co.uk

Hi all,

I am starting to think MOT and need 2 tyres for definate.

At the moment the front is a Dunlop 4.10 H19 (?) it has rear tyre written on it and looks like it would be a real handful on the road!

The rear is a Dunlop 110.90 H18 and although it looks OK (ish) i would rather put a pair on it.

Looks as though at the moment i have a mixed (X ply & radial), set so new is a must really.

Can anyone suggest which ones/where from etc please?

Steve.