I've been working to resurrect my 80 CB750F since about 6 AM this morning. It sat untouched in the backyard for about seven or eight months, so I've gone over all the basics today: new oil & filter, fresh gas, new plugs, cleaned the air filter, lots of pulling leaves and yard crap out of every nook and cranny. My battery should be charged in a few hours, then it's time for the moment of truth.

6/22/2010 4:11:28 PM

Dude, I've had a serious hankering to throw a set of carbs on your 550 and see what happens. Do you have the key or is it around here somewhere?

6/22/2010 4:53:10 PM

I've got the key right here on my ring. New carbs, battery cables, seat, electrical system, drive train and whatever else has died or rotted away in the past year and that thing will be good to go!!

6/22/2010 5:22:45 PM

Quote :

"i assume you mean even when it was in neutral? because i was under the impression that it's SUPPOSED to kill it if it's in gear "

yeah...would be in neutral, kickstand down, wouldn't start. had to sit on it w/stand up, put it in neutral (clutch position didn't matter) and it'd start. if i parked and was idling and put the kick down it'd kill the engine. kindof annoying when i wanted to warm the bike up, couldn't just start it and walk away unless i put it up on the centerstand. bike's an '85

just unscrewed and flipped the switch around so it's always open, no more idiotproofness

6/22/2010 5:27:25 PM

My local Autozone is staffed by retards who held my battery hostage all day and returned it to me just as I left it.

6/22/2010 6:38:42 PM

That's fucked up. All your oil is bound to leak out by tomorrow...

In theory, the engine will run with a set of carbs, no? Rewiring such a thing can't be that difficult, right? It's just such a gnarly bike I hate watching it sit...

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 9:26 PM. Reason : .]

6/22/2010 9:24:44 PM

Really, you don't need a new set of carbs. The bodies are fine, it's two or three of the needles and floats that were causing problems. $25 per rebuild kit and new battery cables and she should definitely fire up. Whether or not it'll take you anywhere (or make it back if it does) is another question.

Just checked on the 750. No oil on the pavement, the battery has just enough juice to barely turn over the engine. I'm going to give Autozone a chance to redeem themselves today before taking more drastic measures.

6/23/2010 7:58:05 AM

^^^^ Sounds like the float levels in your carbs are really low, and leaning your bike causes the fuel to shift away from the port.

6/23/2010 9:04:33 AM

OH WE BACK

Fired up on the second try and smoked like crazy for about ten minutes. A few times up and down the street point to great success. Will post boring video later, I'm going for a ride.

6/23/2010 3:52:57 PM

WORD DAWG. Is the loss of power gone?

6/23/2010 4:51:31 PM

Well, the sudden power loss that caused me to park it is definitely gone, I could barely limp up my driveway that day. I just spent about an hour on it, and I can still feel a bit of a power drop around 3/4 to WOT -- which I guess is a good thing, maybe it's just gummy carbs and not the compression loss I feared.

Anyway, all praise Honda, I'm gonna go scrape the rust off my drive chain.

[Edited on June 23, 2010 at 5:50 PM. Reason : ]

6/23/2010 5:46:30 PM

Double post

TWW motorcycle experts: what's everyone's beef with using WD40 to clean (not lube) a non o-ring chain? Everywhere on the internet the conversation is like "fuck WD40, it is bad" or "WD40 works great, but a lot people are against it", but no one really gives any solid reasoning.

A little bit of spraying and a wire brush turned this



(yikes)

into this



[Edited on June 23, 2010 at 6:37 PM. Reason : ]

6/23/2010 6:35:38 PM

I usually just toss my chain in the parts washer or in a bucket of kerosene. If you have one of those new fangled sealed oring chains it might be different.

6/23/2010 7:20:36 PM

I have never used it to clean a chain but it works damn good on cleaning the sticker glue off plastics.

6/23/2010 7:23:47 PM

Kerosene is obviously the best method, but I can't remove a master link without destroying it.

^ WD40 also fixed my nasty sticky handlebar grips

6/23/2010 7:48:33 PM

Yea it be a damn good cleaner. You ever use hair spray for grip glue??? Shit works awesome!!

6/23/2010 7:59:48 PM

Mine were sticky and nasty on the outside lol

6/23/2010 8:01:07 PM

I got a old bobber outside that has some oury MX grips on it and they are so nasty lol. If they sit in the sun for anytime your going to be scrubbing the hell out of your hands to get that grim off them lol

[Edited on June 23, 2010 at 8:07 PM. Reason : t]

6/23/2010 8:07:08 PM

Nothing wrong with WD40 as a cleaner as long as you have to understand that you'll need to follow it up with a good coat of oil, grease, wax, etc. As I'm sure you're aware, WD40 is too light to serve as a chain lube, as it just works it's way off quickly. If you use it to clean the chain up, there's not really any harm you can do. The bad thing about WD40 is using it on o-ring chains. It's light enough it will penetrate and wash the grease out of the o-ring sealed part. Then again, a chain that looks like that is probably a good candidate for replacement regardless.

And you can buy replacement master links at Cyclegear, just ask for them at the counter.

[Edited on June 24, 2010 at 4:23 PM. Reason : .]

6/24/2010 4:21:01 PM

where do y'all get amsoil 20w-50 synthetic and how much is it per quart?

6/27/2010 8:17:30 PM

pay the $30 (or whatever) and become an authorized dealer and get WAY better prices. of course i use amsoil in everything i own...bikes/cars/etc...

6/28/2010 12:51:51 PM

oil is oil

6/28/2010 1:09:36 PM

^ maybe...that scoot of mine is pretty particular about the synthetic i use...it hated 5w-30 and it seems to only tolerate 10w-40 since it still bogs a bit (not nearly as bad as it did before) if i ride it for more than 15 minutes at a time...it'll bog a bit more quickly if i ride it at 65mph for 3-4 miles

it was suggested on another forum that the oil might be shearing down and it's overheating...now, i'm not really sure what that means, since my understanding of shear is that it is the permanent degradation of oil over time, so i'm not sure why it would have issues only at high temperatures but be fine the rest of the time...

anyway, since 5w-30 was a bad idea and 10w-40 seems to be pretty good, i figured i'd step it up another notch and see if 50 weight completely eliminates the issue...i'm happy enough right now since the bogging only knocks it down to about 55mph (where before it was down to 40), and that's faster than i should be going anyway

unless there's another brand of 50 weight full synthetic that y'all recommend?

6/28/2010 1:37:42 PM

they have 20w-50 mobil1 motorcycle oil at the auto parts stores

6/28/2010 4:48:28 PM

^ but...but...



seriously, though...i don't want to be a dumbass that buys the expensive stuff just because it's expensive, but if shear IS an issue, and amsoil IS better, i'll spend the money

*shrug*

[Edited on June 28, 2010 at 4:52 PM. Reason : .]

6/28/2010 4:51:42 PM

It's a Honda, right

You could fill the crankcase with pee and it'll probably run fine

$10/qt oil isn't worth it

Also this is a motorcycle thread

[Edited on June 28, 2010 at 6:34 PM. Reason : I'm also not sure I understand a graph with one axis]

6/28/2010 6:32:20 PM

Quote :

"'m also not sure I understand a graph with one axis"

also, check the source on that image

just sayin'

6/28/2010 8:41:47 PM

Quote :

"It's a Honda, right You could fill the crankcase with pee and it'll probably run fine $10/qt oil isn't worth it"

so i've been told, but it doesn't seem to care for the $8/quart 5w30 pee, so i figure what's $2/quart more? i fully admit wishing i had just kept it on dino instead of switching to synthetic

Quote :

"Also this is a motorcycle thread "

which is why i thought it might be the best place to ask about where to get motorcycle oil

Quote :

"also, check the source on that image just sayin'"

ah, i know...i meant it as a joke

[Edited on June 28, 2010 at 9:00 PM. Reason : .]

6/28/2010 8:59:41 PM

yeah that went over my head


shutup i'm tired

6/28/2010 9:02:39 PM

well...i'm not especially funny, either...i AM posting in a motorcycle thread about a 110cc scooter that should run on pee but apparently prefers the caviar of oil, instead

6/28/2010 9:09:42 PM

haha I just came across this picture of the worn-as-fuck rear sprocket I pulled off my CB550 last summer



I figured it was time for a change when it wouldn't pull me up the driveway

7/7/2010 7:09:15 PM

where can one get a tank liner/rust removal kit around here?

7/7/2010 11:55:37 PM

i need a gas tank for an '84 CB450

7/8/2010 2:05:45 PM

^^ Fill that tank with a bunch of bolts and nuts and fill it up with about half gal of kerosene and get to shaking. I will take out all the rust in no time.

7/8/2010 4:45:18 PM

^^^ eh, what's it for? Might be worth just getting another tank.

7/8/2010 5:01:30 PM

Quote :

"Fill that tank with a bunch of bolts and nuts and fill it up with about half gal of kerosene and get to shaking. I will take out all the rust in no time."

That.

7/8/2010 10:33:16 PM

you'll also have some clean ass nuts

7/8/2010 11:07:29 PM

Quote :

"CLEAN ASS NUTS"

7/8/2010 11:28:08 PM

anyone doing any track days this season? I'm doing VIR saturday, then surgery+recovery for a few weeks then keith code at thunderbolt in early sept. gonna try to do VIR full later this month

7/15/2010 4:55:47 PM

BB's work well in the tank too.
Throw it in the back of the truck/car and leave it there while you drive around for a couple of weeks if you don't feel like doing manual labor.

7/15/2010 6:19:30 PM

Can anyone tell me the best/ cheapest place to go for a drive sprocket (both front and rear) along with drive chain for an 02 Honda Shadow?

Wondering where to go to get this for the cheap.

7/15/2010 7:27:25 PM

I've bought a few off Bike Bandit. Some of their prices aren't so great, but their Sunstar sprockets are as low as anyone. Drive chain prices are weird and can be all over the place. Best advice: don't buy them from a local shop, they seem to run about 2-3x as much.

[Edited on July 15, 2010 at 8:00 PM. Reason : That Shadow isn't shaft-driven?]

7/15/2010 7:57:23 PM

Well, mine ain't that's for sure.

7/15/2010 9:54:22 PM

Quote :

"Throw it in the back of the truck/car and leave it there while you drive around for a couple of weeks if you don't feel like doing manual labor. "

I did the BB thing too: wrapped it in a queen-sized comforter then put it in the dryer for an hour on the "no heat" setting.

7/16/2010 9:02:24 AM

The XJ is now a "long-term" project because it needs new rings. I wanted something to ride before the summer's over so I picked this up:

02 Kawie Vulcan 750





Definitely an "old school" japanese cruiser. Seating position is near-upright. Stepped seat with backrest. Shaft drive. Got a good deal because the P.O. was needing $$ asap for knee surgery.

[Edited on July 16, 2010 at 9:56 AM. Reason : whoops, lic plate visible]

7/16/2010 9:33:12 AM

i'd be game for a track day

need to get the bike ready and get a set of leathers

7/16/2010 2:01:47 PM

I got 90 CI jugs and pistons in for the bobber build today. Going from 60 hp to 135 is going to be fun.

7/20/2010 10:01:03 PM

and expensive? What is the drivetrain going to say about that?

7/20/2010 10:38:19 PM

It will be ok. (thats what they say I will find out lol) I got a diff basket,plates and springs for it. All said in done with the clutch,machining cost,jugs,cams and carb im at 3800 so not to bad for a fast ass toy. Plus I got a killer deal on the bike..

7/20/2010 10:50:48 PM

Question about my bike.

I own a 2007 Honda CBR 1000RR. I recently installed 8000K HID's on my bike. On my year model, there is this little light in between the head lights.

http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/1/Make/Honda/YearID/48/Year/2007/ModelID/5025/Model/CBR1000RR/GroupID/175073/Group/HEADLIGHT
(Part 10 on the link above)

I think it ruin's the HID look, so other than removing it, is there a blue or white bulb I can buy to replace it so it looks somewhat similar to my HID's?

7/27/2010 3:02:12 PM