October 9, 2009

Ongoing carburetor cleaning

I don't think there is any way to make this process go faster. I've got pretty potent solvents, but chemical deposits from 40 years of old gas just take elbow grease to strip away. There is progress, though.

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September 19, 2009

Twin carbs, both need work to yield one good one.

While body pieces are out for refinishing, I wanted to get started on the carburetor rebuild. I bought a second complete use one online in case I need any parts, which I certainly will. Unfortunately, both have similar problems. I disassembled the original carb and found exactly what I expected: a lot of gummy gunk in the float bowl. The good news is that the floats are intact and fill valve appear to work. The bad news is that the throttle insert is stuck tight -and I mean TIGHT- in both units.

I had hoped for this to be a one-day project, but it'll take several at my pace. First I've got to strip all of the gunk out of the float bowl and jet insert. I've got some great chemicals that are helping with that. In fact they're soaking over night. Once I get them stripped and can see what I'm dealing with, I'll attach the problem of the stuck jets. None of the industrial lubricants have worked thus far, so the next step is some brute force. I have to be careful not to break the housing, but then again I've got a spare if I need it!

In the photos, the top one is the one I bought online, the bottom is from the bike itself. The purchased one has a rusted source value so I will wind up rebuilding the original rather than the new one. Though the original is dirtier, it's actually in better mechanical shape.

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June 11, 2009

Rectifier, brake cables, carburetor, and front fork brackets

It's getting hard to squeeze time for this project in between work and family obligations. Tonight was just half an hour after dinner dedicated to:

Pulling the rectifier (a small box that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC)) and it's associated bracket and wires
Removing the security lock that locks the front forks into position
Yanking the speedometer cable, front and rear brake cables, and throttle cable
Removing the carburetor from the engine

The front end of the bike is now ready to be detached altogether. Before I can do that, I need to pull the engine. Before I can do that, I really need a lift of some sort so that I'm not crawling around on the garage floor. Real motorcycle lifts are expensive but my Dad has a solution at his metal fab shop: a flat lifting table that is big enough for a small-bike project like this. It lifts to waist height and will provide the perfect surface to remove the engine, front forks, wheels, and eventually rebuild the engine itself:

After all of mucking with filthy old parts, it was nice to get the first new part in the mail today. It's a new gas cap for the eventually-refinished gas tank. It's a genuine Honda part, no less!

It fit like a charm, and it was nice to touch something during this project that didn't smell foul or crunch before disintegrating. Speaking of which, here are the shots of the parts I removed today...