Categories
family life motorcycle project

Birthday Pipes

Yesterday was my birthday. Even though I had to work, it was nice being able to spend most of it at home with my wife and daughter. I got chocolates and the new Kirby game. Both I and the little one are excited to try that game out! We did go out for dinner with my parents and brother which is always a treat. When we got home, there was an (repurposed) electric keyboard box on the front porch. Mufflers and header pipes were inside. Although not flawless, they are way better looking than I expected.

Categories
motorcycle project

Finally on the ground

My father stopped by yesterday to bring over a desk for my daughter. He asked if I needed help with anything else, so, of course, I took him up on that to help get the motorcycle out of my truck, where it had been sitting since I bought it, 2 weeks ago. I pulled out the front fork tubes and put on a rear shock to help remove it from my truck. We could have used a 3rd person but we managed to get it out. After getting it out, I spent the rest of the day starring at it and slightly tinkering and taking inventory of what I have and what I need (to get it running).

Categories
motorcycle project

Fire solves problems

I bought a torch. I used it to heat up the carb bodies for maybe 30-60 seconds and the slides came loose. Amazing. They were a tight squeeze when I tried to fit them in the carb bodies that I planned to use. There was still a lot of sticky junk on them. WD40 didn’t take them off very easily but my finger nails did. I scraped them clean (as best as I could) and they now slide into the bodies just fine. I really wish I would have tried this torch earlier. It would have saved me from buying a new diaphragm. Hindsight = 20/20

Categories
motorcycle project

Carb Woes

I’ve managed to order 2 sets of carburetor rebuild kits from ebay (coming from China) for $16. They might be here in a month, which is ok, I suppose. While trying to salvage the slides and diaphragms from the worse set of carbs I found that they each had different springs. It’s tough not to laugh at this. I suppose I’ll need to order one. I also need to figure out which one is the right one. I’m 93% certain it’s the bigger one.

Categories
motorcycle project

Carbs: Whoa! or Woes?

With the frame and motor I received a bucket of carbs. 3 sets. The best looking set is an almost complete set of factory Keinin carburetors. Set 2 was an ok looking set of Mikunis. Set 3 was an awful looking set of Keinins. There’s also a random float bowl from a very unrelated set of carburetors. It was mostly clear that I’d be using the first set to build this motorcycle, however, the set was missing pieces. Most obviously missing were the slides, diaphragms and the covers for such. The third set of carbs has all these things, no big deal, right? Not quite. The slides are both fused to the carburetor bodies. I also managed to tear one of the diaphragms ($30) trying to loosen the slide. I then decided I needed to Google my problem, which should have been done prior to any destruction. Alleged solution: heat up the carb body enough and the slide should -slide- out. I need to track down a torch, assuming this WD40 doesn’t loosen up things.

Categories
motorcycle project

More parts!

I met up with the previous, previous owner of the motorcycle. He had a bunch of parts. I took them without hesitation (yes, I had to pay him). There’s a front wheel and tire, sissy bar, fender, taillight, bucket of other parts including but not limited to: kick stand, kick start level, front brake assembly, various pegs, and tons of mounting hardware.

Categories
motorcycle project

I bought a motorcycle…

It’s a project. It’s not running. It’s missing parts. 1974 Honda CB360. I bought it, as pictured below, for $150. There’s a frame and a motor. It has a wheel and tire. There’s a chain and a horn. Some gauges are attached along with a wiring harness. There is no title but it has handlebars and even a key! I spoke with the fella that sold it to me and he gave me contact information for the person that sold it to him. He told me that the guy probably still has a bunch of the parts. Oh! It also came with 3 sets of carbs. That’s pretty cool.