S.O.S.

The last week or two have been rather disappointing to say the least.
After the last successful rides (which were almost two weeks ago now) I basically haven't been able to get her running again.
At first it was starting but idling only on the left cylinder. We did some tinkering with carb settings trying to be sure both were synced but, and we cleaned the air filters which were pretty nasty, and we put it all back together and then we swapped the wires for the condensers and the spark plug wires to see if that would get the right cylinder firing and tell us if the one cylinder thing was electrical or mechanical...
And now she's just dead in the water. Won't start at all. Switched everything back and still nothing.
It seems that there is spark at both points, but it seems weak at best, and weaker (to the point of maybe being intermittent) on the right. Same at the plug. Spark on both, weaker on the right.
I don't totally know what I'm looking at, but I have to say that the spark doesn't look all that healthy on the left when you get right down to it but like I say, I haven't got any real experience with it.
We've tried disconnecting different circuits to see if something was maybe shorting out and causing a drain on the power, and that hasn't helped.
Tried some new condensers, and that didn't seem to make any difference either.
The condensers and coils seem to pass the bench tests outlined in the Clymer manual, but from what I understand those aren't necessarily definitive as to whether the coil is good or not.
I guess we need to pull the air-boxes back off and see if something we did back there knocked something loose, but it doesn't seem like there was anything that much back there that would prevent it from starting.
At this point we're kind of at a loss and lacking a solid strategy that makes much sense.

test rides

Well, she fired right up this morning.
After a little fine tuning on the point gaps and some carburetor adjustment we took a few short test rides.  The missing was greatly reduced, and she was hitting on both cylinders at least most of the time...least I thought so.

Idle speed is kind of variable (1100 to @ 1500 rpm), and occasionally she will stall at idle the lower speed but running pretty well other than that.  You can hear a little popping in the video.

Didn't die on any of the test runs, and seems to have plenty of pick up.

I'm feeling very optimistic at this point.  Don't get to play tomorrow...root canal.

Next we'll get into doing some fine tuning on the carbs.  Also wondering about the air filters.    I have 2 sets.  One is the paper style, the other is the foam type.  The paper ones are kind of dirty, the foam ones have some kind of greasy residue on them...Can they be cleaned, or just replaced?

Feeling much better thank you!

Well after some frustrations, some progress.
The spark plug caps came and got installed and didn't resolve the problem.  Well they resolved the problem of the resistance being 19 ohms on one plug and infinity on the other but the bike still wouldn't start.
We've only been working on her sporadically, some days not at all, but until today we weren't able to get the infernal machine to crank. A cough here, a sputter there but mostly a lot of nothing.

There is nothing exciting about tracing out the wires and hoping to find a loose one somewhere, so it was tinker some, walk away a to brood, tinker, brood... A couple semi-eureka moments (was that wire loose or did I just tug it a little too hard?) but nothing much encouraging. 

Finally decided to go back to the beginning and check timing and points. Some how ignition timing plate had slipped. Set that back and viola...she fired up.

She's still missing a little on the left cylinder (I don't think that set of points is properly set-up yet) but she was definitely firing some on both cylinders, and it ran long enough that I was able to get some readings on the charging system.  These numbers may be low but I guess they are better than nothing.  At idle speed (@ 1300 rpm) the voltage reading across the battery was 12.2 Vac.  At  @ 2000 rpm reading was 12.7 and at @ 4000 rpm it was reading 13.7.  I'm thinking this may be a little lower than desirable but it is positive so that's sorta OK right?

I didn't think about running the check on the alternator while I was working on her but tomorrow, after I go back through the points and timing I will check that as well.

I was encouraged enough today to forestall the the idea of parting her out on e-bay for another couple of weeks.

what is it?

What is this?  I can't find this mystery piece on any of the drawings for the 1976 CB500T.
What is it, and where is it supposed to mount?

Logic and electricity

I'm not an electrician, not even close, but I can kinda sorta read a schematic some and know that wires, and switches and relays are very much like a computer program flow chart or a logic problem (both of which I studied in college about a 100 years ago and wasn't real good at but I do kind of understand the concept of "if A=>then B" and all that to some degree, and I did work in factory where sometimes I could logically convince the electrician where he should be looking to resolve the problem) so it really wasn't connecting with me as to why doing some static tests on a few component and removing a wire that wasn't going to be used would suddenly make the Honda not start at all.
But now I have a theory at least.
After we scrapped the idea of getting the electrical starter working (mechanical problem, not electrical) I decided to pull the wire, which was an add on and not part of the harness because of some previous owner's tinkering.
I took it loose at both ends, cut the visible ties and tried unsuccessfully to pull it out. Eventually the tank had to be pulled and more ties cut before it came free.
By now the battery is recharged and we want to start it to check some voltages while it's running to see if we can isolate the charging problem but it won't start. Not getting any fire, and not making any sense. Nothing we did should have made a difference, and it was starting so readily two days before.
When I initially reported that the battery wasn't charging some suggested looking for loose wires. A while later, since I seemingly wasn't getting any juice from the coil, I'm looking for some test for the coil. Find one, and the first step is to take the black/white wires loose from the coils to do a test...one of them is already kind of loose in the connector.  Ah-hah, maybe that is the charging problem, but it never came to the point of finding that out because the testing indicated that there was a problem with the spark plug caps and now I wait for those...
But this morning I get a revelation...the loose wire wasn't the charging problem but maybe it was the starting problem.  Looking at the diagram I find that the black/white wire at the coil comes from the run/kill switch, and with that circuit open I'm guessing I found the problem with the no fire issue.
And I'm assuming that the way this wire got loose is that when I tried to pull out that starter wire it tangled in the wire to the coil and pulled it loose...and that is why removing the starter wire made the bike not start (with the kick-starter.)
So I'm hoping that this will resolve the starting problem and that the new spark plug caps (which should be here today or tomorrow) will resolve the firing on one cylinder issue, which still leaves the charging problem...

more baby steps

still not wanting to start, and remember that when it did it seemed to not always fire on the right cylinder.
more routine tests, this time the ignition coil.
according to the book you short the wires from the coil and check resistance from shorted wires to the spark plug wires.  you should get the same or very similar readings on both sides. I'm not getting any readings. [what, oh, wrong setting on the multimeter]
when I remove the spark plug caps and check continuity on them I get 10 ohms and 8.5 ohms.
when I do the above check of spark plug wires without the caps in place I get 10.3 and 10.4 ohms. (someone on one of the forums I go to for advice says this is a good number for the coil.)
when I install the caps again I get 19.0 and infinity. when I switch the caps side-to-side I get infinity and 19.0.
sounds like a bad cap to me. (and the bad cap was on the right side which has been observed as not firing consistently)
2 suggestions from different forums suggests that my evaluation is likely correct.
ordered some caps (paid a little extra for expedited shipping since they were so cheep) and now I wait again.
if I get lucky the new caps will make it easier to start and resolve the firing on one cylinder problem.

frustrated

Saturday we had this thing where it would start almost effortlessly nearly every time with the kick-starter.
Yesterday we were just test testing continuity of a few components to see if we could determine why the charging system wasn't working.
Tested the rectifier and the voltage regulator and they both seem OK based on the testing procedure found in the Clymer's manual. The leads for the alternator all checked as per the book as well.  The only static test we didn't do was the checking of  the alternator core just because I wasn't exactly sure how to do it and ran out of time due to other commitments. So far we haven't found anything we could put our finger on but that's as far as it has gone for now because the infernal machine won't start. Occasionally it will fire and sputter but mostly nothing.
Battery was fully charged when I started this morning (because I charged it) but the engine just doesn't want to cooperate.
I think I'll let it slide for the day and enjoy the company of my lady.

As veiwed from the side-car of the Ural

Sometimes a step backward is really a step in the right direction.
Tony and I had been piddling around with the Honda some for a couple of days without a lot of success. To be honest it was kind of a half hearted piddle, until yesterday.
For a few days it was: try to start it, it catches briefly and dies, and we are looking at on-line trouble shooting guides to find the symptoms...fires up and then just quits. Gradually it gets to sounding a progressively worse, until it gets to the point where sometimes it starts to sound like the starter clutch isn't actually engaging all the time. Then Thursday we began trying to get it started via the kick starter, forsaking the convenience of the electric starter to avoid hearing the sound. The results were the same until...it just locked up. Totally locked up.
In my mind I was thinking that it was the same old problem with the alternator/starter clutch.
So yesterday I pulled the left cover and sure enough... The new starter sprocket retaining plate was bent, the sprocket had just about totally disengaged from the starter clutch, and the starter chain was bound up against the side of the crank-case housing and tight as a banjo string (I used to have a banjo so I know how tight the strings are and that's not just a trite expression I'm throwing around loosely.) For some reason one of the screws attaching the starter clutch to the alternator rotor had backed out (I lock-tited them) and forced the sprocket out of position. This was a problem with this bike before I got it, and after seeing what happened this time I'm figuring this is how the kick-starter shaft got broken in the first place.
I don't know why these screws won't stay tight, I just know they won't and I may be at the point that I don't care.
We take all that mess out, (by the way, all the parts I've been ordering and waiting on for the last month were in that little sub-assembly), readjust the idle screws on the carbs back to the point that someone recommended either here or on facebook, and kick her over and...whoa! Fires right up and is idling smoothly at 1400 rpm! We repeat this several times just to be sure it wasn't a fluke, and it fires up everytime with one or two kicks.
So we spend an hour or so checking and adjusting the brakes and adjusting the clutch (is the sweet-spot on the clutch adjustment really that hard to hit?) before deciding that we've reached the point that there's nothing left to do but to do it.
Tony follows in the Ural and Desiree records the event on her i-phone from the side car.

And now some questions...
At the end it died. The ride was just over a mile. I was just going around the block so luckily when it died we were only about 200 yards from the house.
It seemed to be running pretty well initially. Plenty of power, plenty of pick-up, but after about 3/4 mile it strated coughing and missing pretty bad.
When it stopped the battery was dead. No horn, no nothing.
We pushed it up the street a ways and when we got almost back Tony tried it and the horn was working and it fired up (less than 5 minutes elapsed.)
So, what to look for now? Not charging? Dead short? Where should I start looking and what testing can be done?

What now?

You know the old joke about the dog that's always chasing cars and then one day he catches one?  Now what's he gonna do with it?  That's me with this motorcycle. Now what?  I don't know if I ever really expected I'd get her torn down, put back together, and running or not but here I am...and there it is. 
By the way the juke box (zune) was playing random songs when she started and the song that just happened to be playing was, Joe Ely "The Road Goes On Forever."

I edited this video...cut the first 5 minutes or so out..  Didn't think it would be too interesting watching me try to start it, scratch my head, try to start it, scratch my ass, try to start it fiddle with something on the left side that you couldn't see from the camera angle over and over for five minutes so I edited it.
The spark plug wire on the left cylinder is not in very good shape and not making good connection.  That is the primary reason it wouldn't start at first.

Once it started every time the engine kind of paused it made a funny noise.  It didn't really sound quite the same on the video, at least I didn't think so...does that noise sound bad?
I let it die at the end because I noticed that it was starting to smoke.  It's not real visible but if you watch carefully you can notice about 2 minutes into the video there is some smoke coming up by my right leg.  It appeared to be coming from or around the pre-chamber between the pipes.  Maybe just normal from solvents burning off or a symptom of something bad?
If anyone has any ideas about the noise or the smoke, speak up please, I'm looking for advice.

The coming

The parts I orded came today.
All of them.
I am dying to get back to work on the bike but I may wait until this "hammie" is feeling just a bit better.

Charge!!!

Well, it's been a week since I ordered the alternator parts.
I haven't exactly been waiting by the mailbox, but I have been checking my inbox...for the dreaded, "Sorry, we no longer stock that part" e-mail.
And so far that hasn't come either.
But, I have also been checking the charges on my credit card to see if the charge for  the parts shows up which I would take as a good sign.  Last time I ordered from this place I got the parts about a week after the charge showed up.
Just checked my credit card charges again, and guess what...the charge for the parts showed up.  The full charge so I'm hoping that means all parts available and shipped and I'll have them in about a week.

Trusting your gut

One of the initial problems I had with this bike was the alternator rotor.  The key was missing, and the holes were so wallowed out that the screws attaching it to the starter clutch wouldn't stay tight.  As a result, the hole for the pin which was supposed to lock everything up nice and snug was also worn out, and way out of round.  I never found anyone who could fix it and I couldn't find a replacement.  (My son found one and gave it to me.)
Anyway, when I put this all back in, I tried using the original pin (rhymes with original sin) even though I could tell it was worn.  Not nearly as bad as the hole it was supposed to fit but it was worn and I knew it.

When we originally tried last year to start her (I'm starting to lean towards "Sadie" as a name) the sound of the engine turning over sounded differently as the alternator screws worked their way loose.  I thought I had a hint of that the other day when I tried to restart her.
I knew I was going to have to pull that alternator to be sure it wasn't coming apart again...I didn't want to go backwards but I didn't want to screw up that new rotor either.
Sure enough, things were starting to get loose.  Not bad, not yet, but it wouldn't have taken a whole lot more.
I called around to some local places to see if maybe they'd have at least the pin but no one had it.  I decided to try the place where I ordered the retaining plate for the starter sprocket.
They seemed to have it, so I ordered some new screws and the plate that goes between the starter clutch and the rotor that holds all the little goodies inside and the little spring caps for the clutch because one of them seemed to want to hang up and let the roller kind of flop at times, and I'm hopeful that the order confirmation e-mail I got means that they really did have the parts.  Now I just have to sit and wait by the mail box every day till they come.
It's a real downer to have gotten so close only to have to wait on parts again but... it is what it is. 
I feel good that I had enough sense to check it out rather than to just push blindly forward and screw something up again.
By the way...here is a link to the dealer that I've had some luck with as far as finding parts:
http://www.westernhillshondayamaha.com/

Before and After

A few examples of before and after.  Most of the difference is time and energy...the only new parts in these shots are the handlebars and the mirrors.

IT'S ALIVE....

When I walked through the garage after dinner I couldn't help but notice that the "charged" light on the charger had lit, so naturally I simpy couldn't resist sticking it it and giving it one more try.

And before you comment on my improper attire, I had no intention of actually driving it tonight.

Well, that didn't last very long, did it?.  Still, you'd have to call it progress.  I tried to restart it for a short while but it was sounding a little a lot weird so I stopped.  I guess I'm going to have to pull the alternator and see if that noise was coming from in there.  That's been a suspect area on this bike from the get-go.

A one putt day

I was kind of thinking today might be the day... and in a way it was.
Went to work on the Honda (I really have to come up with a name) this morning.  Put the oil in first.
Put in the battery (which had been sitting since last year, but I hooked it up to the charger a couple of days ago and thought it was charged), turned the key, and nothing happened.  I hadn't even wired the starter yet so I wasn't expecting anything huge to happen, all I was intending to do was make a preliminary check of the wiring to be sure I hadn't missed anything and that everything worked...well nothing worked.
So I'm pulling apart connectors, stabbing around with a meter, "checking continuity" like I know what I'm doing, and  not having much luck.
Get out the schematics and start probing around again with the meter, trying to make sense out of what I'm doing and what I'm reading.  Finally I find a blown fuse, that helps.  Then I realize that the solenoid is not exactly wired correctly.  That helps too.
So I reconnect the connectors and put things back together, and hook up the battery and turn the key and all the lights are working, brake switches are working, horn is working, so that's all good.  Check for spark at the plugs, right plug...good spark, left plug...no spark.  The wire had separated from the connector.  Fix that...spark on the left.  Everything is looking good!
I decide the time is right for the big test.
I wire the starter, get the camera, set it to take a video, find the tripod, set it up to record the historic moment, start the camera, mount the bike, turn it on, touch the wires together (I still don't have a starter button, and don't like the make-shift button that I got with the bike, so I'm hot wiring it for now) and the engine turns over...slowly at first, then maybe a little faster, then slower.  It coughs, sputters for a second and sounds like it may catch...and that's pretty much it.  Not enough juice.  And just as well I guess because the camera for some reason (like maybe I just bought it haven't read the manual and my not know how it works exactly) stopped recording after 10 seconds.  It got me walking over, getting on the bike and digging in my pocket for the keys.
Battery is charging.  I also rewired the starter.  The starting system on this bike was pretty sketchy when I got it and the wire to the starter seemed like maybe it didn't need to be that huge cable and maybe a lighter gauge wire would not be such a drain on the system...I could be wrong about that, we'll see.  I can always change it back. 
So maybe I'll try it later tonight if the battery gets charged if not it'll probably be Thursday because "you can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd" and I'm baby sitting grandkids tomorrow.

One day closer

Not a lot to say, still have some fine tuning and some electrical work to do before I try it out, but it is getting real close now.  And don't forget, there is no oil in the crankcase yet.  (I have to keep reminding myself of that every chance I get.)

Do it right the first time...or do it over

I was kind of embarrassed to admit it the other day but...
I did mention that it took me the best part of an hour to figure out how to get the first air box on the other day.  What I didn't mention was that I wound up taking it back off the next day.
Friday I put on the left side of the air cleaner.  Then I started to install the carburetors.  I put the left side on first since I was already on that side having just put the air cleaner on, and I found it rather awkward to work on.  The whole time I was tightening up the inside mounting bolt on that left carburetor I was thinking to myself; "How am I ever going to be able to get the other carb on, there's not going to be any room to work."
So I tried it for a while before I reluctantly admitted that the only way I was going to be able to get in there to tighten that inside bolt and hook the right throttle cable up was to take the right side of the air cleaner back off and bolt the mounting flange on first.  Then the loosely assembled carb and air cleaner went back on with no problem and it wasn't nearly as hard getting the air cleaner back on after I'd had all that practice.
Maybe that is the way it's supposed to go....maybe that's what the manual says and I just missed it...most likely the  manual says "installation is the reverse", and since it's been three months or more since I took it apart...
I'm actually amazed that I haven't had more trouble finding everything after all that time what with boxes of parts getting more or less randomly moved around and shoved into various cabinets and closets during little fits of tidying up the garage now and then over the last few months.

...step by step...

Another good day...alright, not as good as the picture.  I did accomplish a good chunk of work today before I decided I had to quit, but I was close enough that I couldn't resist setting the tank and seat in place just to get a glimpse and inspire me.  There's still some wiring yet to be done (but not much) and a few  miscellaneous cables and hoses to attach, and the exhaust system and the pedals and ... you get it there's still a good day at least, but hey, it's shaping up and at least looks like a motorcycle again, at least for the time being.

Air supply

After a quick spin on the Schwinn to Wal-Mart this morning to pick up some sundries....(I spent almost $50.00 on light bulbs and Band Aids, odd combination I know but I think maybe it was so dark in the house because there were so many burnned out light bulbs that we kept getting hurt and used up all the Band Aids)...I got down to business on the Honda.
I kind of thought that getting the engine back in was a major hurdle, and it was, but it was only the beginning of the real work.
I was pretty careful about labeling wires and such as i was dis-assembling it but I guess I got a little careless when it came to the air boxes.  Who knew air filters could be so complicated. 
I mean when I pulled out the box with the air boxes, I looked at all that junk and thought "how in the h--- is all that going to fit back in that space."

Anyway, I worked for about 4 hours (that equalled about 4 quarts of sweat 'cause it was really hot today) and I got about 1/2 the wiring and cables reconnected, the engine firmly mounted, the chain on and tension set, and one side of the air filter system reinstalled.  And I hate to admit it but I'm pretty sure I spent at least 1/4 of that time figuring out the puzzle of the air boxes, and only got one side done.

I would have thought otherwise before today but based on the progress (or lack of progress) I made today I'm guessing at least 8 hours maybe more involved before I get to the big pay-off, but I am making progress and I'm a lot closer than I was last week at this time so on the whole I'd have to say it it's really going pretty well.

Together again..

When we were at the beach someone asked how much longer I thought it would take to get the Honda running.  I just kinda threw out a random guess of 3 weeks.  Well, it's obvious that I didn't make that, but it's starting to look like that estimate may not have been too terribly far off.
It certainly looks a lot more promissing now than it did week or so ago.
I spent the afternoon finishing up the engine assembly and after dinner this evening Anna pitched in and the two of us managed to get the engine back in the frame.  (there was a spring left on the workbench that I didn't remember, was't marked, doesn't show in the parts explosions and I can't find any mention of in the manuals...)

A part at last

After a week of expecting to hear back from the place I found that seemed to have the part I needed that they didn't really have the part I needed and that they would be issuing a credit back on my card I got the part I needed.  Kind of a rip-off maybe when the shipping cost is like 3 X the price of the part, (which by-the-way didn't weigh as much as a typical Hallmark card so why does it cost so much to ship?) but what are you going to do after you've checked everyplace you can find, including inquiries to six places that say they specialize in salvaged parts from Japanese bikes and you've scoured page after page of random motorcycle parts on e-Bay and nobody has what you need?

Looking back

Looking back I have to wonder how I ever managed to take the engine out of that VW, rebuild it and get it all back together considering my lack of experience and limited tool box.

Specifically I have to wonder how I ever got the pistons back into the cylinders without a ring compressor, but I know I did, which led me to try it again with the Honda.

"How'd that go?" you may ask.

"Not too good." I'd reply.

I mean I didn't screw anything up, but I couldn't get it back together either. I probably would have screwed something up, but realizing as I do now that parts for this machine are rather hard to come by, I wasn't willing to push my luck too far.

I put the rings on, hooked the pistons to the rods and tried to balance the cylinders over the pistons with one hand while trying to compress the rings and work them into the cylinder with the other. You probably already know that doesn't work and once I got the first piston @ half way in I started thinking about how was I going to even possibly do the other side considering I'd only have about half the room to work with. So wisely I stopped and went out to buy a ring compressor.

When I opened the box I was faced yet another problem. All ring compressors aren't created equal and the one I just purchased, while it would definitely compress the rings, it definitely wouldn't get those pistons into those cylinders while they were attached to the connecting rods. It was wider than the rod was long. Furthermore, if I got one piston in there was no way to get it off afterwards as it was a closed circle in every shape. Furthermore, with one piston installed it was too big to fit over the other.

So I looked online for some words of wisdom. I found a picture of a guy using a very similar ring compressor to put a piston in cylinder. The big difference was he was working on a one cylinder engine. Every one else was using a specialized tool, which I found I could order, but then I'm waiting again.

With the tool I had the only way to do it would be; put the pistons in the cylinders before attaching them, then try to balance all that while getting the wrist pins and circlips installed. That didn't seem too likely, but the alternative was to return the compressor I had, order the specialty tool and wait.

I decided to give it a shot.

It was kind of tedious and a lot frustrating trying to hold the rods still with one hand while balancing the cylinders with the other while trying to slide the wrist pins in with...what? And I managed to not drop either circlip into the crankcase while installing them, (I plugged all the holes before starting)

I'm pretty sure the purists would say "you did what?" And I know that's not the way to do it but...

If you can't stand the heat...

After several false starts I set the top of the engine in place, finger tightened the bolts, but...
...it's like 110 deg in the garage so I'm heading for the pool.

It's always something...

...and now there's this:

The little broken tab indicated by the arrow, is, as far as I can tell, the only thing that keeps the sprocket from sliding around on the shaft.  Is there supposed to be something else that was already missing when I got it?  I don't see any indication of another part in the manuals or the parts diagrams.  Would it be possible to use some kind of washer behind the sprocket?  Somehow it doesn't seem so unless you could be sure it wouldn't wear out and become a bunch of metal shavings in the crankcase, which wouldn't be too cool.

The sprocket doesn't slide so far that the rollers and springs fall out of the starter clutch...but almost.  However, it does slide far enough that the chain has worn a groove in the casting, and that doesn't seem like a good thing

So... what to do about this?  Have looked at several parts sites on the web and they either list the part as "not available" or don't list it at all. 

It's so tedious trying to find something like this on E-Bay.  I looked through 17 pages of CB500 parts yesterday, and the closest thing I saw would involve buying a box of mixed junk and trusting to providence that the part i needed just happened to be miraculously one of the parts in the box.  (They used to sell "grab bags" at a little store near my Grandpa's shop when I was a kid.  ...my cousin Billy and I used to bum change and buy them.  Seemed that Billy always got the good stuff, so I'm not real big on grab bags.)

Got a feeler out on a motorcycle maintenance forum for a part or advice, and I still haven't decided what I'm doing about the last problem.

Been back from vacation for almost 2 weeks now and not making a whole lot of progress so it looks like my estimate of 3 weeks was overly optimistic....but then I've always been a 'half-full-kind-of-guy.'

Back from vacation....hit a small snag

As I was getting set up to continue the engine reassembly the other day, I noticed a small (I hope) problem.
The return stop for the kick-starter was worn / broken off.
I'm now in the process of gradually building this back up with several layers of J&B Weld.  Hopefully this will work and I should be ready to resume assembly in a few more days.

21 days later.

Yeah, I know, 3 weeks, 21 days. Long time, no activity.
Mostly excuses, the only good reason was that I was out of town for a week of that time.
Been reluctant to go out scouting for shops 'cause the Jeep's been acting contrary and I wasn't into pushing my luck but today I went out to find one of the shops that Kathy's friend recommended.  I didn't go to the one she felt might be most likely to help, because I didn't exactly remember where it was, and I had a good idea about where the other one was.
Anyway I pull up in the parking lot of "Badd Attitude Custom Motorcycle Shop" and am greeted by a guy  in dusty khakis and a white v-neck t-shirt sitting on a "hover-round" in the doorway. I tell him my problem and ask if he can help and he tells me he's just hanging out and I should go inside and talk to the guy in the office.
The guy inside looks more like he belongs; t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, dew rag with skulls, leather vest, long goatee, and ear rings. You know.
I tell him a friend said he might do some machine work on a motor-cycle engine (she said he'd work on anything) and he wants to know what it is and what I want done.
When he hears I might want the cylinders bored on a 34 year old Honda, he says, "You need to go see Rick C."
"Is that the same Rick C. that used to work at General?" I ask.
"You know him?"
"Used to know him pretty well" I say, "haven't seen him in years though, he still in that log cabin?"
        [his wife once gave me a bunch of biddies that turned out to be mostly roosters]
"No he's up the road a bit from there now."
After several futile attempts to tell me where he's moved to, he draws me a map and sends me on my way.

It's up the highway past the big long building, then 4 houses, and then there are "two 9-1-1 signs" and that's the road.  "The shop is on the left and the house is at the end of the road.  Drive past the shop to the house and knock.

So up the road I go.  I see what I figure must be the big long building (cause it's pretty long). Then I count the next four houses (trailers count as houses right?) but I don't see the "two 9-1-1 signs".  I drive until I'm sure that I've gone too far...though I doubt that the map is to scale...and turn around.  So now the "two 9-1-1 signs" should be the first thing I come to.

Now I've driven this road many times and I honestly can say I've never noticed any "9-1-1 signs".  (Problem is I just didn't know what a "9-1-1 sign" was.)  So...what am I missing?  Is it possible that those refflective signs with house numbers on them that the Boy Scouts and some churches sell for fund raisers are "9-1-1 signs" because they help emergency vehicles find you...

One more time big building, 4 houses, 2 address signs on the same post, turn there.

There's the shop, 2 bay cinderblock building '65 Toyota on blocks, '75 Ford Ranger, and a big ol' Chevy pick-up all just sorta stranded around outside.  There's the house, ring the bell...no answer.  Look in the window...house is empty.  Oh well, so close.

On the way out I stop at the shop which appears closed up and is very quiet.  On the side door there is a note held on with a  magnet that is turned so the writing "Be Right Back" is not visible.  Try the knob it opens.

Right inside the door is a pile of crankshafts about waist-high and about 6 feet long.  Engine blocks everywhere, must be 40 of them.  Back in the back, behind a drill press is Rick C.

"You look familiar," he says.

I told him who I was and we gabbed for a while about who we used to like and who we thought sucked and then he asked me how I found him and why was I there. 

He said he could bore anything I wanted but he checked and didn't have specs for anything that old.  I told him I had the specs but the book was at home.  He asked if I had brought the cylinders and pistons, said he'd look at them.

In his opinion the cylinders looked good.  He mic-ed cylinders and pistons and said the clearances were good.  He wrote the measurements down so I could check against the specs (pistons were right on for standard bore.)  He checked end clearance and said I needed new rings and said if I really wanted to I could get a hone and run it through the cylinders, but he said he didn't recommend boring the cylinders because they looked pretty good to him and if I did then I'd just have to find that many more parts and he reckoned parts were probably hard to find for that model.
We talked a little longer and I left feeling happier and $$ ahead.

The toughest thing

I'm finding the hardest aspect of getting this motorcycle running is finding parts, or someone willing to work on it. Seems most of the reviews I've read about the CB500T state that it wasn't exactly a marvel of modern motorcycle engingeering and I guess maybe that's why it wasn't produced very long and perhaps why parts for this model, new or used, seem so scarce.
I went to the shop I was referred to last week and didn't have much luck. The place was easy enough to find, and the guy running it was a nice enough fellow, (he seemed to be in the early stages of a project of his own, as he had a very rusty early 30's Ford he was turning into a street rod) but I was about a month late getting there. The guy who NOW owns the shop doesn't work on Hondas, or any other type of motorcycle for that matter, and being new tho the area didn't know of anyone who does. He was friendly though, and did take a look at my cyclinders and confirm that they needed work.
I've got two more leads to follow up on now of shops that supposedly do good work and maybe they do machine work and maybe they'll work on a Honda. Sometimes I get the feeling that part of the problem may just be that some of these guys just plain don't like Hondas, or maybe they know I'm not really a "biker"...or maybe I'm just getting frustrated, or paranoid.
At any rate I plan to follow my two new leads this week and hopefully get lucky.

oops. Hadn't counted on that....

I decided to start using up some of those parts and having gotten things pretty well cleaned up decided to put the crankcase together this morning.
I noticed when I disassembled things all the gears for the transmission stayed in the top half of the crankcase. I wasn't sure why because there didn't seem to be anything holding them there, they were just there. That's OK. I didn't want to deal with that anyway.
Through all the moving around and jostling and whatever those gears all stayed put, somehow mystically defying gravity...until this morning.
I had the lower half all prepped and was ready to set the top on. When I picked it up...you guessed it, gravity finally won, as it always does. The gears dropped out, and slid off the shaft.
No damage, the crankcase was in a plastic tote well padded with rags on the bottom but now I had to go to the drawing to decipher where they all came from.
I got the gears back on the shafts and the shafts back in the housing, and everything fit and everything turns smoothly so I guess I got it together properly...
So, I bolt the crankcase together and as I'm straightening up and putting the tools away, there, between my feet is something that almost certainly is part of a motorcycle. So I take a deep breath, and decide to look at the drawings before taking the crankcase apart. There isn't anything in the transmission drawings that look exactly like this part so maybe...
It seems to fit on the crankshaft, outside the crankcase. I'll have to look at the drawings again before I get too much farther but I think maybe I dodged a bullet.
By the way, I went to see Jerry again (remember him?) He wasn't there again, but the woman I talked to last time was still there, as was the big guy with the long beard (and again me in my shorts and flip-flops.) I was looking for someone to check the pistons and cylinders (and maybe do some machine work if needed.)
They don't work on Hondas at Jerry's so I guess I don't need to go back there again. She did, however tell me of a place nearby where there is a guy who does work on Hondas.
More later....

Endeavor to persevere.

After some bad news yesterday I decided to move on.  Some guys on the forum I've been reading looked at the photos of my pistons and said they didn't look too good, how 'bout giving us some pix af the cylinders, and I did and they thought those looked pretty rough as well, and said that they probably needed at least to be honed, if not bored.
So I heard what I didn't want to hear, but I guess it was something that I needed to know.  Funny how often what you want and what you need don't converge. 
Anyway, I spent the morning rearranging tools to make a better work area and this afternoon I started degreasing the engine.  And I found some good news.  Don't know it it off-sets the bad but good is good, right?  The manual had some pretty simple tests for some of the components.  For example: place the head on a flat surface like a sheet of heavy glass to see if it is warped...passed that.  Also:  put some gas in the dome where the valves are to see how fast the liquid leaks back out to see if the valves are seating properly...passed that.  The solvent I put in there to disolve the carbon build up stayed there for hours (once the spark plugs were back in place.)  So that's good.

Below right is an excellent picture of degreaser not leaking from the cylinder dome.  Since it isn't a video I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that it's not leaking, because it's not.

Every Picture Tells a Story, baby...or

...I really don't have the inclination to write anything today.

that's @ 5000 words.

Ho-hum

Not much shaking today unless you're into tedium.
Cleaned and painted the air-cleaner boxes and sorted through some parts.
Installed the battery box, fuse box and solenoid, also finished installing the rear fender, lights and the rear grab bar.  I also learned something, well two somethings actually.  First, I learned that there is a difference between the left rear turn signal mounting bracket and the right rear turn signal bracket.  Second, I learned that I don't have any left rear turn signal brackets.  I learned this because when I was trying to put the grab bar on, I couldn't get it into the proper position.  It was hitting the left turn signal bracket.  At first I kinda panicked a little thinking "oh my God, the frame must be bent."  Why else would it hit on the left and not the right?  I took the grab bar off and laid it on a flat surface hoping that if something was bent it was the bar:  not bent.
Next I looked at trying to fit it under the turn signals: not even close.
Then I noticed the left turn signal was slightly higher than the right...again...is the frame bent?  Finally I see that the brackets are different...did I some how get them on the wrong side?  I only labled one, but that should be enough unless you're stupid, right?  Then I realize that they are not in fact different, they are the same and they shouldn't be.
Oh, well, I put it on crooked for now (it must have been on crooked when I got it and I just didn't notice) and add it to the parts wish list.

A tribute to my Dad and Billy Mays

My goal from the start in this venture was to see if I

could get this thing running without spending a lot of money, which means I wasn't going for cosmetics beyond what I could accomplish inexpensively.  

Sometimes the line between cosmetic and esential blurs a little.  Take for example the piece shown to the right.
It is called the "upper fork cover." (The section of the part illustrated doesn't actually cover the fork but still it is part of the fork cover and there are two of them.

Most of the surface rust cleaned off but as you can see they are kind of pitted as well.  Not the problem.  See the verticle line to the left of the hole?  That is from flexing and is very weak, and both the left and right side are cracked.  This crack is even more evident in the middle photo if you click on it and zoom in.

So now it becomes a matter of having the headlight securely fastened as opposed to nice chrome.  I find that These parts are available on e-Bay in the $20 to $35 price range but that those parts really don't look much better than the ones I have, so I'm not too excited about that. 

I keep looking and actually find some brand new ones on e-Bay.  Great.  Unfortunately the "buy it now" price for the pair is $200.  This might be OK if I were into the 'full restoration' stage, but a little steep for the 'let's see if this thing will run, and if I can ride' stage.  So I just put away the tools, clean up the mess and step back for a while.  I just know something will occur to me.

If only there was a way to reinforce the parts I have that would be not too noticeable until I'm into the beautification process....

Now the part around the hole in the photo that looks like a washer is part of the original part, and appears to be soldered or welded through holes under the chrome...if that had been bigger or if the whole thing had been thicker metal...

Well now I'm guessing you know who the late Billy Mays was, right?  You remember. the guy who was all the time hawking amazing products on the tube that did unbelievable things.  One of his things was Mighty-Putty.  Mighty-Putty can do everything from fix a broken coffee cup to pulling a tractor-trailer.  I know because Billy said so.

Well if it can do all of that, surely it can reinforce this lil' ol' motorcycle piece.  (If anyone reading this a motorcycles purist, I think I hear you groaning.)

So I cut a piece of sheet metal I had laying around to fit the back side of the headlight bracket, knead me up a hunk of Mighty Putty, which if you have never done that and don't know creates a chemical reaction and doesn't smell nice, and slap it all together.  What you see to the right is the inside of one of the brackets (which isn't going to show) after the repair.  as you know Mighty-Putty can be painted, sanded, drilled, tapped, and even machined when fully cured.  (Says so on the package.)

Ok, I know that's like only two steps ahead of duct tape but it actually looks like it's going to work.  It does kinda remind me of that e-mail my brother sent out last week titled "guys can fix anything, but what the heck, Billy Mays would approve...and come to think of it so would my Dad...who hated to see any thing go to waste.

By the way if you aren't following this blog, you should be.

And there it is.  The headlight is secure, (more secure than before) neither the Mighty Putty nor the sheet metal is visible, and I still have the $200. 

Biker Dudes I have known.

biker dudes, gotta love those matching hair cuts...some one was moving thier foot I'll bet.

Odds and Ends

Didn't really do a lot today but I did fool around a little. Cleaning up some parts (trying to) repainting and painting some miscellaneous parts I missed the other day, like the foot pegs and the top of the triple tree.  What, you don't know what a triple tree is?  Hmmm....

I put a few parts back on, but only tentatively. Didn't tighten anything down really because a lot of what I was putting back on may have to come back off at some point for one reason or another. I was mainly going through parts and trying to get more organized, and putting a few parts back on the bike got them out of the way and pretty well organized.

Took a couple of random---really random photos just for grins to give some kind of indication of what goes on behind the scenes so to speak...a glipse at the not so pretty...or the nitty-gritty.

Did I mention that my new most favorite tool is a rubber mallet?  I really don't know how I've managed for all these years without one

Did I mention that I screwed up a perfectly good set of handlebars?  They had to be drilled for the wires, so I measuered the bars that were on it when I got it and started drilling at the same distance from the end of the bar.  Problem was there was a solid piece of steel welded in the bars at that point.  So I moved farther up the bar and drilled my holes.

Everything's looking good, got the wires threaded thru, but now the holes are too far from the ends of the bars.  Simple; get the pipe cutter and shorten the bars so the holes are the desired distance from the end.  Everything installed on the left (clutch) side...on to the right...but wait...the hand grip and the switch go on just right but...there's not enough room left on the straight part of the bar to install the front brake lever.   Again the front brake.

I don't know why those pieces of steel were welded inside my handlebars but now my handlebars are scrap metal.

A word about labels

Well I had everything "tagged & bagged" just as I said...or did I?

I started reassembling the Honda this morning and things were going just splendidly until I got to a point where I needed to attach the caliper for the front brake, but couldn't find the bolts for that.

Hmmm, I know I bagged and tagged everything.  So I looked again.  Went though every baggy in the "small parts" tote.  Not there.  Dug though two other totes where I was sure those bolts weren't and sure enough...they weren't.  Looked through the baggies again, this time I was looking at what was in the baggies, as well as what was written on them.  Not there.  Again, this time spreading everything out to make sure I wan't over looking anything.  Still not there.  Now I've looked through all the parts three times, and I can't find the blasted bolts I need for the front brake.

I know they are here somewhere, so I decide to have a cup of coffee and relax for a few and see if that helps, I mean it can't hurt, right, and it's time for a break anyway.

Look again, nope.  Hey, I think to myself, I've got tons of old bolts laying around...some of those are bound to fit.  I try that for a while to no avail, get frustrated and decide to go on line, look up the parts list, and see exactly what it is I'm looking for.  Simple, two 6x25 hex bolts and one 8x35 hex bolt.  No problem one more quick look and if they don't turn up I'll just run ofer to the local HomeDepot and by some bolts...heck they won't even cost $2.00 probably.  Inconvenient but no big deal.

{note to self:  "If you are taking lots of bolts off of something you should label, them and if certain bolts have a dual purpose, you should probably note that.}

{second note to self:  When you are making the note referenced above, a mental note is not only unsatisfactory, it is totally and irrefutably, unsatifactory.}

{note to you:  If you get these e-mail updates and don't want them let me know and I'll get it stopped.  Also, if you get these e-mail updates and don't click the link for "The Motorcycle Diary" at the bottom of the page you are missing the entire "blog-o-licious" experience which you really should be taking advantage of as a means of enriching your otherwise sordid existence.} 

You see as, I got my keys and prepared to journey to the local merchant to purchase replacements for the errant fasteners, I was overwhelmed by an aura of peace, clarity, and tranquility as I hadn't experinced in the past 30 minutes or so.  It was during this moment that the location of the wayward bolts was revealed to my inner eye. 

Yes, you, perhaps have grasped previously, the solution which vexed and escaped me for so long... The bolts that attach the front brake caliper to the left front fork are one and the same with the bolts which attach the front fender, and there was indeed a baggy labeled "front fender."

Now, all that said and in spite of that seemingly excruciating, frustrating search, I had a rather productive, enjoyable morning/afternoon and it went something like this:

            

 

      

      

This is a good "before & after of the rear frame, wheel, and shock absorber.

So you see, even though there some troublesome moments, I managed to get a decent amount of work done, and next time I can't find something I'll have about 10 fewer baggies to dig through.

I must say that they have found an interesting way of making sure you grease the bearings in the steering column.  Since you have to feed the fork through the housing while somehow keeping 19 loose ball bearings in place on the bottom race and 18 loose ball bearings in place for the top race, you really haven't any choice but to slather the races and balls up real heavy with enough grease to make them stick together until you can get the fork through the housing and the cap screwed on.

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with the progress I made today and I'm pretty well all smugged up about how much better the bike is looking after a little TLC.  But...in the back of my mind I'm thinking about "The Dirty Dozen."   To paraphrase Donald Sutherland from that movie..."It's pretty, but will it run?"  Only time and more work will tell.