CBX Racing

CBXs, new bikes, old bikes, cars, trucks, general chat, off topic, this is the place to post it.
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Gearheadgregg
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Gearheadgregg »

EMS wrote:Ethanol free gas doesn't have to be Avgas or high octane race gas. Most, if not all, marine gas fuels are ethanol free and you can find it at pumps where there is boating activity nearby.
We have a street gas Marathon station 2 miles away from me close to a mall that sells ethanol free gas right out of a pump.
Wish we had at least one or two filling stations that had Non E=10 always checking everytime this subject comes up , Thanks for the Marine tip i am by the coast and going to ask around. My V-Drive GN boat had to run AV gas also, Had put a 1970 LS 7 454 in it out of a crate from the GM parts book , Flywheel had a yellow tag attached OFF ROAD 100+ Octane only ! Tried Super and you could here it ping over Open exhaust lol, I can see why EPA put a stop to this factory Corvette option, "Stillborn LS 7" what a deal back then. And yes i have been following this thread CBX racing with much interest best of luck ! Greg

Rick Pope
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Rick Pope »

Well said Mike. Sometimes people achieve great things, because they didn't known it was impossible.
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Either garage is too small or we have too many bikes. Or Momma's car needs to go outside.

daves79x
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by daves79x »

We can get ethanol-free gas in 90 or 91 octane at least half a dozen stations within 20 minutes of home. N/W PA's weather sucks, but on the few days you can ride, you can use non-ethanol gas!

Dave

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Rick Pope »

It has been pointed out to me that my previous post could be construed to mean that i think our resident racer is tilting at windmills. That was not my intent. i thoroughly enjoy these well written re-caps of herding a big machine along a track, something I doubt I could ever accomplish. My comment was intended to express admiration that someone can achieve more, with a machine designed for far less, than could be reasonably expected.

And as EMS said, it's all about the passion.
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Either garage is too small or we have too many bikes. Or Momma's car needs to go outside.

EMS
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by EMS »

Rick: There are always people who think they can read between the lines and put a twist on someone else's post, especially if it is not exactly in line with their opinion. And also, we have the "forum police" who want to have everything neat and dandy and uncontroversial. The funny thing is, racing a CBX (successfully) is one of the most controversial things I can think of in this area.
I also enjoy Warwick's reports which in addition to the technical issues provide an excellent snapshot of vintage racing in another part of the world most of us are not familiar with. 8) That doesn't mean I ever so often wish he would have picked a CB900F or Kawasaki Z1000 to better reward his efforts.

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Rick Pope »

<<That doesn't mean I ever so often wish he would have picked a CB900F or Kawasaki Z1000 to better reward his efforts.>>

Yes, given his success with the "Lump", can you imagine what might have been? My hat's off to him, and eveyone else who's taken that path. Passion, indeed.
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Either garage is too small or we have too many bikes. Or Momma's car needs to go outside.

Warwick Biggs
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

I was talking to the author of a book about the early history of m/c racing in this part of the world the other day and he told me a story about Von (in the pic above). Some years ago when Von was in an earlier phase of the disease he suffers from (spondylitis) he was using a walking stick to get around but still able to ride and he turned up at the track on his stock '78 CBX that he purchased new wearing a back pack and with his stick strapped to the handlebars. He was still working as a m/c mechanic at this time.

Anyway after some prodding he took the big 6 out onto the track he knew so well and cleaned up a lot of the younger riders on their sports bikes, still wearing the back pack and with the stick strapped to his handlebars. He still has that bike together with 2 CB1100R's a Moto Martin, a Harris BolDor and a heap of other classic bikes that he can no longer ride.

But he still tinkers with them and has modified a dental chair to enable him to do so. The results of some of his builds have been spectacular.

My long career in the law has brought me into contact with many remarkable people and as a young man in India I learned that there are many aspects of life and human nature that defy rational comprehension and challenge a Judeo Christian value system. Our existence may be brief and largely inconsequential to all but ourselves and our loved ones but we can still perversely raise a metaphorical fist to the gods and in small ways determine our own fate. I like to think of my efforts with the lump in this light - a spirited attempt to defy some of the laws of nature. And isn't that what racing is about anyway?

Now, more prosaically, if I can only figure out what is causing that misfire. Next step. Replace the entire ignition system.

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by swarrans »

I really enjoy your posts and now you've added an extra dimension of philosophy!

Simon

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

Unfortunately no amount of navel gazing helps me solve my engine misfire, Simon.

I've looked back thru' the technical section looking for tips on how to troubleshoot a Dyna S ignition and 3.2 ohm coils to no avail. The CBX manual is only of partial help because the stock set up is quite different. To add more complexity, the Dyna wiring is also different and if that wasn't enuf' the person (sorry Brad) who simplified my loom for race use used his own colour coding that seems to derive more from what he had lying around more than any rational system. Then in the middle is the original Honda bundle that I note in regard to one of the earlier tech posts has power coming out to the coils and inside of which the wires inexplicably change colour somewhere under all the insulation tape. And this is the simplified loom!

Just testing the impedance challenges my cretinous electrical competence. Does anybody have any suggestions on the best guide to trouble shooting the Dyna S ignition on a CBX?

This is why I thought I'd just replace the whole lot. One thing I have figured out is that despite both Dyna and Ignitech assuring me their coils and ignition were compatible that may only be the case if the dwell is adjusted to very short or risk frying the CPU with all that voltage slopping around. And maybe cooking the coils or sender unit with a whole lot of excessive heat. OM SHANKAR OMMMMM......

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by EMS »

There were several different ignition systems out there, other than the Dyna, to improve upon the stock system. I remember Jim Zemanek had come up with one and also there was the "C5" (do I remember this correctly?)
I am sure someone else can chime in to tell about their own experience with either of them.

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

Yes that C5 is the one Roly uses but it was very expensive and I'm not sure if its still available. He reckons I should try another Ignitech but with Honda spec coils and I may do that.

Dynatek do have a pdf troubleshooter for the Dyna S but it is written more for an electrician than a dunderhead like me and is more notable for what it doesn't say (eg: exactly which terminals do you check impedance from and do the coils really have to be completely disconnected and if so, then how do you test with the engine running? It is a fault that only occurs at higher revs). And how does it work with lithium batteries running on total loss where they show 13 volts until they die? In this field I suffer from so many unknowns that I don't even know what I don't know.

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

The C5 digital ignition is still available for the CBX at a basic price of over US$600. With the Oz dollar languishing at 68 cents and heading south, it is just too expensive. Ditto overseas holidays.

To digress a little, the Oz economy is being driven into recession by Donald Trump's trade war with China and now with his 'one man band' threats against Iran, the expression "bull in a china shop" comes to mind and we are all left wondering how far will this all go b4 somebody reigns him in? Just how many wars does the US have an appetite for? But back to conventional ignitions...

Roly has experience with all 3 aftermarket ignitions and is of the opinion that the Dyna system is a bit out dated and there is not much between the 2 digital systems. I think the Dyna was set up for Harleys and runs at a voltage that must be a challenge for conventional m/c diodes. The Ignitech is set up to run on stock coils and sender whereas the C5 system is a complete unitary system and I like that. Both have interesting features but if I can do a swap deal with Roly on the Ignitech then that is more attractive, even tho' I fried the last one I had trying to run it with the Dyna coils. Just thinking out aloud...

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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

What my wiring looks like. Wires at one end of the bundle.
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

And at the other end of the bundle the colours are different....
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Re: CBX Racing

Post by Warwick Biggs »

And the bigger picture. What can't be seen is 2 white wires exiting the bundle taped in black up near the back of the coils that connect to the red wires providing the battery power to the coils. Those Dyna coils are hungry monsters. With an impedance of 3.2 ohms, they consume 5 amps each and this high power consumption becomes an issue in a total loss system
The 'battery' is in fact 2 lithium phosphate units that are very light (just remember, I have the weight of the lump down to 217kg) but have a limited ability to continue producing amps over time. As a consequence we run 2. One for starting and then I switch through 'both' to the other fresh battery to run the coils.
With 2 bikes in the pits , 2 sets of tyre warmers and 2 trickle chargers this makes for a lot of electric cords lying around to trip over. There is probably more risk of being electrocuted getting a coffee than breaking my neck in another high side. Of course you can always get the trifecta - the person next to your is 'old school' and insists on refuelng their rattly old Gold Star with methanol with a durry hanging off their lip. Nobody ever enforces the 'no smoking' rule in the pits.
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