'Diamond in the rough'

[Mike Cecchini]

So you have a lathe in your shop ?

A lathe? I wish !
Sadly, no...but I do have a great drill press ( recently treated myself to a new one), a large selection of hand files, dogged determination, and the fact that I'm a cheap sonofabitch who hates sending stuff out to have someone else do it, working in my favor.
.

Sadly my drill press has a chuck that won't let me spin things and take a file to them. The whole chuck assembly drops out if any side-load is put on it. I've come close to having a chuck in the mouth several times.

I should get another design......but haven't gotten roundtuit.

[NobleHops]

Montreal Mikey, your fans are pining.

What's the latest with your project?

N.

[bikeymikey748]

Montreal Mikey, your fans are pining.

FANS??!!
Jayzusss! Did I miss the memo?
Yup, progress continues, at a slower pace. The wiring is a time-comsuming proposition. I sit with the CBX wiring diagram spread out in front of me, the GSXR schematic on the I-pad, snips, crimpers, soldering gun etc. taking up space on my ,tiny, work bench. Its been weeks I've seen the bench clear. I have to believe that compacting a harness from an '82 is much harder than the earlier years. Honda challenged me by placing connectors in the far-off regions of the fairing, that I won't be using. Space under the tank is limited! Every time I place another wire/oil line I see that I'm limiting, my already cramped, access to the carb synchros. ARRRGGGG.
But...my battery tray, fabbed from an alloy extrusion supplied by my buddy Doug, is turning out pretty well. It will do multiple duty. For instance here's an underside shot of the ganged ignitors, reg/rectifier, and starter solenoid. They were easy to mount after tapping into the alloy. Their leads were, suitably, lengthened to reach under the tank.I'll be shooting the tray & ignitors flat black (to make them less obvious). Wiring will be properly secured too.



I've also decided to forgo using an ignition'key. I was having trouble finding a good place to locate the assembly, and besides, they're dead easy to defeat. Sooooo, my 'key' will be a multi-pin connector. I'll keep the 'female' half in my pocket. It will have internal 'bridges' to complete the, necessary, circuits. When needed, I'll just plug it in. Working with other relays etc. my circuits will all be active.Not all the pins will be used. Not all circuits operate in any similar fashion. I machined an opening for the 'male' portion on the upper/forward edge of the battery tray. The 'male' section will be secured into place.All wires leaving out the back are the same color/guage, and sheathed in stainless braid. Along with other hidden switches ( that must be positioned correctly when the ignition connector is in) , this should add to the 'cool' factor, as well as offering an increased level of security. There's even a switch to shut down all other circuits with the exception of ignition/starting, should I have to shut the motor off in traffic and want to spare the battery/have start-up function, without having to fuss with the ignition 'connector'.
In the photo;'Female' section, 'male', and machined cavity for both in the tray.



The bits in place ( there'll be a thin,red, lanyard attached to the 'female ' section, to aid in removal/handling);




Oh, and here's a little 'Lunch Time' project I pulled off this week. I wasn't satisfied with timing proceedures, as per the Honda manual. Neither the 'static' method, or cranking with the starter while verifying with a timing light ( after having first drained some or all of your engine oil !!!) seemed entirely accurate. I am unaware if Honda has/ever had an end cap to facilitate this, so I fabbed my own....First step;scam some cheapie, lightly scraped covers, online. Then grab some 6mm. Lexan ( off-cuts from a local plastics guy). Cut a 'window' out of the ploycarbonate. Cut an opening in the cap. Then bond the two....Swap your new McGyver Special with the original cap, don't bother with your oil level, and set your timing.. This way, I can check my timing from idle to full advance. The white bit in the pics is a rubber bung I may have to employ, depending on how much oil spray the #6 crank journal flings. I'll let you know how it all works.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

The hits just keep on comin...
To think, i was patting myself on the back today for finally starting a POR-15 tank cleaning.
Mikey, your project continues to amaze.

[NobleHops]

What he said. Incredibly creative ideas and solutions. Really cool stuff.

N.

[bikeymikey748]

As most of the wiring is finished,and wanting to check on any aspects that might require more parts...I fired it up today!
Good news,bad news...no knocking/abnormal noises,no oil leaks.
That is When it Ran!!! .
I was expecting some 'tweaking',but...it's running like a sack of hammers.It'll only start with choke,even when good and warm.Curiously,my Suzuki factory synchro tool (the kind with 'floating' ball bearings) doesn't work that well.Even with the adjusters,on the tool,opened as to allow max bearing travel,the bearings barely move to allow any idea of how much each cylinder is drawing.The motor won't hold anything approaching an idle, accepts throttle poorly and is, generally, just mocking my efforts.
I figure that,among other issues, just getting my synchro tool to register a reading I'd be on a better footing.
Any ideas,has anyone else run into a similar situation?
I'll head over & have a look through the index/posts,meanwhile I'd be beholding for any input you might supply me with.
Thanks.....Mike C.

[bikeymikey748]

p.s.
My clear timing cover is a partial success. There are no advance timing marks stamped onto the crank end, only 'T' & 'F' marks. It's still handy for use to check timing using the starter motor method, but I find it odd not being able to verify timing at partial/full advance. Maybe,at some future date, I'll lash on a degree wheel and make my own index marks.

[daves79x]

You have some major carb problems, sounds to me. All the classic symptoms of plugged idle and low-speed circuits. Don't try to sync the carbs without making sure they are perfectly clean - you'll end up with a mess.

You check advance by using a degree wheel bolted to the end of the advancer shaft. Honda made a slick little one for that.

But these should be child's play to fix with all the other skills you have, especially at fabricating, which I have none of.

Let us know if you need any direction with the carbs.

Dave

[bikeymikey748]

Thanks for chiming in,Dave. The thing is, I figure the low-speed jets aren't an issue, because the bike ran/idled when I got it. I mean,that in itself was a wonder considering all the rust I found in the bowls.I've since cleaned them and installed a Dynojet stage-1 kit (as per the,supplied instructions).
I don't see why my synch tool won't give a reading either.
I'll poke around a bit longer, looking at similar posts and will likely be dropping the carbs out to have a 'look see'.
I'm hopefull it's going to be something,painfully, obvious that I'm just looking past

[NobleHops]

Mikey,

Preston Marks made and gave away (for the price of postage) a slew of nifty little timing wheels for the end of that advancer shaft. He's here from time to time (Prestotech), you might PM him and see if he still has a few.

N.

[bikeymikey748]

Well,it's back into the carbs I go.
Curiously, I had a look at the Dynojet mains. I put in the largest of the supplied choices,identified as DJ102. It's awkward that they (Dynojet) don't use the same sizing sequence as normal jets do. To protect their product,I imagine. I did a little experiment, knowing that a 120 main should be my goal. Do you know, the cleaning tool I use passes easily through the,original,105 main but will not go through the Dynojet 102 !?
Should I be looking for an actual set of 120's, and trash-canning the DJ102's?
p.s. all my idle circuits were clear. I did take the opportunity to do the 'air cut valve defeat' mod, as long as was mucking about the carbs again ( thank God I chose to run pod filters....sooooo much easier to wrestle the carbs in and out.Yes, much easier to do also with the motor in the frame.).

[NobleHops]

YES, Preston still has these in stock:

Nils,
How many, either you or he contact me ---- cbxmotorworks at gmail dot com ----- and I'll send it/them to the given address.
Paypal to above $3/ to cover all cost here within the USA.

Preston

HTH,

N.

[daves79x]

Dynojet Stage 1 kits are usually used with the stock airbox. Stage 3 kits are for running pods, which I see you have. I don't have any experience running Stage 1 kits with pods. I don't know if the needles are the same in both kits, but for the Stage 3 you usually run in the leanest position, due to the extreme taper difference from the stock one. That is where the biggest difference comes in with these kits. I'd say you are too lean on the main using a stage 1, but can't say for sure. With stock carbs and pods, on the VB64 carbs you have and 105 mains being stock, you would go to at least 120, maybe higher, and shim the stock needle .020 inch. That gets you pretty close if you can't dial in the Stage 1. But any of this is not the reason you are running rough right now. Even way too lean, the bike should run very smoothly at idle. I'd still suspect idle circuits, but you seem to think they are clear. How are you testing them? Otherwise, mixed-up plug/coil wires will let the bike run, but very roughly. My bet is still the carbs.

Dave

[bikeymikey748]

Nils,as always, thanks for the input. I'll see about e-mailing Preston in a bit. For now, knowing how many degrees full advance is....my buddy,John, loaned me his adjustable Snap-On timing light.It's as easy as slapping on the clear cover, and dialing in the specs for idle & full advance to verify. Sometimes, the answer is right in front of your face.
Dave, timely input, again. I was thinking the same thing,regarding the 'kit' needles and why the Dynojet mains are actually smaller than the stock 105's. I gotta figure that they,Dynojet, know their stuff (hey, I bought their kit,right?). I don't know that I'll try 120's initially, maybe 115's, taking into account the new needles' ability to pass more fuel.
I ruled out the possibility of a defective air-cut valve affecting off-idle fueling by plugging the buggar ( as per recommendations on the board).
I have a better selection of mains, 110-125,inbound.I realize they have little to do with my idle/fueling issues, they just popped out at me when I was looking into the carbs after the initial,poor, start-up.
I guess that the carbs are very sensitive regarding balancing. My initial set-up was less than ideal. I went back and synch'd them manually (using surgical wire under the throttle plates),they are now much more equal as regards initial settings. Also,I had previously adjusted my ,Suzuki, balance tool by plugging the common fitting for the four gauges to an EVAP vacume port on my CAMRY
I now realize that's likely why they wouldn't register properly,much different properties between the Camry and the 'X'. I'll be using the vacume from the CBX to set them up next time with, hopefully, better results.The only other possibility for the tool's poor performance would be lack of vacume being produced on the Honda (valves,cam timing,leaks). I'll do a quick leak-down test later this week too.
I visually inspected my idle jets,after cleaning, clear. I also blew compressed air into the jet passages and verified that it passed through the mixture screws and into the orifices on the carb floor.All good.
I'll,recheck, my base timing too.
So, its a waiting game for parts, most likely by week's end, before my second kick at the can.
Meanwhile its back to, a bit more, wiring.
I'm trying to get it together for Americade......TIC.....TOK !!
Plug leads seem ok, as per manual.
Mixture screws are now set at 3 turns out , I had them at 2 1/2 previously.
Needles/clip position are as per the Dynojet instructions.

[Jeff Bennetts]

Dyno Jet jets actually flow about 10 percent more than a Kehin jet of the same size, take a close look at the bore of the jets, the DJ jets are fluted further down the bore of the jet, thus enabling more flow than the stock Kehins.