As a long time admirer of the CBX but never a rider, I have often scoped the ads of local candidates, but they have always been more than I wanted to pay (translation: cost of bike marginal; cost of divorce much more). So one day at the office, an 'X needing some TLC that I have been monitoring is coming to the end of its Ebay auction. I put in what I think is a low ball bid (actually I was showing a friend how Ebay works) and lo and behold, I win the damn thing! Now I have to explain to the missus my plans for a romantic weekend in a rented cargo van to Medford, Oregon, feigning surprise when I stop by the vendor's house to pick up the bike. Well it worked out not too bad...I think the shopping stops along the way cost more than the bike!
Get the new acquisition home. Getting it out of the van was fun as the rear brake was seized. Not a serious safety concern on this bike as so was the throttle. So I spent a few of the cold spring months taking the beast apart. I have never smelled fuel that was so foul and off. The carbs came off and were cooked and soaked and cooked and soaked in Yamaha carb cleaner. Then they were taken apart and the jets, etc. cleaned. What a mess! I cleaned up the rest of the bike, lubed it up, etc. and damned if it didn't start right up! Not the best sounding three cylinder I have ever heard (I will stick with an old Kawasaki or BSA for triples), so off came the carbs again....and again until not only did I have the engine dropping down to about 15-20 minutes but I had a full compliment of, well 5 cylinders. Finally after further cleaning of the carbs the sixth came on line. I then rode the bike for the summer. It was great on the highway and getting better in town (would not idle properly). The idling became a bit better over time and lots of carb cleaner in the fuel, etc. but never perfect.
So the bike took last summer off. In the fall, I took it apart again. The paint was all wrong on the bike and I wanted to put it back to the proper red. I was going to send it to TIMS when I found another Ebay ad for Mark Byrd in S. Carolina who would do the prep work and paint with proper graphics for $650! I was sure I would never see my bits again, but I sent them down and about a month later (sooner than promissed) back came perfectly painted and clear coated items. The only caution I would give anyone sending their stuff to Mark would be to let him know the proper black for the side covers. He used a semi or full gloss. I like the looks of it and I am not too anal about being perfect on this bike as there are other items of a not original nature on it. I would not hesitate to use his services again or recommend them very highly!
Then I built a new garage. So now the 'X is in the new garage and I have gotten back to working on her in prep for being on the road in the Spring. With the new paint looking so good, I now have to brighten up some of the black frame parts. I have a powder coating set but the frame is too large for my toaster oven so I have used paint on the scatched parts of the frame and was planning on powder coating the rest. I have pulled off the carbs and I have new idle jets. I pulled the old ones this weekend and sure enough three of them were clogged. I had on at least a couple of occasions tried Mike Nixon's special way to clean the idle jets which improved the idle and in fact brought at least one cylinder to life in the first go 'round. Interestingly, the place the idle jets were clogged was at the bottom of the jet. Most of the side holes were clear. I expected the through hole from top to bottom to be clear as that would receive the brunt of the carb cleaner shots and air.
I thought I would have it all back together this afternoon, but one of the emulsion tubes I was replacing is stuck fast (#3 carb). I have been spraying penetrating oil (not WD40) down there for a day and a half now. I tried using an extractor but the damned extractor broke. So in a rare state of patience, I decided to keep spraying, buy another extractor tomorrow and I turned my attention to my newest project, a '92 Ducati 907ie.
I have to say that having spent the last decade wrenching and swearing at my Harley, for the most part the CBX is a pleasure to work on in comparison. It is as if the engineers were actually awake when they designed this bike and thought about things like actually repairing it. The fold down engine is fantastic compared to taking the top rocker covers off the Harley!
Well that is the story so far.
CBX after first getting it on road, minus side covers - does not look like this anymore...will send in more photos once done.
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