I think, at last, I am on to something

[daves79x]

Aris:
This is just great news. I think you now will be able to enjoy the CBX that you always imagined. Look forward to hearing your impressions.

Dave

[FalldownPhil]

Aris,
A very sincere congratulations.
Phil

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Congratulations, Aris. Take a bow.
You are going to have to take on another project. Too many of us come to this thread for our daily fix.

[Kool_Biker]

Am I happy? Or am I happy?

The bike was taken out earlier on today clocking in total since my re- rebuild, ~55 Km on mixed roads and the engine performed beautifully. Of course I know all too well these are VERY early days.

BTW In case you ask what's happened to my confidence, frankly, pink glass beads have all but ground it to nothing (those who have followed my blog for some time, will know what I am referring to ...).

Any ways, what was even better today, after the ride the engine oil was dumped and look what I found :
1. State of magnet sump plug

P1090521.jpg

2. State of the sump

P1090522.jpg

3. Now COMPARE this to what I had found back in February after only running my then rebuilt engine statically in my garage on and off for may be 20 minutes ...
Same magnetic plug

P1060008.jpg

Same sump

P1060029.jpg

I think you will all agree it is all very encouraging!

A big thank you to all of you encouraging me, but please let's wait until I do, say, 1000 Km and then may be, just may be, my confidence will begin creeping back .
Best, Aris

[ajs350]

Yup, I like the first 2 pictures best too. I bet your heart was beating a bit as you took the drain plug out!
With the preparation and care you took I'm not surprised at the result but it must feeeeeeeeel good.
Good luck on the next 1000Km's.
Ross

[cbx6ss]

Congratulations Aris for your successful project! The video of your first fire up was priceless! I believe we all felt the anxiety surging through your body as your reached for that button... Then the surge of relief and victory as the mighty six growled with life for the first time. Your smile and fist pump told it all!
/r
Brad

[daves79x]

Aris:
I'll go out on a limb and say that you are good to go. I don't know what your break-in philosophy is, but don't be afraid to wring it out occasionally as you put on the miles. I think you will be impressed.

Dave

[Kool_Biker]

Aris:
I'll go out on a limb and say that you are good to go. I don't know what your break-in philosophy is, but don't be afraid to wring it out occasionally as you put on the miles. I think you will be impressed.

Dave

I have done these initial ~55 Km on cheap dino 50W monograde containing revs to ~4K and loading the motor only moderately.
Tomorrow I will get some decent oil (I am not saying which, so we don't start another oil thread ) and begin opening her up ever so gradually.

Valves were set somewhat loose (.10 ~ .12), plan to tighten them a bit (.08) after the initial 800 ~ 1000 Km

Can't wait ...

Thanks a thousand, Aris

[Jeff Bennetts]

Way to go Aris, I enjoyed how well you chronicled the rebuild, I'm sure many people will beneft from all the information in this thread.

jeff

[bikeymikey748]

Aris, one of the best posts I have ever had the pleasure of reading on any forum.
Your meticulous nature, photo documentation and medically clean work areas are an inspiration.
I can only imagine that most people, faced with a similar set of circumstances, would have walked away from the project.
Thanks so much for letting us follow along through the many highs and lows.
You are my new 'Action Hero' .
I am massively impressed

[Kool_Biker]

Since my last post I have done another ~70 pampered kilometers, and all continues to look and feel really good.
I know this is still NOTHING, but that's all I had time for
Needless to say, I did remove to inspect the magnetic sump plug, again, and was over the moon to find it spotless .

I am hoping to do some real mileage in the next few days, after which I will report back.

Re ALL your kind words and thanks, it should also be directed to all of you ICOA chaps.
Your perpetual willingness to help, near real time responses and deep knowledge of the CBX engine has made this possible - no two words about it.

Cheers, Aris

[Kool_Biker]

After what has seemed like ages I have managed to put an additional, measly, 320 Km on my bike. But that's all I had time for.
The magnetic sump plug was once more removed and on inspection now looks even cleaner than when previously checked and cleaned at 40 Km (see above).

P1090597.jpg

So finally, of joy, I believe we have a glass free engine

In operation it idles beautifully, has a clean pull from low down and goes like a train from as low down as 2K RPM up to about 5.5K that I have dared to take it.
But it is a bit vibey once up there (>~5K RPM) something which might be serious, and I will have to look at .

Other than this the motor has good compression, plugs look good, holds oil pressure, it is 100% oil tight, pulls like a train and makes all the right noises - a joy to ride!

I will now proceed to do an additional 500 to 700Km and then adjust valves, do a proper carb sync, finely adjust ignition etc.
In the mean time I will be researching what could possibly create these vibes.

Best, Aris

[ajs350]

But it is a bit vibey once up there (>~5K RPM) something which might be serious, and I will have to look at .

Aris, You may find that the vibes go away once you move past the 5500rpm area. My 80 has some vibes at about 6000rpm for a couple of hundred revs but then they go away.

Time to give it a quick run up to 8000 and see what happens. I bit scary I know but it has to be done sometime!

Also check the engine mounts and retorque, espacially if the engine hangers have new paint on them as it will crush with the heat after a few miles and loosen things up a bit.

Good luck.
Ross

[Kool_Biker]

Also check the engine mounts and retorque, espacially if the engine hangers have new paint on them as it will crush with the heat after a few miles and loosen things up a bit.
Ross

Good point Ross!

I had these tightened without using my torque gauge. Toqueing them down properly has made a big difference!
But, and although I've never ridden a CBX before, I imagine I am still not there.

Cheers, Aris

[ajs350]

Aris, Glad it made an improvement. Only other things I can think of is to sync the carbs again and to do a compression check on all 6 cylinders just to be sure they are registering similar psi's.
Ross