My second 1982 CBX

[NobleHops]

There are different tools for chasing and repairing threads that are not taps. I'm also in the 'remove the head' camp, but if you elect to try, choose your weapon carefully.

N.

[Sharpie66]

Sorry to tell you Patrick but i believe there is a small fine for the first guy that mentions snow.

Who me? Did I say that.

Well I thoroughly read the process of removing the head in the manual and took the valve cover off to begin this new task. Heck, the sealant in the corners had just barely cured from putting it back on a couple weeks ago. I spent a few hours going through the steps as outlined and studying exactly what parts needed to come off and in what order as I looked at the cams and all those cam holders. My intimidation of this task was beginning to dissappear and confidence was building. Funny thing happened on my way to the first cam holder though. That little voice of mine chimed in and the light went off..........What if I were to just rotate the motor and open the exhaust valve for the #1 cylinder and hook my shop vac to the exhaust port. My exhaust has been off for some time now. So I did as such and was amazed at the pull of the vacuumm coming from the spark plug hole. I new nothing would survive being drawn into the exhaust port with that kind of pull. I was in.

My next task was to source a 12mm thread chaser and that proved easy enough. I went through each hole with this procedure. Rotate motor to open exhaust port, attach vacuumm and start chasing. The flutes in the chaser provided positive air flow so I didn't have to make sure the intake was open a little. The #5 hole, which was the worse, took some time but in the end I got to see that sparkplug walk right on down to the bottom with minimal effort along with the others. It was a beautiful sight to see all 6 plugs in a row.

Thank you for the advice and had my exhaust and carburetors been on I surely would have proceeded with removing the head for this task.

Now back to your local weather..... and in the 80's.

Patrick

[NobleHops]

Elegant solution Patrick, well done!

[EMS]

I sure missed that the engine was out of the bike...

[Sharpie66]

Well it's been almost a month since I've been able to work on X2 and decided to have a marathon session today. With some freshly boiled carb boots I set out to install the carburetors this morning. Big pain they were and put up a nice struggle but with a piece of hardwood in front of the motor and another piece of hardwood behind the carbs and a clamp on either side made it much easier. Tightened the clamps evenly and slowly until the carbs seated fully in their boots. This technique worked very well for me. I then installed the airbox boots and tilted the motor up in place. I figured it was easier making one connection where the airbox split instead of lifting the carbs up into those boots. Plus I was able to see what was happening very clearly from the back of the airbox.

Moved on to the battery, electrical connections, cable adjustments, fresh oil and installed the exhaust. Hooked up a temporary fuel supply and felt the excitement of the prospect of starting her up begin to grow. Cranked her a few times with the switch off and then turned her on and fired her up. X2 sprang to life and sounded fantastic! All 6 pipes warmed up nicely and the 6 cylinder symphony was amazing.

She was very slow to return to idle after each blipping of the throttle which I expect will go away with syncing. I did bench sync prior to installing and in the next few days I will hook my new gauges up and sync further. Right now I have the fuel mixture screws out 2 1/2 turns, stock jets and the needles are shimmed.

Unfortunately the orchestra had to end on a sour note as this picture sort of shows.

image.jpg

. Turns out one line from the oil cooler is leaking from within. It was soaked after a few minutes of running. I hope this won't be too much of a problem to source. Didn't really change how great it was to hear her running today, though.

Patrick

[NobleHops]

Fantastic!

That hanging idle could be a symptom of an insulator air leak. If they were still very hard, like, you couldn't compress them with one pair of fingers, then I'd suspect them. Spray some starting fluid around the joints when it's running next and if you hear the idle change, that's your culprit. If so, redo your boil with the wintergreen this time, that will do it for sure.

Great milestone!

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Congrats on getting #2 fired up.
Years ago there was a thread about mounting carbs using boards and woodworking clamps.
Couldn't find it i but remember he even provided a template for the wood behind the carbs that compensated for the angle of the carbs.

[NobleHops]

Fantastic!

If so, redo your boil with the wintergreen OUTSIDE this time, that will do it for sure.

Great milestone!

Fixed!

[Sharpie66]

Greetings all. Time sure does fly after seeing it's been 8yrs since this thread was started.

A lot has happened. Most notably was being hit head on in 2017 by Grandma in a Corolla while riding my 1st CBX, a 1982 Prolink. We were both hauled away on a stretcher with a laundry list of broken parts. I recovered, my X didn't.. I was able to put 32k absolutely wonderful miles on her before the end. I know I couldn't have done that without the tremendous help all of you graciously gave me on that journey with X1. Thank you!

Fast forward….2+ years to recover, back to work after 3 years and slowly started to ride again as I had a backup….1984 Honda VF1100S. Picked back up where I left off on X2, which was sourcing a tank. I found one in Indianapolis for a fair price and in pretty dang good condition too.

This Spring began the shake down rides. Pushing a CBX home a 1/2 mile or so away is definitely not fun. The 2nd time wasn't any funner either. Anyways, got that sorted out. Turned out to be the vacuum petcock. I suppose it's a good thing to have a backup CBX(wrecker) for parts as I swapped it out and no more pushing home.

Today I went on a full ride through the countryside of Western New York (100+miles). What a fantastic ride it was too! Bittersweet but wonderful. X2 performed very, very well. A few minor things to work out….throttle needle was bouncing quite a bit and I seem to have some rattling in every gear between 5-6k. I suspect a cam chain is the culprit.

It sure is nice to have a CBX back in my Life and to bring one back to life that has been sitting for at least 25 years.

[daves79x]

My oh my Patrick! That's quite a journey. So glad you've recovered and even feel like riding again. Seems you're getting your new ride sorted. Don't be a stranger!

Dave

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Welcome back, Patrick.
Tough news on the accident. Certainly can see how getting back on two wheels would have been scary.
Pushing these big lumps around is just another form of physio-therapy.

[Syscrush]

Wow - sometimes it seems like the best thing you can say is "I'm glad it wasn't worse". Welcome back, and congrats on getting through what sounds like a very tough time and celebrating with a well-earned ride on a nice bike!

[Sharpie66]

Thank you Gentlemen. Was quite the hit. The following day my friends went to the tow yard where my CBX was taken to pick up any personal items that were still on the bike. The car that hit me happened to be there as well so they took a picture. Quite impressive what the CBX did to that car. I dare say my X did much better even though it is totaled. I attribute surviving this one due to wearing good riding gear and a shortage of good Carpenters in the world. I'm a 35yr Carpenter and really dislike leaving unfinished jobs

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No pictures of the CBX. No rider should see that anyways.

Looking forward to posting about X2 next time.

Patrick

[NobleHops]

Great to have you back, and on two wheels, Patrick. Sing out if you need any odds and ends to get X2 in tip-top shape please. We’ve accumulated a lot of oddball stuff and it’d feel good to help you get the bike dialed in.