CBX on Vancouver Island

[bigmigcbxr]

Hello to the CBX Owners Forum. My name is Keith and I reside in Chemainus, B.C., Canada on Vancouver Island. I have owned bikes my whole life, too many to count. I was on a picket line when I saw my first CBX coming up the hill towards us. I was aghast and in shock. That memory has stuck with me into my 70's. Only just recently did I have an opportunity to purchase a CBX so now I actually own one. Had it all of two weeks. It is a red 1979 Canadian version and in pristine condition except the stock exhaust. 24000 Km. I do however have a carb issue that I am working on and hope the other CBX owners can help me out with this and other issues while enjoying the bike. Thank you!

[Crazy Canuck]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm a new member here as well, since January I think. I have the same bike as you and just spent the winter going through it back to front....fixed, repaired, and overhauled pretty much everything. It sat in a barn for 16 yrs prior to my purchase, and I too am just starting to look at the carbs as it's not idling well at all. Just pulled them last week.
Piles of info here on the site, you should spend some time reading about carbs and carb problems to gather some good information. Lots of good folks on the site here as well, and they won't hesitate to give you some guidance.
I'm 59 live close to Edmonton, and had the same dream as you..... found my bike last summer

[NobleHops]

Welcome, both of you, wonderful to have you here. Strangely enough we just send a set of rebuilt carburetors home to BC today. This CBX thing seems to be catching up there

N.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Welcome to the site, Keith.
Just curious with such low mileage has it been siting for a long time or just been ridden a couple times a year?
If you decide to tackle the carb work yourself a great source for parts is Randakks.
https://www.randakks.com/motorcycles/Ho ... ction.html
A carb restoration manual from Mike Nixon is a must have.
https://www.motorcycleproject.com/text/booknook.html

[bigmigcbxr]

Thanks to everyone who welcomed me and the CBX to the forum. My bike was purchased new in Calgary and most of the mileage was put on there. So that would be 24000 Km in roughly 40 years. The 2nd owner is a real nice guy but didn't use it much at all but was an owner who believes in maintenance. He had the carbs rebuilt by Old School Carbs in California I believe is where they are; but was told not to do it because of the low mileage and pristine exterior condition of the carbs. He did it anyway. He also had the gas tank lined with an epoxy agent. My problem is a hanging, erratic idle. Half throttle and better is fine but really doesn't run well low rpm at all. I have carefully checked the carb/manifold boots, they seem fine and were changed out when the carbs were rebuilt. I have installed an inline fuel filter just in case there was left over residue from the gas tank epoxy treatment. There was a brand new K&N air filter installed so I removed it and installed the factory setup. Still have the same problem so I am thinking the pilot jet, slow jet or whatever the correct term is the problem. I am pretty handy working on bikes and not afraid to tackle a carb removal and cleaning but I am slightly afraid I might be missing something as common sense tells me what the heck; a professional just rebuilt the things. One question does spring to mind. While inspecting the carbs with the gas tank off the bike I notice two rubber tubes about 10 inches long coming from the carbs and just terminating/dead ending under the gas tank and tucked under the frame. Attached to nothing. They appear to come from a brass fitting on two of the carbs. In the CBX parts diagrams they are identified as #27 in the illustration, Part # 16199-422-004 Tube, Fuel, x2. Are they suppose to be just dangling like this not attached to anything?
Thanks everyone.

[NobleHops]

Those two tubes are the bowl vents, and that is normal setup. Were your carburetors synchronized after rebuild and installation? And were the valves adjusted? If not, start there: Valve adjust, carb sync, re-evaluate.

[divan]

Hi Keith. First, a belated welcome to the club. Nice to see another CBXer in his 70’s (or one who’ll own up to it -HA! -I’m 72). I’ve owned my ‘79Z since 1992 (Clyde VII by name) and it’s been a great trip. Like you I lusted after one, in my case from the first time I saw the introductory article in Cycle Magazine. Never regretted going a bit in debt to get Clyde once I had the opportunity. So good luck to you on your new adventure.
A small bit of advice on your carburetor issue. If the carbs were indeed rebuilt by Oldschoolcarbs by the PO, the owner there says on his website that his rebuilds include a bench vacuum synchronizing. I haven’t had any experience with this shop (I had Mike Nixon do mine a few years ago and was very satisfied), but the owner seems receptive to contact by email (on his site), so just to verify I’d email him with the name of the PO and Ask what exactly was done. Out-of-synch can cause erratic idle. Another possibility, it the problem is in fact carbs, is if the bike was sitting for even a few months without running and fuel not drained from the float bowls, there is a good chance the slow jets (idle) in one or more carbs are gummed up – very common issue with these bikes, especially if ethanol fuel was in them. Bike will start and run, but idle and some mid-range will be as you describe. More likely, actually, than synch, if it sat for a while. Secondly, if the bike was running pods, it’s possible that the PO also installed a Dynojet kit. The carb rebuilder may have left the Dynojet kit in if he was advised that the owner wanted to keep it. Reverting to the stock airbox with those jets and needles could cause your problems. Confession: I installed Dynojet kit and pods back in the late 90’s and had constant problems with erratic idles and jumpy , erratic throttle up to around 4K RPM. The only thing that solved it was restoration of the carbs to stock needles, jets, and airbox. That said, could be a lot of other things influencing the issue as well as, or instead of, carbs – especially ignition. Really hard to do fault chasing by internet, but as you’re new here, I’d suggest maybe posting your issue on the carbs section of the forum, where it will at least get more attention. There are many folks here who have true expertise in this area and they may be able to guide you to a solution. Best of luck.

[bigmigcbxr]

Thanks for the info. Yes I will do a post in the carb section. I probably broke every Forum rule by discussing my problem on New Forum Member. Thanks again everyone!

[divan]

Ha1 No rules broken — everyone does it. It’s just that the specific forum is likely to get more looks than this one. Plus you can search within, say, the carbs forum and get some good answers and advice from past discussions.