Back in the motorcycle saddle again...

[LukeM]

Greetings! I just found this forum.  A little background on me:  Back in my teens, a friend of mine and I wrenched on an old Triumph Bonneville 650.  Great bike, if you kept up the maintenance. I learned to curse British electrics after that bike.  After we sold it, I didn't go near a bike for a long while.  Then my son bought a Ninja 250, my other son got a 1977 CB550 SuperSport, and I kinda got the itch again.  Wrenching these old pieces is kinda fun.

On my 52nd birthday (today!), my family got me a 1979 750K anniversary edition. The paint looks good, the chrome is very clean, the seat is almost perfect, but it'll need some work.  New rear tire, and front signals (must have had a fairing on it before).  They were told it smokes a bit, and it does.  Looks like a bit of blue smoke, which means oil is burning somehow.  Out of curiosity, I pulled the left hand cover looking for the ignition stuff, and about a quart of oil spilled out.  Not knowing about this model, I would assume the electrics for the reluctor would need to be pretty clean.  My one son's 550F is dry inside the right side cover, which makes sense since there's points and condensors in there.

So, dumb question #1: is there a broken seal on the left hand side, or is this supposed to be wet?
Dumb question #2: Rear tire options are a Dunlop 404 and a Bridgestone S11.  Any advice pro or con?

I hope to be updating you on stuff as I go along.  Pictures are coming. Thanks for hosting this.  Comments and questions are welcome, but if I'm working/traveling, I may not reply as quickly as you might wish.  Thanks for your patience and contributions.

LukeM

[pat english]

welcome.dang bro!! 52?!!!glad to see youre still riding.looking foward to seeing some pics.

[Re-run]

Welcome luke. Take a couple minutes to download the manual for your bike. It is a honda shop manual so better than a clymer or anything else.

I have not used the dunlops but have used the spitfires. They have been a good tire for moderate riding. I have never scraped pegs but that is mostly me not tempting it. They worked well in the rain. I was going to get them again as mine are 10 years old but I am going to get shinko tires.
Shinko bought the molds from yokohama a few years ago and the tires are supposed to work pretty well and are cheap as in 45 front and 50 back approx from motorcycle superstore.

As for the oil issue, I cant say. most of my experience is with the sohc bikes. The manual should tell you more and we have a few dohc people here who might be able to tell you more.

[LukeM]

Well, "still riding" is a bit of a misnomer.  I was riding back in the 70s, then took a LONG while off, and am just getting back into it.  
I took it for a test ride around the block, and it runs pretty nice.  Very smooth handling. Power rolls on very well, and it's quicker than it feels. I'm just concerned about the oil issue, and I'm probably looking at a engine rebuild.  I have to count the cost of the rebuild vs. what the bike is worth.  
I was looking at Pinwall Cycle on ebay, and they have a DOHC 750 engine for $500 plus freight. I could save the freight money with a little roadtrip in the SS Pacifica.

Pictures later today, I promise...if the weather cooperates.
Luke M

[LukeM]

We have Iron Pony in Columbus.  One guy swears/swore by the Dunlops, the other guy recommended the Bridgestone.  Dunlops were $85, Bridgestone was $65. Mounting and balancing was another $25 if I got the wheel to them, and add another $75 if they have to pull the rear wheel.
I'll see about the Shinko brand. I don't know if IP will mount tires that weren't purchased there, but I'll ask.

Luke M

[pat english]

LukeM wrote

Well, "still riding" is a bit of a misnomer.  I was riding back in the 70s, then took a LONG while off, and am just getting back into it.  
I took it for a test ride around the block, and it runs pretty nice.  Very smooth handling. Power rolls on very well, and it's quicker than it feels. I'm just concerned about the oil issue, and I'm probably looking at a engine rebuild.  I have to count the cost of the rebuild vs. what the bike is worth.  
I was looking at Pinwall Cycle on ebay, and they have a DOHC 750 engine for $500 plus freight. I could save the freight money with a little roadtrip in the SS Pacifica.

Pictures later today, I promise...if the weather cooperates.
Luke M

o well thats cool.what did you ride in the 70s?youd prolly really "dig" my harley build.(70 ironhead,amen "savior"plundger frame,girder front, king queen all that 70s shit).

o hell ya,these bikes are fuckin QUICK!

so its blowin smoke? new rings?maybe a quick hone?why rebuild the whole thing?

and who knows what condition that motor on ebay is in.you never know.people will lie just to make a sale.
(ask me how i know)

[LukeM]

I did download the Honda manual for the 750/900, but I haven't read through it yet.  I did get a Haynes manual, which I prefer over the Clymer. Tried to get it going today, and had limited success.  I think the plugs are too fouled to stay running, so I'll swap those out and see how they go.  It smoked pretty good tonight when I got it going for a few minutes.  You may be right about a cleanup bore job, maybe some new rings and a valve job on the top end.  I think I'll find a good Honda MC resource here, and see what they think.  Maybe pay them $50 or so for an inspection and heed their advice.

In the meantime, I did fabricate a bracket for the front turn signals from a piece of aluminum stock. It fits below the headlight and above the horns, and works pretty well. That takes care of the last of the things to get it legal. Next is the Bridgestone rear tire (front looks pretty good, rear has LOTS of cracks on the sidewalls) which I'll get done at Iron Pony (www.ironpony.com). I'd try and do it myself, but it's a Comstar wheel, and Haynes recommends getting it done at a competent shop. Besides, it may need a tube, and best to let a pro do it.

Back in the day, the bike was a early 70s Triumph Bonneville 650 twin, bored out 030 over, with Lucas electrics and a 4 speed tranny.  If/when you got it running (tickle the carbs, use the kick start to get the motor near TDC, throttle halfway, kick down, repeat up to 10 times until bike starts), it was a sweet ride.  Very smooth on the roads, handled very well, but shook you pretty good and turned legs into jelly after a 2 hour ride.  That's when men were men. :-)

OK, off to bed to dream of 750K and the open road.
Luke

[mikey440]

 Hey luke, i have a 82 750 k and there is oil in the left sidecase where the ignition is, if you have cdi ignition there is oil there, as far as oil burning i suggest adjusting valve lash first, or maybe valve guide seals, the pistons and rings are pretty bullet proof, i recomend valve adjust first then go from there, dont spend a lot of biks if u dont have too,,,good luck, mykee440

[LukeM]

Here's a pic of the new bike (it's the one on the left).  The others belong to my sons.

[LukeM]

Excellent news! Thanks for confirming the left side cover issue.  It IS CDI ignition, which means no points and condensor (yay!).  The guy next door was looking at the bike, and he was thinking rings and a valve job with seals.  So, if I can I may pull the plugs and get a cylinder wall inspection to see if there's any scuffing or scoring.  Pulling the top end may not be that big a deal, I can farm that out to a good motorcycle shop, or maybe take some time and do it myself.

I appreciate the followup, and I already feel at home.  Thanks for welcoming me to your "home".  Hopefully I can help someone else on this board as I get back into the bike thing.

Luke M

[mikey440]

 also if the bike has sat for a while it will smoke a little, i suggest riding it for a few days and see if it clears up a little,,,adjust valves, adjust carbs, might be runnin rich??,,mykee440

[free2ride]

LukeM wrote

I'm probably looking at a engine rebuild.  I have to count the cost of the rebuild vs. what the bike is worth.  

well, at least you are getting warning and knowing what you are heading into. when I got my '80K I was told that there was a minor problem with carb 3. when I took it in to get safetied I had the mech look at it [I thought I  was to the stage where I'd rather pay someone to do the work, as I have no room to do anything] -- major carb overhaul times 4 -- and a rusted out tank that needed to be cleaned and lined.

had also discovered a bit of an oil leak -- seems the PO knew about the leak and tried to fix it by jamming a rubber seal into place. didn't work. engine had to be split to get to the seal and it was discovered that the bushings[? bearings?] were worn so they were done [of course on back order]. most of last year's riding season lost.

out of storage after the winter and the things stalls at stop -- coil and [can't remember] and a kinked fuel line.

if I'd known what I'd be putting into the bike I'da waited and bought a new Phantom! however, once I get 'er on the road [Tuesday] I'll be happy and nasty thoughts will leave my mind.

I also think its time to begin to tinnker again [never done it with a bike and its been a long time even with a car!]

[Re-run]

You never know what you are going to get when buying used. Some just dont perform proper work on their bikes.
I know sometimes, if a bike as sat for a while, the rings kinda freeze in place and running it can loosen them back up.
I agree with a previous poster that running it for a few miles might help.
Also, if you can do a compression test. if the test is low, add a teaspoon of oil to the cylinder and try again. If still low, it may just be the valves. If it goes up, then it will be rings at least.

[LukeM]

I did get some time to get the bike running today.  After pulling and cleaning the plugs, and checking the wires, I put it all back together.  Cranked it for a while, then realized I had run it last night with the petcock set to OFF. Stupid noob. Carbs must have been bone dry.  Tried it again after about 5 minutes to let them fill up, and the longer it ran, the smoother it got.  

So, around the block for a few runs.  The more I ran it, the better it got.  Most of the smoking seems to have dissipated.  I'm not sure what that means yet, but time will tell.  Then my son came home from his classes, and we got on our bikes together.  Good fun.

The rear tire has some serious dry rot, and I was about ready to bite the bullet and have Iron Pony do the work.  On Craigslist, though, there's a guy in my town whose business is mobile motorcycle tire replacement. Yep, that's all he does.  So, for $50, he'll pull the back wheel, inspect the insides, swap the tire (that I already purchased), balance it, and put it all back together. He guarantees his work, too. This is compared to $14+$12+$75/hour that IP would have charged. I decided on the Bridgestone S11. Total of $75 including tax. It just looks right for the bike, and I hear good things about it.

I have to say this has been very refreshing, getting back into this stuff.  Motorcyclists are very friendly and outgoing people, as I can see from all the messages I've gotten since Saturday/Sunday.  I appreciate the responses, and the caring attitude.  I hope I can help and share with others here in the future.

Luke M

[mikey440]

 I would also recomend pouring a half of 1 can of seafoam in the tank full of gas and run that through, it will clean off all varnish and what not in the carbs and clear jets and such, you will find it will run better and better as you run that tank full,,you can get seafoam at auto parts store, enjoy your ride, mikey440.

[Re-run]

Seafoam is like some miracle thing for bikes, I swear! I used it to fog cylinders and it made some nice smoke but cleaned things up!

[pat english]

what is this "sea foam" you speak of?is it like marvle mystry oil?

[Re-run]

It a fuel and oil additive.
In fuel, you just dump it in the tank and run like you normally would. Through use, it will clean junk out of the carbs and valves.  you can use it to fog engines to remove some carbon from the cylinders. Take the airbox off and start the bike. Spray like crazy in the carbs and then shut it down for a few minutes right away. Start it up and if you got carbon in your engine, hope you were smart enough to do it outside!

In oil, it is good for cleaning out sludge and other crap. Some people have actually rode with it in the oil. I would just drain out a little oil and put seafoam in and idle the bike for a few minutes and then change.

You can find the stuff a number of places. Most auto parts stores and even walmart has it, at least in my areas. thought it is more there than at my local Mac's hardware.

[free2ride]

and I've heard and read

[mikey440]

  A lot of members on other sites dont recomend putting seafoam i the oil, only in the tank, it supposedly has a harmfull effect on the clutch, so be advised, others say its fine for both, i only put it in my tank, started to idle better after the first ride,,,hope it works for ya, mikey440