5 Small Maintenance Jobs Often Missed On Your Vintage Honda Motorcycle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2024
- When rebuild your vintage Honda motorcycle there is a myriad of jobs that you need to accomplish. Do not expect to be able to fit that list on one sheet of paper. We get this and we are not trying to point fingers here, I assure you just about everyone here at Common Motor has made the same mistakes as you have. But we do want to call to light a few jobs we often see skipped over that can cause some legitimate safety or mechanical problems. The last thing you want on your beautifully redone cafe racer or scrambler is a rear brake lock-up that leads to laying down the bike. A few moments with a small flat head screwdriver on the CB175 and CB200's of the world can save both your paint and your crotch. Finally be able to ditch the inline fuel filters and get your CB350 running like a top. Take your CB360 and CB450's handling back to factory quality. Lastly, you can, at least partially, stop smelling like unburnt gas every time you get off of your CB550 and CB750 motorcycles. They all only take minutes to do and they are all definitely worth your time.
Replacement Parts:
Petcocks and Rebuild Parts:
CB350/CB360/CB450 Petcock Rebuild Kit: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB350/CB360/CB450 Petcock Fuel Filter: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB550F Petcock Rebuild Kit: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB550K Early Style Petcock Rebuild Kit: www.common-motor.com/honda-ea...
CL175/CL200/CB350/CB360/CB450 Replacement Petcock: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB500t/CB550F Petcock: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB550K Petcock: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
Gas Cap Parts:
Replacement Flip Top Gas Cap: www.common-motor.com/honda-fl...
Replacement Honda Early Style Screw Gas Cap: www.common-motor.com/Honda-CB...
Replacement Gas Cap Seal: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
Replacement Gas Cap Latch: www.common-motor.com/honda-ta...
Replacement Gas Cap Lock: www.common-motor.com/honda-ta...
Replacement "Space Capsule" Handlebar Bushings:
www.common-motor.com/honda-ha...
Exhaust Gaskets:
CB350/CB360 Exhaust Gasket: www.common-motor.com/honda-35...
CB450/CB500t Exhaust Gasket: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB550 Exhaust Gasket: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB350/CB360 Graphite Muffler Gasket: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB450/CB500t Graphite Muffler Gasket: www.common-motor.com/honda-45...
CB360/CL360 Exhaust Collar: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB350/CL350 Exhaust Collar: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb...
CB550 Exhaust Flange: www.common-motor.com/honda-cb... - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I have 12 vintage Hondas remaining. All of them get this treatment. I never had a complete list. TH-cam channels like this would have been a saver back in the day...and I am still learning...thanks for making these videos!
I ran one of these bikes back in the 80's. For the rear brake adjustment, rather than reposition the brake drum lever, I recommend changing the brake shoes, which will restore the correct geometry and will result in the brake arm being in the correct position.
11 years back I got a '76 CB750K. A good runner with 4 into 1 exhaust system. It did have exhaust leaks at the head pipes. Took the system off to replace the gaskets. Started to pull the old gaskets out and was shocked discover the ports had 3 sets of exhaust gaskets in them. Previous pipe installs had just crammed new gaskets in on top of old ones. Wow, on wonder it was leaking.
Pro-tip: for the gas tank gasket replacement, that inner silver metal piece with the little breather hole in it that the gasket is on completely comes out (at least on the 200s I've worked on).
Literally just held in place by tension from a couple metal tabs. You can stick a screwdriver in the empty space where the gasket used to be and gently pry one of the tabs to remove the whole thing. Makes it easier to put the new gasket on, with the added bonus of being able to clean it up more easily.
i wish i read this BEFORE i tried getting it on there as shown lol
Unless I missed it there is a critical item to be checked while adjusting the rear brake and that is the brake light switch. At every adjustment this item needs to be checked for proper engagement for the brake light. It is a simple lock nut on the threaded section of the body of the switch. This adjustment allows for the correct pull on the small engagement pin of the switch that actually illuminates the brake light. If your brake is working but the tail light fails to warn others it could be deadly...
I just assumed my cb750 didn’t have a rear brake light until I saw this comment, never would have checked otherwise so thank you
yea I was testing out my wiring and noticed the front brake lever did not illuminate the lights, only the rear did. always a great idea to check lights ESPECIALLY on a motorcycle
I wish I had TH-cam and this channel when I had my CB750K7. God I miss that bike.
You make the Petcock cleaning and reinstalling super easy, I wish I could do it that perfect and not leak exactly where that wavy gasket is..great vid though learned stuff
Yes, the exhaust gaskets can be re used a few times... love your honesty, sir
Great work. Thank you! I do all maintenance work for my 4 XLs (early 70s model) myself. But I still could learn something from your video.
Nice work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And... so right on. Great presentation - detail - sharp and clear and informative. Credits where credits are deserved!
YOU and this help vid. THANK YOU
Thanks. You really show how to rebuild the petcock right. Great video!
Excellent. Didn't know about the handlebar riser height variance. Thank you!!
Awesome information, this channel has inspired me to post videos of my cb750 build
Good reminders. I'd add value adjustments, chain slack removal, tire inspection.
Those old Honda’s never need valve adjustment! Hell, they barely need oil changes.
@@Kickstart500they need it every 1500 miles . Your remark is a lot more valid for brand new bikes with ever increasing service intervals
Always useful info! Thanks man!
Awesome video.
Great video. Thank you.
This is a great channel, subbed. Now I just need a Honda :)
I have the Honda now just need $ to fix her up.
That was extremely helpful! I picked up a CB750 and a owners manual for restoring it this winter the garage. Have you done a video yet on changing the fluid for the front forks?
Vids never disappoint 👍👍
Great tips, thanks!
I had a similar Honda 175 in 1977 electric start reliable little darling !
Great and simple tips to em running
Wish I still had my 1972 CB350F. It was a great bike.
very helpful tips. Thanks a lot.
Nice video! I just picked up a 1980 CM400t
All 5 of these needed to be done on mine: 1, rear brake was way off; 2, gas cap seal was brand new, but not installed all the way and just loosely in there; 3, petcock seems clogged so i ordered a new one; 4, handlebars were loose so i tried just tightening the nut underneath -- broke the handlebar mounting bolt but was able to get another one and THEN having learned my lesson i went ahead and replaced the rubber bushings; And lastly 5, the copper gaskets seemed cheap enough to go ahead and replace them whether they really needed it or not just for peace of mind. so that's it!! where's the list of #'s 6 through 10??? cause so far i haven't found anything you guys mention as being wrong that is Not wrong on my bike.
The rear brake shoes need to be replaced. The reason this is a problem is Japanese motorcycle brake shoes are not "arced" to the drum as American shoes are. They are not the same radius. This results in the shoes wearing quickly, and it results in the cam that operates the shoes needing a lot of rotational travel once the shoes are worn. This rotation will eventually make the cam go horizontal, which will lock up the brake. Repositioning the arm will move you further into the possibility of this scenario. Replace the shoes.
You can remove that part on the gas cap that holds the gasket. They have star looking ears you can bend out a bit and the entire thing comes out. Takes a minute to replace and reinstall. EASY
Seiko Model 5 - Yes!
Nice. Checking, changing swing arm bushes and cush drive rubbers also often missed
Definitely a good one to check that we often see worn out
On my ‘93, CB750, the spacers between the carbs and the intake failed over a winter (all at the same time!) and idle stayed at 3k.
I had that exact model and color Honda 350!!!
Hi, did any of you guys have to take care about rusted out muffler? I mean the inner tube - hole on the bottom part. I have a cbx750 from 1984 and one muffler is rusted out and little pieces of rusted metal are making unpleasant noises and since “new” stock looking exhausts are expensive i thought it could be repaired by drilling out those rivets and taking the tube out, weld those holes and maybe wrapping in muffler fiberglass (if it originaly had some idk). Do you have any tips?
Awesome thanks!
No problem!
Did those copper gaskets have a seam? Thought I was told the seam on the gasket should be facing away from the exhaust flow. Keeps it from developing leaks.
Great video. Thanks - applying some of these to my 77 Carabela - for which there are no parts, no manuals and no tutorials :-D
Ooo always the struggle that’s the exact reason common motor began for the vintage Honda’s!
I bought new copper crush washers listed for my bike but they don’t just slide it. They seem to big to fit into the bore
Good vid
What editing program are you using on this video?
Does anyone know if Common-motors site tips generally work for 1979 CB400T's? It looks like most of the parts are nearly identical from first viewing.
My petcock is leaking from the top of the nut (what you referred to as the smooth side) and I can’t seem to fix it??
I was a Honda mechanic with the CB 350 motorcycles were leaving the dealers in Squadrons.
there was a bulletin direct from Honda suggesting that dealers stock seven top end gasket cats and camshafts for every 10 motorcycles sold. dealerships were given a 30/60/90 day list by Honda telling them which parts they will sell the most of which came on the 30 day list, medium sales of parts on the 60 day list, not so common parts were on the 90 day list. these were parts that Honda suggested that you keep in stock because you’re going to need them. Camshafts for the CB 350 , It was rare to see a Honda CB 350 with 10,000 miles on it that had not had the camshaft replaced.
The camshaft was not heat treated properly, it was soft. The rockers that actuated the Opening of the valves were soft.. The ends of the cam spins in aluminum bearing blocks. Soft aluminum. To keep the camshaft from walking left or right there were thin soft thrust washers. These were literally copper plated pieces of metal that disintegrated as the camshaft walked side to side. The worst part is, The CB 350 had no oil filter. So all of this aluminum and different metal debris kept constantly being circulated through the engine.
don’t waste your money or your time resurrecting one of these machines..You will have to deal with the brittle or completely broken vacuum diaphragms in the CV carburetors. Leaky petcock’s, unreliable electric starters,Weak headlights, weak horn. If you adjust the points Exactly as instructed by the owners manual, the machine will be out of time...
I didn’t watch this video, especially when he was going into how to adjust the rear brake pedal. But I will say this for a rear brakes that are actuated by a solid brake rod. Put a slight bend in that brake rod and you will have better feel at the brake pedal..With a straight rod, when you step on the break pedal, it’s like stepping on a solid object. No feel. When you put a slight bend in the rod,you will feel when the brake start to contact the brake drum, but they will not contact solidly because the rod will start to flex slightly as it straightens out to give you a little more sponginess. This will make your rear wheel less likely to lock up while breaking over bumpy surfaces.. this applies to any motorcycle with a solid rear brake rod instead of a cable or a hydraulic disc brake..
my advice to anyone considering resurrecting a CB 350 Honda. Pass. Those were junk motors. I was the 350 Honda mechanic at the dealership I worked at. We had seven mechanics working full-time. I specialized on the 350 and 450 engines. Most days, I replaced camshaft in 350 Honda‘s.. I got so good at it, that I could have the camshaft out of the engine of a machine that was just pulled in by the customer. I would have the camshaft out while it was still too hot to hold with your bare hands. . I used to take them up to the parts department, and toss the camshaft to Davie, the Partman, and say, Davy I need another one, and he’d catch it and burn his hands.. he learned after the second time not to catch the camshaft when I would toss it to him.Some days, I could replace 4 camshafts in under seven hours ..
another stone age design of this engine was the procedure to adjust the valve clearance. You loosen a lock nut, turn a cam eccentric screw head, and listen to the noise the engine makes. You have to listen for when the sound changes and if you go to far the engine wants to stall. You had to guess where the midpoint was, then tighten the lock nut. That sounds like model T Ford stove pipe mechanics I know, but that’s how it was done.
there were so many other motorcycles available that were better. The suzuki 250 X6 hustler,The Yamaha r5 and DS7. Best of all, the Bridgestone 350 GTR. The 350 Bridgestone was so far ahead of everything else. The Bores of the cylinders were chromed. not shiny bumper chrome, industrial hard chrome plating etched onto the aluminum for optimum heat transfer/ cooling.. it had a dry clutch meaning spinning a clutch basket and all those clutch plates in oil it puts a lot of drag on the power...The Bridgestone had a 6 speed transmission.. 6 gallon fuel tank, rotary valve engine. It would start in any gear with primary kickstarting, it would start without a battery..
that was in the late 60s. Today, the top motorcycle manufacturer would have been Bridgestone except for one little thing. There was a longshoreman dock strike in the late 60s. Bridgestone put all its eggs in one basket. The ships were loaded with tens of thousands of Bridgestone motorcycles waiting to be unloaded. But the longshoreman strike lasted for months. Bridgestone missed the peak buying season, and they went bankrupt. Because of that longshoreman strike, Honda started their own assembly factory in Marysville Ohio, and Kawasaki opened up an assembly plant in Lincoln Nebraska so they would not be caught the next time there was a disruption in delivery at a critical time.
Anyway, my advice to anyone considering resurrecting a 350 Honda. If you just wanna look at it, go ahead, but if you expect to ride it, good luck. They have the reliability of a fire cracker. They’re only good for a short time
Honda sure sold a lot of these. Being a dirt bike rider at the time, I avoided the street scene till finished high school and bought a used CB400F. It felt like a much better quality bike than a friend's CB350. What was your experience with the Honda 4's?
This is not helpful to this business or this community. Why bother commenting?
what kind of business is negatively affected by a TH-cam video pointing out spacific defects of a problematic motorcycle engine from almost half a century ago?? The only kind of business I can think of that would be harmed by such a thing, is a business that is planning to sell a known defective vehicle to an unsuspecting buyer...the truth hurts ?? how could this information hurt anyone? if anything, it will save people considering resurrecting one of these poorly designed motorcycles a lot of money and effort.Many of the parts if not all of the parts are no longer made by Honda. Thanks to the Internet you can find NOS parts..That’s fine if you’re buying things like , heads, crankcases, pistons, rings, N0S parts are great -sometimes- but not always.
NOS parts like rubber seals/ o-rings / carb manifolds / airbox to carb tubes/ nylon parts like Swingarm bushings, clutch disengagement worm gears, cam chain tensioners,they get brittle, ozone attacks them, they don’t last long sitting on the shelf..Especially parts like diaphragms in CV carburetors which the CB 350 Honda twin has. Honda does not make diaphragms anymore. And new old stock ones that have been sitting on the shelf 40+ years,even though they are new, they will be brittle and will fail quickly if they don’t crumble in your hand as soon as you touch them from age..Petcocks leak when they’re new, 40 year old new petcocks are definitely going to leak even if they are unused..Let’s not forget the insulation on the stator windings..And then there’s all of those aluminum connectors for all the electric’s in the wire harness system corroding for all those years. The reliability /Conductivity was marginal when new..They are not like fine wine that improves with age..
These are things to think about with any old motorcycle or car. But to put the money and time into a machine with known fatal engine design flaws is not very smart.....It would be wiser to invest in fire crackers. At least you get a bang for your buck...
@@Jodyrides this business, Common Motor, has a philosophy that keeps these motorcycles, which were manufacturered en masse, on the road and out of landfills. Common Motor has supported ~50k customers with their parts, educational resources and technical support. Going to their video and directly responding to their free resource contributes nothing.
Nicole Buergers
That’s fine. Good luck to your cycle store/ shop..I’m happy for you.. that is a rough business to earn a living in if you are the owner. I have worked for four different dealerships over 17 years. All four of them went out of business after the Harley Davidson company convinced President Ronald Reagan To impose a 45% tariff on all imported motorcycles over 700 mL displacement.... I lost my job at 4 dealerships, four times because of the Harley tariff....here in the United States, over 1100 motorcycle shops/dealerships went out of business permanently due to that tariff. The average number of employees at those 1100 permanently closed motorcycle dealerships was seven, that’s almost 8000 people that lost their jobs because Harley Davidson convinced President Reagan that it was necessary to save the 600 jobs at the Harley Davidson factory....
statistically speaking, since I lost four jobs when four different dealerships went under, I wonder if that changes the overall count of job losses by four or by one. Interesting question.
It’s rough out there...In this country, the motorcycle business never recovered from those tariff years....
It’s unfortunate that my specific information pertaining only to the Honda CB 350 twins posted here on TH-cam has had such a perceived negative impact on your business??Is there a store? An actual brick and mortar location? or are you starting a virtual business venture where you get paid by the number of viewers you accumulate on TH-cam? Good luck with that too...
,have a nice day No matter what country you are located in.
you believe me, and i’ll believe you..
Applies to my W650 too.
I'm looking to purchase a series of maintenance pieces. I want to replace the intake manifolds, front disc brake pads, clutch cable, rear shocks (the heavy duty version you sell), exhaust gaskets (set), front fork gaskets & fork oil and now that I seen this video, I'll purchase those handlebar bushings as well. The bike is a 1975 Honda CB 200T
Hey John, message our support and we will get you hooked up with everything we currently have! I'd stay away from the heavy duty shocks with a CB200 unless you want a good back crack every time you hit a bump but we carry stock style replacements now for the shocks as well as ikons.
I had to put in a longer 10mm bolt.
I see you guys are based in Houston tx can parts be picked up or do they have to be shipped?
If you want to pick up parts locally message us through the website support to setup a time!
I have a 74 200cc. when I connect the wire from the coil to the points it no longer has power (points), and no spark. Ideas please....Thanx
Do not let the coil wire's terminal end touch the points metal terminal holder tab in any way. it will be grounded out, so no power and no spark.
9:01 "guys remember to tighten your nuts." Was there a joke intended here, maybe its just my dirty mind
Do the gas cap parts fit for a cb500four tank?
Yes! Can cap, latch, and seal. The later CB550F Supersport changed the design when they put the cap under the little hatch on the tank but the CB500 four-cylinder(also called the CB500K) will be identical for the cap.
Polish the chrome dude...you are forgetting that...
Blown away at the lack of care this dude has. Does he know people watch this?
305 dream cycle?
Not the right way to replace gas tank seal! Watch th-cam.com/video/58ODpbkGeWk/w-d-xo.html to see the pain you are suggesting we go through OR jump to 14.00 in and see how to SIMPLY remove central section to fit new seal to it. With new seal fitted push centre unit back into cap cover. Very easy.
Handlebar ground? Purpose?
i'm no expert, but i'll chime in on this question: i had 2 projects going on my bike at once: replacing the starter solenoid and replacing the handle bar bushings. in the process of replacing the bushing i broke off a mounting bolt and had to wait for a replacement. so i went back to the starter solenoid. got the new solenoid in, but then the bike wouldn't turn over!!! thought i hooked it up wrong but i didn't. long story short, because the ground wire to the handle bars was not reattached yet the push button starter switch did Not work! re-grounded the handlebars to the frame, then pushed the button again and the starter switch worked and it fired right up.
i guess that is to say: the handlebar ground wire makes the handlebars (which are otherwise insulated from the frame by the rubber bushings) part of the same Circuit as the frame of the bike itself. having no handle bar ground would mean any switches on the handlebars that are grounded to the bars would Not be grounded to the frame of the bike and back to the battery.. but for anyone reading this who doesn't believe me, disconnect that wire and then try to start the bike without it.
Their gasket doesn’t fit they messed my project up
Never, never, never! reposition your drum brake actuating arm! No! Never! More: That gas cap latch is a recall item, not OEM. Against inline fuel filters? Why? They are much more effective than the OEM screen. The petcock nipples need to be thread locked in. Exhaust gaskets affect performance? Huh? Good tips otherwise, especially the polyurethane handlebar rubbers.
hmmm... too late for me haha. already repositioned the drum brake arm. seems to work ok. but maybe what i really need is just new brake shoes?
Shame on any business that would withhold or suppress defect information meant to help enthusiasts looking for reviews of this motorcycle on TH-cam,...Helping them avoid money pits like these cb350 honda’s.. attempting to badger and Harass someone that has worked on these machines when they were new.Shame on the company that attempts to silence an experienced mechanic that has 1st hand information, someone that wants to “say something “about the design flaw with the camshafts in the cb 350..That is not a business model for prolonged success.
this is my final word/reply on this subject. I refuse to exchange replies with a bao yuan, that doesn’t know the difference between a dial-indicator, and a wrist pin clip..
I learned years ago that, the more you wrestle with a turd, the more shit you get on you
Too bad I have a 1981 750 f.. every one of them soon or later will leak from the petcock. And it's not rebuildable. Honda wants 200€