I used to have one of these in the same colour. Bought it new in 1972. Loved that bike. The only problem I ever had with it was water in the carbs. Undid the drain screw at the bottom of each carb and it ran sweetly. Good luck with the restoration 😊
lol "cue temper tantrum" I can relate to the frustration. I like my motorcycles like toddlers like legos.... torn apart and scattered all over the floor.
I can relate to your frustration. I own a cb 175 as well. Not much of a mechanic either. So much opportunity to learn more though! Hang in there and good luck!
If a bike isnt running… it 90% of the time the carbs. Just keep working on it and step away every now and then.. i did many many times 😉. Love the honda! That yellow is so cool!
I just rebuilt the carbs and guess what…. it was totally the carbs 😂 I swear I am about to pull my hair out every other day over this little bike. It’s so fun to ride tho!
The oily residue around the front brake is prolly fork oil . Bike is running on one cylinder . Use some fine sand paper and clean up the points . Also as easily as it kicks you might want to check the valve adjustment . And if you don't have one a shop manual is a must ... These old Hondas are very simple to work on but patience is a must . They usually come back with not much work . Ya I can say that but I was once in your position not knowing much about them . Just keep a good attitude and don't get discouraged . Things will work out ...
Thank you! It is easily frustrating just knowing that the issue is right under my nose and probably something so simple. Whenever I diagnose a problem I often find my first instinct is usually the correct answer but I just didn't do enough digging.
I am waiting for my shorty mufflers now. I am making a 1981 CM400A "Hondamatic" into a scrambler. Can you post a longer vid of the bike (now with the shorty mufflers) in action?
Nice bike! Great progress so far!! I have 4 of these...and race two of them! :) They can be finicky...but relatively easy to get running well and are SO fun to rip around on. They need a fully charged battery to run well too...but it also sounds like it's running on one cylinder (I think someone else mentioned that too). Check your valve clearances (again)...and assuming you are running points, they have a "wasted spark", so both sides spark at the same time...BUT you should check both sides to make sure your plugs, wires, etc. are good (check the plugs to see if one is getting fouled from fuel/oil?). Chances are they are fine, but you never know. (Feeling the exhaust headers should have one hot/one cold(er) and that will tell you which side is not firing.) I would also guess your carbs are not synced... so that would be something else to check/fix Makes starting a whole lot easier and smoother running. If you are still not getting both cylinders to fire, you may want to check carb float heights and a good carb clean. Note, when kicking it over, rotate the the kick lever until you get some resistance, and then hard kick down. This way you are kicking on the "compression" stroke. Will be noticeable with a little practice. Curious why you're not using the electric starter?
I have the carbs off now and cleaned ready for reassembly and new rebuild kit. I haven't gotten around to messing with the electric starter since I got the bike with the electrical mostly not wired. I had to buy a headlight and front and rear blinkers and I still don't have a brake light. I did test the horn tho and it works haha. I'm definitely taking the advice and going back over the timing and valves once I get the carbs back on. I've found some good info on syncing the throttle and idle so hopefully I won't be pulling my hair out when the time comes. Thank you so much for the advice! I'll be referencing this comment later for sure lol!
I’m really enjoying seeing the progress on your project! In my case there always seems to be a string of curses to greet all the idiosyncrasies these lovely old bikes tend to have as well. That said, I’m not sure how much more free flowing your new exhaust system is by comparison to the last. The shorty mufflers I put on my bike required fiberglass packing and a change of jetting (on a 4 rack of CV carbs no less 💀), hopefully you can get yours sorted quicker than mine though 👏🏽
I have the same bike except in a blue UK model. Your bike is running on one cylinder, get it started again and keep it running for 10secs or so and feel both header pipes, one will be hot, the other won't, thats your side to investigate. If you have set the tappets correctly then your problem is either spark or fuel (lack of). Points should be fine if it runs on one side as its a shared spark. Remove the plug from the cylinder thats not firing, lay the plug on the head and start the bike, it should start a lot easier now. If the plug is sparking away then your problem is fuel. If its not sparking try a different plug, new plugs can be duff too. If still no spark then replace the plug cap and try again. I fou solve the spark then its carb time. You said fuel is leaking from the right carb, maybe thats the smoking gun, hopefully not literally! Float height off inverted carb body is 19mm and your air screws are approx 1 and a quarter turns out (to start with). Make sure you slides are synchronised in terms of lifting simultaneously and same height. Try this and see how you get on 🙂
This is great advice and I really appreciate it. It was definitely a fuel supply issue coming from the left carb. I have them cleaned and ready for reassembly now!
Super! Looking forward already to the next video. There is a great video on common motor on carb synch and that will be a great help. Best of luck & keep up the good work. :-)
Hey you need to put a pinch bolt on the rear brake arm to lock it on or some time soon when riding it it will fall off. look at the front brake arm where it goes on the shaft to see what i mean about the pinch bolt. love the vids later
Great video! I have a cb175 k7 I'm working on as well and had no clue (until now) how I was going to install shorties I bought years ago that have just been siting around. Quick question though... What tool did you use to attach the muffler to the exhaust? Looks like a riveter maybe?
@@LadyMotoBang Thanks, much appreciated! I actually went with clamps that worked out pretty well. I'm about to do an exhaust wrap as well. I'll share a link to a pic of my CB when I get a moment. Today was my first day of having a good running bike. Was super rewarding. Thanks for the help!
This is the definition of owning a vintage bike. I can feel the anger here for sure lol
I figured the footage was pretty funny AFTERWARDS so I should include it for entertainment and authenticity haha
You tryna say “rear wheel” really sent me 😂♥️. Hugs for your frustrations. More cussin’ should help. Iluhyooo!
I used to have one of these in the same colour. Bought it new in 1972. Loved that bike. The only problem I ever had with it was water in the carbs. Undid the drain screw at the bottom of each carb and it ran sweetly. Good luck with the restoration 😊
The joy of classic motorcycle ownership... it will be worth
Gotta love the classics!
lol "cue temper tantrum" I can relate to the frustration. I like my motorcycles like toddlers like legos.... torn apart and scattered all over the floor.
I can relate to your frustration. I own a cb 175 as well. Not much of a mechanic either. So much opportunity to learn more though! Hang in there and good luck!
It's coming along and I feel like a learn something new every time I work on it.
If a bike isnt running… it 90% of the time the carbs. Just keep working on it and step away every now and then.. i did many many times 😉. Love the honda! That yellow is so cool!
I just rebuilt the carbs and guess what…. it was totally the carbs 😂 I swear I am about to pull my hair out every other day over this little bike. It’s so fun to ride tho!
The oily residue around the front brake is prolly fork oil . Bike is running on one cylinder . Use some fine sand paper and clean up the points . Also as easily as it kicks you might want to check the valve adjustment . And if you don't have one a shop manual is a must ... These old Hondas are very simple to work on but patience is a must . They usually come back with not much work . Ya I can say that but I was once in your position not knowing much about them . Just keep a good attitude and don't get discouraged . Things will work out ...
Thank you! It is easily frustrating just knowing that the issue is right under my nose and probably something so simple. Whenever I diagnose a problem I often find my first instinct is usually the correct answer but I just didn't do enough digging.
I am waiting for my shorty mufflers now. I am making a 1981 CM400A "Hondamatic" into a scrambler. Can you post a longer vid of the bike (now with the shorty mufflers) in action?
Yes as soon as I get these carbs back on (I’m actually in the shed now working away). I’ll post a YT short with it running ASAP 👍 love the shortys!!
I just uploaded a short with the new mufflers on if you wanna check it out 😉
Nice bike! Great progress so far!! I have 4 of these...and race two of them! :) They can be finicky...but relatively easy to get running well and are SO fun to rip around on. They need a fully charged battery to run well too...but it also sounds like it's running on one cylinder (I think someone else mentioned that too). Check your valve clearances (again)...and assuming you are running points, they have a "wasted spark", so both sides spark at the same time...BUT you should check both sides to make sure your plugs, wires, etc. are good (check the plugs to see if one is getting fouled from fuel/oil?). Chances are they are fine, but you never know. (Feeling the exhaust headers should have one hot/one cold(er) and that will tell you which side is not firing.) I would also guess your carbs are not synced... so that would be something else to check/fix Makes starting a whole lot easier and smoother running. If you are still not getting both cylinders to fire, you may want to check carb float heights and a good carb clean. Note, when kicking it over, rotate the the kick lever until you get some resistance, and then hard kick down. This way you are kicking on the "compression" stroke. Will be noticeable with a little practice. Curious why you're not using the electric starter?
I have the carbs off now and cleaned ready for reassembly and new rebuild kit. I haven't gotten around to messing with the electric starter since I got the bike with the electrical mostly not wired. I had to buy a headlight and front and rear blinkers and I still don't have a brake light. I did test the horn tho and it works haha. I'm definitely taking the advice and going back over the timing and valves once I get the carbs back on. I've found some good info on syncing the throttle and idle so hopefully I won't be pulling my hair out when the time comes. Thank you so much for the advice! I'll be referencing this comment later for sure lol!
I’m really enjoying seeing the progress on your project! In my case there always seems to be a string of curses to greet all the idiosyncrasies these lovely old bikes tend to have as well.
That said, I’m not sure how much more free flowing your new exhaust system is by comparison to the last. The shorty mufflers I put on my bike required fiberglass packing and a change of jetting (on a 4 rack of CV carbs no less 💀), hopefully you can get yours sorted quicker than mine though 👏🏽
I've been wondering about the new mufflers effect on the flow as well. Hopefully I wont be chasing these gremlins for much longer!
I have the same bike except in a blue UK model. Your bike is running on one cylinder, get it started again and keep it running for 10secs or so and feel both header pipes, one will be hot, the other won't, thats your side to investigate. If you have set the tappets correctly then your problem is either spark or fuel (lack of). Points should be fine if it runs on one side as its a shared spark. Remove the plug from the cylinder thats not firing, lay the plug on the head and start the bike, it should start a lot easier now. If the plug is sparking away then your problem is fuel. If its not sparking try a different plug, new plugs can be duff too. If still no spark then replace the plug cap and try again. I fou solve the spark then its carb time. You said fuel is leaking from the right carb, maybe thats the smoking gun, hopefully not literally! Float height off inverted carb body is 19mm and your air screws are approx 1 and a quarter turns out (to start with). Make sure you slides are synchronised in terms of lifting simultaneously and same height. Try this and see how you get on 🙂
This is great advice and I really appreciate it. It was definitely a fuel supply issue coming from the left carb. I have them cleaned and ready for reassembly now!
Super! Looking forward already to the next video. There is a great video on common motor on carb synch and that will be a great help. Best of luck & keep up the good work. :-)
Hey you need to put a pinch bolt on the rear brake arm to lock it on or some time soon when riding it it will fall off.
look at the front brake arm where it goes on the shaft to see what i mean about the pinch bolt.
love the vids
later
Good eye, I had one bolt left in my parts dish and over looked it. Thank you!
Did you notice performance issues after installing the new mufflers? I just installed a set of Emgo shorty's and my performance went way down.
I have the same exact bike, what tires are those? I’m struggling to find tires that fit.
They’re Shinko 244 tires. Rear is 3.50-18 and front is 3.00-18
Great video! I have a cb175 k7 I'm working on as well and had no clue (until now) how I was going to install shorties I bought years ago that have just been siting around. Quick question though... What tool did you use to attach the muffler to the exhaust? Looks like a riveter maybe?
Hey! Sorry I took a while to reply. I used a little rivet gun I bought on Amazon.
Here’s exactly what I got www.amazon.com/dp/B08PP4M5ZG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
@@LadyMotoBang Thanks, much appreciated! I actually went with clamps that worked out pretty well. I'm about to do an exhaust wrap as well. I'll share a link to a pic of my CB when I get a moment. Today was my first day of having a good running bike. Was super rewarding. Thanks for the help!
Alright Alright Alright
Nice bike,,I have one too, they are temperamental 😂,,but fun to ride
Btw did you know there are 3 places to adjust the clutch?
Yes! Thanks to my handy dandy bike manual I think I got the clutch dialed in.
😥