***What is the best coarse of action to get the engine into healthier status?? What would be the first, most important thing to check?? And after that? I am thinking to change the oil. I've never taken apart an engine. What sort of maintenance on the carb. This bike hasn't been sitting for to long but I'd like to make it better.
What other bikes do you have? Have any pictures? U can post it on here that's cool with me. Or tell me where to see them
Its hard to believe you guys can take a frame and build the complete bike, or take an old rusty one and make it look brand new. It blows my mind. And thanks for all the advice and recommendations, and know how! Its fun to be learning from the best!
-Richard
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I kinda like the look of whitewalls on these little bikes, non-matching hubs & rims...not so much. The contrast makes the hubs appear ungainly, imo, which is not the opinion that matters.
A proper carb rebuild should be obvious, the brass parts & adjusting screws will all be clean & still shiny. If not, order a rebuild kit from dratv. Note the number stamped on your existing main jet. The kits come with #65 but, that is too big for some. Keihin main jets are readily available; in a pinch, they can usually be reused.
IMO, the most arduous & time-consuming part of an engine rebuild is the cleaning. It's messy, slow going and has to be tackled in stages, to do the job properly. Beyond that, there are a few specialized skills, little "tricks" that one must master to do the R&R. You'll also need to source a proper impact driver with JIS bits and a spanner socket, a.k.a. clutch nut tool. Plan on replacing the case screws, as well as the oil spinner & stator screws...though I'd strongly recommend substituting allen heads for those last two applications. But, splitting the cases may be unnecessary.
Getting the engine to make full power only requires dealing with the top end. At most, an overbore and a valve job will restore full compression. The lower end needs to contain the power. Inspect the intake port; if it's not clean, the intake valve is leaking a common malady. If the big end of the connecting rod is worn beyond spec, you'd know it by now...rod knock. However, it may be near the wear limit. The time to check is while the top end is on the bench. The other issue is shift fork condition. If there's more than 2K miles on the bike, I'd want to inspect them. Most of these bikes received minimal maintenance (if any) and were ridden hard, thus premature wear is common. If you're thinking longterm, then a solid lower end (healthy shift forks and a crankshaft assembly that's well within spec) and squeaky-clean internals are cheap insurance. With proper maintenance, going forward, a fresh lower end should remain solid well into 5-digit mileage.
It'd probably make sense to farm out a head rebuild and cylinder overbore...if either of these are needed and they may not be. You could always source an 88cc kit (52mm cylinder & piston kit) instead, cost is roughly the same, either way. The rest is just teardown, cleaning and reassembly. I've deliberately omitted crankshaft rebuilding/replacement; most are okay, as-is. No need getting into that can of worms unless it's really necessary.
b52bombardier1 said:
Sometimes I think I'd rather be restoring old cars but they are a lot more expensive and take up way more space. Restoring bikes can be done on a budget and I like the conversations that these bikes start anytime I pull into a parking lot with a few people around.
Probably the worst aspect of redoing an old bike is that it is a somewhat solitary hobby. But then . . . that's where places like LiLHonda.com help out. You are my helpers.
Rick
I was into cars for close to 40 years. The garage floor just keeps getting harder, colder, and
lower. Trust me, small bike engines, frames and rolling chassis are somewhat easier to lift onto a workbench...not to mention the reduced acreage requirement.:19:
As for the solitary aspect, I don't see much of a difference. Restoring an automotive front end, rebuilding a V8, body & paint work, media blasting chassis parts & miscellaneous bracketry, etc are closer to war-of-attrition/Zen exercises than social activities. The skills and processes have a great deal of overlap. The differences are in size, weight and total cash outlay.
