1982 CT 110 purchase/Full Monty Rehab 2.0

I just went thru the clutch on my used '71 I recently bought.The test ride showed the clutch worked fine but wanted to do the check while changing the oil and filter screen.
The fiber discs must have been replaced at some point due to the material still on the discs.
I ordered new Vesrah plates from Amazon.Thanks to the Common Motor video assembly was easy.

Some hack used a chisel to remove the clutch nut so I ordered a new one along withe lock washer.
 
Last edited:
Curious if you loosened the clutch adjusting mechanism before disassembly or before reassembly or not at all? I didn’t see or read any tips to do so until after I had finished but the reassembly went smoothly without any undue force needed.
 
New correct gasket kit and OEM counter sprocket from DrAtv arrived the last several days. The machining fit and finish of the counter sprocket was excellent Honda quality and the reinstall went smoothly. Used the new right side gasket and got it all sealed and buttoned back together, hopefully for the final time. Left side case pictures I had taken during assembly showed the gasket installed was not the same as included in the newer gasket kit so I unscrewed that side and did a gasket swap just for the peace of mind. I enjoy the innards and installation of the sub tranny because I use it so much in my trail riding and I’m always amazed at what it allows me to accomplish on the terrain I encounter. Decided to remove the carb and air filter assembly as a unit to facilitate reconnecting the stator wire bundle back into the wiring harness and that made for a much easier task than the disconnect and fighting the carb. Finally found the perfect way to connect those aggravating carb bowl drain nipples to the impossibly small drain hoses. I’ve tried clamps, zip ties, not installing them at all and, in an inspired moment, I picked up a paper clip and fabricated the perfect twisted securement for it. Granted it’s not an earth shaking discovery but at the end of a good day of kneeling on cold concrete everybody deserves an “Aha” moment. This morning I’ll finish a few more details to make it crank worthy and then test the clutch and transmission for correct behaviors and the sub tranny function, test the stator for making the blue sparky stuff and if all is well then install the chain and finish the rear wheel area. Front end is next.
 
Yesterday I had the assembly far enough along to get it cranked and make that Honda purr we all look forward to hearing after semi major work. First thing I noticed was the headlight was working but that was it. After a few “Oh Heck” s I noticed the rectifier was still zip tied out of the way and soon as I properly mounted it with the necessary grounding all was good. Well, almost all, the neutral safety blinks in synch with the turn signals. Something is hunting for a ground? Ran through the gears and swapped the Lo/Hi positions and no noises so that was good not to hear. Put on the chain and was spinning the rear wheel by hand and it had more resistance than normal. After several missteps I discovered the rear brake was engaged but could be released by pushing down the brake pedal. That got chuckle from me but I’d be darned if I could spot anything to cause that to happen. Pulled it off this morning and everything looked good so I put it back together without changing anything. I think I know what caused it was some combination of all the partial assemblies had the actuator pushed back and it was doing a cam reversal that had the brake pads spread open just enough to cause the drag. Whatever it was is gone now that it’s all assembled correctly. I had ordered the DrAtv shocks he has on sale and should get them Sat morning so I removed the shock tubes this afternoon and they came out easy. Going to pull them apart and see what their problem is before ordering a kit to rebuild. I think it might be more than a leaky seal since the primary source seems to be at the bottom. Not familiar enough with them yet to do anything but guess as to the cause. I think all the parts required to be swapped over to the new set are serviceable and I hope this to be a rather simple swap job, at least that’s my illusion right now.
 
"...that was good not to hear."

A perfect way to encapsulate the sentiment of firing up a bike after being in the engine.

Glad to hear it's all working out!
 
IMG_6052.jpeg
The planned swapping of the original shocks for the new ones today got delayed by UPS til Monday. I pulled the two old ones apart and managed to damage one in the process of dissembling it. Stupid mistake on my part. One of the shocks was leaking through the #3 ? JIS screw at the very bottom of the tube. It secures the variable fluid regulator cone that the center rod descends on to limit the amount of fluid being used to dampen shock movement. I thought Allen head screws were used in this spot but this one did not. A wild guess as to there might be a washer of some type helping to seal this hole but it needed to come out because the leak needs fixing. Tried yesterday for a while to remove it but the cones just spun and the normal methods of pressure to stop that just didn’t work. I put it aside because I don’t need it rebuilt now. Did the second shock as I’d done the first early today. Used the same 1/4” drive impact and equally amounts of pressure and the JIS bit cleaned the screw head of any semblance of a screw and the center part looked like a very, very small cereal bowl instead. About one second of impact trigger and as much of my 155#s laying on top of it as I could manage did not turn out well at all for that “used to be” screw. There are both in the spares box for now. Worked a bit on the fuel leak and decided to get new correct sized hoses and move the fuel filters in inside of the frame so I don’t have such tight bends in the lines trying to accommodate them when they’re close to the carb.
Took the ‘76 CT 90 out for a sunny warm spin and thoroughly enjoyed riding instead of wrenching for a while. It was a fun project and it’s been a hoot to ride but I’m probably going to trim the fleet in the next couple of months and sell it. Its purpose was to be a project and it has fulfilled that role with pride. The 110 is in the same position but on a different calendar and will be one of one instead of one of two bikes. First World problem.
 
Rutabaga said:
Curious if you loosened the clutch adjusting mechanism before disassembly or before reassembly or not at all? I didn’t see or read any tips to do so until after I had finished but the reassembly went smoothly without any undue force needed.
Click to expand...
I assembled the clutch cover yesterday without disassembling the adjuster.After assembly I did a dry shift and the gears engaged.I will do a final adjustment later.
 
IMG_6078.jpeg These are the DrAtv shock package I got the other day and installed them today. Moved all the required swap parts to the new ones and buttoned them up. IMG_6082.jpeg
IMG_6084.jpeg That was money and time well spent considering the path ahead to try and fix the old leaky one with bottom issues.
Then I fired it up and went 1/2 block and back to the house to give any major failures on my part to be apparent with out too much risk. Later I went for about a six mile run on my normal testing route and eased up to 45mph late in the run. Several findings and impressions; the brakes were not anywhere near proper adjustment, Hi/Lo beam bulb out, turn signal very hard to see in sunlight and same with neutral safety. The shifting pressure required seemed greater especially at first( had on tennis shoes which is not my normal footwear) so trying it next with boots will be a fairer comparison. My first impression of the new “heavy duty shocks” is they are too heavy duty for pavement and my likings. Trail ride tomorrow will be a better test of them. I notice a difference in the power from the 110 and 90 during short shifting and acceleration. I wish it had a trip meter, the 90 does and I find it useful in the woods. I think just cleaning the speedometer glass on the inside and the bulbs themselves may be good until I can take a look at other bulbs, LED maybe.
At this point I am very confident it is ready for my Az motorcycle upgrade practical test. Will schedule that soon.
Soooo, I think I’ll call this project a wrap as of today and put some trail miles on it so any minor or major items can be noticed where it counts.
IMG_6085.jpeg IMG_6087.jpeg
Left picture is this project, 1982 CT110, and the right picture is( on the left side) my first Full Monty rehab a 1976 CT 90 and to its right is the current Full Monty rehab, a 1982 CT 110. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all who have offered advice, made suggestions or viewed.
It’s been a pleasure. Thanks for ride.
 
Rutabaga said:
View attachment 86688 These are the DrAtv shock package I got the other day and installed them today. Moved all the required swap parts to the new ones and buttoned them up. View attachment 86689
View attachment 86691 That was money and time well spent considering the path ahead to try and fix the old leaky one with bottom issues.
Then I fired it up and went 1/2 block and back to the house to give any major failures on my part to be apparent with out too much risk. Later I went for about a six mile run on my normal testing route and eased up to 45mph late in the run. Several findings and impressions; the brakes were not anywhere near proper adjustment, Hi/Lo beam bulb out, turn signal very hard to see in sunlight and same with neutral safety. The shifting pressure required seemed greater especially at first( had on tennis shoes which is not my normal footwear) so trying it next with boots will be a fairer comparison. My first impression of the new “heavy duty shocks” is they are too heavy duty for pavement and my likings. Trail ride tomorrow will be a better test of them. I notice a difference in the power from the 110 and 90 during short shifting and acceleration. I wish it had a trip meter, the 90 does and I find it useful in the woods. I think just cleaning the speedometer glass on the inside and the bulbs themselves may be good until I can take a look at other bulbs, LED maybe.
At this point I am very confident it is ready for my Az motorcycle upgrade practical test. Will schedule that soon.
Soooo, I think I’ll call this project a wrap as of today and put some trail miles on it so any minor or major items can be noticed where it counts.
View attachment 86690 View attachment 86692
Left picture is this project, 1982 CT110, and the right picture is( on the left side) my first Full Monty rehab a 1976 CT 90 and to its right is the current Full Monty rehab, a 1982 CT 110. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all who have offered advice, made suggestions or viewed.
It’s been a pleasure. Thanks for ride.
Click to expand...
Great build! I never realized just how many stylistic changes they made between the 90 and the 110. The 110 is definitely a looker.

If you're interested in more experimentation it would be interesting to see how those forks work on only one spring (inner or outer). Just outer would be the stock spring rate, i have no idea what's inside though. You can also tune the spring rate a bit using the oil level in the forks. More oil leaves less air and less air acts as a stiffer spring under compression (just don't go to high or you'll hydraulically bottom). It might be a good option for slightly stiffer than stock but not what you're at now.

Looking forward to the ride report!
 
Took the 110 out for some trail riding Thursday to test the new components and enjoy my new ride. Went up to my favorite area on Mt Mingus(7000’) and rode for twenty miles on Forest Service roads that are familiar to me. New heavy duty front shock are more friendly on a dirt road than pavement and since that’s where I ride mainly they will be fine. However the heavy duty clutch springs are (IMHO) ludicrously stiff and unusable in my application. Shifting a Honda CT 110 should not be that difficult a task and my 90 certainly has me spoiled in that regard. I need the shifting, which I do plenty of on the terrain I ride at very slow speeds, to be seamless, effortless and predictable. Yes, the adjustment was correct, checked and rechecked. Yesterday I pulled the right side cover and went through all the clutch mechanisms on the external of the actual clutch. All move smoothly with no binding, everything is secure and it shifts easily and with normal pressure on the shift pedal until I reconnect the pressure plate actuating parts. Then the problem returns. I am going to remove the heavy duty springs and reinstall the longer ones. IMG_5984.jpeg IMG_5985.jpeg
They appear to be less stout and were what I initially experienced when I bought the bike. If it had required that much effort to shift on the first ride I would have walked away from the sale with the impression it had transmission problems. Another red flag is the incredible amount of disc fibers I found on the oil filter screen with just 25 miles of use on the new clutch. The filter was coated with what appeared to be a blanket debris.This is the debris on top of a dime.
1770426802079.jpeg
Looked like a dog with mange had been sleeping on the filter. Finding that was well worth the effort to remove the side cover and an incentive to make it a regular routine. I expect that amount will decrease considerably with a spring change. Should know later today if the other spring installation gets the desired results.
 
Saturday is National Remove the Clutch Day, right? It was when I was growing up in a rural area and so today I honored that tradition and did it proud. Pulled the clutch out(again) and totally dissembled on the bench. All looked peachy and correct. Wiped out a little trash sling off the interior parts, inspected metal and fiber plates and saw nothing to write home about. Brought up the video by Motonexus and started to assemble with the other set of springs, 24mm, and I could tell right away the pressure was less when it came time for the locking ring. Reassembly went fine and before putting the final touches on or starting I tried a shift and it was back to an easy shift pressure. Took it out for a spin in the neighborhood stopping every block for a few miles. Even with tennis shoes on I could handle the pressure no problem. Gotta a barely 25 mile set of new Heavy Duty clutch springs that are going to be re-homed pronto. Now the DMV test won’t cost me a toe amputation.
 
You know with a clutch leaver heavier springs aren't a problem as you slip the clutch the same no matter the pressure, but I can see how it would greatly effect the smoothness of shifting a semi-auto. Always seems like you've got to do the job twice right? sometimes 3 or more times.

I'm sure those heavy springs we're good for wheelies though, did you get a chance to try? ;)
 
Back
Top