72HK1 For CJ

Well guys, here she is, just got it home, and she has some ISSUE'S. Apparently, it sat in a barn for decades and then was left exposed to the elements for around six months. When it was in the barn, something plastic caught on fire and dripped hot plastic on it. The seat has multiple burns from the dripping, but it's coming off the chrome and paint with my fingernail. The tailight lens got hot enough that it deformed a little. The flywheel was left off while it was stored and is corroded and it's, from what I can tell, a Mitsu. Clutch cable is locked up. All the chrome does have some surface rust. The gas tank and holder are gone. The seat foam is a little damp, but seems o.k. Exhaust is rusted out in the usual place.
The good news:
The flywheel cover is completely intact and unscraped. Handlebars are straight. No signs of ever being wrecked. Rubber is still on the brake handles. Tools in the kit look near mint, just vibration wear on a couple. Paint still looks really good, but a sign of rust in the lower wheelwell on both sides, in small spots. Throttle cable is free and still has the cap. Wiring is fully in tact.
That's all I've gotten for now, here's some pics.

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I'm thrilled about the tools.lol. The stator assembly could be a real bummer to fix.

Mileage is lower than he told me.
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I checked the tranny and I think it's 1dn3up. It feels incredibly tight. Barely move the shifter from 1st to 2nd and it's hard to find neutral. I spun the CS back and forth while doing this. The crank is not wanting to move. I think the combustion chamber is history. Probably find out tomorrow. Have to make some working room in my little shop. Looks like the Z50 may be staying in the house for awhile.lol
 
Im glad to hear you got it home. Looks like a good bike once you get the small things fixed. The front end and bars look great.
 
Thanks. There's one tiny scrape on the end of the right lever rubber, but other than that, the bars don't appear to be bent at all.
 
8mm spanner bar tool. Not much use for that on the trails,or any of them for that matter. I like to make up a real tool kit when I take a long haul on one of mine. The trans is 4 down for sure. Looks like a 100+ dollar tool kit you have. That could be sold to help fund the repairs to the engine.
 
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OLD CT said:
8mm spanner bar tool. Not much use for that on the trails. The trans is 4 down for sure. Looks like a 100+ dollar tool kit you have. That could be sold to help fund the repairs to the engine.
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What is the spanner bar used for on this bike? I'm not familiar with it. The trans feels like a 1dn3up, but it's definitely tight. I put the tools back into the bag carefully and now it wont fit back into the seat.lol. I really want to keep that tool kit.

I'm glad I kept this old beat, patched up swing arm. The complete wheel assembly is good and now I can actually move the bike around. It actually has a good 35 sprocket and slack adjusters.

This thing really looks like crap.lol
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BTW OLD CT, don't know for sure right now, but there may be a HK1 motor arriving in your mailbox. Hope it fits.;)
 
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Looks like someone welded in a piece on the swinger. Honda tool kits never interested me,like i said they are for show mostly and share your opinion,they are hard to get back under the seat once removed. I like to keep my reg and insurance card with a battery fuse in a plastic box that fits snug under my seat. Whats 8mm on these bikes? Not much lol..Figure $40 each way you buy the parts and it's a done deal cj. Told you along time ago i would hook you up,and keeping my promise.

I have a CLEAN older style,non boxed KO swinger in a rattle can green flavor if you need one.
 
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They(trash haulers years ago) did weld a piece on that swinger, a thick chunk of it.lol. The wheel assembly is in pretty good shape though and all the parts, spacers are there. The swingarm on the bike is in very good condition and its paint. It only has scratches on the bottom tips of the back where it's been dragged, other than that it's near mint. The coils on the rear shocks have some light surface rust. I think this thing sat out longer than 6months with the seat up. There are leaves inside the frame that started some rust on the body from the inside out. Got to get it stopped.
I'm definitely got you in mind for the motor, THANKS!!!
 
He he... it's funny how exited I am that YOU got that bike CJ, congrats. That wrench is for the valve adjustment/ rockers. That bike looks really good to me, I think you did very well. I can't imagine the trans has the wrong shift pattern tho. Pull the clutch cover and look at the shift star, that will tell you.
 
I was just messin' with it and OLD CT was right, it IS 4down. It was left in 4th and hadn't moved in awhile. I have found some scary stuff with the engine. The stator/flywheel system is history to exposure and it barely had any oil in it, but there was no water. Thanks for the tool info. I guess pulling the head is next, I'm afraid to.lol. I also looked at the #'s and it's the original motor.
 
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cjpayne said:
I was just messin' with it and OLD CT was right, it IS 4down. It was left in 4th and hadn't moved in awhile. I have found some scary stuff with the engine. The stator/flywheel system is history to exposure and it barely had any oil in it, but there was no water. Thanks for the tool info. I guess pulling the head is next, I'm afraid to.lol. I also looked at the #'s and it's the original motor.
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CJ its too bad you don't have a smart and handsome friend with a bunch of minibike parts who could help you with that stator problem :)


OLDCT I stand corrected. I thought that's what that tool was for. I wouldn't want to use it either. I hope I never have a need to use any of the tools from under my seat, lol. But that lil spanner must have a purpose. Otherwise I think Honda would have saved their money.
 
Took the head off. The intake was closed, but the exhaust was open and letting the flooded pipe have its way. Lots of mold. The piston is almost all the way to the top. It looks as though the exhaust valve was just about to close. I briefly took a wire wheel to the combustion chamber to check for pitting. I think I got to it JUST IN TIME.lol

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CJ you got a really nice bike ! It shouldnt take more than an hour or 2 to get the stator put on and timed right. Just make sure you clean the crank shaft really good before you put the flywheel and points back on.
 
bcuda said:
CJ you got a really nice bike ! It shouldnt take more than an hour or 2 to get the stator put on and timed right. Just make sure you clean the crank shaft really good before you put the flywheel and points back on.
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The taper on the crank is pretty clean, but the stator assembly is just gawdawful.
 
I agree with OLD CT, the stock toolkit leaves something to be desired and the same lack of enthusiasm over this item is shared, as well. I can understand the purist angle, too; thus, I'd mothball that nice original, it's an appreciating asset. I also wouldn't go out riding without a personally-assembled toolkit, either. Consider what you actually might need...the ability to R&R the plug, or a wheel (to fix a puncture), adjust the points and/or carb, and adjust chain tension. That doesn't require many tools. (Note that I specifically omitted adjusting valve lash. If your motor needs that during a ride, you've got other...possibly much bigger...issues to deal with). I would source another stock-type plug socket & screwdriver...that'll take care of the plug & axle nuts. The rest is pretty generic.

On a side note, for a non-stock rider, changing-over to allen head bolts makes life a lot easier. Allen wrenches don't take up much cubic real estate.

As for Honda saving money, yes that's a valid point...especially at OEM level, where pennies add-up to huge sums. Still, a lot of the items in these kits were used across a number of other models. They probably found it most efficient to just spec the same stuff and minimize the model-specific variations, as opposed to spec'ing multiple PN kits.

Don't get your giblets in an uproar over the condition of your engine. As long as the tranny is in good shape for the mileage, the rest is gravy. I suspect that the crank is fine. The entire upper end may be very rusty and the piston seized in the bore. Don't be deceived, this is one instance where it can look far worse than it actually is. There's a top end rebuild in your future, so what's a little (or even a lot of) rust going to do, beyond adding insult to injury?

You may recall photos I posted many moons ago, of a K0 with rusted-solid top end, cracked head casting and 7 teeth broken off of the kickstart pinion gear. The rest of the tranny was like new, as was the crank. A couple weeks later, the thing was rebuilt, with an 88cc kit and tested to 47mph (original carb & airbox in place, new OER muffler), with less than 50 miles under its belt. Total amount of extra cost, beyond a standard rebuild, was less than $140...the price of a good used head casting, new pinion gear and a "fast road" cam. Had the owner not cracked the head trying the beat the rusted headpipe free. Yours can't be that bad.

I would split the cases. No way it's worth taking anything for granted in the lower end. Anything that's not right should be corrected from the get-go, while it's still painless. If everything checks out, you'll have a perfectly clean/sludge-free lower end + new trans bearings (I'd replace `em both while the cases are bare & clean) and serious peace-of-mind. I mean, how many opportunities are there to get a mechanically-new lower end? Do the ounce of prevention thing now and enjoy the benefits for years to come.

Your rusty flywheel advance mechanism might be restorable. As I recall, the Mits assembly is pretty nicely made...and lends itself to teardown, de-rusting, cleaning, polishing, etc. There's also CDI coversion to consider, unless you're hardcore-dedicated to originality.
 
I wanted to check the speedo cable to see if it was broke and thought I'd take pics of the original cable routing of a HK1 for you guys. I already dismounted the headlight. The tag has not been rubbed, but the paint has. I guess it's which one you'd prefer. The cable were running on the inside of the engine guard.
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