A Very Cool Find in My Co-Worker's Garage - Caliper Oddity

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:30 am

genesound wrote:

I would have expected better results from the Pine-Sol. Hondo got very good results. He used 3 bottles of Pine-Sol to 1.5 bottles of water.

http://www.cb750c.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=9866

Hondo probably let them soak longer. I haven't physically touched them with a brush either, so more "mechanical" cleaning will probably yield even better results. I left the bodies in for 24 hours and used a similar Pine-Sol/water mix ratio. I compared these carbs to the ones from my 750F that were ultrasonically cleaned and I have to say that they're very comparable and actually a little nicer than the 750F carbs.

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 1:11 pm

Looks like this survivor is in good hands!

Nice work!

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 2:47 pm

Thanks. I'll be done with the carbs this weekend and they'll go back on. They look great and should be all set to get that baby running again. More pictures coming soon...

Tom

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 3:26 pm

tomk1960 wrote:

Thanks. I'll be done with the carbs this weekend and they'll go back on. They look great and should be all set to get that baby running again. More pictures coming soon...

Tom

Cool! Great work. Cool

Looking forward to seeing more pics of your progress. Very Happy

Dave

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 12:49 am

Genesound - you were dead nuts on with the S100 suggestion. That bike was covered with grime, dust, some grease, and a whole lot of dog hair. Today I rolled the bike out onto the driveway and sprayed it down with S100 and hosed it right off. I couldn't believe how fast everything came off! The bike still needs a lot of detailing and polishing, but it looks a thousand times better - the picture below doesn't really do it justice, but believe me, it is a LOT cleaner! I used a whole bottle and a third of the refill bottle. It was worth every penny. Thanks for the suggestion.

The carbs are totally cleaned up now and ready for reassembly. I ended up getting a bit carried away with the tops and bowls, which now look nicer than new. Pics of the completed carbs will be posted soon.

I plan to flush all the old brake fluid out of the lines and re-bleed them. If new seals are needed, I'll rebuild the calipers as well. Ironically, after sitting all these years, the front calipers work fine and don't drag. The rear brake drags, but that was no surprise. The bike was last registered in '91, so that tells you how long it's been off the road.

Anyone have a nice headlight chrome trim ring and a good right rear turn signal unit? Mine will have to be replaced.

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:02 am

Looking good, Tom, have your bars arrived yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:02 am

tomk1960 wrote:

Genesound - you were dead nuts on with the S100 suggestion.

Yep, glad you liked it. It's not cheap, but man, it works. Wink

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:42 am

Hi Rick,

No bars yet - did you ship them regular post office? If so, maybe they'll be here tomorrow. Can't wait to remove those ugly aftermarket things!

Tom

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 2:01 am

tomk1960 wrote:

Hi Rick,

No bars yet - did you ship them regular post office? If so, maybe they'll be here tomorrow. Can't wait to remove those ugly aftermarket things!

Tom

Fedex Ground brother. I'll PM you the tracking # (shoulda done that days ago, sorry). What a maroon I can be.

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:20 am

I have temporarily reached a roadblock with getting my 900F running. In the process of cleaning out the carbs, I discovered that the tip of the mixture screw for carb #1 (leftmost) is broken off and stuck in the hole. After trying various methods to knock it out, I had no luck. I doubt that it can be drilled out since it's less than 1/32" in diameter.

Has anyone had the same problem and successfully removed the broken tip? This is such a bummer since the carbs are otherwise clean and 80% reassembled.

If there's no way to get out the tip, my only recourse will be to get another carb body and replace the bad one. Does anyone have one they can sell? I don't need a whole set - just the #1 carb.

On a good note, Rick's OEM handlebars arrived yesterday and are already on the bike. It looks much better with the correct bars on.

Tom

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:01 am

The carbs are done. I was able to dislodge the broken tip from the mixture screw. Reassembly was otherwise a breeze with lots of checking and double-checking. I'm very happy with how the carbs came out.

Perhaps if I soaked them in the Pine-Sol for 2-3 days instead of one, the bodies would have come out even brighter, but they're good and clean. The pictures are a bit misleading.

I wet sanded the tops up to 1500 grit, then buffed with two different compounds and polished prior to clearcoating. Perhaps this is nothing new to many of you as I've seen some really nice carb pictures on here.

I buffed and polished the bowls as well for a nice finish:

The stock bars that Rick shipped me from New Mexico are a HELL of a lot nicer than the ugly aftermarket bars that were on the bike. I guess the originals were ruined when the previous owner tried towing the bike with a car and rope. The driver jerked forward too fast and the bars bent forward.

So some great advice came from a bunch of members here and I scored a nice set of bars in trade for some future powder coating.

The carbs will be back on the bike by the weekend and we'll see if she starts...then the washed/waxed tank and plastics can go back on.

Thanks everyone for all your advice and great support.

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:02 am

I had some spare time after work today, so I got the carbs back on without any issues and hooked up an aux fuel tank. After cranking and no catching, I checked a couple of bowls and realized no gas was getting to the carbs. I suspected the automatic petcock, so I bypassed it and tried again. She fired right up! I guess I'll have to take it apart and see what's clogging it up. It was great to finally hear the bike run.

Hopefully I'll get those carbs properly adjusted and sync'd this weekend. A little brake work and then she should be ready to ride.

I'll have some new pics of the bike soon when it's all back together nice and clean.

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:09 pm

Good for you Tom! Many of us just bypass the valve altogether, and just use the petcock as a shutoff. You're making great progress, I wish I could say the same with my 1100. Confused

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:16 pm

Hey Rick,

Yeah, - I know a lot of people just bypass that altogether. I'm sort of a stickler for keeping my old bikes as original as possible, but I won't waste money or a lot of time on this thing if I can't fix it quickly. I want to get the carbs properly adjusted and sync'd, get the brakes squared away, and then take it and RIDE!

If you bypass that automatic petcock, what do you use to plug that vacuum tube on carb #2? A short piece of tubing with a bolt in it?

Tom

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:22 pm

You should be able to get a nice rubber plug at like Auto Zone, or the likes. But a bolt in the end of a hose also works fine to plug that vacuum port.

Just ditch that valve, they suck. Just remember to turn the petcock off when the bike is parked.

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 5:13 pm

Sounds like a good idea. There's an AutoZone right up the street from where I work. I'll stop by on the way home and see what they have. No sense in wasting time on a troublesome item that isn't needed.

Thanks!

Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 12:43 am

There are also black caps that fit nicely over this line at the auto stores, that's what I use... Carb gauges and adjusting tool scheduled to arrive on Monday, hopefully this will help me get the 1100 running well, it'll be about time!

Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 3:21 am

Hey Rick,

I ended up getting a plug at NAPA that fit perfectly. That pesky valve is off the carbs now and the bike sounds awesome. I have some more adjusting to do before the tank can go back on, but that should be all set by Sunday.

Good luck with your bike. You'll be riding in no time!

Tom

Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 3:36 am

tomk1960 wrote:

Hey Rick,

I ended up getting a plug at NAPA that fit perfectly. That pesky valve is off the carbs now and the bike sounds awesome. I have some more adjusting to do before the tank can go back on, but that should be all set by Sunday.

Good luck with your bike. You'll be riding in no time!

Tom

I hope so, Tom, I've had it since Nov, and have put really no meaningful miles on it, except to get it home, and test ride after several sessions of head-scratching and thinking "Let's try this next, and see if it gets better...". Getting a little frustrating. Sure am glad the 900 is running well, though!

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 2:36 am

This is a first for me. As expected, the rear caliper on this bike was dragging and needed to be cleaned and rebuilt. I popped the pistons and pulled it off after work today only to find the most well-preserved caliper that I've ever seen on a bike this old. Even though this bike has been sitting in a garage and hasn't been ridden since 1991, the pistons were in almost pristine condition. There was some slight discoloration where the tips poked out of the bores, but no rust, no pitting. The bleeder was still shiny like new and the slider was in excellent shape. The paint on the caliper itself is practically like new. The thing that's most peculiar about this is the brake fluid. It hasn't been changed in at least 20 years, but wasn't brown like most DOT3 brake fluid gets after just a few years.

The storage conditions must have been perfect.