2012 ish:
I started at the front and replaced the shot front fork tubes with new aftermarket ones by Frank's Forks. This also necessitated new progressive springs from Progressive Suspension which I picked up from the local Harley dealer. Seemed weird going there for Honda parts. Then it was new seals fresh oil and I had brand new front suspension.
I wish I had documented this because I don't remember what exactly I did and the body panel removal order/fasteners. I did have to make a tool to separate the fork tubes which consisted of welding a nut to a piece of allthread.
Next up was to fix the leaky cam plugs, a typical oil leak for these Honda engines. This involved further stripping her naked removing all the Tupperware (plastic body work). and that was about as far as I made it until March 2021.
March 2021:
Cam plugs were scary as the hydraulic valve lifters and their shim(s) come out when removing the valve cover. The "valve cover" is actually more like half the head because it contains the cam rockers and hydraulic lifter. By some miracle I didn't lose anything down into the crank case! I wasn't sure what to use for gasket goo so I went with my old standby "The Right Stuff" by Permatex. Seems to work for the task at hand.
April 2021:
Built a 4S2P LiFePO4 battery out of some high amp 26650 cells and a 50A Anderson type connector. This battery yields 300 cranking amps. I've had bad experiences with lithium starter batteries and cold weather so we'll see how it holds up this fall/winter. Lithium batteries really don't like cold.
With the oil leaks secured and a new battery, it was time to tackle the carbs next. They actually looked pretty clean inside so all I really did was replace the float needles/seats and all the little rubber hoses on the carbs, oh and new carb boots as the old ones were shot. Apparently the rubber dries out in the float needles when you let them sit for 8 or 9 years as they would not seal and the carbs overflowed on top of a nice hot engine.
Ordered some new ones and they solved that problem. Got the motor running finally, although I think the carbs need a little more tuning/synchronizing. The slide diaphragms while not torn were wavy which I don't believe is normal/good. May to July 2021:
Reworked the dash to include a voltage meter and an idiot light in case the voltage regulator goes south and the voltage goes sky high. Lithium Batteries DO NOT like to be over volted!!! That would really suck for the battery to go nuclear while I'm riding, especially since I'm basically sitting on it and it's right next to the gas tank.
July 2021:
Got the dash put together and reinstalled. I had broken the old dash with a hanging electric cord that swung into it which was the whole reason to rework the dash. Installed a new speedo cable because in my stupidity I let the old one fall out on the the concrete floor which proceeded to rust it. Now I finally had a "functional" bike!!
rode it a round the block a few times but with no head light it wasn't exactly a good idea. I picked up a headlight and other spare parts from Bores Cycle in Huron Ohio. They sell thru fleabay but allow local pick up and have reasonable prices on most things. Now except for my 14 year old tires from 2007 I was ready to ride. To my surprised they weren't really dry rotted and seemed to be in good shape. I usually freak out when my tires are half this age. However they seemed to be fine. I will ride very conservatively until next spring when I put new ones on since I know the rubber is harder and I have less grip. I will not ride on wet pavement with these tires!!!!
Voltage regulator gets too hot to touch!!! turns out the voltage regulator gets rid of excess current by shorting it to ground. I had put in a LED headlight and tail lights so there would be less draw on the system not knowing how this 1960's tech voltage regulator worked. One reason I added the voltage display is that the voltage regulator tends to fail on these bikes. Now I know why. So I upgraded to a modern MOSFET voltage regulator. It's quite a bit bigger but I was able to shoehorn it in and it only gets lukewarm to the touch.
August 2021
New Hydraulic lines, Cruise Control, 139dB Stebel Nautilus air horn, brake light flasher, body work maybe......
to be continued....
