Holy cow! I'm closing in on two years of having the 200, 4 days away. This blog has gotten reeeeeally dusty. I'm getting kind of tired of Facebook, so maybe it's time to pick up again.  Oh, and I also got another bike, so I should have plenty to blog about.

I'll post an update soon!

It's been a while, but progress none the less!

So, with bike weather around the corner I started getting the itch to get the bike moving forward (no pun intended). 

I took it out of the shed and gave it the once-over. A little flash rusting on the tailpipes, expected. Battery dead, expected. Tires both flat, expec... what the hell? I replaced BOTH of them, plus the bands, plus the tubes, why in the world are they flat already? Well, I pumped them both back up and  checked the valve stems. They both seemed looser than they should be so I tightened them up, we'll see if that helps them hold air.

I met up with some friends locally and trailered the bike to the auto body shop it was being held at. It's a bit chilly out so a nice clean shop with a tornado heater is an excellent place to sit, have a few beers, bullshit and work on the bikes.  Mine was the first one to show, looking all cute then Mark rolls in making mine look like some dork with horn rimmed glasses. His is the white one in the background, obviously.

After a bit we start looking at my bike, walking around it, accessing it, seeing what needs to be done. My top two picks were fixing the kickstarter and getting the carbs working well.  It was obvious that we weren't going to be able to get a ton done because come to find out in order to replace the kickstart shaft we'll have to split the engine case. Much too big a job for this time of night. So, we turned our attention to the electric starter which was also failing.

Mark said that there were bearings in the stator that are pushed out by springs and if the springs get too worn or the bearings to slick they won't grab the generator, causing it not to start. So, off with the cover:

Next he removed the stator and we all just took a peek at what was going on:

After it was back in and the bearings roughened up she started right up! I was shocked! Granted, she wouldn't stay running but given what I knew about the carbs I wasn't shocked by that. So, back on the trailer and back in the shed until the following weekend.

Next up, time to fix that leaking petcock. I needed to get to the local parts shop quick. Like, they're closing in 30 minutes quick. I pulled the tank and poured the fresh gas into a bucket, that's when I saw.... this.

The tank was obviously rusting inside, the old sealant wasnt doing it's job and there was so much sediment in the gas there was no way the petcock would let gas pass for much longer and what it did let through, the carbs would choke on. This isnt good at all.

I took the petcock apart and noticed a LOT of buildup inside the primary feed tube. Cleaned it all out, replaced the gasket behind the lever, cleaned out the bowl, everything I could. I also used green Loc-Tite on the one brass tube that was falling out when I pulled the gas lines off. So, while I haven't tested it, it should be working pretty well.

While I was out buying the gasket for the petcock, the local shop had an extra POR15 tank sealant kit they let me have for $25. That's fifty percent off! I took that and headed home. I took the tank to the car wash and hit it with the pressure washer. A lot of sediment came out and I also noticed little pieces of the old Kreem tank sealant coming out. This is going to be a problem. The pressure washer at the car wash wasnt doing the job so I took it to my parents' house and hit it with the gas powered pressure washer. This time a lot of the sealant came out along with rust and chunks of garbage. After getting it home I used a wire hanger to grab any of the old sealant I could get to through the gas filler hole. You can see some of what I removed here. Notice the large piece is the same shape as the side of my gas tank. Also, notice how much rust is on the back of the sealant.

Another step in the process involved different chemicals and then thoroughly drying it. So, I rigged up a heater and a box to funnel the hot air into the tank making it bone dry throughout the day.

After pouring in the sealant, I used the same idea with a fan (no heat) and a plastic bag as the funnel.

I have to wait at least 96 hours before filling the tank, so, we'll see you then!

New shoes! (itty bitty shoes)

I decided to get the rear tire out of the bedroom and get it slapped on the bike. The front wheel went smoothly enough but I had never taken a rear wheel off a bike so it took a bit longer and I had a few more parts to keep track of. I was able to get it on and off with minimal mechanical knowhow so I would think anyone glancing at this should be able to do it too. I woul have liked to swap out the wheel bearings as well, but didnt think to buy them before hand. Maybe this winter...

Well, one minor disaster was I had the bike on the center stand, which I'm not really familair with using as my last bike didnt have one. I removed the tire, had the new one put on and balanced, came back to the bike. Had my daughter roll it back under the rear fender as I lifted the bike for clearance. I think I could have snaked it in myself without lifting it now that I think about it. Anyhow, the bike lurched forward, the rear of the bike crashed to the ground resting on the tailpipes. Luckily the bike isnt toooo heavy and I was able to lift the bike to waist height and kick the centerstand back down. After that, it was pretty smoothe sailing.

Wheel coming out. Chain off, chain adjusters coming off, etc.

Daughter snapped a shot of the removal.

Here she is, new shoes front and rear. Ignore the dual handlebars. Installing

the clubmans will be the next project... I think.  I left the chainguard off as

part of my slimming down.

What the heck are you thinking?

As you read read this blog, you may wonder what my end goal for this bike is. Well, that's a tricky question. Right now I'd be happy with more or less as it sits, just capable of being a daily driver. Of course, I have to have a long term goal. A muse of sorts.  There are a few that fit that bill, all of them reduced of anything that can be taken off that I can live without. Minimizing all turn signals, brake lights, mirrors etc. Also, it'll surely consist of a full fledged cafe seat and rear. Once those are in place, possibly before, I'll also have to figure out how to change the clutch/shifter into a rear-set configuration. Not the most comfy or safe combination of parts but considering this bike is going to be more form over function, that's just the price of admission.

Anyhow, here's a few pics of things I like, just to give you an idea:

A little seat time...

Well, this will not do. The thing looks like crap and unfortunatly it was so rusted I had to cut the strap that goes across it. I'll be wrapping this project up tonight. Stay tuned!

So it begins....

Initially I pretty much resigned to not ride bikes anymore. No, I didn't have any horrific crash, no near death experiences or anything that life changing.... I just have a bum back. Technically it's a deteriorated disk at the L5-S1 that causes a lot of problems and a slightly bulging one just north of that. So, sitting on a cruiser bike, bobbing up and down with my spine vertical compresses the bad stuff and I feel like someone is pushing a bowling ball through my lower back. I keep threatening myself with an eventual spinal fusion, and I think that day is getting closer by the year, but for now I thought that possibly leaning over on a bike, taking the vertical stress off of it would help. So, here we are.

I start the usual searches that a poor man performs; Craigslist, maximum price of $500, local buys only. I come a cross tons of basket cases, plenty of rice rockets with no titles, tons of dirtbikes, then I find a gem.

74 CB200, looks decent, new pistons and rings, loss of compression at high speed (hah, high speed...), hasn't been run in a few years. I find this around noonish, one day after it was posted. I email, get a reply, then call, then after I make it home call again, then I finally hit the owner's house around 9:30pm.

I roll up in the driveway and two men are standing at the bike in the garage, looking it over, almost like they had never seen it before. One is the owner, the other is the neighbor. I introduce myself, we small talk, he shows me all the misc items that come with the bike, then we talk bike. The neighbor actually has two bikes of his own, an older BMW and a huge Harley bagger. We get the bike loaded on the truck, the owner says he'll miss the little bike and to swing back by sometime and visit with it... and that's what I plan to do.

Fast forward a week or so, I start tearing into the bike as best I can, get some help from my buddy Scott, start trolling Ebay for parts, completely drain Google Images of everything CB200 related. Over that course of time I:

Drain the old gas from the tank. I'm pretty sure this is not a good color:

I tried to run it with new gas, it fired for a bit and got me down the road, then died. Scott helped me adjust the carbs, diagnose bad plug wire caps, adjust the points, few other odds and ends. Fired up again and ran! We both drove it down the road but then the rear tire pancaked and that was the end of that.

The kick starter is broken at the shaft, so I ordered a used one:

Tires, neither holding air, ordered new tires, tubes and bands:

Can't get a good spark with the old caps, went to Hager and got a pair:

Ok, that's enough for now, will continue soon....