Measuring O-Rings

[AshimotoK0]

Ken .. I noticed on the CB250/350k models that the countershaft was sold with bearing fitted and O ring. Dunno why that should be. Maybe dealers fooked up the bearing removing/fitting. But the combined part was only available after the early K0 model.

[Oddjob]

Same with the 500 Ash, countershaft comes with bearing and the oring. Bought one for my complete nos gearbox

[Trigger]

LMFAO. For dinner, something bitter by the sound of it.

After doing some calculations I can adjust my proposed prices downwards once more. These are for the exact size required, not close, not yeah, I think that'll do the job, made in Nitrile specially for me or Viton when it's required. Which neither of these 2 sets are.

8 tappet cover orings £4 inc P&P. If you can get a lower price than that I can guarantee they are not the exact size that Honda said was required. If you want a close fit I can do those as well, a LOT cheaper. I'll do sets of 12 as well if you want to replace the inlet manifold ones at the same time for an extra £2.
Oil pump kit, all 5 rings, £7 inc P&P.
Crankcase plug Orings, all 4 £5 inc P&P.

I'll also be expanding my range, I'll be doing carb kits for the 500/550 in Viton, all exact sizes, all rings specially manufactured by the UKs leading oring supplier, not 100% sure on the price yet but significantly cheaper than any competition at present Ebay prices.

I may expand into the 400 and 750 markets if these sell well.

I also plan to see if I can sell every oring used on the 500/550, a one stop shop for orings, may even expand into oil seals as well. As soon as these are manufactured for me (and there is a lead time stated by the manufacturer) I'll let members know

Good luck with your sells.
Not a bad price as, you are not paying, income tax, business rates, national insurance, account fees, ebay fees, business lawyers, and all the other little expenses.

Are all the o'rings you are selling to the correct Honda sizes and Honda specifications ?

[Oddjob]

I no longer pay income tax as my earnings are well below my tax free allowance, just have the state pension to fall back on as I took all my pensions in cash so I could still earn part time if I wanted.

You don't pay National Insurance over 66 in the UK, so that's not an expense.

My home is my registered business address and I own that outright. Not selling on Ebay at present but I expect I'll increase the price on Ebay to cover them off. Account fees aren't a problem either, I have a good friend who's an auditor who does my accounts for me for free, a lot simpler since I retired. I still have a limited company from when I was self employed as an agency driver.

Correct sizes, yes. As far as you can go that is, some rings aren't listed or shown and some sizes aren't complete. I've found you cannot measure an old oring as it's so distorted by the pressure it bears little resemblance to a new ring of the correct size. I bought a NOS gasket kit for a 500 carb just to measure the rings when new, when I compared them to the actual sizes listed in the parts book I was gratified to see I was extremely close to the actual sizes listed, 0.01 in some cases. If you look at the pic of the inlet manifold, even the correct ring doesn't fill the whole of the groove, that's because it sits proud of the groove (if it's the right size that is) this then needs space for it to crush into. I suspect that when the size was being determined the volume of the groove was calculated and the ring was specced so it didn't exceed this volume. A 31 x 3mm ring is over 5% smaller in volume than the correct 30.8 x 3.2mm ring, that means it will stop sealing a lot quicker as the ring is slowly crushed over time to fill the space it sits in. Hence why whenever you remove a tappet cover that's been on a long time you need to use a stanley blade to get them out they are so tight in there, plus they are flat as hell, very little sealing quality left.

As for Honda specs, not really possible as stuff like carb orings need to be Viton these days and they weren't back in the 70s. Other than that, as close as I can get them.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Unless your Missus has an occupational pension or is paying tax don't forget to claim married tax allowance to whoever might or is paying income tax. HMRC will refund you the current tax year and go back for the previous two tax years as well.

[Oddjob]

I did consider giving my missus part of my tax allowance Ted but that would make earning any part time money as an agency driver paying base rate. Didn't fancy that TBH.

[AshimotoK0]

You got me thinking Ken. Where are the part numbers for the complete gasket sets listed? You don't see them in parts books AFAIK.  Dont forget also that you can earn £1k in eBay sales before it's deemed as taxable. At least I believe that is the case. Mick Taylor ( kettle738) told me about it.

[Bryanj]

Top set 06110-323-000  substitute model code for 323
Bottom set 06111-323-000

End numbers may have changed to 010 or 020 over the years.

Set numbers were in ocasional books but geriatric old fart honda mechanics like me and Ken got to know common numbers off by heart, copious aplication of guiness has lost a lot of mine but some stick!

[AshimotoK0]

Top set 06110-323-000  substitute model code for 323
Bottom set 06111-323-000

End numbers may have changed to 010 or 020 over the years.

Set numbers were in ocasional books but geriatric old fart honda mechanics like me and Ken got to know common numbers off by heart, copious aplication of guiness has lost a lot of mine but some stick!

Interesting Bryan. I wonder if there is a copy anywhere I can scan ... even though I am an anorak and know the centre part numbers of most models in my head too.

[Bryanj]

Most are in the back of my US id book Ash, I will take some pics on the dumfone and watsap them to you

[Oddjob]

I've often wondered why whoever scans parts book never do a complete scan. For instance, my 1973 CB500K parts book has all the part numbers used on the bike in numerical order at the back of the book, very handy when you see a part listed as fitting the bike but it doesn't look familiar, it then tells you which page that part is shown on. Unfortunately my BIL borrowed the parts book for some time when building his 500 up and it came back in pretty poor condition, some of the pages were no longer attached inside the book, the front cover was missing etc. Since then the book has slowly deteriorated and the part number lists are now missing some pages.

Must see if I can find another, mine is full of little notes and even some prices from when I was restoring them both. I'll keep it just for sentimental reasons.

The full gasket sets can have weird end numbers, don't try searching for just 000 or 010 for instance, substitute 3 question marks instead and any results will then show. I can tell a shell colour by it's part number and even if it's crank or conrod. I know a lot fo model numbers but nowhere near all, just the ones that interest me as a rule.

[Bryanj]

Ken i think i have a photocopied uk parts book for the 500 with most of those pages in, can pic and send if you want, the US book i scanned didnt have them

[Oddjob]

Would love that Bryan

[AshimotoK0]

All of the manuals like CB250K0 and CB72 etc I have always scanned in their entirety including covers but the 500 one I think originated from Bryan. I have this one though I bought at Rufforth Autojumble last year. I can auto-scan it at work when I am next there. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Oddjob]

Mine was like that once  :'( :'(

Bought it for a fiver at Palins of Derby.