Honda-SOHC

Front? rear? year?

Click pic to open

I do not have the kind of dedication required

I used to have the dedication required, just ain't got the time anymore, now everything's powder coated black or made of stainless, not pretty but bloody practical

I have done over 70 miles on it now and maybe I am over reacting but the plugs still look the same, grayish and going from 110 jets to 115 seems to make no difference to the colour.I am still open to any suggestions.

If you have ridden the 70 miles at lowish revs and throttle opening the bigger main jets will make only a small difference to plug colour. Raising the needle in the slide will make more difference to mid range (Clip one groove down on the needle to richen midrange) Plug chops at different throttle openings are the way to tell if your jetting is correct, unless you pay for some rolling road time.

One mistake lots of folk make when looking at plug colour is to take out the plugs after a ride and assume thats how the carbs are performing when riding, if you've come home from a ride and let the engine idle before taking out the plugs, when looking at the plugs you're bascally looking at the idle mixture setting.

Plug chops require running the engine at different throttle opening then cutting the engine on the kill switch, snapping the throttle shut and clutching all at the same time and coasting to a stop.

I think you are talking about a 500 correct?

Yup

Thanks for the info lads, I was planning a strip down anyway so its not a huge job. I've just undercut the gearbox dogs on my Yamahahaha and just taxed it (online, yippee) so the little Honda can have a well deserved break. I have a donor 550 engine which I'd like to try out so ideal opportunity

I suspect the dogs coz everything else works just fine and I've been using the bike for the work run for that last month+ still

next is replacement brushes.

 

Personally i would top the battery up and give it a charge before condeming it  (but i'm tight lol),

Me too. Top it up and charge           .....and tight

Thanks Lester and Brian. My brother has a 500 bottom end lurking about somewhere, I'll try and scrounge it for the gears.

I was hoping to plonk the 550 engine I have in whole.

Many thanks

Anyone got any info/ideas please.

Riding to work a few weeks ago I lost 4th gear, I've been too busy to look at the bike but thought I'd ask before making plans to delve into the box. I'm just coming to the end of another rebuild with parts everywhere so didn't have time or space to do the Honda and have been using it for the work run by short-shifting through 4th.

It appears to go into gear, so the selector mechanism seems to work, but doesn't drive, I get rattling like its trying to engage if I try to drive through 4th and when this rattling happens I get a pulsing on the clutch lever mimmicking the noise, as if the dogs are worn and its trying to work but pushing the clutch shaft slightly. Is this a known fault like 2nd gear on early Yamahahahas, or is it just old age and use showing up. I have a 550 donor bike that may donate its engine to keep me OTR for now.

Any ideas from you experts would be welcome.





BTW, the rebuild I'm busy with included fixing the 2nd gear on the Yamahaha