SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400

Had enough

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K2-K6:
Something that could help.

Put the needle jet, orifice part, in a drill chuck,  mount a wooden food/ kebab stick in a vice,  and with a little t-cut or similar,  polish the internal tapered seat gently by spinning the drill.

Usually this will give a very clean and smooth surface for the needle valve to close on, a little like  valve grinding.

Or put the stick into the drill if feeling a bit cavalier  ;D

MrDavo:
Float levels maybe?

When I’d nearly finished my CL450, I swung wildly  between flooded carbs persisting out petrol, and horrible lumpy running, to empty carbs and a bike that didn’t want to run, and when it did there was either no tickover or one that went bananas without warning.

I kept trying trial and error bending the float tabs  as I really didn’t want to take the carbs off again, but finally I pulled them off, replaced the new non OEM jets and needles with scrupulously cleaned originals, then set the float levels exactly as per the manual, using a card template and holding them at 90 degrees to their usual direction. Also new cables in case the originals were hanging up due to being 50 years old.

She now starts and runs like a new one, and ticks over at 1000 rpm solid as a rock.

Athame57:
Andy don't let this be the last straw or something . It must be too minor an issue for that. I had a leaking carb myself recently: http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,21157.msg189145.html#msg189145

AndyD:
Thanks all.
Julie - unbelievably kind offer
Bryan - likewise very kind
To be fair I always knew it was 50:50 with this bike as she had clearly had a very hard life and everything was tired, worn, damaged or replaced with non-original bits.
I set myself a target of getting her together and running and then assessing if worthwhile going for a fuller restoration with all the associated costs and time.
She is now in one piece (less tank / seat) and does start and run easily but the carbs yesterday were a real John Cleese moment when i could happily have beaten the little bugger around the garden with a branch.
The issue is that having a cold look at the bike she still needs a huge amount of work to get near where I would be happy with her and I think realistically it's simply a bad 'base' to start from with the amount of bits needed.
Will take a bit of time to decide what to do with her and in the meantime busy with the CB900 and CJ250t (don't laugh) restorations - both very original, low mileage bikes but needing severe tlc.
Cheers,
Andy

SeanFD:
Hey Andy, don’t give up!

I went through a similar process; bought a bike, thought I’d just get it running and then worry about what would come next. My first description was “It’s rusty!”. Then I started the resurrection and very quickly she was christened “Rusty” after I discovered the full extent of the rust on the chrome.

After a bit more work and dismantling, I realised that whatever else the resurrection was, it wasn’t going to be quick. I convinced myself I’d not be happy with it if I just ploughed on, so I took a step back, took a deep breath and .... now the engine is out, the frame is stripped and well, we’ll see. I know it’ll be worth it in the end; leave it for a bit, work on the others and when you come back to it, I’m sure you will agree with me.

On the carbs: I recently rebuilt a 750K2 and had some difficulties getting the carbs right. I finally got it, I thought, and set out on a bit of a trip from Harare, Zimbabwe via Belfast, RSA to Belfast, N Irl. On my second day out the carbs started overflowing and nothing I could do would stop it. So I holed up for the night and took them apart, put them back together and all worked fine. The reason for the overflow?

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Well it was the only thing I found wrong, so the poor was got the blame. Hang in there!

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