SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
My New Project arrives after a 44 year wait!
AshimotoK0:
Always love reading your resto posts Dave.
Looking at Yamiyas site I wont be able to get you any yellow mains shells but DS has some. Unless anyone on here has any to sell you?
Not sure but I think the tacho mechanism is the same as the CB250G5 but has idiot lights fitted... so you could fit a new face to one and blank off the warning lights at the bottom. I will check to see if I have one. I assume you have the S/S 'dish' for it .. deffo have one if you don't.
BTW there was a discussion yesterday on the CB250RS FB group as someone spotted your old bike at Frank's ...Motorcycles Unlimited. :)
Laverda Dave:
--- Quote from: AshimotoK0 on December 01, 2023, 11:24:52 PM ---Always love reading your resto posts Dave.
Looking at Yamiyas site I wont be able to get you any yellow mains shells but DS has some. Unless anyone on here has any to sell you?
Not sure but I think the tacho mechanism is the same as the CB250G5 but has idiot lights fitted... so you could fit a new face to one and blank off the warning lights at the bottom. I will check to see if I have one. I assume you have the S/S 'dish' for it .. deffo have one if you don't.
BTW there was a discussion yesterday on the CB250RS FB group as someone spotted your old bike at Frank's ...Motorcycles Unlimited. :)
--- End quote ---
Thanks Ash, I always like to throw in a bit of detail ;D. The tacho that came with the bike is I'm sure a G5. I have already spoken with Peter and he has advised he may have the parts to convert the G5 to a 400 but Kempton is always worth a look anyway as a couple of the traders have crates of old speedo's etc. I do have the dish although haven't inspected it yet, its in the bottom of the box the PO gave me and awaiting it's turn in the fumigation plant ::)
You can tell it was late when I typed the main bearing codes, I read them back to front (from the ignition timing end and not from No.1, alternator end!) :o. So, the correct sequence should be: 2, 2A, 2A, 1A, 1A. Case code remains as AABBB . The bearing colour codes should (I think) therefore be: GREEN, GREEN, BROWN, GREEN, GREEN. Lucky I still had the photo of the crank open as I went to switch off the laptop and noticed my schoolboy error otherwise I would have ordered the wrong ones and I'd have to break the news to the O/H she won't be getting a christmas present this year :'(. Of course this assumes I have read the crank webs correctly and cross referenced them to the chart as I should have done ;).
I check Frank's site now and then to see if the RS has sold and I noticed it's still there, the price imo is just too high but he must know it will eventually sell I guess as he's been selling bikes long enough but at the end of the day a bike is worth what somebody will pay for it.
Laverda Dave:
It’s been a busy time in the man cave over the past few days so time for a photographic progress update 8).
Firstly a big thank you goes to Ash for not only coming up with some elusive parts in exchange for a CB250RSA swap shop but who also has a contact in Japan who has managed to source some all important crankshaft journal and big end shells. Thanks also to Bryan for his knowledge and help with how I could clean up and properly measure the crankshaft.
I got the lower crankcase back last week from the welder who managed to weld up the potential crack, it certainly looks like a crack in the photo. This was caused as a result of the PO using a longer front lower engine mounting bolt than he should have done after removing the crash bars. I cleaned the weld up once I got the crankcase home and had to ease the thread of the oil galley drain plug as I think the heat of the welding may have slightly distorted it but it’s all fine now (or should I say ‘It fits just perfect’ ;)'.
I have decided to use an old sump pan I had with a damaged sump thread rather than use the original sump that had been badly helicoiled to the extent there wasn’t much metal left to put a timesert in. I instead had a timesert fitted for £25 at SRS in Sutton into the spare sump pan, a bargain really considering the kit is over £100 if I wanted to buy one. The timesert fitted is about 12mm in length and has been sealed with loctite to prevent oil weeping down the thread . This shorter length will allow the oil to drain out fully during an oil change; the original helicoil was 50mm long so the oil would have had a difficult job to fully drain!
I collected the frame on Tuesday after having its alignment checked, all was good there, and it was spot on which he was surprised about as even new frames are always at least .5 deg out. The PO had a previous ‘off’ back in the day and I think the frame was checked then and maybe ‘tweaked’ as the bike not only had a new mudguard but I think it also had new forks. When I checked the headlight and indicator mounting frame though I found it was as bent as a banana and it took a lot of heat to get it straightened out. Whilst I was collecting the frame and removing the dummy crankcase and rear wheel, a bolt of lightning came through the workshop (it is at the edge of an open field) and struck the tools on the bench 6ft away from me with an almighty bang! As a result of my potential outer body experiance I have bought a lottery ticket for tomorrow night’s draw ;D.
The plan with the wheels was to re-use the old ones but... the PO has fitted a much wider rim to the rear wheel to allow the fitment of a bigger, as in fatter rear tire to go with the cruiser look he was aiming for. The tire only just clears the swingarm so that’s going now as well! I had to cut the spokes as after removing the tire I found CWS who built the wheels used a grinder to grind the heads off the spokes in the rim making it impossible to turn the spoke in the nipple. At least it gave me a chance to inspect the wheel bearings that were like all the other main journal and big end bearings in the engine, worn out ???.
Today I took the engine castings, hubs and carb mounting rail to R D Cox and Son in Reading for vapour blasting (the same company as used by a certain Mr A Millyard so they know what they doing when it comes to blasting motorcycle engines). Doug also paints the cases as well with two pack and the results really are good. I am having all the cases, covers and bare hubs painted but not the barrels, head, sump and oil filter housing, these will be left as vapour blasted and similar to how Honda left them originally (I know they were not vapour blasted originally but vapour blasting leaves a finish resistant to corrosion and I also know Honda did not paint the lower crankcase half either but I consider that as penny pinching). I know I could have painted them myself at home but in my view it is not worth the hassle especially considering the weather is too cold to paint, I don’t have an oven in the garage and to buy one s/h will cost at least £50 and have no room for it and I’ll probably only use it only once anyway and then I’m stuck with it. If I use the oven indoors it will stink the house out (and probably those either side of ours as well) and it will take days to cure everything. The O/H is also semi-retired so opportunities for me to do some ‘home baking’ and become Star Baker with my Showstopper that looks remarkably like an over baked motorcycle crankcase will be limited and at the end of the day it will also be inedible :P. All in all I went for the easier life option knowing the 2 pack paint will last as will my marriage :).
I had to repair the carb mounting rail after discovering a big hole where the locating dowel to hold the spindle should be. I drilled and tapped for a 4mm grub screw and locknut after having the hole welded up for a fiver (and I don’t have a welder!).
The pitted fork sanctions I took to Phillpotts in Luton. Gez, is it expensive now to get them hard chrome plated :o. They are going to do the fork top nuts as well. I asked them if they could do the carb spindle as well, they can.......£130!, thanks but I’ll leave that piece, it’s not that bad!
I’m just finishing off stripping the frame and painted parts before taking all these to microblast in Windsor next week for plastic coating. I’m having trouble getting the fibre bushes out the swing arm; they are just breaking up into tiny pieces. Next up will be finishing off the repair to the front and rear mudguards ready for chrome plating. The blacksmith did a remarkable job of filling the holes with braze.
Onwards and upwards. More news as it comes in.
Johnny4428:
Some great work done there Dave, a bit of skill involved with that mudguard repair! If get a hacksaw into that bushes they should come out OK. Maybe you’ve done this already. Worked for me.
McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
Those marks on the oil gallery look like casting marks engrained with dirt.
Very unlucky if its a crack from an overlong engine mounting bolt.
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