Blast Room

Yesterday I built a simple soda-blasting hut out of some 2X4s and some tarps. It folds down for easy storage. It also doubles as a motorcycle shelter. Time to get some CB360 motor parts blasted!

Photoshoot

Mildly Interesting

Logo sticker on some old CB750 engine guards.


Speaking of, they look good on the CB

Comeback Special

After 7 years the Spirit of '76 has a new motor. I had my buddy Francisco come over this weekend to pull motors out of 2 other CBs and put the good motor in my '76. Back-breaking work... these motors are stupid heavy. I need to spend about $100+ on cables, chain, grips, etc to finally button her up, but it shouldn't be too long. I originally bought this bike to have a good 2-up bike, Of course I tore it down shortly after I got it. This will be the fastest bike I own, which is plenty fast for me.

The Carb Whisperer

CB360 update

Bunch of stuff ready for soda blasting. I'm in process of making a little blasting hut.


Carbs rebuilt


Valves were really caked. Cleaned up, some pitting, but will use.



So Craig at Front St Cycle in Dayton, OH of all people had the chain guide I needed. It's the rarest part on these bikes. The tensioner was recalled in the 70's, so there's old and new versions of those. They never recalled the guide. And no one makes them. This new one looks brand new!


Also got a fender. I'm not spending any more money, except the motor, on this bike until the motor runs. Once that happens, then I'll concentrate on aesthetics.

Hayward Hoopties

Me and Max visited our buddy Joe at his shop today. The Pierson Brothers Coupe push car is in there being restored. A few other 30's Fords, one a from '50s Hot Rod magazine cover. Cool stuff and Max loved it all. The Rugiero Merc has some interesting history if you look it up.

Mod Inflitration

I got invited to borrow a scooter and ride in the San Francisco Scooter Rally this weekend. I'd never ridden a scooter before. It took a bit of practice to get that whole twist shift thing down, but otherwise, no problems. My '62 Vespa had 8" wheels, which is not the most comfortable thing at highway speed. I found myself in a highspeed death wobble on the bridge that had me clenching my butt cheeks. It was a fun a day being a Mod... but in the end, I'll always be a Rocker.

SF Classic Scooter Ride 20132 from Chris Martinez on Vimeo.

Lowbuck Ballin'

For Lori's big 3-0 I spiffed up her Dream 305 a little bit. I drove 8 hours to find her a pair of stock handlebars. I put some red grips and the foxtail off my Desoto on. I dug out my 40 year old lucky rabbit's foot for her key chain. I got her a new battery. And I had Mario Meza-Murillo pinstripe the hell out of her bike.

















Mother and Daughter

State of the Projects Address

CB360: Bought to fix and sell. Had a serious road block. Engine part broken that they don't reproduce and hard to find. Friend acrtually has piece I need. Piston/barrel good, so ready rebuild top end and keep going.

Purple Triumph: Been a waiting game for months. Rebuilt magneto failed on me twice. Rebuilder says on its way back with new armature. I just stare at it while drinking alone.

XS650: Down since October 31. After months of waiting on parts and work, machine shop called and barrels are bored to .0020-0.0022 in. of piston. That's a tight butthole. Can start reassembling top end and get back on the road.

CB750: Got donor bike's motor running. Currently rebuilding it's four times of fun carbs. That motor will get pulled and put in the real shinola.

RD350: Runs good. Still doesn't get over 80mph. Going to go friend for more help as soon as I have a trailer.

Lori's Dream 305: Cool pics posted tomorrow

'55 Triumph: Waiting for Max to help. Our first project.

Trailer: Where the hell am I going to park it?

Wife: she just hit 30 and her tread has 90% life on them. wink wink

Child: Emitting a high pitch screaming sound. Need to do a systems check.

Damn was I wrong

I thought the cam guide on the 360 was replaced with an upgraded "2 piece" guide. Boy was I wrong. It's broke. And it's the hardest part on a CB360 to get. I've decided to part it out.

As The Crank Turns

I put the CB360 in the frame and tried to kick it. Wouldn't budge. I yanked the clutch cover off and, although pretty clean inside, the discs were stuck together. I then tried to turn the crank on the rotor side. There was only about 120 degrees of rotation. Crap.

I pulled the rocker cover off and it actually looked pretty good. No oil starvation signs, which these bikes are known for. The cam actually turns right on the head's aluminum, no bearings! There was no liquid gasket between cover and head, so must it have been opened but not resealed. The motor now turned freely. Cam chain looked tensioned well. Valve springs compress with heavy finger pushing. Points side oil seal needs replaced.


Tensioners looked good, very good. I have the 2 marks on the vin stating the tensioner recall was done on this back in the 70's.




Rockers looked good too!


I put the cover back on, tried to turn it, locked up again! Pulled the cover off again and looked at the rockers. 3 moved up and down... 1 had a snap back. The spring was catching the cover and acting like mousetrap. Interesting that one side is held on with bolts, the other side had rubber plugs, and then you just pull out the rod.



After that I loosened all the tappets. I put the rocker box back on and low and behold, a rotating engine and working valves. Not sure if the spring loaded rocker arm was the culprit or over-tightened valves. Either way, she's loose. I need to clean everything up and do my research on cam chain settings and torque specs, then on to seeing if she'll fire.

Next Project: 1972 Honda CB360

I picked up this "complete" bike for $100 a few weeks ago. First plan of action is to get the motor to fire. Then I'm going to do a frame up custom street ripper. I'm aiming for a month long project, but that's probably optimistic. There are still a few pieces missing, and the previous owner started de-tabbing, so no side covers. And he cut off the center stand mounts (sigh), so no center stand unless I'm feeling adventurous. His plan also included a modern front end and shocks, but that's going back old school drum.

The beast is back!

I did a complete (except carbs) tune-up on the CB750: valves, points, cam chain, timing, plugs and she still ran like crap. I took the pods off and put on the stock airbox and it runs like a beast! I have a feeling the P.O. just put pods on without rejetting. And these bikes are not known for running well with pods anyway. I also think the cam chain wheel tensioner is probably chewed up pretty good inside, but it will last for now. This motor will be going in my '76 CB750 I got 7 years ago.



Going into this

Bathtub

I hear this girl rides around Long Beach

Garggling Marbles

I got the donor CB750 running yesterday after some work. I was told it was a daily rider. I had a hard time starting it, bogs at midrange throttle, and the cam chain sounds horrible. Looks like I'll need to do a full tune-up to see what's going on. This motor is going into my '76 CB750 that still needs a full rebuild. Then I'll sell off the chassis, and basically have a free running motor.