Other project diaries: VENTURE FJ1200
This page is a small little diary dedicated to my best friend, Rhonda and her motorcycle, Red.
Here she is in her original form.
Rhonda was an avid motorcycle rider. She's grown up riding bikes since the day she could crawl, literally. First with her mom and dad where she would ride in the sidecar and then later, when she was able to get her license, her very own bike. With her own money, she bought a Honda CB360 and very soon after that an almost new 1980 Honda CM400A which she used to tour the country (38 states) with her parents as well as her daily transportation. She loved the bike so much that even after finding out that her latent loss of hearing was getting worse and then a diagnosis of Menieres Disease she kept her trusty steed tucked away in the shed, unable to part with it.
For those who don't know, Menieres is a disease that causes sudden vertigo attacks as well as loss of hearing and headaches. This very sadly forced Rhonda to step away from the freedom of motorcycling due to safety concerns.
Off and on we talked about this little bike, sitting quietly under things in the storage shed and even a few times I broke her heart (unintentionally) by saying that it would cost more to fix it up than it was worth and she should just sell it for parts. What an ass I was. While I was thinking about helping her clean things out of the shed, I, as a rider myself going back to when I was 5, had forgotten how much that first motorcycle means to people. The freedom it gives us.
So while I was looking at used bikes for my own transportation for the summer, it dawned on me while I was searching for a bigger bike to use for daily transportation as well as fullfill a goal of riding down to my folks in Phoenix, there was a little bike sitting all alone in a shed that was loved so dearly. While it wasn't the size I was looking for, it has a story and it has character and it deserved to be brought back to life and even if I don't get ride it myself, Rhonda's wish is that it goes to another female rider just starting out like she did. What she doesn't know (until she reads this that is) is that this isn't about me just wanting a bike for the summer. Perhaps if I can succeed, this little bike can again rumble to life.
The CM400a (also known as the Hondamatic) has a 2 speed automatic transmission tied to a 2 cylinder 400cc air cooled chain drive engine. It has both an electric and kick start. There is no clutch but instead the left lever is a parking brake. They are tough little machines and while they are considered small by today's liter-bikes, they could still cruise around all day. My parents toured the country 2 up on a Kawasaki 400cc bike for a couple years before moving up to a CB750K and my first experience at the age of 14 on a street bike was with my dad teaching me on that old Honda. (first time I popped the clutch like I was used to doing on my 125, immediately standing it up on it's rear tire, dumping my dad off the back in the middle of a country road) :) Sorry pops.
On to the work...
1999: I fixed a huge dent in the gas tank caused by some jerk being malicious. It was about 1/3 of the tank. Got it smoothed out finally and had it and the side panels painted fire engine red. It never got ridden but it made Rhonda smile and that was what was important.
3/26/07: Wheeled it out of the shed and as you can see, Rhonda treated it with care. Here it is, fresh out of storage and waiting for me to transport it back to my house where I will try to get it running myself. (the local shops quoted us an outrageous price of $600 +, so screw them). It's showing 15,700 highway miles. Battery is dead, both tires are flat so it's going to need to be trucked over. The shop quote was for: new battery, new front fork seals, new chain and sprockets and cleaning out the fuel system. That is where I will start. I found the parts after some internet searching I was very surprised. Cost for battery, fork seals, 2 carb kits chain and sprockets: $150 bucks if it needs everything. So, will this take $450 worth of labor? We shall see.
3/31/07: Today I went over and changed the oil and oil filter (pretty nasty stuff sitting for over a decade), aired up the tires, put in new plugs and a new battery. I figured after I cycled it a bit to try firing it up. I dumped some gas and carb cleaner in the tank (watched as the petcock decided to leak like crazy from the age) and started cranking. I wasn't expecting much since it's been sitting, but after 35 minutes of coaxing and begging, it started up!!! I had to choke it and ease on the gas slowly so as not to bog it out and make a little idle adjustment but eventually it was idling along. I even got to take it down to the street and back. It's running rough and no power but it hauled me down and back, albeit under protest. Looks like the carbs will need cleaning so next order of business will be pulling them out and sitting down at the table with a gallon of Gunk and a toothbrush. Rhonda was right, it sounds like a sewing machine. I forgot the old Honda motors sounded "knockish" and had to stop and wonder if it threw a rod but remembered that's how they sounded.
4/6/07: The petcock seemed to have stopped leaking on it's own which is fortunate. Finding one of those is rather tricky. Forks are showing a little oil but can't tell if it's from just sitting or the seals are in fact bad. Seems that as I move things around and oil and or gas starts flowing through the systems once again, the old seals are softening and reseating themselves. If it doesn't stop leaking, it's time to track down a used one online. (finding new parts for this year of bike is like finding a politician that doesn't lie).
4/7-4/8/07: Rode HER under her own power from Rhonda's to my house Saturday night. (yes, I am now calling it HER because Rhonda "reminded me"). She was pretty sluggish and at full throttle I got her up to only 10mph. No misfires though so doesn't seem to be a spark problem (maybe timing is off too). Sunday afternoon, after going all over town to build up my tool sets to include metrics, I finally got around to pulling the carbs off. One definitely shows some lacquering on the outside which usually indicates lacquering on the inside. Next I will start tearing them apart and cleaning. Hopefully have them all done and back in the bike in a couple weeks and won't need carb kits.
4/14/07: Got the carbs apart and cleaned. Oddly enough, the dirty carb was the cleanest internally. Jets were plugged in the other one. After a day of cleaning, they are back together and ready to go back in the bike.
4/15/07: Carbs are back in and they work with no leaks. Starts
and runs like a champ now. A few spins around the complex to adjust the carbs
and she's running good. Now comes the rest of the inspection....
After closer examination the tires are indeed weather cracked, so they need to
be replaced. Fork seal IS leaking on the left shock, and worse, the handlebar
bushings are shot and one of the handlebar clamps is actually broke. Handlebars
are very loose. Very dangerous. After another long night of searching I finally found an entire triple tree on Ebay
(had to buy the whole thing just for a new clamp and bushings) that will be here
in a couple weeks and ordered a new chain.
4/20/07: Got the tires ordered, chain arrived and fork seals on the way. Next step is to yank the wheels off and the forks to replace the seals, swap out the tires (have to use Rhonda's mom's trucking company shop for that), chain and maybe a new rear sprocket if it's damaged and get the handlebars back on. She should be road worthy once more in a couple weeks. Never done fork seals but the manual so far has been quite detailed and it doesn't look that difficult. No dampers or progressive valving, just good old fashioned springs, oil and seals.
4/24/07: Got the triple tree in so after cannibalizing it for the brackets and bushings, the bars are back on and a bit more snug. I took off the front wheel, ripped off the tire and removed the shocks. The seals should be in tomorrow so should have those rebuilt and back on the bike. Time to break out the black paint and metal polish to touch up and clean the parts while they are off. Side note, it starts with just a tap on the starter button now and idles with no need for the choke. The one tool I don't have is a tire bar so improvised by just using the trusty knife and a set of bolt cutters to slice the tire off. Once the forks are back on, I will take off the back wheel and inspect the sprocket better.
4/24/07: Took apart and rebuilt the shocks. Again the one that looked fine was the tough one. The leaking shock was a breeze. Let me just say that the free spinning allen bolt at the bottom of the shock is a nightmare to get out when it's all gummed up. Even the service guys at the local shop couldn't get it out. After a little ingenuity I made my own tool and had it apart in seconds. The full story of what happened will remain a secret between Rhonda, her parents and myself.
4/28/07: Took off the rear wheel, found a bad dust seal in the process. Also both sprockets are pretty much nubs now. New sprockets on the way.
5/1/07: Got the tires in last night so this morning I got them mounted. New rubber looks good. Aired them up and letting them sit for a day to see if they leak. Almost ready for everything to go back together. I should probably do a valve adjustment this week while waiting for the sprockets to show up.
5/5/07: Front tire is back on and brakes bled. Decided I might as well adjust valves since the side of the engine was off and it's part of the 15,000 mile maintenance anyways. Put the chain in too so all that's left now is to install sprockets (if they ever show up) and put the rear wheel back on. Hopefully have everything taken care of and able to ride it in 2-3 months. Had been wanting to ride down to Phoenix to visit parents this summer but not sure how she would do with my size/weight. We shall see.
5/7/07: Sprockets came in so tonight I got them on, put the rear tire on and then after realizing the tire was on backwards, I had to go back over to the shop and put it on the correct direction. I tried to adjust the timing chain and took it for a spin around the parking lot. Still running a little rough so may need a trip down to the local shop to have the carbs synced up properly but other than cleaning and polishing, I think I'm finished with the mechanical work. Shocks feel fine, brakes are nice and tight and tires tracked fine. Think all that's left is to get it out on the road and "blow out the cobwebs".
5/10/07: Today was a day of mixed emotions. I found a backrest
a few days ago while rummaging through junk at an old junkyard and lo and
behold, it fit perfectly on the existing luggage rack! What a nice surprise. I
then got out the hose and the engine degreaser and gave her a wash. Then came
the feeling of utter devastation. I started it up to drive it around the parking
lot again and the problem with lack of power has returned :( I just
don't know what's causing this and it's heartbreaking because it's probably
something very simple to fix (god I hope so) yet I don't have the tools or the
skills to diagnose it. It's barely able to pull away from a stop. My last shot
is to get it down to the local shop and have them check over my work and see if
they can fix this issue. I hope it's just an issue of syncing carbs and or
adjusting the jets.
5/29/07: Yay! Today the title arrived so down to the DMV I went. Got it registered and insured this morning. Tonight I pulled and cleaned plugs and then drove it around the big parking lot next door for an hour to see how things handled and to make sure everything is tight and in alignment. Ran like a champ the entire time. Seems that all it really did need was to "have the cobwebs blown out" afterall. (knock on wood). So looks like she's back to normal and running free again. :)
6/30/07: My 40th birthday and today I took it out for a real run around Washoe Lake. It ran pretty good but pulling out into traffic it was weak. (I know, it's not a powerhouse) but even though it's not powerful, it just didn't feel like it was all there. At least the small set of Harley Davidson saddlebags I found on Craigslist fit and look good.
7/20/07: It's still been running a little weak so checked the plugs and the left side was fouling. I found a used coil on ebay and it came in today. Bolted it up and voila! Runs more stronger now and both cylinders seem to be firing evenly. There is one last thing for me to do to her and that is to adjust the balancer chain. After relentless researching I've been told that the "sewing machine" sound from the engine is a little known issue of that chain being out of adjustment. I plan to tackle that one after Labor day as it's going to require ripping half the right side of the engine apart just to get to it. Figuring it's going to be about a week of downtime.
This has been fun fixing her up and she's become my daily around town ride. So Red is reborn and her big brothers Max and Bubba have arrived to take on duties as my long haul rides while Red handles city work.
