My bike has been sitting for years...

[tribangle]

I want to get her up and running.  Where do I even begin?

[psubrock]

It depends on what you did before it sat.
Give her fresh oil, coolant, charge or buy a new battery. Is your chain rusty or reuseable? Are your tires worn or dry rotted or are they still useable? Did you drain the carbs before you stored it? It's worth yanking them off and making sure everything is clean and unblocked if you didn't. Make sure your fork seals aren't leaking and drain and replace the fork oil as well. I'd also take a look at the spark plugs and see if they could use changed since they only last 5k miles.

[tribangle]

psubrock.

Thanks for the reply...  This bike deserves to be back on the road!

1. Give her fresh oil, coolant.
- Is it best to try and start first, or should I drain all the coolant and oil and refill before attempting to start?

2. Charge or buy a new battery.
- Will need to buy a new one.

3. Is your chain rusty or reuseable?
- The chain is a bit rusty, thus I may buy a new one.

4. Are your tires worn or dry rotted or are they still useable?
- Tires definitely need to be replaced. 
- Any recommendations?

5. Did you drain the carbs before you stored it? It's worth yanking them off and making sure everything is clean and unblocked if you didn't.
- Did not drain the carbs, so this will be on my list.

6. Make sure your fork seals aren't leaking and drain and replace the fork oil as well.
- The fork seals will need to be replaced for sure.  Have you ever replaced the seals?

7. I'd also take a look at the spark plugs and see if they could use changed since they only last 5k miles.
- Done.

8. Brakelines seem to be leaking in the front.
- I read that steel brake lines are the best bet, any good resources to purchase this item?

[clarkdw]

Hi tribangle

I suggest using a cheap oil and do at least two oil changes at short intervals, say several hundred miles, to get rid of the condensation and junk inside the engine. Then put in whatever super oil you intend to stick with. Try to pick up a number of oil filters from ebay to reduce that expense. The coolant will be fine if changed before you start riding regularly.

As for the chain, before putting on a new chain check the sprockets very carefully for wear. No sense wrecking a new chain due to worn sprockets. If they are worn and need replacement, put on a 37 tooth rear rather than the 41 as originally equipped. A number of owners (incl me) have done this conversion with universally great reviews. It also corrects the speedometer error.

I have installed Pirelli Diablos 150/60/17, 110/70/17 and I am very happy with them. Others have used various Bridgestones or Michelin Pilot Powers also with good results. For my choice it would definitely be radials rather than cross-plies but other than that you need to decide whether you want to be able to drag knee or get great mileage from the tires and choose based on that.

Carbs will probably need to be cleaned out a number of times before you get all the junk out. I used round wooden toothpicks to clean the pilot jets as I am afraid to use anything more aggressive for fear of enlarging the jet. Others have had nightmares with carbs leaking after cleaning so have replaced the rubber seals on the bowls. These are really expensive so I took a chance and tried not doing it. I got lucky and have no leaks.

I still have the original factory brake hoses and am very happy with the brakes. I can't offer any insight on where to find steel ones but I would check on cost of both originals and the steelies before throwing down the hard earned dollars.

Good luck on your bringing her back to life.

[psubrock]

I replaced the seals and that stuff on mine, I thought it was pretty straight forward, and they didn't leak when I put it back together. I replaced the fluid with 15w and have progressive shocks and it makes for a nice set up (I'm 225 lbs), 15w might be too much if you weigh less. I just used a pvc pipe to drive the seals back in. DW is right about the oil you'll have a bunch of crap you'll want to drain out after it runs. Through some pics up and keep us updated.

[MadDogMcQ]

The CB-1 which I've just bought has also been standing for 3 and a half years. Luckily, the owner ran the machine and changed the oil and filter (genuine Honda) at regular intervals, using fully synthetic oil. He'd had a stroke and couldn't ride it but wanted to look after it because he'd had it nine years. He even had the carbs balanced 

Anyway, out on the road it runs fine, but it has a very bad flat-spot just over 9000rpm if you try to accellerate hard. I removed the carbs last night, expecting to find lots of gunge but there wasn't any - the float-bowls and jets were clean as a whistle!

I think today's petrol is far superior to petrol of old and there is much less chance of it causing problems during storage than there was 20 odd years ago.

[bdunne]

Hello everyone -
Just joined the forum. Also have a cb-1 that has been sitting for 3+ yrs. Carbs were never drained. In the process of preparing to start the bike.  Other posts have made removing, cleaning, and replacing them sound like a piece of cake. Have airbox off, ready to clean carbs, but I have a few questions. I've looked around but have not found any specific threads (step by step) on breaking apart and cleaning the carbs. If that is somewhere in the forum, just point me in the right direction.
1. Once the carbs are out, is it necessary to break them apart to clean the jets ? Putting them back together seems a bit daunting. Can everything that needs to be cleaned be accessed while the four carbs are still together ?
2. psubrock referred to "making sure everything is clean" - is this suggesting a full break down of each carb, or am I looking to clean just the jets (main, needle and slow) and the float chamber ? Is it necessary or advised to take apart the vacuum chamber ?
3. clarkdw referred to "pilot jets" - in the service manual diagram all I see labeled "pilot" is the pilot screw assembly. Is this just a general reference to all the jets - main, needle, slow - or am I missing something obvious ?
4. Any general pointers or things to avoid would be appreciated. I plan to use carb cleaner, q-tips, or small pieces of rag or terrycloth for cleaning. I like the wooden toothpick idea. Should any certain part need to be soaked (submersed) in solvent ?
Sorry for being so literal-minded, but i'm really looking forward to getting this bike running again, not screwing it up further.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[clarkdw]

I've looked around but have not found any specific threads (step by step) on breaking apart and cleaning the carbs. If that is somewhere in the forum, just point me in the right direction.

Hi bdunne
Welcome to the forum. I have not seen any thread that specifically explains the breaking down of the carbs here but I also haven't done a search for one.

1. Once the carbs are out, is it necessary to break them apart to clean the jets ? Putting them back together seems a bit daunting. Can everything that needs to be cleaned be accessed while the four carbs are still together ?

I didn't take my carbs apart when I cleaned them. No access problems for the jets or float assemblies.

2. psubrock referred to "making sure everything is clean" - is this suggesting a full break down of each carb, or am I looking to clean just the jets (main, needle and slow) and the float chamber ? Is it necessary or advised to take apart the vacuum chamber ?

I think you would have to make that call based on how badly gunked up the carbs were. Again, I didn't break down my carbs all the way to clean them but I ended up doing it three times because little bits kept appearing that blocked the slow run jets and the idle would get erratic. I didn't break apart the vacuum chamber. I would see how easily the pistons move and how clean they are. If all is reasonable you can run some carb cleaner additive thru your fuel tank after it is running to help.

3. clarkdw referred to "pilot jets" - in the service manual diagram all I see labeled "pilot" is the pilot screw assembly. Is this just a general reference to all the jets - main, needle, slow - or am I missing something obvious ?

You haven't missed anything, just referring to the passages related to the pilot screw.

4. Any general pointers or things to avoid would be appreciated. I plan to use carb cleaner, q-tips, or small pieces of rag or terrycloth for cleaning. I like the wooden toothpick idea. Should any certain part need to be soaked (submersed) in solvent ?

Good plan. I really try to avoid using anything more aggressive than the toothpicks to clean the jets as it is very easy to enlarge the orifices and a VERY small change can really affect how the bike runs. I don't know where you live but here in Canada you have not been able to get what I call REAL carb cleaner for a number of years and what you get now does a very poor job of dissolving the gunk that builds up. It really requires mechanically scraping it off. Soaking any of the parts in solvent doesn't seem to help much unless you have available something better than we do. Just take your time and it should all go well. If you have an impact screwdriver you may need it for the float bowl screws. They seem to really stick. If you don't have an impact screwdriver I would suggest putting the screwdriver in each screw and tapping the screwdriver on the end smartly with a hammer. That will help to break the screws free before the heads get stripped.

Sorry for being so literal-minded, but i'm really looking forward to getting this bike running again, not screwing it up further.
Thanks in advance for the help.

No apologies necessary. Better to ask a hundred questions and do it right than ask none and mess it up. Good luck with the bike. I am sure you will enjoy it a lot.

[bdunne]

Limited success ! Better than no success at all, in my book.

So to summarize, since it's been just over two months since I last posted, I have accomplished the following:
Took tank, air box, etc. off to get at carbs.
Removed carbs, and cleaned, according to clarkdw's suggestions. Very helpful. Removed float bowl, did not break down vacuum chamber. Bike was sitting for 3 years, never drained the tank or carbs, but all was surprisingly clean. Like 3 out of 4 were completely clean of almost all residue, just a spot to the side of the bowl where the last bit of fuel sat when the bike was on the side stand. I went through the motions and cleaned the bowls and jets anyway. Carb cleaner here in the States will dissolve almost anything, so they were extra clean when finished.
Reinstalled carbs. This was a chore, as they would not install into the rubber boots easily. I don't know if it's age, temperature (upper 40's F here in Chicago) or just the norm for that material, but I finally wound up lubricating the boots with a tiny bit of motor oil, and stood on top of a milk crate for leverage. With my entire weight behind me and rocking the carbs side to side, I finally got them to a satisfactory depth. It looks like they should drop in about another 1/8" inch further but that was all I could get.
Reinstalled the air box, replaced the spark plugs with new, replaced the gas tank, and new gas.
Started cranking the bike. Kept cranking the bike.
Finally started to pop and sputter.
Quit cranking the bike, as I then realized that gas was pissing out of the 3rd carb from the left, looking from a riding position.

So - she's ready to start. I'm ready to start her. Now I just need to tear it all apart again and see what I can do about the leaking float bowl. I could see the gas dripping from the screws, so I don't know if it's the gasket, or if I just didn't tighten the screws down enough.

Hopefully not another 2 months, but with a 10 month old boy and a million other things I'm "supposed" to be doing, this might be a winter project. I guess I wasn't going to be riding around in the winter in Chicago anyway.