A while back I had a battery issue and decided I wanted to be able to monitor the charging system.  I bought an LED indicator from a fellow in England that changes color as the voltage changes.  Green for normal range, red for low, yellow for slightly low and flashing red for high overcharge.  I made an aluminum shroud for the light so it can be more easily read in sunshine.

Eric

I have no doubt the Chinese parts won't hold up like OEM would, but then my CB-1 lives indoors and never gets ridden in the rain.  Pretty easy life!  Plus, only $40 so not a big deal if/when the chrome begins to peel off. 

Eric

I recently did a few simple, reversible mods to my CB-1 to give it a little shine.  I added a headlight and bucket from a 1989 Honda GB500 (of which I own one) and fitted an inexpensive set of chrome gauge mounts.  Gives the old girl a little more bling and changes the look a bit.  All easily reversible but for now I think I like it.  The gauge covers were off Ebay from China for only $39 including shipping!  The quality is not bad for the price and the install was very easy since you can still use the OEM gauge mounting block instead of having to switch everything over to the new part.  The cover plate over the warning lights is a bit cheesy and I might wind up painting it satin black.  Took less than an hour to do the chrome gauges and a couple of hours to switch headlights since there's so much wiring involved.  

Eric

35878591 by Eric Freeman, on Flickr

35878593 by Eric Freeman, on Flickr

Why not have the bent stand straightened?  Should be pretty easy considering it's just steel and can be heated and re-shaped.

Eric

Signed up on Flikr and added some pics to my original post.

Eric

can you post a pic of the great work?

Unfortunately, with the demise of Photobucket I haven't found another pic hosting site.  You'll just have to trust me!

Eric

Recently I decided to remove my rear cowl and touch-up a few small nicks in the paint where the PO had used a bungie cord over the back of the seat.  Nothing major and pretty much hidden behind my Hepco Becker rack but something I'd been wanting to do for a while.  

I purchased a touchup bottle kit from Colorite and after dabbing a bit of blue into the spots, I discovered to my dismay that the original Honda paint is extremely thin!  As soon as I touched the original paint with some 1000 grit wet dry to blend the repair, I was into white primer!  Well, that resulted in my decision to repaint the entire cowl (I do all my own painting).  I ordered a half-pint kit from Colorite and after priming, spraying 3 coats of blue and 4 coats of clear, plus lots of wet sanding and polishing, I can say that the color is nearly perfect!  I was worried since the touch-up bottle seemed a little dark but the cowl came out great and there isn't a flaw to be seen.  

So, if any of you are needing to do some painting of the original B131 Blue, the Colorite product will be a good match.

Eric

35878582 by Eric Freeman, on Flickr

35878584 by Eric Freeman, on Flickr

A while back I discovered a big fuel leak when I started my CB-1.  Pulled the carbs and discovered the O-rings on the tubes were leaking.  Used the Litetek kit to replace all the seals and fixed the leak.  Take plenty of pics before you disassemble the rack of carbs so you get everything back together properly.  If you can't, I can send you the pics I took of mine.  It's a bit fiddly and tedious but easy to do if you're mechanically inclined.

Eric

Might be able to use automotive heater hose also if you can find the right ID. Just cut off the length you need.

Perhaps for a few of the hoses but most of the CB-1's hoses are molded and you can't get heater hose to make the tight bends without kinking.

Eric

You should be very gentle removing the small hose from the coolant reservoir as it can easily be broken due to age/heat/etc. Some gentle twisting and perhaps a bit of heat should do the trick.

As Morti said, get a compression test before doing anything else.  I have 20,000 miles on my 1989 CB1 and it doesn't use a drop of oil between changes.

Eric

A lot depends on what you want to spend!  I have a beauty up in Bellingham (90 miles north of Seattle) that I'm considering selling.  I have developed arthritis in my right knee and it makes riding my sport bikes rather difficult so I'm planning on thinning my small collection.  However, I won't give it away considering it's in excellent condition with around 20,000 miles, rare Beet Japan stainless exhaust, Hagon rear shock, recently rebuilt carbs, Michelin Pilot Power tires, Hepco-Becker rear rack, etc.  Lots of spares available as well.  

PM me for additional details and I can send you lots of pics and videos and we can discuss price.

Eric

Looks like the seal can be replaced from the outside.  It's still available from Honda or places like Bike Bandit for about $3.  You'll likely need to make a tool to press in the new seal, a piece of PVC pipe or something similar that will fit over the shift shaft and allow you to press the seal in.  You might have to rig up some kind of pick tool to remove the old seal.

Eric

crap if my work truck didnt need attention id come get the whole thing.  im just in columbus too

Just rent a U-Haul pickup or van and go get it!  I'm truckless and rented the van to pick up my Ducati Monster S4RS Tricolore a few years ago.  Worked out great, especially on a rainy day.

Eric

Several of my bikes came with only one key and the first thing I did was get copies made and ensure the copies work smoothly.  Sounds like you should get some more spares cut from your original.  I found factory blanks on Ebay so everything looks OEM.

Eric