Engine needs a refresh - make that a big bore!

[Syscrush]

So, my local guy took very good care of me. When he found out that the cam I had was for a 1980, he said he didn't want it - he just throws them out as there's zero demand for 'em. But he had the 1979 spec set ready for me, along with a Pro-Link set, and a caliper. He set the caliper to the lobe height of the 1979 and showed the gap when holding it up to the Pro-link lobe. When we then held it up to the 1980 cam, the difference was ridiculous.

His 1979 set measured exactly to spec - 37.3mm at shed temperature in London, ON - which I'd guess at about 5°C. The lobe surface finish looks and feels great, also. As much of a pain as this all was, I can say with certainty that I would much rather find and address this problem DURING the rebuild than after it! It sucks to have my paranoia confirmed, but it would suck worse riding around with the wrong cam.

[EMS]

the cam I had was for a 1980, there's zero demand for 'em. .

I would beg to differ. Anybody who restores/rebuilds a 1980 to original specs would want to have it. I am restoring a Marysville 1980 right now and if I would not have the right cams, I would want them.
The 1980 carbs and exhaust are different to the other models and I see no reason why different cams would be more desirable or work better.

Maybe for those who chase the last 3 horsepower because they believe they can tell the difference between a 98 and a 105 horsepower bike by riding them.......

[Syscrush]

You make a good point that there's no pragmatic difference for the vast majority of street riders - there would be no way I'd notice the difference riding the bike. I wanted the 1979 cams because in my mind they're among the most specific/important/valuable parts as they are a big part of what made the 1979 what it was. I feel better knowing they're right in the same way that I feel better knowing about the ceramic coatings on some of the engine internals - it's a small % difference, but it's 100% the way I want it.

As for the value of the 1980 cams, I only know what he told me about his business buying and selling parts (which he's done since the 80's). He used to take the '80 cams on trade from people who wanted to swap, thinking that there would be demand eventually for those cams from people like you're describing doing concours resto, etc. But he found that they just took up more and more room on his shelf, so he dumped a bunch of them out and stopped buying them or accepting them on trade. BTW - I think you'd like him, he has a red & white CB1100F, a 10,000km survivor in mint condition.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Phil, i am assuming you are dealing with James Elliot in London?

[Syscrush]

Phil, i am assuming you are dealing with James Elliot in London?

Yes. I've bought a few things from him over the years, and have never had a bad experience.

When I pulled out my caliper and notes/spreadsheet, he said "good - take your time!" He wanted to be sure I was comfortable with what I was getting.

I talked to my mechanic on Thursday - he needed an oilpan gasket and a couple of others for side covers or something. Somehow we missed this in the shopping list of rebuild parts. All of these last few items are available from Honda and should be at the shop early this week. It might not be doable, but I'm really hoping to be able to be at the shop when it gets fired up again for the first time. We'll see.

On one hand, it's getting really exciting to be this close to actually riding that bike around again. On the other hand, it's been so long that feels kind of abstract at this point. Like I know intellectually that that's my bike and it'll be ready soon and I'll be out having fun on it - but I know it won't really feel real until it's all done.

[wyly]

Like I know intellectually that that's my bike and it'll be ready soon and I'll be out having fun on it - but I know it won't really feel real until it's all done.

maybe I'm alone in this but when I follow the progress of your project (and others in the forum), I feel your bike is intellectually mine as well...I'll share the satisfaction of completion and anticipation of that first ride ...

[Syscrush]

I'll share the satisfaction of completion and anticipation of that first ride ...

Sounds good! And then we can both update our profile pics to show what our bikes really look like.

I hated those red plug wires so damn much that when I finally got rid of 'em, the only pics I took of the bike were closeups of the wires! I can't wait to see it back together with the head, cylinder, and exhaust all refinished. I've been daydreaming about cleaning and photographing the bike as much as about riding it. I'm looking forward to having some nice new photos (and probably video) to share with my brothers (and sisters if there are any!) here.

[Syscrush]

https://youtu.be/wmySnxK-d7E

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

https://youtu.be/wmySnxK-d7E

...music that soothes the soul...

[Mouse]

https://youtu.be/wmySnxK-d7E

Can"t be Perry cause that's a Hindle pipe.

[Syscrush]

Can"t be Perry cause that's a Hindle pipe.

Hindle muffler on the end of a Wolf pipe in place of the rusted-out megaphone, same as it's been since soon after I bought it.

Pipe has been cleaned up and ceramic coated, glamour shots to follow soon.

[Syscrush]

I dropped by the shop yesterday to be there when they brought my beloved Perry back to life. Fired up first try, and ran pretty smoothly. Carbs still need a sync and a bit of tuning, but the major stuff seems pretty good.

Oil pressure was good, but there was one leak at one of the fittings for the oil t-stat. I am hoping it'll be OK with just some tightening, but worst case there is a new A/N fitting. The new throttle tube w/ Jimmy Twister feels great, and I'm very pleased with how the exhaust looks now that it's been cleaned up and ceramic coated. Once it was warmed up, the mechanic put an IR thermometer on each of the 6 header pipes and they all ready within 5°F of each other.

Here are some photos and notes:


On the stand, ready to fire up




I've wanted one of these for quite a while - oil pressure gauge from TIMS. On startup through warm-up it read right around 50psi. Having this will be a bit of extra peace of mind for me in general, but especially during break-in.


Now that the exhaust looks so spiffy, I'm going to have to get some nice black spacers and nuts so that the fasteners aren't such a distraction.

[Mouse]

Can"t be Perry cause that's a Hindle pipe.

Hindle muffler on the end of a Wolf pipe in place of the rusted-out megaphone, same as it's been since soon after I bought it.

Pipe has been cleaned up and ceramic coated, glamour shots to follow soon.

[Jeff Bennetts]

Looks great, you can clean up the the exhaust stud nuts by using acorn nuts, they will tighten fully without any extra washers, you can get them in chrome, stainless, exc, exc.

I bet you can't wait to get on that thing, it's supposed to get warm again. next week.

I dropped by the shop yesterday to be there when they brought my beloved Perry back to life. Fired up first try, and ran pretty smoothly. Carbs still need a sync and a bit of tuning, but the major stuff seems pretty good.

Oil pressure was good, but there was one leak at one of the fittings for the oil t-stat. I am hoping it'll be OK with just some tightening, but worst case there is a new A/N fitting. The new throttle tube w/ Jimmy Twister feels great, and I'm very pleased with how the exhaust looks now that it's been cleaned up and ceramic coated. Once it was warmed up, the mechanic put an IR thermometer on each of the 6 header pipes and they all ready within 5°F of each other.


Now that the exhaust looks so spiffy, I'm going to have to get some nice black spacers and nuts so that the fasteners aren't such a distraction.

[Syscrush]

Looks great, you can clean up the the exhaust stud nuts by using acorn nuts, they will tighten fully without any extra washers, you can get them in chrome, stainless, exc, exc.

I bet you can't wait to get on that thing, it's supposed to get warm again. next week.

Thanks Jeff! I am dying to get out riding again, so is my wife. We're planning to do a few day trips this spring and summer while the little guy is in daycare so our poor patient, neglected motorcycles can get out and stretch their legs a bit! I can't wait.

My first thought on fasteners was acorn nuts, too, and I do think that they'd look good. Ideally, I'd like something understated that doesn't draw attention, like this:



But there's an unthreaded part of the shaft protruding through the exhaust flange, which requires some kind of separate or integrated spacer. I don't know if this interference was there before as the mechanic who did the disassembly left the shop before reassembly started this year. It could be because the aftermarket flange is thinner than stock, or some effect of the head work on the fitment of the exhaust studs - or even both.

What I think I'll do is get some black metric coupling nuts and drill out the threads a bit on one side - just enough to clear the unthreaded part of the stud that's proud of the flange. It should look tidy and uncluttered, fit correctly, and be easy to do. From the outside, it would just look like this:



We'll see. In any case, it's down to some pretty small details now. :)