If my CBX could tell it's story
Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:17 pm
Admin - not sure where this should be, feel free to move or edit as needed
After a couple of months now with my '81 CBX, I wanted to follow up from my first post and initial observations. As I shared there, the new to me bike showed just over 10,400 miles and came to me as a nice 'work in progress' from the previous owner who had owned it briefly but knew little of the bike's history. He had left the bike with a 'trusted' mechanic to refresh the carbs, brakes, etc, had replaced the tires and had ridden it a little. Once I got it home, I looked the bike over, I began to ride it, and found a fuel leak at the Pingel petcock (new fuel lines, but no clamps), a greasey chain, poor front brakes, and a troubling rattle from the motor, especially when cold.
As I began to address these issues, I found myself wondering about the history of this 38 year old bike...what was it's story, it's history? Perhaps in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter...but knowing some of it's history might be helpful in addressing it's issues.
Since my first post, and your helpful responses, this is what I've been up to with this 'mystery girl'...
First, the fueling issue was addressed, immediately. My first outing on this bike was 300 miles on Sunday afternoon, Father's Day, and upon discovering the leak, I scrambled that evening to find a way to clamp it off and get home. Zip-ties from Walmart sufficed to get me home. Geared clamp - no leaks, check! I've now been able to get fuel mileage in the mid forty's if I am careful, so that's good. BTY, the bike carburates well.
Next, I changed the oil to get a baseline on type and possible consumption.
After that, I addressed the front brakes. The pads were worn and glazed as suggested by Dave and EMS. New pads installed, and I now have good, safe brakes.
The oily chain/undercarriage was a troubling symptom, knowing that replacing a leaking output shaft seal requires splitting the cases if done by the book. (Which I have)
I did have a seal onhand, and after verifying that the oll cooler lines, or alternator weren't the culprit, I reluctantly decided to change the seal...without splitting the cases. With considerable aviation, and agriculture maintenance experience, I knew I could change the seal just by extracting it from the cases...which was accomplished quite easily. Once it was removed, I found what I believe to be the source of the leak. There was a 'gouge-like' mark on the countershaft right where the seal rides. It appeared to be from someone's effort to remove the seal at some point in the past? The seal appeared to be unmolested and original, so where did the shaft damage come from? This, and several other clues add to the mystery of this bike's history. I decided to dress the shaft as carefully as I could, and install the new seal (with the raised outer flange lip removed from the seal), thinking I was one step closer to removing the motor to address this (and other?) issues if it failed. Seal replaced, along with the o-ring under the sprocket retaining bolt, chain cleaned up, and I've had 500 miles of oil-leak free enjoyment.
Sidebar - Every time I've checked the oil, on this bike, it's always been low...though not severely, enough to be troubling. I'd hoped addressing the countershaft leak would solve my oil consumption...but it appears not. More on that in a minute...
The troubling rattle in the motor has been another concern...(yep, I've been trying not to link that to the oil consumption). I did adjust the cam chains last weekend, and now the bike sounds much better.
Oil consumption - I'm going to continue to ride the bike and monitor the amount of oil I have to add. To this point, I've been adding about 1 quart every 600-750 miles. I'm about to check the plugs, do a compression check, and leak down check when I get the time. No white smoke, no other symptoms...again, I wish she could talk and tell her story.
I still have many items on my list to check on this bike...the alternator clutch and brushes as an example. One step at a time.
Thinking about the mysterious gouge on the output shaft, and several other strange oddities has me wondering if my bike may have been a 'School Bike' at some time. Along with the output shaft damage, there was considerable paint damage to the rear portion of the front fender from one or more brake fluid spills sometime in the past. Also, though it's not prominent, there's some numerical markings on the clutch housing, '853-01570' hand scribed. All of these things added together made me think, "School Bike?" the other night when I was mulling this all over. On the other hand, it may mean nothing, right?
Whether my bike is a 'School Bike' or not, it matters not to me...I love this thing and every time I get to take it out, I grin from ear to ear. I am determined to continue to address the bike's issues and deal with them one at a time.
I imagine there are a few here who've owned their CBX's from the beginning, or know of the bike's history through the previous owner. But I'll bet most of us are just on a journey of 'getting to know' the story of our bikes...one fix at a time. For me, that journey is worth it!
After a couple of months now with my '81 CBX, I wanted to follow up from my first post and initial observations. As I shared there, the new to me bike showed just over 10,400 miles and came to me as a nice 'work in progress' from the previous owner who had owned it briefly but knew little of the bike's history. He had left the bike with a 'trusted' mechanic to refresh the carbs, brakes, etc, had replaced the tires and had ridden it a little. Once I got it home, I looked the bike over, I began to ride it, and found a fuel leak at the Pingel petcock (new fuel lines, but no clamps), a greasey chain, poor front brakes, and a troubling rattle from the motor, especially when cold.
As I began to address these issues, I found myself wondering about the history of this 38 year old bike...what was it's story, it's history? Perhaps in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter...but knowing some of it's history might be helpful in addressing it's issues.
Since my first post, and your helpful responses, this is what I've been up to with this 'mystery girl'...
First, the fueling issue was addressed, immediately. My first outing on this bike was 300 miles on Sunday afternoon, Father's Day, and upon discovering the leak, I scrambled that evening to find a way to clamp it off and get home. Zip-ties from Walmart sufficed to get me home. Geared clamp - no leaks, check! I've now been able to get fuel mileage in the mid forty's if I am careful, so that's good. BTY, the bike carburates well.
Next, I changed the oil to get a baseline on type and possible consumption.
After that, I addressed the front brakes. The pads were worn and glazed as suggested by Dave and EMS. New pads installed, and I now have good, safe brakes.
The oily chain/undercarriage was a troubling symptom, knowing that replacing a leaking output shaft seal requires splitting the cases if done by the book. (Which I have)
I did have a seal onhand, and after verifying that the oll cooler lines, or alternator weren't the culprit, I reluctantly decided to change the seal...without splitting the cases. With considerable aviation, and agriculture maintenance experience, I knew I could change the seal just by extracting it from the cases...which was accomplished quite easily. Once it was removed, I found what I believe to be the source of the leak. There was a 'gouge-like' mark on the countershaft right where the seal rides. It appeared to be from someone's effort to remove the seal at some point in the past? The seal appeared to be unmolested and original, so where did the shaft damage come from? This, and several other clues add to the mystery of this bike's history. I decided to dress the shaft as carefully as I could, and install the new seal (with the raised outer flange lip removed from the seal), thinking I was one step closer to removing the motor to address this (and other?) issues if it failed. Seal replaced, along with the o-ring under the sprocket retaining bolt, chain cleaned up, and I've had 500 miles of oil-leak free enjoyment.
Sidebar - Every time I've checked the oil, on this bike, it's always been low...though not severely, enough to be troubling. I'd hoped addressing the countershaft leak would solve my oil consumption...but it appears not. More on that in a minute...
The troubling rattle in the motor has been another concern...(yep, I've been trying not to link that to the oil consumption). I did adjust the cam chains last weekend, and now the bike sounds much better.
Oil consumption - I'm going to continue to ride the bike and monitor the amount of oil I have to add. To this point, I've been adding about 1 quart every 600-750 miles. I'm about to check the plugs, do a compression check, and leak down check when I get the time. No white smoke, no other symptoms...again, I wish she could talk and tell her story.
I still have many items on my list to check on this bike...the alternator clutch and brushes as an example. One step at a time.
Thinking about the mysterious gouge on the output shaft, and several other strange oddities has me wondering if my bike may have been a 'School Bike' at some time. Along with the output shaft damage, there was considerable paint damage to the rear portion of the front fender from one or more brake fluid spills sometime in the past. Also, though it's not prominent, there's some numerical markings on the clutch housing, '853-01570' hand scribed. All of these things added together made me think, "School Bike?" the other night when I was mulling this all over. On the other hand, it may mean nothing, right?
Whether my bike is a 'School Bike' or not, it matters not to me...I love this thing and every time I get to take it out, I grin from ear to ear. I am determined to continue to address the bike's issues and deal with them one at a time.
I imagine there are a few here who've owned their CBX's from the beginning, or know of the bike's history through the previous owner. But I'll bet most of us are just on a journey of 'getting to know' the story of our bikes...one fix at a time. For me, that journey is worth it!