Cylinder Sequence


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Barry Moore
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New Member & Happy To Be Here
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Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:56 am
Location: Atlanta, GA
Location: Atlanta, GA

Cylinder Sequence

Post by Barry Moore »

Hello all... I know the firing order, but I want to find out if the #1 cylinder is on the far left or far right side (as viewed while sitting on the bike)....?

I have taken temp readings of the pipes and I find that the 2nd from the right runs about half the temp of the other 5 pipes at idle after warm up.

I have all manuals, but I cannot find any information about which side of the bike the cylinder numbering starts 1 thru 6. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Barry -
1981 CBX (restored to factory original)
2002 CB750 (chrome 4 into 1 Vance & Hines full exhaust, several Denali light sets)
2013 CB1100 (bone stock)

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bobcat
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Re: Cylinder Sequence

Post by bobcat »

Hi Barry ! As you are sitting on the bike No. 1 is on the left. The "cold cyl.
you describe would be no. 5. What does the plug color look like ?
Compression test ? Leak down test ?
Bob
82 CBX, 81 CBX, CB1100F, 79/82 CB900F (avatar)

Barry Moore
New Member & Happy To Be Here
New Member & Happy To Be Here
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:56 am
Location: Atlanta, GA
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Cylinder Sequence

Post by Barry Moore »

Hello Bob, thank you very much for your reply. Based upon your signature, you know these bike very well. As an FYI, I finally found the cylinder number sequence on page 17-3 of the service manual. As for your additional inquiries...

I haven't pulled the plugs yet, but it is next on the list. My compression tester / leak down tester is at a family-member's house out of state, so I'll have to wait to get it back in about a month. The bike starts well, and it runs fairly smooth (not exactly as smooth as I would expect)... but my bigger issue is it doesn't pull very hard. That's why i quickly checked with the infrared gun. I have a 2002 CB750 (extremely quick), and a 2013 CB1100 which pulls like a herd of elephants. These are the bikes that are giving me a reference to compare to the CBX regarding how hard I think it should pull under relatively-hard acceleration. It feels like it doesn't want to pull very hard until the RPM is to up to 5K and then it seems to come alive a bit more.

The carbs on the CBX ('81) have recently been cleaned and sync'd/adjusted off the bike at Old School Carbs, so I'm anticipating a problem with the fuel line to the carb, or a bad plug or bad wire. I wouldn't expect the carbs to be have a sync issue due to the quality of work OSC does, but I'll check it anyway. I'm going to document the temps at each exhaust outlet over the weekend to establish a baseline, then pull the plugs and continue with more troubleshooting until there is a more clear picture as to what is causing the temp delta and hopefully resolve the lack of (expected) power.

Since I'm new to CBX ownership, can you offer any additional possible causes for low power... such as ignition timing being retarded??? I would suspect a bad coil, but each of them hits 2 cylinders and my exhaust issue is isolated to a single exhaust. It's possible that the valves need to be adjusted. I don't hear any noise that would make me suspect the valve train being loose, but anything is possible. The exhaust doesn't have any fuel or oil smell or smoke. The bike has been completely restored to factory original by a very competent and thorough Honda person, with stock exhaust. I'm very happy with the bike, and I bought it knowing that a 40 year old bike would come with a punch list....

Thanks again for your reply. I greatly appreciate the knowledge that is freely shared here.
Barry -
1981 CBX (restored to factory original)
2002 CB750 (chrome 4 into 1 Vance & Hines full exhaust, several Denali light sets)
2013 CB1100 (bone stock)

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bobcat
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Re: Cylinder Sequence

Post by bobcat »

Barry, please read Jonesbear's testimonial in my R&D platform thread.
You might want to consider it. I would strongly suggest that you check
the valve clearances first. t's very likely you would find some tight valves,
especially exhaust, that is hurting compression. It would be wise to tension
the cam chains while your at it.
As far as carb sync. goes, bench sync. only gets them close. There is no
substitute for gauges or your choice of instruments that measure cyl. demand.
I should add that the carb sync. should be done last, after all other tuning
procedures have been done.

I'm sure others here will have plenty to offer given a little time. I really hope
you can get it to run up to expectations. It's there to be found ! Happy trails ! :D
Bob
82 CBX, 81 CBX, CB1100F, 79/82 CB900F (avatar)

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