Perplexed-Need Help X 4

[patriot1]

Still finishing this but in the meantime on the other 200 (no letter)...



So I gave got my cylinder back from the machine shop. I got the piston and cylinder put on, no problem. I went out today after work and was hoping to put the rest together but when I put the cylinder head cover on-my exhaust valve would not move.

TDC-check

Valves loose-check

lobes down-check

Possible problems: I torqued the bolts down too far? (long story and just a possibility-I can't hear as well as I could)

Also: I had to use a rubber to get the cover to seat correctly. I found the odd but figured it might have been rust on a dowel pin.

I quit and came home at that point to ask for help. Please excuse the bad pictures. My lens cover is broken and my camera doesn't focus well.

Also excuse the rust and rvt.



will not budge



Intake is loose



TDC



lobes down-dots lined up

What have I missed? Why is the rocker on the exhaust valve not moving? It did move before I tightened it down.

[ATC King]

When it comes to the electrical stuff, if you have known good OEM parts, you may want to stick those back for diagnostic use only. I say that because the OE stuff is dang old and it'll all go out sooner or later so just using it for diagnostics/swaptronics is really a money saver.

Everything besides the CDI is pretty easy to diagnose. It's always nice to have a good CDI in the toolbox for testing.

[patriot1]

Thanks King. I finally got fire awhile back. That 200ATC (no letter) (Sinatra) is running good again.

On the other 200ATC (no letter) (Jessie) I made a horrendous rookie mistake. I thought the head cover would not seat because of the dowel pins so I forced it. I knew better but I did it anyway-life lesson-don't force it!



The camshaft bearing that fits in the hole wasn't in the hole. I knew to check that but didnt think. Anyway...I screwed up that head. Thank goodness for the parts bike! I am now back on track. I got the engine reassembled and put in the bike. The parts bike head was painted a very persistant red so I got my first try at partial engine painting.



I am resisting an easy chinese carb and figure that if i can clean and make this one run then I can clean and make any of them good. Maybe?



We'll see...

I wire wheeled, sanded and painted the exhaust today. I really hated painting exhaust that was still black from 1981.

Hopefully I'll be able to see if it will run soon!

Thanks to everyone for the help!

[350for350]

Most of the time, those Chinese carbs don't seem to be easy for very long. OEM is always better as far as I'm concerned. If I was buying trike, getting them to run, and then reselling them, I'd probably use the Chinese carbs, but I don't seem to do that. I seem to keep them around as long as I can.

[patriot1]

Well...I had the original carb soaking and found one that I have no idea where it came from and now



We have a runner!!! It was running rough so I ordered a chinese for quickness purposes

Plugged on the Chinese carb and still running rough...Checked and thought and then noticed this trying to escape the exhaust:



What is that? Let us explore:



Wow. Was I surprised? Not really-nothing surprises me after I opened the airbox:



It runs much better when I got the pipe cleaned out but I realize that I probably didn't get it all. I'm glad the rats had fun. Now it is time to tackle this chore:



Which I started the process yesterday:



About 1/2 way there:



I just don't like the idea of painting plastics. I'm sure some guys can do it well but I don't like it. I don't like sanding these for hours either but ....

Almost there. The hard part is done hopefully.

Thanks for all the help and advice guys.

[ATC King]

Dang plugged exhaust will get you everytime.

Got to look in both ends when living somewhere that has hole plugging critters. Maybe leave the baffle out and ride it hard for a bit to burn/purge whatever's left.


Ugh; sanding plastics. That's the best option if you can achieve a reasonable finish. You have to take the time to blend all the scratches while switching to finer sandpaper or have to start again. If there is crazing that's too deep to completely sand out, I don't hesitate to paint them. Properly applied paint will hold up very well and it protects the plastic from further sun damage.

You've probably had some old plastics that someone spray painted decades ago and found out just how tenacious that can be when trying to remove. It's like after enough time, the chemical bond is just as strong as if it were molded in.

Saving the OE plastics is worth the effort though. Nothing fits or looks like they do.

[patriot1]

Thanks King. It was full of stuff. I am leaving the baffle out until I ride it a few miles. I cleaned out what i could and it's running much smoother now.

With the original tank not having a lid on it, the original tank was rusted out beyond repair. (at least with my skill set)

But that is the beauty of parts bikes!!



So the parts bike tank was rough as well. I let Metal Rescue soak inside it for a few days and it didn't leak!! I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I was going to have to do a full sanding and repainting and new decals (and I still might) but with a little wet sanding, rubbing compound and some polish and buffing:



Yes, I know it's not new but I like the petina. It adds character. Honda used the best paint!

More on Sammy later...

[knappyfeet]

The plastics are looking good!

I'm with you...and I'm in the same boat...I hate doing them.

[patriot1]

Thanks Knappy, pictures are always better than reality though!

What really does (or eventually will) look good is the newest (and most expensive) 40 years old NOS headlight.



After an expensive trip to partszilla.com this morning for hardware, I decided to try my hand at plating again (2nd attempt-I never mentioned the first...)



Top is condition before, bottom is after. I'm satisfied but i know they are not great. I will continue to get better.

And after all that it was time for a maiden voyage for James:



A few issues but I am getting them worked out. 3rd pic reminds me of "I like big butts and I can not lie" lol

Now for a few questions, as always, your advice is very much appreciated.

Question #1



I had oil leaking from here so I tightened it up pretty tight. I know that I will have to go back and re torque the head bolts but why is this still leaking?

Question #2



The manual says "loosen the bottom bolt but not the top 6mm bolt and the tensioner will self adjust"; Well, when I loosen the bottom bolt the top bolt turns too (duh). Sorry. if this is a dumb question but is that ok to set tension on the cam chain?

Question 3



When hooking up the tail light, the original bulb worked and then stopped working quickly. I replaced the old bulb with a new one and it was bright but only lasted a few seconds. What is causing the tail light bulbs to blow?

TIA and Merry Christmas from the RatPack:



Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Jessie (More on Sammy later)

[ATC King]

On the cam chain tensioner, they're often stuck/worn and the specified way to adjust tension won't work.

Under that top bolt is a plunger, and inside of that plunger are bolt threads. I don't remember the exact size, but something like 4mm or 6mm. You'd set the engine to TDC on compression and using a bolt threaded into that plunger, gently lift up then tighten the set nut. It's just a manual way of doing it.

I never have had good results doing it the specified way. Always had camchain noise doing it like that. These things are old and the spring in there that's supposed to set tension is likely weak and with whatever goop from the years has formed on the mechanism, they just don't seem to work as intended.



Albeit expensive, good score on that headlight. In good condition, the headlights on these aren't that bad and are totally sufficeint to ride a night with considering the lower speeds these run at.