Fuel system fun

Ok, with most of the electrical system working (other than the head and tail lights which I will figure out soon) I think its time to see to the fuel system. First thing is first, I'm going to remove the fuel tank, and use some light acid to burn out the touches of rust that are inside the tank. Then I will replace the fuel filter, and then the big job, cleaning out the carburetors, I have been putting it off, but with the gas tank coming off, there will really be no excuse to not remove and clean them.

I will also use this time since most of the big parts of the bike will be removed, to check over the rest of the wires that run under the gas tank, as well as checking the compression of the cylinders and all of the valves and gaskets. I will also be installing new spark plugs that I bought (and checking for spark from each of them), and checking for oil leaks, and doing an oil change as well as basic, but through, cleaning of everything inside and out.

Lastly, with the gas tank off and drained of gas, I may try to remove the 2 small dents that are in it, I will see what an auto body place wants to charge me, if its under 100 bucks, ill spring for it, otherwise I have a few techniques I want to try for myself, and as a last resort I could always use autobody filler and just sand it down to perfection. I will also look into a new paint job, that will probably be expensive though, so maybe I wont do that yet, I'm not sure.

That is a lot to do in the next few days, but I think I could get most of it done properly if I plan it well. Ill keep you posted.

I see the light at the end of the tunnel, or rather, I don't...

Lots of electrical stuff to talk about, firstly, I finished the rewire of the bike, and everything is working again, everything that is except for the headlight and tail light... The tail light will light up if i hit the brakes, but it has no running light (the dimmer light in the tail so people can see you at night) hmm.... so yes boys and girls, the means that my new fuse set up works!!!

To the left is a picture of the old fuse box (see how its made to use tube like fuses?) then to the upper left the new fuse set up that I made earlier today, like I said before it's three separate fuses in watertight and shockproof cases, and they use the square fuses you can find in all cars. Then the last picture is of the wires that I had to deal with for the past few days, finally got them straight, and believe it or not, but that is a picture of AFTER I had them organized haha. Now to oust the ghost from my lights....

Safety gear

So I already got this awesome helmet the other day, it can withstand a point-blank shot with a shotgun. Its normally 450 bucks but the guy at the hinda place hooked me up for only 100! its full-faced and it can lift up in the front to expose my face so i can dink water or adjust my sunglasses or pick my nose, whatever.

I just found these on the internet, I remember reading about them in popular mechanics when I was like 14, seem like pretty cool safety gear, as soon as I can find 800 bucks to spend.... heres the link Airbag Jackets

Wires wires everywhere

So I finished with all the re attachment of all the wires, im pretty sure they are all attached to what they are supposed to be, i will find out pretty quick haha. I hvae taken the fuse box off the bike and brought it to my house, along with the fuse lines i bought the other day. My plan is to solder them into the old wires so i can use the same connector piece into the wire harness of the bike, I also bought some heat-water seal tubes that will shrink around the wires when i use a blow dryer on them and create a nice watertight seal around the wires i weld together.. I will have to wait till later tonight to do all that though.

I will include some pictures of this as I do it tonight, that way if im killed by the fumes of the solder, there will be a record of what happened haha.

Ahh, curse the 70's and their tube fuses!

So I just finished running all over the city looking for a particular type of fuse that is supposed to fit into the fuse box for my bike. I think that is why she has been shorting out, i looked and the completely wrong amp fuses are in the fuse box! I got the repair manual today, and looked up the correct resistances, but could not find the right fuses for the life of me, I checked 3 auto parts stores, ace hardware, radio shack, and an actual honda motorcycle dealership/repair place.

The fuse box is missing its cap anyway, so I bought 3 individual waterproof in-line fuse holders for when i re-do the wires, I will just cut the old box out and mount these 3 new ones in, they use the newer style fuses as well, the square ones, so I shouldn't have any more trouble finding fuses after I replace the box.

I also got new spark plugs and plug wires, high mileage oil and carb cleaner for the big task of fixing those up, which will come right after I am done with the electrical system. Should I put the turn signals back on? I'm not sure I kind of like the way it looks without them, and I can always signal with my arm... not sure. I'm going to go read the shop manual now.

Love at first sight

This is the first picture I saw of my bike, I found her in a craigslist post, went to see her a few days later, and fell in love right on the spot. I purchased her from the previous owner for 450 dollars, he was nice enough to trailer it over to my friend's house, which is where i'm keeping her for now. Although she is outside, I was able to find a cheap tent at Target to store her in so she doesnt get wet, so at the moment she is camping out at my buddy's house.

She does run, and everything is more or less in working order, there are a bunch of smallish things that need looking at. The low beams on the headlight dont work, the turn signals were broken, so the last owner removed them, missing side panel, a small dent in the gas tank, some spots of rust (none on the frame) and the carbs need some major cleaning, the idle jets are completely clogged so to keep her running you have to rev alot.

There are a bunch of good things though, basicly brand new tires, the seat is in awesome condition, when I got a new battery in her (thank you Grace) she started right up with the electric start, no more kick start for me haha.

This is just the beggining, I will have many new pictures and comments, maybe I'll even keep a running tab on what I spend on parts, although I really dont want to depress myself too much haha. Stick around!