1.25.2007

lemme fiddle with yer mixture

We had a carb party the Saturday before last and got some work done. It was a bit nippy out so we worked in the sweltering heat of Funkz apartment. My carbs are ready to be slapped back on and balanced/tuned. RedQueen's carbs are waiting on the new set of floats and a bit of advice from Rob @ CRC2. The other guy said there's nothing except the press in jet in the mystery passage. But that answer doesn't sit well with me, so time to get a 2nd opinion. Funkz carbs are back in their bank and ready to go. Man, putting the choke assembly in the 750 bank is not the easiest task.

While at CRC2, a strange thing happened. We actually taught them something new. I know, sounds incredible but it's true! Rick had never heard of boiling carbs in lemon juice and water to clean them. (Granted, I hadn't either until about 4 weeks ago) But hey, you gotta take your compliments when you get 'em. We didn't get all the parts we needed but enough to get some work done.

We're still searching for a caliper rebuild kit but I think the early cb750 used the same caliper. If so, we're in like Flynn. This Saturday we'll be picking up fork seals, brake pads and hopefully the rebuild kit. I'm not sure if we'll get shop time this weekend but I'm gonna try. The 350 and the 450 are moving along at a good pace. Both should be ready by spring, if not sooner.

Project Frankencycle only needs some the stock air boxes and new tires. The rest is just fine tuning. Before we do any test starts, I want to check the cam timing again and the valve clearance. Bride of Frankencycle just needs new sprockets, chain, tank and clutch pack. Nothing major at all.

If luck goes our way, we'll be taking the ABATE course this spring. Should be fun and educational. We still have to get RedQueen a good helmet and some gloves. She's really looking forward to learning and riding. It will be a great day when all the bikes roll out and fire up.

1.08.2007

cb350k questions....

We tore apart RedQueen's carbs for the rebuild but ran into some issues. The mixture screw doesn't match up, so we'll be using the stock set. Also, there are some misc bits that I can't ID. I know where the pilot and main jets are but there's a 3rd spot that I'm clueless about:





Here's a pic of some dirty old carbs but they're "complete":

Any ideas on the mystery "hole" and parts?

1.02.2007

Shop Time!

On Sunday, Funkz, RedQueen and I hit the shop and started tearing into all 3 bikes. While I pulled the Mikunis off my bike, RQ started cleaning out her carbs and pulling old seals. Surprisingly, her carbs weren't all the dirty but they look a hell of a lot better now. I cleaned out the "new" set of stock carbs I won on eBay. They didn't seem to be in bad shape, so I sprayed them out and put 'em on the 450. After all the fun with carb cleaner, RQ and I pulled her caliper and she started cleaning it out.

Funkz started winterizing his bike and prepping it for all the upcoming work. We'll be pulling the engine this winter and giving it a good once over. That's definitely going to require some more man power to get that big lump outta the frame.

We fired up RQ's bike with some starting fluid, so she could her it purr. Man, those aftermarket mufflers sound kick ass. I decided to go back to stock carbs, air filters and side covers. I'm just going to get it back to the basics and upgrade later. So the feelers are out and I'm trying to track down those parts. I had 2 sets before we got the shop but like a dumbass, I threw them out.

Here's a few pics of all the fun: