Atlanta noob!

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:30 am

Hey folks!

Long time listener, first time caller. I've just acquired a non-running 1980 cbc 900 from a buddy of mine. This'll be my first bike project and I've got a lot to learn, so I hope you guys can tolerate some awkwardly dumb questions.

Let the adventure begin!

(pics coming soon...)

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:48 pm

Welcome to the forum!
Nuttin' more fun than tryin' to figure out what is wrong with sombebody else's bike!
Looking forward to the pics, too!

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:11 pm

Howdy from the Lone Star State.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:21 pm

Welcome to the site sparrow ... Smile

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:42 pm

Welcome from Amish country

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:18 pm

There she is. She broke down nearly 5 years ago (reportedly an electrical problem), and has been battling the weather in a driveway ever since. Serious work is probably needed for this resurrection.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:34 pm

front signals are off a smaller honda

should be interesting

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:41 pm

Good thing you have a lot of time on your hands , huh ... Very Happy

You probably figured it out by now , we can help . Smile

And you have already downloaded the FSM from our Tech Docs section and read the Check list ( link in my sig ) . So , you're well on your way to a sweet running 900 .

Wink

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:46 pm

A really good bath and some penetrating oil and she'll look better. May as well get started, pull the plugs and spray the hell out of the cylinders with some penetrating oil and let it start to working. If the oil looks good just leave it for now till you get it ready to run, may as well go ahead and learn how to pull the carbs off, you're gonna have to. See how bad the tank is rusted, pull the petcock/sleeve out to clean the trash off. Take EVERY electrical connection apart, clean, tighten and fill with di-electric grease. Pull the right hand stator cover off so that you can get to the rotor. May as well plan on replacing the rotor, regulator/rectifier, those are more often than not the source of most charging problems on these bikes. Replace the fuses and clean the contacts. Take the cable loose from the solenoid and clean the contacts, same with the ground. Buy a new battery. After you get it running you will have to adjust the valves. Lots of little things to do. Read through the technical documents for each step and the guys on here will help with the stuff you don't understand. Looks like she will make a good rider.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:47 pm

Welcome to here. wave

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:49 pm

What's that other bike in the corner?

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:03 pm

buy new tires

the first thing i check, is the ohms of the charging rotor

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:16 pm

Great advice mstspot! I'm certainly no mechanic, so I welcome any help I can get.

Hiding in the corner is a 97 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 800. Here's a better pic taken a couple weeks ago:

So I did jump the gun a bit, and I drained the oil already. I pulled the tank off, and it was bone dry, though something in there is rattling like it's got a bit of dirt (or rust flakes) in there. I couldn't get the cap off, even though the key works fine in the ignition and helmet lock. WD-40 wasn't the answer (I'll likely post separately about this if extra fiddling doesn't do the trick).

I did manage to get the oil cooler back in place though. The rubber fasteners had rotted and broken, so as a quick fix, I got some adhesive in there and put it back on again. The tongue at the bottom of the cooler had bent quite a bit with it hanging like that, so I re-jiggered that too.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:37 pm

Try penetrating oil instead, let it sit over nite then just keep wiggling it, light not might

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:38 pm

Click on SeanG's Checklist in my signature for some good ideas.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:42 pm

that is a good list

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:43 pm

the 800 vulcan is also 800 suzuki or visa versa