A '79 Honda CB, and me

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Yeah I grabbed 2 quarts of Mobil 1 Syn bike oil yesterday (was on sale for 7.99 a qt, but limit 2)

I just ordered tires and tubes from "BikeBandit", the ones on there look good but are from 2001 so thats a no-go!

Gentlemen, we have take off!

Wired up the old (perfectly fine) ignition switch, no kill switch yet, but the ignition location is right on top on these so it passes the safe enough test for now.

Took the carb apart again, lubed the throttle linkage, and reassembled. Idles nice and normal, battery is charging (6.88V after my ride) Changed the oil and cleaned out the "filter". Same for the air filter.

Decided to take it around the neighborhood, and it goes through all the gears and pulls nice, no smoke, and the brakes are great for what they are.

Next up is the lights!

George

Led bulbs /flasher brake light for all the safety. 

In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :

I would definitely like to do LEDs for visibility and reduced load on the system, I just dont knownif any are 6V compatible? Electrical isn't my forte unfortunately!

In reply to Georges1991 :

A quick search suggests that 6V LED automotive lights are totally a thing. I don't know what socket/number the CB takes; hopefully it's available.

You may need to do some reading to confirm this, but the reading I did suggested that a conversion to 12V is simple. The ignition system doesn't care, you just need to upgrade the stator and rectifier and everything else operates as normal. Just bulbs are the easy button, but 12v is also an option for the future. 

Good ideas fellas. I did some Google work myself and the 12V conversion looks pretty straightforward, definitely a future will do. The 6V LEDs are a good stopgap until then. Even if the exact bulbs aren't available, making something work shouldn't be too hard.

Tomorrow's plan is to adjust the chain and see if I can get the brake/tail light working correctly.

Old Honda's are awesome. This'll be a great bike. Easy to get parts for, well documented. Have fun. Save money on gas. Spend money on gear. 

In reply to barefootskater (Shaun) :

Thanks Shaun. It's really been a fun project thus far, and I've never been a motorcycle guy. Rode some cool ones but never really had a desire for one, I think I'm hooked now! Lol.

Dusted off the old helmet, and got my heavy red wing boots. Ordered a new helmet with my tires and tubes, and some new gloves too.

Woo!

I have lights! Brake light switch is a little iffy, have to try to clean it or replace it, but everything works. Turn signals, speedo light, everything, a successful day.

Got a message from my cousin with the generous offer of his early 70s CB175 for the princely sum of free today.

What have I gotten myself into?

Well at least these are easier to horde than cars. 

New tires and tubes are en route, should be here this week, then I can really give it a workout. Just been putting around the neighborhood so far because of the tires age. Exciting!

75 degrees in November! What a beautiful weekend, had to do some putting around and I think I'll take the Oldsmobile out for one last ride for the year tomorrow.

Some "glamor" shots

It's come a good ways in a couple weeks, I'm satisfied.