First bike not powered by my legs

I played around with swapping plugs but still can't get #1 to light off. I forgot to try switching plug wires around, so I'll try that next.  But new plugs are also on the way. The ones in my bike are NGK DCPR8E but the ones I ordered (which are recommended by everyone for this bike) are NGK D8EA. According to NGK's webiste, the DCPR8E are "resistor" type and with a projected electrode, while the standard D8EA's are non-resistor with a non-projected electrode. Everything else is the same. So maybe we're on to something here?

DCPR8E. Notice how much further the electrode sticks out. This would have potentially better combustion, only if your system is powerful enough to light it in the turbulent environment of a cylinder.

D8EA. The electrode is much more shielded, which should make it "easier" for the ignition system to light off. Fingers crossed...

And I ordered a set of shorty mufflers because this thing too dang loud. I'm now up to $1,300 in this project. 

In other news, the oil pressure light is constantly on, even when disconnected from the sender. So I have short somewhere in that circuit. I also un-stuck the mechanical advance linkage so now it revs about as high it can with only 2 or 3 cylinders.

Got em all firing with new plugs! But it's STILL not runnig right. It's either surging around 3k RPM at idle with a lot of misfiring, or it smooths down to a nice idle. Also won't rev past 7500 or so. I noticed while sitting on it I could mess with this phenomenon by pulling the carb rack up and down, so I'm thinking vacuum leaks. I know the intake boots are pretty badly cracked and split, but I thought I could just cinch down the hose clamps a little more. Guess not. So definitely putting new boots and clamps on after the holiday break. 

Anyway, check out my new exhaust. Dual 12" shorty mufflers, pretty simple but very effective compared to open headers. 

Also got the fork fluid swapped out. I don't know exactly what drained out, but it definitely wasn't ATF nor nearly enough quantity. I got maybe 1oz of black watery goo out and added back 6oz of ATF+4 that I'll never use on my ex's minivan ever again. I had to improvise with the fork cap by grinding some flats into a hex head bolt. Forks feel 1,000% better and stiffer. Probably still needs seals, but I just bought a whole lot more life out of them. 

In other news, I passed the MSF course today and got the waiver for the DMV. Those CB300F's are FUN. So now I'm just a license, tag, and jacket away from practicing my new skills on the local streets. And intake boots. Need those too. 

After Datsanti's paint job, I really think I can cut and buff that tank to glossy perfection.

Running pretty good now! Just in time for getting it registered tomorrow. New intake boots cleared up most of the vacuum leakage, but some of the clamps are the wrong size. It also still hesitates quite a bit at higher RPM, but overall very drivable and idles nicely.

https://youtu.be/Ay7NFmRa59s 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

In reply to maschinenbau :

If the tires are hard or cracking I'd still swap them out for fresh ones- the bike looks like it lived outside for a while so I'd assume they're suspect.  But if they're still nice and sticky and structurally sound go for it!

Bike parts are pretty cheap unless you're working on something super weird.  They're also cheap to insure, easy to store, easy to work on, fuel efficient, and fast.  Actually, other than the "falls over by itself" thing and the "no protection whatsoever" thing motorcycles are better than cars in most way

 

I would have to agree with you on that

In reply to maschinenbau :

Great work. Just remember to watch for the other drivers that don't see you. 

Stampie said:

In reply to maschinenbau :

Great work. Just remember to watch for the other drivers that don't see you. 

Rule 1.  That motherberkeleyer can’t see me.

Rule 2.  That motherberkeleyer is trying to kill me.

maybe I have them in the wrong order.

Yeah the class is great about driving home just how invisible you are. Luckily I've had years of experience with that as a road cyclist. Some people do literally try to kill you as a cyclist ("get off the road!!!!11!REEEEE") though the worst I've ever actually experienced is a Big Gulp thrown at my helmet. The cold splash was a welcome break in the heat, but the sticky residue later was not.

Still waiting on the jacket I ordered, so I've only been squidding around town on slow streets after work. No big roads or commuting until I have all the gear. I had a very "duh" moment the other night when the engine started sputtering to a stop and stranded me a half mile from the house. Took me way too long to realize I've never filled the tank since owning, and the fuel valve had been in the "reserve" position. That was fun push home...

Fresh gas cleared it right up, but it's still not running quite 100% right. It breaks up a bit at high RPM when driving (loaded), but will rev freely in neutral. I'm suspecting plug wires or accelerator pump, though it's very rideable as is. 

In reply to maschinenbau :

In my opinion, one cannot truly bond with a motorcycle until they've done the "push of shame" at least once.  My record is 3 miles.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Ooof. Luckily mine was half downhill, but that uphill part really sucked.

This seems to be my MO. Anytime I get something running, it runs out of gas and confuses me. Same thing happened during Datsaniti's first autocross run at the 2018 Challenge.

I used to always to forget to switch the reserve back after filling up. I feel your pain. 

I attempted an actual ride to an actual destination the other night. Got about 10 miles away and suddenly the bike was handling weird. At a stoplight I noticed the rear tire was flat! I tried to fill it up at a gas station but could hear it hissing out of the base of the valve stem. Limped it home and tore into it.

Looks like tubes were installed in these tires, which combined with the Comstars should be able to go tubeless. I'm suspecting a leaking tube near the valve stem, so I'm going to remove the tube, install a tubeless valve stem, and go from there.

While I had the wheel off, I checked out the rear brake and bearing. It all looks brand new and clean! So someone has been in here recently. Probably the same person that cleaned the carbs and did the cafe racer conversion. Probably NOT the same person that spray-bombed every surface black. I'm going to remove the front tube as well and check that bearing while I'm at it.

It was a nail in the tire, which punctured the tube. Must have picked it up on Friday night's ride. The local moto shop replaced the tube so we're back on the road!

So the charging system definitely needs some attention too. I went for a 30 mile ride last night. Headlight started flickering, engine started missing like crazy, even died at a stoplight and I had to clutch-drop start it down a hill because the battery was so dead. I barely limped into my neighborhood, where the engine graciously shutdown at the top of a hill. I still had to push it a few blocks home though. No voltage change at the battery when it's running vs off.

I checked the rotor slipring resistance - it's fine, within spec of 4-6 Ohms. It also looked very new. The stator has 3 AC leads. They all check out with continuity between each one, but the resistance is a little high. Supposed to be 0.4 to 0.5 Ohms between each pair, but it's 0.9 to 1.0 Ohms. The stator looks as equally new and fresh as the rotor, and the brushes have loads of life left. I haven't checked AC voltage from the leads yet. Then there's the rectifer/regulator, also known to fail often.

Honestly getting pretty tired of the finicky old electrics on this bike. Between the LED light conversion, lithium battery, and questionable ignition/charging system compatibility, I'm really considering just junking the whole rear half of the wiring harness and building my own from modern automotive components, incorporating these mods: rectifer/regulator, GM coils, and HEI system. I shouldn't have to charge my bike like an electric car.

In reply to maschinenbau :

Did you hook up the charging system?  It was set up as a total loss system because the PO said he didn't want to over charge the lithium battery. 

In reply to Stampie :

I thought it was hooked up, but I'll take a closer look. It's definitely not acting like it's hooked up. Could as simple as the lead to battery just isn't on. 

Stampie said:

In reply to maschinenbau :

Did you hook up the charging system?  It was set up as a total loss system because the PO said he didn't want to over charge the lithium battery. 

This would explain your electron deprivation issue but it's also a cause for great concern since Li Ion batteries do not like to be over charged.  In other words, this could end in spontaneous combustion and copious amounts of fire.  I would recommend replacing the battery with a standard lead acid type and then hook up the charging system.

In reply to Samebutdifferent :

Having had a lithium ion battery catch fire on me at the Challenge I agree. 

In reply to maschinenbau :

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough in explaining that. 

You were totally clear, I just didn't look very hard at the wiring to see how the charger was disconnected. So it sounds like to keep the Li-ion battery, I may need some kind of overcharge protection. Or switch to another battery. All of this assumes a healthy charging system, which I still need to fully diagnose.

I'm pretty sure the charging system is hooked up like it's supposed to be, just not working. There's continuity between all the connectors and battery and ground where everything is supposed to be. I think the charging system simply isn't working. The stator resistances are a little high but continuity is good, no shorts or opens. My multi-meter doesn't do AC voltage so I can't check that while running. I am thinking blown rectifier/regulator. I am going to attempt the cheap automotive replacement. If that's not it, then it's the stator or rotor which is more expensive but still relatively cheap because motorcycle. Maybe throw in that Cavalier coil/HEI upgrade while I'm at it. 

More diagnosing shows a relatively high resistance between black and white on the plug that goes to the stator. Black and white are for the brushes which ride on the rotor slip rings. The resistance between slip rings should be between 4 and 6 ohms, which it is. Resistance between black and white wires, which is the same thing but with the brushes in between, should only be slightly higher. It was 100+ ohms or open circuit depending on crank angle. So I brushed and contact cleaner'd the rotor slip rings really good. Got the resistance back down, but still seems to fluctuate up to 50 sometimes with the engine spinning. The regulator should be sending some amount of voltage back to the rotor via the slip rings if it was working properly. The amount of voltage it puts at the rotor will then determine the AC voltage produced at the stator. More battery voltage voltage from the sensing wire --> less voltage from regulator to rotor --> less voltage out of stator rectified and back to battery. Pretty simple concept, but I just now got it while typing this out. 

I am definitely not getting any voltage out of the regulator to the rotor, therefore no voltage will be produced at the stator, and nothing to be rectified and put back into the battery. The regulator is definitely getting voltage and sensing voltage and ground. I think I need to replace the regulator. However, if the high resistance at the brushes gets worse again, that could apparently fry some stuff. Folks on SOHC forums say the rotor resistance can change and even open circuit when running due to heat, thermal expansion, vibration, etc. But the regulator is a good cheap place to start. 

Because build threads are useless without pictures

Here you can see the inner and outer slip rings on the rotor, and inside the cover is the stator and brushes. The brushes ride on the two slip rings, which have the lighter copper color.

There used to be a fusible link where that add-a-fuse is now located. It does the job though. The old frame-mounted starter relay was simply wrapped in a giant wad of electrical tape and shoved in this box with the battery, rectifier/regulator, and ignitors. I'll probably do better but not much better.

Last night I found another classic Honda, about 15 miles before the battery died.

This bike is driving me crazy. I mis-diagnosed last time. The regulator is working fine and sending the correct amount of voltage to the rotor. But I'm still not getting anything at the rectifier. So it's either rotor or stator, both are expensive and prone to failure even after replacing. I'm really considering replacing the rotor with a pulley and adding a tiny alternator. I just wanna ride.

What about a little alternator with a spring-loaded mount that presses a rubber-coated pulley against the rear tire, like a bigger version of an old-school bicycle headlight generator?

yes I’m joking, but I kinda want to see if it would work.