'84 1150 rebuild

[wyly]

definitely don't have 4.9 liters, at most 4.5 , so I won't worry about that until I put in more fuel.

I'll take apart the side stand switch and see what I can find. Local cycle shop tells me that to pass road inspection all gauges and lights that the bike came with from the factory must operate in order to pass the inspection. Which seems a bit harsh for the fluff gauges like, side stand, gas, and gear selection, my CBX came with none of those and still passed the inspection.

 

[wyly]

side stand warning light now works...
fuel gauge will probably work too once I get more fuel in it.

Now I need to do a carb synch, then after that I need to recall how the fairing goes back together and in what bucket, box or bag I put all the fasteners in.

biggest challenge now is trying to upload the video I took.

 

[wyly]

side stand warning light now works...
fuel gauge will probably work too once I get more fuel in it.

Now I need to do a carb synch, then after that I need to recall how the fairing goes back together and in what bucket, box or bag I put all the fasteners in.

biggest challenge now is trying to upload the video I took.

 

[wyly]

Began the carb synch and was stymied by the center adjustment, I could get a screwdriver into the slot but couldn't reach it with a wrench to loosen the nut.
Too late to go the tool store I gave up for the night then I came up with an idea for a hybrid tool and gave it a try. I clamped a small straight jawed vice-grip at a 45 degree angle on a 1/4" 8mm socket. I had to move the clutch cable to squeeze in the frankentool, I had hardly any room to turn the tool but enough to loosen the nut, tomorrow I'll look for a flex drive with a 1/4" adapter to get more control.

pilot screws- I have mine set at 2.5 turns out, how do I know if that's where the final setting should be? Is there another method to test it other than going for a test ride? I don't have a registration or insurance for it as yet so I can't go on the road.

 

[londonboards]

You really need to do these adjustments with the fuel tank off and by using a little auxilliary tank. That way you get to the screws from the top.

2.5 turns out is a good place to start. Adjust idle to 1,000 rpm. Then turn one screw in half a turn and see if the revs drop or rise. Then turn it out again by one full turn and see if the revs rise or drop again. Leave all the screws in the place where you get max revs. I then tend to open the screws up by .25 of a turn (even if the revs drop slightly) to richen the mix a little. I have found this little adjustment gives a much nicer pick up from idle and the transition from on to off and on again of the throttle is much smoother. Then adjust the revs to be around 1,100.

After you've done that you'll need to balance the carbs.

 

[dorkburger]

I even had trouble getting at the center location with the tank off. I torched and bent a wrench to get in. I really should have bought the proper tool, but was in a pinch.

 

[wyly]

I bought a universal joint to fit between the 8'mm socket and the ratchet extension so I could tighten or loosen the lock nut. I took out the slim screwdriver out of carb tool and that was able to reach the center adjuster at a difficult angle but it worked.

I'll need to buy the right tool for the job next time along with the square 3mm tool for the valve adjustments. If I had bought them from the internet it would've been a two week wait.

I think the carb sync is done, I shut the engine off and when I tried to restart to adjust the idle it wouldn't run without full choke and kept stalling. The battery was beginning to struggle from the numerous start ups so I put it on the charger.

 

[Guest]

I'll need to buy the right tool for the job next time along with the square 3mm tool for the valve adjustments. If I had bought them from the internet it would've been a two week wait.

the valve adjustment tool can be a #2 robertson screw, a deck screw....

 

[wyly]

the valve adjustment tool can be a #2 robertson screw, a deck screw....

ahh, nice tip thanks. I've got a thousands of them, wrap some tape around 3 1/2 screw and it'll be perfect...and free!

 

[Guest]

ahh, nice tip thanks. I've got a thousands of them, wrap some tape around 3 1/2 screw and it'll be perfect...and free!

Lots of people take a shorter screw and run it into the end of a piece of dowel to provide a nice, comfy handle.


Mark

 

[wyly]

I was planning to use my hole saw to cut a 3/4" disk about the size of the actual tool put the screw into that. I'll post a pic once I've made it. If I can find a 1" dowel in garage I'll use that.

 

[Guest]

After the initial adjustment ( first service after rebuild) you probably won't have to adjust at less than a 20 000 km interval, even then only a couple of valves....

 

[wyly]

I'm back to finish the rebuild, I got lazy when the weather got warm my CBX kept calling to me to take her out for exercise.

Had problems trying to restart the GS I wasn't sure what was wrong, got it started once I sucked on the vacuum line and got the fuel flowing.

once fired up I rechecked the sync and #1 and #2 are a touch higher at 20.5 vs 18.5 for #3 and #4...
How accurate are these vacuum gauges, how close a reading is acceptable, do they need to be exact ? I imagine exact would be the ultimate goal but is it possible with these gauges?

when adjusting the mixture (which is set at 2.5 turns now) do I do this with the vacuum gauges still attached?

Once I get past this stage I only need to check the brakes and change the front tire and I can finally reassemble the body parts. I need to get this done I'm putting far to many miles on my CBX, the GS has to be my daily driver.

 

[wyly]

so I thought I'd try bring the vacuum numbers closer together, maybe I should've left it alone ...it got hot, stalled out and now it won't start...damn!

 

[GS1150Pilot]

The CBx is SUCH an awesome bike, but the GS is SO much better at everything.

 

[wyly]

well the GS is 6 years younger so it is technically and performance wise a better bike(it's also a hell of a lot easier to wrench on)....for uniqueness and value the CBX is the winner, my Z has been appraised at $16K and appreciating every year, my GS will be valued at $3K when completed... two very different bikes, I love them both, both superbikes from different times.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Absolutely. The CBx is on my ultimate bike list. Someday I may even be able to afford an '81 or '82. The earlier models are becoming unobtanium.

 

[wyly]

still obtainable you just need to keep an eye on ebay, some days there is only junkers and other times there are gems!

five! 79's on ebay today one silver and four red, a red sold today for $11,999. It wasn't original but a very nice condition low mileage bike.

a good restoration candidate can still be found for 3-4K...a running cbx can be acquired for 6K...9-12K should be a very, very nice ride...16k + is not not uncommon for an excellent ride.

all of today's ebay 79's look to be of the 9-12K variety, and that's not unreasonable as you can easily sink 6K into a 3k starter project.

if you're committed to buy a Z go for the most collectable the '79, color is subjective but silver is more rare than the red, unless you manage to find a European black(I've never seen one)....if you do acquire one be prepared for many conversations with strangers where ever you go.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I can't ever see spending $16K on a bike, though long range, I suppose I have spent close on a couple once the modifying wrapped up. That said, I quite like the faired CBx, especially in the metallic grey it came in for 1981. I'd love to build a more potent version of that bike. I remember lining up on my VF1000R next to a guy on a later CBx. He wanted to race. I let him win, because the header/exhaust on that machine sounded so incredible pulling away (especially compared the flat sound of the VF1000R, which did not have the growl of the '86-'87 750).

 

[wyly]

I can't ever see spending $16K on a bike, though long range, I suppose I have spent close on a couple once the modifying wrapped up. That said, I quite like the faired CBx, especially in the metallic grey it came in for 1981. I'd love to build a more potent version of that bike. I remember lining up on my VF1000R next to a guy on a later CBx. He wanted to race. I let him win, because the header/exhaust on that machine sounded so incredible pulling away (especially compared the flat sound of the VF1000R, which did not have the growl of the '86-'87 750).

Yup, we spend waaaay more on our bikes then we realize because we generally do it small bits and not one large sum.

the later grey is the more popular of the two years, you can find a running example for 3kish, a nice one for 6k. All CBX motors are interchangeable so a rolling frame is a good start any motor that turns over will do if you're going to modify. I know another local owner who has his modified to over 200hp, more than enough to keep up with the new rockets.