back to work on the CA77

[Susan]

OK.

Wow. I finally got the carb off - it was tricky because it seemed like the nuts were a little too fat and there wasn't enough clearance to slide them out without a ton of coaxing. Has anyone ever experienced this?

I was prepared for some gunk in there. I was not prepared for the goo I found.



I have never in my life seen anything like this. Inside the bowl was a thick white sludge, once I scooped it out there was a flaky but stubborn scale. I gave all parts a good few runs in the ultrasonic cleaner, but there was still some stuff stuck on there. Petcock was messed up but good as well.

They're not great pix, but you'll find the rest here. (I'll have to bring my proper camera to the shop next time).

As regards the headlight, turns out a friend has been working on it (he used to work at the shop where I'm set up, but no longer). I floated the idea of epoxy to seal it back up, so we shall see how this works.

I think I'll have some more time to get to work on it Friday night. A toothbrush and some carb cleaner to try and finish the cleaning up job maybe. Rebuild and reinstall. We shall see how this goes. There's that ride near Baltimore coming up in a few weeks, so that's a good deadline I think.

[Susan]

update: all is going pretty well and I hope to get her fired up by the end of the week.

carb and petcock are cleaned, rebuilt, and reinstalled. I rinsed the gas tank with a little bit of an etching solution and it looks a whole lot better save for one spot on the bottom - I'm hoping the inline fuel filter will tell me if this is something I need to attend to more but the tank is so easily removed (compared to a Vespa at least) that it's no big deal. But it's on there now as well.

I used some clear flexible fuel line, but it's too stiff and kinks a bit too much, so I've ordered yet a third type. But that's about it besides the headlight and battery.

Keep 'em crossed...

[e3steve]

This stuff is pukka, Susan. Good guy to deal with too!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Ga ... ccessories

[Susan]

there have been a few complications, but....

[Dan Atsma]

Hi Susan. Just wondering; did you ever try to start your bike using starter fluid? Are you sure you are getting fuel to the carburetor? How's the petcock? Are the downtubes going to it clear of sludge? My petcock was toast but a little kit from RetroBikes took care of that. Also, and I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think the bike will start with a dead battery in the system. I realise you have a new battery now but have you tried everything using said, new (fully charged) battery? I, too am pondering coating my fuel tank with something (probably not that product that starts with the "K") Good luck and keep us abreast. Jeff H.

Susan,
Couple of things;
-the bike will not start without a battery with a charge
-you need to seal the tank, if you do all the work to clean your carb and have a tank with crap still in it you will fill the carb with with junk again.
-I was very impressed with the kreem product, it has three steps to do, one of them is a chemical that I swear eats the rust off the tank before you put the final coat on.

Good Luck!

[Susan]

Thanks.

See above link (4/6), I got everything put back together and she fired right up!

It's leaking from the petcock & carb, I just got these kits in the mail and will break them down in the next couple of days.

Re: tank - I have a clear fuel line an inline filter, I am hoping that will tip me off as to whether there is stuff in the tank that needs to go. The acid did a pretty good job on it though I think. Well enough to get it on the road for the moment I hope.

[Susan]

welll......I rebuilt and refit the petcock and carb. it's still leaking a tiny bit from the carb, but the petcock is solid.

problem now? won't start. plenty of fuel in the line (clear lines are great for this), solid spark, dry plugs. runs with carb cleaner down the spark plug hole.

next plan: remove carb again and look for clogged jets (shouldn't be, they're new and the fuel filter isn't showing any particulates in the gas), or any other anomalies.