Evaluating old bikes in 6 easy steps

My Honda Twin wont......... OK, youre a Newb, you just found an old Honda twin, and youre pretty sure you want to do this vinta e bi!e thin . "hether youre evaluatin a prospe#tive pur#hase, or youve already ot the bi!e ho$e, here are si% easy steps to et the info you need to $a!e rational de#isions about this proje#t. &ont o off half'ba!ed and just start tearin into or adjustin thin s ' and dont start firin half'ba!ed (uestions at the fol!s on your favorite news roup )hopefully HondaTwins.net*. +oull waste their ti$e as well as your own, and youll waste $oney ' this stuff ets e%pensive, as youll soon find out. ,irst, disre ard anythin the -revious Owner $i ht have told you. -robably all lies in the first pla#e. .t would be reat if the bi!e leapt to life and ran reat first ti$e you try, but it rarely happens that way in real life......

Get the Honda Manual ' free at HondaTwins.net 1) Change the Oil ' /ust do it, dont even start the bi!e until you do it.
0%a$ine the old oil #arefully, loo! for #olor, $etal shavin s, bits of rubber, et#. 1$ell it ' does it s$ell of fuel22 -ull out the spar! plu s and o here ' this will indi#ate how the bi!e ran the last ti$e it did run....

2) Battery ' the root #ause of so $any apparently unrelated proble$s.

The i nitions on these old Hondas runs totally off the battery. They si$ply wont start and run o! with a #o$pro$ised battery. "orse yet, these batteries are about half the si3e they need to be, so it doesnt ta!e $u#h to hurt the$. .ve always held that .d be lad to pa#! another 45 pounds on $y bi!es, as lon as it was a bi er battery. .f your battery has been run #o$pletely dead $ore than 6'7 ti$es, then its been hurt. 8rand new batteries #an be bad ri ht out of the bo%, so be aware of that ' happened to $e just last su$$er. .f its old, repla#e it. .f it loo!s weird, repla#e it. .f theres any (uestion at all, repla#e it. 9nd buy a 8attery Tender.

3) Co pression ' probably the :4 #ause of proble$s with 8arn finds and unrestored bi!es )on#e you

et a new battery*....... These old bi!es had pretty hi h #o$pression, and $ost dont retain it after years of ina#tivity ' even low $ilea e bi!es. 8e , borrow, or steal the use of a #o$pression au e ' only ta!es a $inute to do. 8etter still, do a lea!'down test, it will tell you e%a#tly what;s oin on. .f you don;t have either tool, try a lo#al auto repair pla#e, or a parts store. Many ti$es you #an tal! the$ into doin it for you for free or #heap )si% pa#!s wor! well.....*. .t just ta!es a $inute to do. "ar$ en ine, throttle wide open, no #ho!e. Ta!e readin s at both spar! plu holes a #ouple of ti$es. .f it wont run, ta!e the readin s with a #old en ine ' enerally only about 7 pounds or so less than a hot en ine. .f the #o$pression values are a##eptable, resist any te ptation to $ess with the en ine.

.f the nu$bers are unsatisfa#tory, stop now, you have so$e serious proble$s. +ou are loo!in at a top end job, #ould #ost you anywhere fro$ <475'<=55 or $ore, dependin on what you find. .t is pointless to try and et the bi!e to run well, its not onna happen, a waste of ti$e and $oney............. These are in#redibly tou h old en ines ' they will try and run for you no $atter how bad they are, but dont be fooled. 0%a$ples of M!"!M#M #o$pression values before top end rebuild is indi#ated )strai ht fro$ Honda Manuals* ' >8=75' 475 psi >8675' 4?6 psi >8=?5' 46@ psi

$uel ' 9 word on fuel. Honda is #lear in the =75 $anual ' the bi!e was desi ned around @7 o#tane fuel. 8a#! in The &ay, that was re ular as. .t is reasonable to e%pe#t that 675A=75A=?5A4B7AC55 )as well as the 1OH> 6;s* were all desi ned around this o#tane level. .ts hard to find as li!e that today. . !eep a #ouple of 7' allon #ans in $y ara e that have been treated with o#tane booster )on The Doad, . do the best . #an, li!e everyone*. Eots of fol!s will ar ue about this o#tane stuff, thats fine. .ts your bi!e, after all, run whatever as you please. 8ut . noti#e an easily per#eptible in#rease in perfor$an#e on $y bi!es when . run hi h'o#tane, they li!e it. 1o thats the last word for $e. My tra#tor and snow blower li!e hi h o#tane, too FFF

%) &i ing ' Ne%t in order of potential for trouble is the i

nition ti$in . ,irst $a!e sure all your #o$ponents, pointsA#oilsA#ondensorsAwiresA#aps are all o!. De$e$ber, this stuff is around =7'65 years old now, thats not ood for ele#tri#al stuff, it wasnt desi ned with a 75 year servi#e life. 9lso be aware that #ondensors have a li$ited shelf life even if theyve never been used. -arts are widely available for $ost stuff, and after$ar!et #oils are available for #heap.

9r$ed with their >ly$ers $anual, a lot of fol!s read ap the points, and happily pro#eed to ap both points, not reali3in they probably just s#rewed up their ti$in even worse than it was. Go to the arti#les at HondaTwins.net to et an idea of the #orre#t ti$in pro#edure for these bi!es. The pro#edure is very spe#ifi# to the Honda Twins, and $ust be followed to the letter.

') Carbs ' The #arbs and fuel syste$.

>he#! the #ondition inside your tan! ' if theres rust, you need to do so$ethin about it. >he#! the pet#o#! ' any lea!s or sedi$ent in there, does it wor! o! and deliver fuel to the #arbs o!22 .f the tan! rusty, the pet#o#! $ost li!ely needs help. ,inally, are the #arbs #lean22 &o they have fuel in the float bowls2 .s there any lea!in 22 .f so, you need to fi% that ri ht away, it will destroy the new oil you just put in.......... Now find the arti#le at HondaTwins.net about settin up 675 #arbs ' the info applies to all the >H #arb Twins of the era.

6) (unning Gear ' This is safety'first stuff.

Tires ' if theyre $ore than 6'7 years old, repla#e the$. &ont $ess around, just repla#e the$. Brakes ' $a!e sure everythin wor!s (uietly and s$oothly. )rive *hain + $a!e sure its in ood shape. Grab the #hain at the ='o;#lo#! position of the rear spro#!et, pull it strai ht ba#!. .f it separates fro$ the spro#!et $ore than just a little, its suspe#t. .f you have the #hain off, hold it by one end and try to e%tend it hori3ontally a ainst the rain. .f it sa s li!e a rope, its bad. ,-ingar ' with the bi!e on the #enter stand, rab the rear wheel at the 4C'o#lo#! position and push hard side to side )rider left to rider ri ht*. .f there is any play at all, the swin ar$ bushin s are bad, and the bi!e is not safe to ride, dependin on the severity. .t needs to be very ti ht. $orks.sho*ks ' not $u#h #an be said about Hondas rear sho#!s of this era ' they either wor! )sort of* or not. Isually its a $atter of how $u#h rust you #an put up with, if they do wor!. .t would be prudent to drain and repla#e the for! oil. .ts an easy pro#edure, and will let you !now if there are any lea!s )in a short while*. Many ti$es on barn finds, theres no oil at all in the for!s. +ou #an use re ular for! oil, or you #an use 9T,, whatever stri!es your fan#y. $inally ' +ouve now $ade a pretty ood effort to do this thin . .f youre still havin proble$s, or just want to share your joy at su##ess, now is the ti$e to post your (uestions to the e%perts at HondaTwins.net. +oull have a##u$ulated $u#h of the info they need to dia nose your situation, and perfor$ed $any of the steps they would su est in the first pla#e. Theres a dandy 1ear#h fun#tion at the site ' use it, your proble$ has $ost li!ely been spe#ifi#ally addressed before.