Motorcycles

Whew, nothin for a month and then I'm all putting up 2 posts in one day...

So its spring again which means motorcycle time. We've been having some really nice weather so I pulled out the mighty '82 Honda CB900f Super Sport and prepped. The choke handle on that has been messed up for years (well the 7 years I've had it anyway) and would retract itself, so you had to stand around holding the cable while starting. A new cable was cheap (last year!) and I finally got around to putting it in. Not a hard job but fiddly. I also replaced the spark plugs. The old ones didn't look bad but I figured after 7 years it was time...

Drained last years gas out of the tank and with 2 gallons of fresh high test I hit the button. Well first off for the last year or two the starter has been getting a little recalcitrant, meaning it slips and grinds and is generally unpleasant. Strangely it hasn't gotten better by itself but after an eternity of fits and starts I got the bike started but it only ran on 2 cylinders. This is not an unknown condition and usually means one of the ignition "computers" is gone wonky. In the past unplugging and replugging of them fixes the issue and they're handy to get at so I did so. Problem is that the starter is so annoying I never got to see if the reseating of cables had helped...

So I tore the left side cover off the engine to look at the starter. This releases most of the engine oil btw... No obvious damage to the starter, its gear, the idler gear or the driven gear... Strange. I pulled the starter which is not a terribly fun job, theres not much room there and could find nothing obviously wrong with it. It would appear its been rebuilt at some time in the past as the case is scraped up and the screws are all munged from some hamfisted dis-assembly.

Did some searching online (praise mother internet!) and found that the three bolts that hold the starter clutch can come loose. Checked and sure enough they ARE loose. Now I need to source some red locktite, pull the thing over the clutch, pull the three bolts, clean and reassemble with locktite so they don't come loose again... All in all quite positive. I also ordered the two seals for the outer covers. It would appear a previous owner did not source new seals (really a seal and a gasket) as they're glued in with copious amounts of sealant.

While I was at it I ordered new front turn signals for Angie's Kawasaki, I noticed one had broken over the winter. The starter on that bike is also getting fiddly, it probably needs a similar fix...

The Honda lives again

Haven't been riding the Honda (which is in my profile pic) for awhile. The last time Angie and I took it out we ran out of electricity. Thats bad, when your bike runs out of electricity its just like running out of gas.

At first I thought the problem was the battery. The one that was in it was 4 or 5 years old and thats really all you can expect from a starting battery. So I replaced it but the problem still plauged me.

Tonight I cleaned my desk and found the spare set of brushes I'd bought for the alternator. The old ones had worn out and I'd made a set (cut down some from the hardware store) but I didn't really trust them. I installed the replacements, used some 600 grit sandpaper (from the Hammie's hood project) to clean the commutator (thats where the brushes run) and then cleaned it good with contact cleaner. The alternator tested out fine which is to say it wasn't shorted out anywhere. The rectifier/regulator also tested fine so I fired it back up and....

Son of a gun, it works. At just over idle its running 14v when I put the multimeter across the battery. The "voltmeter" on the bike is very slow to respond but the multimeter was quick. Thats great, a weight totally off my shoulders.

On the downside the 190D has a bad differential bearing. Bob is loathe to replace it because he's worried about getting the pinion shimmed correctly. He thinks a good used one will be a better bet anyway. I don't really know what to do, maybe try someplace else? Bob's been good to me, he didn't even charge to diagnose the issue.