[michaeljulian]

Picked up a truck load of parts and pieces just after Christmas and have had a great time restoring my first twin.

Took her out for a shake down this weekend and had a blast


I have about 80 pics of the build that I will get posted in the next few days.

 

[J-T]

We'll be watching.

 

[michaeljulian]

Drove 600 miles round trip from southern Indiana to Chicago to pick up a ‘65 CB160 in pieces along with a spare rolling frame. The engine on the main bike was locked up but the spare was supposedly pulled from a running bike.


Pic from the Craigslist post


Pic from Craigslist post


Loaded up everything for $350


From Chicago to Valparaiso to meet up with a guy selling parts and scored factory exhaust, set of front shocks, petcock, rectifier, handle bars and few other bits and pieces.

 

[michaeljulian]

Not sure why the pics are so small. Image size is pretty big. Is there a way to get a bigger image to display??

 

[michaeljulian]

Changed to uploading pics with my laptop and seems a little better. I must say this board is not that easy to add attachments. Pics what to come in different sizes and orientation. Really strange.

 

[michaeljulian]

Unloaded and taking inventory



Engine dropped and head pulled to see just how bad things are.

 

[michaeljulian]

The spare engine was pulled from a CS so I had to pull the starter, flywheel and chain from the locked up engine and install in the "running" spare.



Spent just a little time rubbing on the main chrome pieces and it looks like I may be in luck. They look pretty decent for the age and storage conditions.

 

[ancientdad]

Changed to uploading pics with my laptop and seems a little better. I must say this board is not that easy to add attachments. Pics what to come in different sizes and orientation. Really strange.

this may help with the pictures situation - I upload all my pics from a computer, it seems to be the most reliable method, but orientation is important here too

https://www.hondatwins.net/forums/25-website-issues/120382-pictures-post-upside-down.html#post1008568

 

[kalchcliff]

Looking good!

 

[Lefty]

So the red bike turn into the black bike? I may turn my black one into a blue one someday. Looks good. For what it's worth, those big pics can turn into a nightmare for simple devices to load. There have been a few threads I've abandoned because of it.

Edit: actually it was black turned red and maybe turned to blue.

 

[michaeljulian]

Cleaned off all the old paper that had not turned to powder and reconditioned the filter housings.





Glued some filter foam in the same locations the paper element was glued.

 

[michaeljulian]

Spare engine bolted up and connected to make sure all the wiring was working



Found the starter button was not exciting the solenoid. After 45 min with the multi meter I pinned it down to a small break in the lead in the middle of the harness from the starter button to the solenoid. After cutting it out and jumping the section with a temp wire to verify the repair a permanent slice was soldered in.


Quick test fire

 

[michaeljulian]

Went ahead and tore down the locked up engine to see if any parts were salvageable.



Cylinders will need to be bored to clean up the mess. Decided to pool all the parts and take the best of the best.




Running engine pulled down to reveal that the previous "mechanic" (term used lightly) put one piston in backwards and most of the rings in upside down.


Time to order new rings and break out the hone

 

[michaeljulian]

Cylinder walls were already freshly bored and honed and in spec for the .25 over pistons that the previous owner installed. New rings installed and piston re-installed correctly. All ready to go back together


Head installed and seals changed


Side covers getting a face lift. Dupli-Color BCP103 Silver Brake Caliper paint matches very well and lays down nicely






Modern water proof deutsch connector added to the engine wire harness


Neat little trick I saw someone else do on another build thread on the board. Drilled a hole in the spare side cover to be able to set the timing without the oil splattering all over the floor.

 

[michaeljulian]

Pulling off the "who knows how old" tires was a real chore. They did not want to let go.



Back rim was a little worse for wear with a small bend and some junk spokes. Good thing my brother spent several years building bike rims. We were able to get them back in spec with a press and new spokes.


Only did a little bit of polishing on the hubs as I am not looking for a high polish look. I like the aged look on the aluminum




Last but not least we installed new drive cushions

 

[80cb400t]

That is the best cam I've ever seen in a cb160, is it original or reground?

 

[michaeljulian]

As far as I can tell. I looked around the Web and posted on a few forums looking for lobe specs put couldn't find any. The two I have measure the same (except for an intake lobe that was flattened from a stuck valve in the locked engine) so I am assuming that it all stock. It looks like the CL engine has been gone through at some point in it's life and then not used very much. It was fairly clean inside. I did find a small chunk of wadded up aluminum in the crank case that was left behind from the previous rebuild.

 

[michaeljulian]

With the engine just about buttoned up it's time to turn to the "paint and Body" portion of the project. Amazing how little space a bike like this takes when you tear it all apart.

I got every nut and bolt apart in about 2 hours.


All the small parts were media blasted and proved to be in very nice condition overall.


Frame was sanded and painted with SEM Trim Black.

 

[michaeljulian]

Spent some time on the polish wheel

 

[80cb400t]

As far as I can tell. I looked around the Web and posted on a few forums looking for lobe specs put couldn't find any. The two I have measure the same (except for an intake lobe that was flattened from a stuck valve in the locked engine) so I am assuming that it all stock. It looks like the CL engine has been gone through at some point in it's life and then not used very much. It was fairly clean inside. I did find a small chunk of wadded up aluminum in the crank case that was left behind from the previous rebuild.
]

Hmm well either way, looks like a near perfect cam. Good thing that chunk is out now, not sure how it would have been missed on a rebuild (or maybe it was top end only?). Here's what both of my cb160 cams looked like so you know how fortunate it is to find a cb160 with a good cam in it

That blue bit is from overheating

almost black on the two lobes further from the camera