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218 Posts
So, I purchased my CB360 in the middle of March. Ever since, I've been wrestling with various issues that have prevented me from enjoying it. First electrical, then mechanical, I've replaced: tires, rectifier, battery, spark advancer, oil pump, handlebars and various other cosmetic items, and now the entire top half of the engine. I've redone timing a total of 5 times, adjusted valve clearences 3 times, and adjusted my cam chain tension 4 times. In addition, I've pulled my lower back twice, and sustained a multitude of cuts and bruises. I've almost sold it, almost taken a BFH to it, and almost killed it (lack of oil).
But as of today, the time, money and frustration has paid off. I owe the majority of my happiness to this board. The wealth of information and tight knit brotherhood of parts sharing has single-handedly saved this old bike from the scrap heap.
Fast forward to last night. I dissassembled the head that Jayel sent me, and thorougly cleaned it. Afterwards, I took a can of engine degreaser, and stopped by the local car wash and blasted the casting with pressurized water. It looked beautiful. I then brought it home and coated it with a light oil, before individually cleaning and lubricating the entire valve train. Re-installation was a real bitch, because the fingers of my automotive valve spring compressor wouldn't clear the inside of the head. I ended up using a piece of the fragged oil pump to act as a spacer between the compressor and the valve hat. An hour later, I was done, and dead tired.
This morning I got an early start (9:30), and began the teardown. The day was not without causualty, and my first problem of the day was getting the tach drive cable out. The old one wouldn't budge, and I quickly rounded out the head of the bolt. I got handy and used an screw extracter, which promptly snapped off in the head which prevented me from drilling it out. In a last ditch effort, I grabbed my hacksaw and cut the cable off to get clearence for the last head cover bolt. What I found when I got the cover off was astonishing. The amount of wear and damage to the inside of the head was staggering. The good news was that the cylinder linings still looked like glass.
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It had gotten so hot at one point, that there were chunks of melted aluminum in the journals. When installing the new head, I hit my second snag. One of the allignment guides which fit between the head and cylinders went missing, so I ended up going into work and fabbing one out of 1/2" SS tubing. It worked like a charm, but set me back a good hour. The rest was pretty straightforward, but the results were the stuff of dreams.
After not running for over a week, the slightest touch of the starter button charged the engine to life and it immidietly settled down to one of the most beautiful idles I've ever heard out of a carburated bike. As I let it warm up and put the seat back on, I checked for leaks, and there were none. Not only did it run perfectly, it also sounded about 10 times quieter than I've ever heard it. A quick test ride yielded terrific results. It ran smooth and strong. Absolutely perfect. No stuttering, dying, bad idle, or hiccups of any kind.
After almost 3 months and countless headaches, it's finally fixed, and it runs like brand new.
A last thanks to all you guys for forcing me to do the right thing, and keeping me motivated to fix this old girl. I couldn't be happier.
-MK
But as of today, the time, money and frustration has paid off. I owe the majority of my happiness to this board. The wealth of information and tight knit brotherhood of parts sharing has single-handedly saved this old bike from the scrap heap.
Fast forward to last night. I dissassembled the head that Jayel sent me, and thorougly cleaned it. Afterwards, I took a can of engine degreaser, and stopped by the local car wash and blasted the casting with pressurized water. It looked beautiful. I then brought it home and coated it with a light oil, before individually cleaning and lubricating the entire valve train. Re-installation was a real bitch, because the fingers of my automotive valve spring compressor wouldn't clear the inside of the head. I ended up using a piece of the fragged oil pump to act as a spacer between the compressor and the valve hat. An hour later, I was done, and dead tired.
This morning I got an early start (9:30), and began the teardown. The day was not without causualty, and my first problem of the day was getting the tach drive cable out. The old one wouldn't budge, and I quickly rounded out the head of the bolt. I got handy and used an screw extracter, which promptly snapped off in the head which prevented me from drilling it out. In a last ditch effort, I grabbed my hacksaw and cut the cable off to get clearence for the last head cover bolt. What I found when I got the cover off was astonishing. The amount of wear and damage to the inside of the head was staggering. The good news was that the cylinder linings still looked like glass.
It had gotten so hot at one point, that there were chunks of melted aluminum in the journals. When installing the new head, I hit my second snag. One of the allignment guides which fit between the head and cylinders went missing, so I ended up going into work and fabbing one out of 1/2" SS tubing. It worked like a charm, but set me back a good hour. The rest was pretty straightforward, but the results were the stuff of dreams.
After not running for over a week, the slightest touch of the starter button charged the engine to life and it immidietly settled down to one of the most beautiful idles I've ever heard out of a carburated bike. As I let it warm up and put the seat back on, I checked for leaks, and there were none. Not only did it run perfectly, it also sounded about 10 times quieter than I've ever heard it. A quick test ride yielded terrific results. It ran smooth and strong. Absolutely perfect. No stuttering, dying, bad idle, or hiccups of any kind.
After almost 3 months and countless headaches, it's finally fixed, and it runs like brand new.
A last thanks to all you guys for forcing me to do the right thing, and keeping me motivated to fix this old girl. I couldn't be happier.
-MK
Dont be a stranger now that you finished your project....
