slow and easy !

[Izoomx2]

First , thanks for the manuals etc..I am sure they will be a great help. Second , this bike was last ridden last summer , at that time every thing was functional, (says the P.O.) It was ridden for a short distance , 20 miles or so , and then left idling till it ran out of fuel , then forgotten about till I picked it up. The tank is rusty inside and dry, so think I will start by cleaning tank , petcock , replacing fuel line and checking and cleaning carb. there isn't an air cleaner on it , (got one , anybody?). While doing this stuff , should I put some oil in the spark plug holes?( I did run the kick start thru a cycle to be sure it's not frozen up). If the stars align correctly , bike SHOULD start with new battery,,, What am I overlooking so far ? What else should I be checking? Odometer shows ten thousand miles and change. Plan is new cables , battery. check brakes , and more money in tires than I paid fore the bike !! Not getting in a rush , have about three months before I will be ready to ride it except for short shake down runs. I'm sure as things progress , I will be needing some(many) new parts/pieces , so anything you guys can recommend I try to pick up right now to get this old gal running safely? I love these forums , I did a ground-up on a 1960 Ranchero a couple years back and the old ford forum was a great help , so I suspect I will get the same from you folks ! Thank you , thank you , thank you in advance. Jan

[Donovan303]

Jan,

How about a pic of your bike?

If this bike is unknown to you and you've never seen it run you might consider the following.

1) Brakes, adjust and check.
2) Drive chain adjust and check for wear (both my Dreams had horrible chains when I got them).
3) Replace tires, tubes, rim strips.
4) Lubricate cables (don't forget speedo cable if it still works).
5) Check all fasteners.
6) Check/adjust valves.
7) Change oil.
8) Change spark plugs.
9) Make sure battery is good and charged.
10) Give the bike some sort of air filter, it will run without it but it should have one.
11) Make sure there are no exposed wires, so look over the harness, inside the bucket too.
12) If the tank has rust in it, depending on how bad it is you may need to re-seal it. Regardless, install in inline fuel filter
13) Plan on rebuilding the petcock. Use the cork rebuild kit, not rubber.
14) Check static timing.
15) Check dynamic timing once you have it running.

Cheers,
Donovan

[conbs]

Spend some time checking and re-checking your points and timing to ensure they are spot on. Follow ED's tune up recipe in the FAQ.

[Izoomx2]

I have used a petronics electronic ignition in an old car , made all the difference in that , so , I am considering similar on this Honda. What say you?

[conbs]

I haven't tried one yet but, if you search this site you will find good reviews.

[Izoomx2]

While waiting to get to work on the bike , I am thinking about tires....about 475.00 from coker , this is about what I paid for the bike !! Is this as good as it gets? or can we do better? This is for wide whites black walls are cheaper but,,,I do like the look of the whites. What am I looking for ? I feel that before I can do anything but static testing I will need the tires.

[conbs]

Do a search on this site. There have been lots of discussions. The cold, hard fact is there are not many options, especially for WWW.

Porta walls are an option and don't look bad. Don't get anything other than 3.25x16 or they won't fit right/ I tried them with a 3.50 and it was a no go.

You can "make" a white wall with WW paint but, the oils seem to come through after a short time turning them brown. Doing it on older tires seems to help according to some.