CB77 Kick start shaft bushes.

[G-Man]

Hi Billiam

If it were me, I'd leave that in a dusty corner for lighter jobs. This kickstarter bush needs to keep the shaft and the two bearings in line to stop horrible forces trying to misalign those two gears. The gears both overhang from the bushes making accurate alignment a lottery.

Once the gears are not parallel then even more force goes in to the case and you're £2-300 out of pocket with a cracked case.

Wait for the bronze and you will be a happy man.

This is what happens when it all goes wrong..... :-(



I did manage to salvage something from this case to transplant on to another one with the early steel bearing but a butchered back end...




G



G

[Billiam]

Thanks G-Man. Bronze they will be. Did re-assemble with the old bushes in situ to check new release cable routing. Gear shaft/bushes well greased but could feel the drag when kicking over.
Incidentally, comparing the clutch action to my MZ Super 5, it seems pretty heavy. One finger on the MZ. Grit your teeth on the 305. Normal ?
Must find another bike to compare.
Cheers. Rob.

[G-Man]

Yep - clutches on these bikes are heavy. Improved a little with a well-lubed cable and lifter in the side case.

My 130bhp Triumph has a much lighter clutch action (not hydraulic). One of the problems people cite is clutch slip. This leads to people fitting heavier springs which doesn't help the lever pull.

There is a late model clutch with four holes in the pressure plate and a kind of labyrinth in the clutch centre to keep oil away from the plates. I think that is a better option. Less oil to the plates means less slip and possibly less drag.




G

[cknight]

Early bikes had steel bushes and the cases were were less prone to cracking.

Bronze or steel would be an improvement over those nasty fibre things.

G

Trying to give the right side cover a bit of assistance, I'll sand blast the inside around the pinion shaft holes. This will clean and roughen up the area to achieve good bonding for a large application of JB Weld. Lay the cover inside up, then fill the areas up to the top of casting ribs with the mixture. No real proof that it helps, but it sure can't hurt. Regards, Chase

[Billiam]

JB Metal, yes I'm a fan of it although I do wonder if it is Araldite with a bit of colouring added.
Re, clutch slip. I have only had one sixty mile ride on the 77 and quite early on I had to start adjusting the clutch cable "on the fly" as it lost the free play. Of course I checked the oil as soon as I got the bike Lovely and clean so left it. However, wondering if there was modern 30/50 or summat in it I drained and refilled with good old SAE30. Straight away there was a noticable bite to the clutch as it took up. Hoping that it cures the loss of free play. Thinking the clutch was tending to slip, heating up and expanding. We shall see. Want to balance the carbs - again before riding any distance. The bugger is getting the tank off. The new fuel pipes I fitted have bonded on which is good till you have to cut them to get them off. Has anyone done away with the pipe from the offside of the tank and gone back to the old way of laying the bike on its side to get the last dreggs out - I might.
Cheers.

[SMBH]

JB Metal, yes I'm a fan of it although I do wonder if it is Araldite with a bit of colouring added.
Re, clutch slip. I have only had one sixty mile ride on the 77 and quite early on I had to start adjusting the clutch cable "on the fly" as it lost the free play. Of course I checked the oil as soon as I got the bike Lovely and clean so left it. However, wondering if there was modern 30/50 or summat in it I drained and refilled with good old SAE30. Straight away there was a noticable bite to the clutch as it took up. Hoping that it cures the loss of free play. Thinking the clutch was tending to slip, heating up and expanding. We shall see. Want to balance the carbs - again before riding any distance. The bugger is getting the tank off. The new fuel pipes I fitted have bonded on which is good till you have to cut them to get them off. Has anyone done away with the pipe from the offside of the tank and gone back to the old way of laying the bike on its side to get the last dreggs out - I might.
Cheers.

I use a good 10/40 motorcycle oil in my CB77 with no problems with the clutch have done so for the last 3 years or so never had clutch slip ever, do remember oil is cheaper than engine parts so do not skimp on the cost. The petrol pipe from the off side can be looped over the frame so no need to drain tank when you remove it you need 5mm or 5.5mm inside dia thin wall petrol pipe make sure it is for petrol. If clutch lever keeps needing adjusting free play may be and I say maybe the push rod ends are not hardened, also check you have the ball bearing in the cover that pushes on the push rod. My 1964 CB77 is easyer to live with than my 1964 5TA then that is why Honda are still making motorcycles and Meriden is not but I would not sell my 5TA after all I have had it 43 years.

[DJM]

Late models of both CB and CL77s did away with the balance pipe between the two sides of the tank as Honda ' felt it wasn't necessary' Later fuel taps don't have the extra pipe for the cross tube.

My two bikes both have the cross tube but I've used a longer piece of fuel line and routed it OVER the main frame tube rather than under it.

Theoretically this means that trapped air in the high point of the tube will stop fuel levels in the two sides balancing but it does make taking the tank off MUCH easier!