Introduction

[jeepermc]

Hi Guys-
This seems to be the best section for an intro I guess. My name is Mitch and I 4 Wheel as a hobby. Anything motorized really. Decent backyard wrenching skills, but tentative enough that I like to ask questions before I screw something up. I'm sure I will have some questions forthcoming and appreciate all input.

The bike- I've inherited a 66 305 Scrambler that was my dad's bike in the late 60's to the mid 80's when he handed it off to my uncle. My dad was pretty good to it, my uncle not so much. At some point in the mid to late 80's it quit on my uncle and he parked it in his little metal garden shed where it sat until 1995 when my dad got it back from him at my coaxing. The chrome isn't in very good shape at all. I sandblasted all the bodywork when I was in high school and my dad had the fenders, tank and the rest of the panels painted an 83 Honda accord maroon. All those pieces are stored in my attic in great shape. The frame is ok, but could also probably use a blasting and powder coating. I'd like to get it running before I tear anything down further however. I've got spark now and it will "pop" some spent gases occasionally, but I think I have either a cam or valve issue, or (hopefully not) a compression issue. It's relatively easy to kick over. Keep in mind I have no idea why this thing quit. I think I have the valves adjusted correctly but the right side has me a little confused. I think I'll revisit valve adjustment when I get a chance as perhaps I overlooked something. Till then...To be continued......

[jeepermc]

Double post. Admin can delete. Sorry.

[rustywrench]

Welcome to this forum, you came to the right place. lots of good folks here willing to help ya out.
Go to the FAQ section and look for a how to tune question on how do I tune my 305 and it will talk you through setting the points and timing. Follow this to the letter, at least you will be headed in a right direction. Rusty

[G3]

Congratulations on your "family inheritance".
Plenty of things to do prior to this engine running proper and Rusty pointed out one of the best regarding tuning. When I purchased my non running 66 CL77, I had the same thing as you describe. It wanted to start, especially using starter fluid!
So my first step was to refresh the old oil, then rebuild the carbs. Relatively easy job, just be patient. My main jets were completely clogged with shellacked gas, bunch of tiny window panes at each tube orifice. With all jets removed, thoroughly cleaned and blown out, new carb insulator rubbers at the head, clean carb bodies, slides, fresh gas, new plugs and new bowel gaskets... it actually ran. At that point it was tune time. Over on the left of this page is FAQ section which has Ed Moores tune up recipe. Following his recipe gave me a bike than ran well. Later came top end rebuild due to aged seals leaking, and that's where most of the fun began. MUCH CREDIT TO ED HERE.
Search stuff out on this site, or I might boldly add to (when needed) pm LOUD MOUSE himself to give you the best guidance anyone could need to get you through your tuning or engine resto as he is "Happy to help".

Hope it goes well.

[jeepermc]

Thanks guys, I'm looking forward to working on it and getting it to run. There seems to be a ton of knowledge here regarding these bikes and if there's one thing I've learned over the years.... Books can't tell you everything. Nothing beats experience.

[Nick]

To 'clean the carbs,' strip them completely and remove all rubber items, then soak all metal parts in lacquer thinner for a half-hour or so (not solvent, not brake cleaner, not turpentine--lacquer thinner!). Then blast all passageways with compressed air.

Replace the O-rings at the manifolds. If you can't find any the exact size, you can do what I always do: find a too-large one that has the correct diameter, cut the ends at an angle so they overlap and assemble with grease.
A little grease on the float bowl gaskets is also a good idea. If the gaskets are unusable you can make your own. Check for fuel flow from the petcock.

It's quite possible the bike got parked because the battery wasn't charging. The most common cause for this is a bad rectifier. Replace with a modern solid-state one.

Check the timing using the marks on the right end of the crank, static is okay, strobe is better. The 'F' line closest to the 'T' line is the static timing mark. A piece of cellophane between the points will tell you when the points open.

It's pretty hard to kill these old Hondas, a little TLC will usually get them going again.