Honda305.com Forum

This is the start of my restoration record. I'll try to document each phase of the work but this will not be a daily running commentary. I will try to ask the important questions about the process here to avoid scattering them all over the board. I am also keeping a hand-written journal book which will have all the details. It is hand-written because I don't want to get my computer dirty in the shop. When the job is done (anticipated May, 2007) I'll gather up the questions that arose and digest them into a FAQ.

My work plan has 5 phases:

1. Inventory, ID, tag and bag all parts, compare to parts manual to determine what's missing.
2. Rebuild engine/transmission. If this isn't right nothing else matters.
3. Mechanical repair/rebuilding as needed of instruments, fork, cushions, brakes, wheels, wiring.
4. Cosmetics: strip, de-rust, repair painted and chromed items, repaint and send out for chroming.
5. Re-assemble.

I completed phase 1 last night. Because I bought the bike disassembled, I suspected there would be parts missing and there are, some very important. The seller has already told me he found a few of them, but I'm emailing him today a complete list of the significant missing parts in hopes that he can find these, too. Carb kits, gasket set and petcock rebuild kit are on their way, so I'll start cleaning the carbs this weekend.

A few FAQ issues came up as I wrote out the plan:

1. To what standard do I want to restore my bike? My goal is 100 points, but we'll see what is cost-effective if things get out of hand. For example, I just noticed that the corners of 2 cooling fins are broken off (left-side, rear). If fixing or replacing this big part will be a fortune, I may scale back. If the bike doesn't end up perfect, I want to be damn close.

2. What work can I do myself? The bike was built by people like me, so I should be able to do everything that doesn't require specialized facilities. Re-chroming is the only part of the project that I know I can't do myself. Redoing the seat foam and cover may be another.

3. How do I find out what colors were available when the bike was new? What type of paint was used, and what are the color codes? I don't have anwers to any of these yet.

4. Should I consider performance enhancements in the engine job? For me, the answer is nothing beyond blueprinting/balancing and polishing the intake and exhaust ports. Those purported "high-compression" pistons on Ebay don't seem very well made to me as the castings are pretty rough and the stamping is haphazard. Not a risk I'm eager to take. I'm not trying to make a cafe racer.

5. Is it more cost-effective to fix and re-chrome existing parts or to buy new ones? I don't know this one either.

Finally, I'm debating whether or not to buy a camera. While it would be cool to have pix, that money could be used for parts. I expect that parts which I know must be replaced, such as cables, seals and gaskets, will run a few $hundred already.

That's all for now.

Thanks, Matt. I'll probably buy one today. Of course, since at my age anything I buy is likely to be the last one ever, I try to get the best possible. I'm looking at the Canon S3, which has 12x zoom and 30fps movie capability. My son will like those features because I film him in his downhill skateboard races.

So far the work has gone well. Cleaning and rebuilding the carbs took a couple of evenings last week, and now I'm taking the motor apart, cleaning, inspecting, tagging and bagging each piece. Some PO has been into the engine before and clumsily at that, evidenced by stripped screws and dings and scrapes around the fasteners. I think he used an air impact wrench and was not an expert. Thanks to PB Blaster, a hand impact driver and application of a little heat, all the stuck screws came out, but they will all have to be replaced as will the acorn nuts.

Sunday I plugged all openings with wadded plastic wrap and gave the outside of the motor a thorough cleaning with citrus-based solvent and water. At least now it isn't a greasy, grimy lump on the bench.

Today I was able to get a wrench on the crankshaft bolt and turn the motor. Good news is that it moved very smoothly and easily. The cams and valve train appear to be in excellent condition and there is no rust inside at all. My priority now is to fully disassemble the engine and transmission, ensure all parts are in good condition, and rebuild. Then I'll see if it will run before taking on other areas of the bike.

There were a bunch of parts missing after a couple of go-rounds with the PO but I have all the really important bits including the instruments and the original low handlebar and switches. Odometer shows 13,477 miles. My Ebay bill is rapidly approaching $200 and I'll probably spend another $200 on missing or replacement consumable parts in the next few weeks. Tools are another big item: bought a nice digital caliper for $50 and need a smaller torque wrench. While the motor is apart it makes sense to replace the rings and cam chain so I won't have to open it again too soon.

I bought the restoration guide and the engine guide and have read both thoroughly. While they provide some very useful info, I'll need the shop manual as well - I hope that will have all the specs/tolerances and torque values for reassembling the motor, as well as instructions on rebuilding forks, shocks and other parts.

Based on the condition of the crankcase covers and cylinder/head fins, I'd have to replace a lot of expensive parts to have a 100 point bike, so that goal is beyond my budget. I'll do my best to smooth out the fin edges and polish out dings and such but there's no way to make the existing parts perfect. This raises the question of how far to go in polishing. With enough effort I could make the whole motor shine but that would detract from originality.

I've made a lot of progress on the motor. Carb cleaner and a brass brush work great cleaning the gasket gunk off the cast aluminum parts, as well as the ring of coke on the top edge of the cylinder liner. Note: the breather plate above the cylinder head is not the same aluminum and the brass brush does scratch it.

Have removed the head and cylinder. The good news is that the motor is smooth and well-oiled inside, the cylinder liners have not sunk, there is no movement when I try to wiggle the pistons up and down, and the head and base gaskets were not glued down and came up easily. I bet this engine would have run OK had I tried it before disassembly. The piston tops and chambers are coked up rather heavily, which appears hard to clean off. The rings and bores look perfect, but as the manual recommends new rings at 15K miles I'll put new ones in while it's apart anyway.

Some guys on the Sabre board use ultrasonic cleaners to clean carburetors - a few minutes in the solution and they come out as good as new. I wonder how they would work on engine parts like these pistons, and for cleaning the finned parts.

A note for the FAQ: have plenty of shelf space to store parts during disassembly. Parts in bags take up much more room than they do in the motor.

I'm hemorrhaging money into Ebay: new air filters, exhaust pipe joints, upper fork shrouds. A new upper crankcase cover cost $80, which was much more than I had planned to spend but I have seen only this one on Ebay so far. I'm trying to be opportunistic with the auctions and have walked away from several that were beyond my limit. I have several parts coming from Ohio Cycle including a set of rings and oil seals. I have also bought some tools - a grinder/buffer and a digital caliper. I'm looking for a small torque wrench and eventually will get a spoke torque wrench also for rebuilding the wheels with new spokes.

Parts that I have a critical need for are:
- oil filter cover that attaches to the clutch cover p/n 15481-259-010
- fork bridge with steering damper and fork top bolts
- left air filter cover with knob
- rear brake arm p/n 43410-268-020

I also noted that my headlight case was damaged and poorly repaired. I'd like to find one in good condition (p/n 61300-268-810).

Ordered a camera Saturday (Canon S2). It will be delivered Wednesday, so I'll have pictures over the weekend.

This bike is a real basket case. The photos are in the reverse order of what I intended.