Complete newbie from Indiana, with a 67' Honda CL77

[conbs]

Those are not Phillips head screws. They are Japanese Industrial Standard - JIS. They look the same and are very similar but the angles of the screws/drivers are different and that is why they seem to "cam out" so easily. If you get a correct JIS screws driver/bit you might get those screws out yet.

Search this site. There are lots of posts. (But, I guess unless you know what to search for you wouldn't have much of a chance finding it)

Best wishes on your project.

[JCrimson]

Jake,
Yes, you just are around the corner! My wife grew up in Ohio, not from around here. My last name is Laing. People knock on my door all the time about bikes, wouldn't be the first time. The only people I get annoyed at knocking on my door are the alcoholic scooter bums who get mad when I tell them I don't work on scooters.
There is a 1965 F100 sitting at the bottom of my drive now. I sold the 1970 white F250 a year ago November. That's my two constants- Honda motorcycles and Ford trucks.

HT

I vaguely remember you having an old van out front, advertising to buy old motorcycles. I'm a huge car fanatic, always noticing unique or interesting cars in the neighborhood, and that F250 was awesome, just the right amount of fading paint and a pretty decent body. Only two constants? Roadsters don't fit in there? Haha.

Those are not Phillips head screws. They are Japanese Industrial Standard - JIS. They look the same and are very similar but the angles of the screws/drivers are different and that is why they seem to "cam out" so easily. If you get a correct JIS screws driver/bit you might get those screws out yet.

Search this site. There are lots of posts. (But, I guess unless you know what to search for you wouldn't have much of a chance finding it)

Best wishes on your project.

Thanks a lot for the heads up. I was noticing the problem of the screws camming out, but I just figured it was my screwdriver. I'll have to look for a set of JIS drivers, to pull the rest of the motor apart. Any other information I should know about breaking into the bottom end?

I ordered the gasket set a couple of days ago, as well as the replacement bolts I mentioned previously.

[JCrimson]

I managed to get the case apart today, what do you guys recommend using to clean them up a bit and remove some of the older crud that is in them? Everything looks to be in great shape (as far as I know) and I am pleasantly surprised. Does anything look out of the ordinary?

[JCrimson]

I cleaned out the valleys using engine de-greaser and a dry rag. I checked the gasket kit that I purchased and it clearly doesn't include a gasket for the mating surfaces of the cases. I looked through my manual and it calls for "casing cement". I talked to a co-worker who rebuilt the top end of his 80's Yamaha 500cc something or other and he said that he had used a product called "Indian Gasket" for all of the gaskets on the top end, would this product work? What is recommended? What works better than other products for this specific engine?

Again, when re-assembling the bottom of half of this motor, is there anything I should look out for, any common problems or errors that people tend to make? My only real resources are the internet and the manual that came with the bike, so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jake

[G-Man]

Not sure about Indian Gasket but the usual stuff is Hondabond or Yamabond. In the UK we have "Hylomar" which is used by Rolls Royce, I am told.

As for common mistakes, make sure those dowel pins (knock pins) in the crank bearings are properly lined up before tightening anything. It would also be a good idea to check gear engagement ( a common problem ) before buttoning everything up.

Do a search here and look for "X"ing transmission gears 2&3 which is a mod to get more even ratio spacing.

G

[LOUD MOUSE]

HONDABOND 4 or YAMABOND 4 on the middle of the cases but not needed anywhere else. .....................lm

I cleaned out the valleys using engine de-greaser and a dry rag. I checked the gasket kit that I purchased and it clearly doesn't include a gasket for the mating surfaces of the cases. I looked through my manual and it calls for "casing cement". I talked to a co-worker who rebuilt the top end of his 80's Yamaha 500cc something or other and he said that he had used a product called "Indian Gasket" for all of the gaskets on the top end, would this product work? What is recommended? What works better than other products for this specific engine?

Again, when re-assembling the bottom of half of this motor, is there anything I should look out for, any common problems or errors that people tend to make? My only real resources are the internet and the manual that came with the bike, so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jake

[Hoosier Tom]

I sent you a PM yesterday.


HT