|
|
| Author |
Message |
| Uzi2491 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Uzi2491
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 11 Jul 2011
Karma :  
|
 Posted: 18:49 - 11 Jul 2011  Post subject: Honda CBX 550 - leaking carb, how much should I pay garage? |
 |
|
Hi there,
Recently I bought a 1982 Honda CBX 550 F2 for £250 - the seller told me it would go with a bump start which it did not (the engine would turn over but not start).
I'm not so good with bikes (yet!) so took it to the garage. Their diagnosis: a leaking carb and a bust starter motor. The cost to replace / repair will be quoted to me tomorrow.
I just want to know what you think is a reasonable price for this job? Can I save by trying to find a starter motor elsewhere etc.?
Cheers, advice really appreciated!   |
|
| Back to top |
  |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| MickC |
This post is not being displayed .
|
MickC
Spanner Monkey
Joined: 27 May 2011
Karma :  
|
Posted: 19:14 - 11 Jul 2011  Post subject: |
|
|
Get a manual and do it yourself!
Seriously you are far better learning these things the price of a couple of hours labour would cover the cost of bits you need. A second hand starter (if it is buggered) will cost you £25-50 tops, gasket sets for your carbs will be around £10 a carb - you only need to repair the duff one. The leak could simply be a stuck float or general crud blocking something up (remove the float chamber and clean it out). There are a lot of very savvy people on here that will give you all the help you need. Also once a garage gets hold of it they can tell you anything and you can end up paying an arm and a leg for things that only cost pounds to put right. I myself have an early 80's honda and the only time i took to a garage the screwed it up big time! A lot of mechanics these days rely on diagnostic equipment to tell them whats wrong, which these older bikes don't use.
____________________
XX XXXx
Previous: CG125,XS250 (converted to 400),Z250A, GPZ550, Norton Commando, XS500, 78 Laverda Jota, GPZ1100,Harris bonneville, XV750 (mono shock),TR1 |
|
| Back to top |
 |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Uzi2491 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Uzi2491
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 11 Jul 2011
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| MickC |
This post is not being displayed .
|
MickC
Spanner Monkey
Joined: 27 May 2011
Karma :
|
| Posted: 19:30 - 11 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
Here is a link to a breaker search engine
https://www.bike-breakers.info/
Also for finding part numbers (if you need or want to buy new stuff):
https://www.cmsnl.com/
But don't buy them from there just get the part numbers then go to:
https://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/home/
they are a lot cheaper!
And I'm sure some of the other people on here will chip in info to help you.
____________________
XX XXXx
Previous: CG125,XS250 (converted to 400),Z250A, GPZ550, Norton Commando, XS500, 78 Laverda Jota, GPZ1100,Harris bonneville, XV750 (mono shock),TR1 |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 00:24 - 12 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
| Uzi2491 wrote: | Thanks for that Mick - I may well have a go at doing it but I've got a lot to learn. I've got very little experience with things like this actually. |
A Non Running £250 CBX550....
Have you done any research on these things?
They had a tendancy to snap cam chains & eat thier own cam chain tensioner mechanism, withing 10,ooo miles.
Commin 'Fix' was a 'soft link' cam chain, threaded in from the rocker cover, if you managed to catch the rattle before it became terminal, at which point sixteen very tiny valves often got mangled.
The 'soft' link cam chains often didn't even last the 10K of the OE item.
I would NOT spend a penny...... (on a CBX550, full stop, probably!)... until I had taken the cam cover off, and made sure it has a cam chain, and that its actually tight on the sprokets, and turned the motor over watching valves open and close, and done a compression test.......
That done, I'd look at the carbs first. CV carbs were prone to the diagphrams perishing... actually one of the easier things to 'fix' on a CBX550, overhauling carbs......
Not sure what prices are like on the diagprams and mounting rubbers these days though....
MEANWHILE... little point doing anything seriouse with the engine, unless you have a garanteed 'home' for it.
The CBX550 had a wampy 'inboard disk' brake... very advanced for its day.... read, overly complicated..... and utterly unserviceable!
Hondas are renouned for siezing floating brake calipers, now take a pair of them, turn them inside out and back to front, and slap them inside the hub inside the middle of teh wheel, out of sight, out of mind, until they either start grating, as the pads have gone, or binding becouse they have siezed.... THEN add another over complication in the mechanically linked 'Trac' anti dive mechanism to stiffen fork damping under braking......
At the back you then have the vaunted Uni-Trak multi-link suspension... great system, but again often neglected, and expensive to overhaul.... and another inboard bludy disc brake!
A well fettled CBX550 is a very sweet little bike; and with 75bhp, it was one of the the most powerful air cooled fours of its era. I hink that there are only about half a dozen Honda Air Cooled fours that are actually more powerful, CB900, CBX750, and the CB1100... my '93 CB750 'Retro' had 'detuned' CBX engine, and I think is actually LESS powerful than the 550 lump!
In it's day, it was a very potent tool, and had the power and handling to stay with the early Kawasaki GPz600R's, and could actually outpace the early 'jelly-mould' CBR600, which was no more powerful, and a feck sight heavier....
But it was a fragile beast, and mechanics nightmare.....
And at £250, 'now'... well, back in 1989, I was GIVEN a 1982 CBX550... a seven year old bike..... when second hand middleweights were in short supply, and commanded very high prices..... they were THAT notoriouse! Bike was a 'runner' too; It had had a full overhaul, 'doing' those stupid bludy brakes, just before the cam chain went... demanding a full engine rebuild, before it was submitted for MOT, and failed on fork seals, at which point bloke had just had enough, looked at the Track System, cried a little, and handed me the keys!
If you are not a clued up mechanic, and possibly even if you are.... I am a pretty competent mechanic, and idea of contending with another CBX, REALLY daunts me.... I'd NOT get carried away, with it, I would not spend money on it, until I had the whole thing in bits, and was SURE I could make something worth while out of it.
PAYING mechanics to work on a CBX550?
Get the bancrupsy forms now mate'; thing will be a complete money pit, unless you can DIY it!
Changing the brake pads is likely to be a days labour! And more then the bike's worth, if you pay a pro!
Punt it back out on Ebay; break for bits, or simply write off as a bad mistake.
As a Novice Mechanics machine, there's really only a couple WORSE bikes you could have picked! They are a real nightmare to work on.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
 |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| temeluchus |
This post is not being displayed .
|
temeluchus
World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 Oct 2008
Karma : 
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :
|
| Posted: 19:10 - 12 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
| Temeluchus wrote: | Haven't you read the propaganda? Hondas are all perfect, well finished and utterly reliable! |
When the CBX550 was built, there was no such propaganda; they were still overly complicated 'rice burners' no one expected to last.... and they didn't!
Ironically, the bikes haven't ACTUALLY got much more durable, but expectations have diminished, as bikes have changed in nature from every day road vehicles to fasion oriented leisure implements, how long they are expected to last has reduced.
Honda had a poor reputation for the fragility of thier cam drives, on the SOHC 'fours'... the DOHC fours didn't enhance it any.... The quad cam V-4's blew it completely.
Honda's 1984 VF750F nearly broke the company with the warranty claims it generated. It was only the strength of the yen, and the success of the Civic car, that gave them the corporate muscle to ride that one out, and use the expensive expedience of gear driven cams, to over come the problem, and start rebuilding a tattered reputation. The 1985 VF1000R, was the first bike to use GDC, the VFR750 the bike that was supposed to wrestle back the rep....
But it was the GDC 'Jelly Mold' CBR's, water cooled in line fours, that were Honda's "Humble Pie"....
In 1983, they said the 'future' was the V4, a water cooled IL4 would be too wide, and Air Cooled IL4's were already critasised for that.... GPz600R proved them wrong.... so they copied it, added gear cams, and hid the whole lot in fully enclosed plastic, inspired by Ducati.... and ironically the CBR600 was the bike that the propaganda is based on having gone on to be the most popular modern motorcycle over 250cc....
Ironically, they re introduced chain driven cams not long ago.....
curiousely, as these bikes have started reaching middle age, and the middle market, people are reporting the old Honda Cam Chain knock again!
What goes around.....
HOWEVER.... you do have to give teh CBX credit for fit and finish, it was beutifully engineered and well finished.... they were always the best looking bikes in the breakers!
Even when they weren't a clear dacade newer than the bikes sat next to them, having been wheeled in with their head removed, after an astronomical quite to repair the valve damage after the cam chain went, before their first MOT!
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| temeluchus |
This post is not being displayed .
|
temeluchus
World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 Oct 2008
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| jjdugen |
This post is not being displayed .
|
jjdugen
World Chat Champion
Joined: 03 Jun 2011
Karma : 
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| chris-red |
This post is not being displayed .
|
chris-red
Have you considered a TDM?
Joined: 21 Sep 2005
Karma : 
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Vincent |
This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Vincent
Banned
Joined: 16 Oct 2006
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 16:36 - 13 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
the starter motor might just need new brushes but I bet the garage want to charge you for a new unit, and probably 2 hours labour  that'd be about 200 knicker just for the starter.
BTW Mike "Rice Burners" are two strokes AFAIK.
____________________
Space Is Deep |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| temeluchus |
This post is not being displayed .
|
temeluchus
World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 Oct 2008
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Vincent |
This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Vincent
Banned
Joined: 16 Oct 2006
Karma :
|
| Posted: 17:37 - 13 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
It's an American phrase from the late 60s/70s which I don't remember anyone here in the UK actualy using, that came about due to the amount of smoke Jap strokers would leave behind them, (usualy covering the Harley Boys as they chug up the road). Typical Back Street heroes Jibber Jabber. You have to remember a lot of the "Good 'Ol Boys" still had issues with the Japanese after their dastardly behaviour in WWII, even 20-odd years later . Anything that came from there was slated. It didn't take long for people like Wes Cooley, Steve Baker and Kenny Roberts to change the majority of peoples minds 
____________________
Space Is Deep |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :
|
| Posted: 02:07 - 14 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
| Vincent wrote: | It's an American phrase from the late 60s/70s which I don't remember anyone here in the UK actualy using |
(Shhhhhh I don't admit this very often!) I'm 1/2 Canadian. Spent about 1/4 my teen years there.
Mantra, was as often as not, "If it ent Harleee, it Ent SHY-TE"
To which I more often replied, in the John Cleese accent the colonials so appreciated, "You're not wrong there!" delighting in the irony of the double negatives!
"Jap-Crap" was more often used in the UK...
And due to a nervous elaboration, it's actually taken me all day to remember that!
But then same abortion, had me, with my head under the kitchen side, behind the washing machine, holding a leaking hose, waving my free arm around, stuttering, and yelling incoherently at Snowie, words like; "Petcock" or "Valve" or just "Blue THING" while she looked on, bewildered, until, thoroughly soaked, the word 'TAP" after conceiving not just various different forms, but also imagining the blue prints of their internal workings, eventually found its way into my grasp!
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Vincent |
This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Vincent
Banned
Joined: 16 Oct 2006
Karma :
|
| Posted: 09:20 - 14 Jul 2011 Post subject: |
|
|
That explains a lot Mike - long winters snowbound at home for months on end - the old "Log Cabin fever" sets in I guess  
____________________
Space Is Deep |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 14 years, 217 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
 |
|
|
Help & FAQs
Search BCF
Members
Groups
Events Calendar
rating
rating