Topic: 79 CB650 The Mayor - Revive and Freshen Up

[DaveBarbier]

Head on and torqued. Will do a re-torque tomorrow and then final assembly. Maybe fire it up Saturday.

[DaveBarbier]

All buttoned up but I’ll have to wait to finish because I forgot to order carb insulators. Mine are all hard and cracked. Possibly the following weekend.

[DaveBarbier]

First start up. Interesting noise. You guys want to have a listen?

Sounds like valves. Definitely doesn’t sound like an exhaust leak. Seems to be the #1 or 2 cylinder. After a minute or two of idling there was smoke out the tail pipe on the left side. Seems connected. Pulling it back in the shop and removing the tappet covers.

[DaveBarbier]

May be the problem...

[DaveBarbier]

If the rocker arm doesn’t have the tappet screw screwed in touching the valve can the valve bend? I mean, is that a likely occurrence?

[DaveBarbier]

Take two. So far so good! Smooth sound and no smoke. Out doing a shake down. Also no leaks yet either. Fingers crossed.

[grcamna2]

How was the ride Dave,did you put it through it's paces ?

[DaveBarbier]

How was the ride Dave,did you put it through it's paces ?

Ride was good! I had to cut it short for a couple reasons. One is that I’m currently riding dirty. Need to get it registered and all that mumbo jumbo. Also I skipped out of work for a second to work on it and ride because I was caught up, now there’s work to do, haha.

No leaks and good power and sounds great! Actually that’s a lie, there is a little bit of oil on the top which looks to be coming from the tappet covers. But could just be from when I had them off earlier to readjust valves. This thing is awesome, an absolute pleasure to ride.

[grcamna2]

How was the ride Dave,did you put it through it's paces ?

Ride was good! I had to cut it short for a couple reasons. One is that I’m currently riding dirty. Need to get it registered and all that mumbo jumbo. Also I skipped out of work for a second to work on it and ride because I was caught up, now there’s work to do, haha.

No leaks and good power and sounds great! Actually that’s a lie, there is a little bit of oil on the top which looks to be coming from the tappet covers. But could just be from when I had them off earlier to readjust valves. This thing is awesome, an absolute pleasure to ride.

That is a very clean bike,the Mayor must have had it garaged.Do you think you'll let the Mayor see their former bike now ?

[DaveBarbier]

How was the ride Dave,did you put it through it's paces ?

Ride was good! I had to cut it short for a couple reasons. One is that I’m currently riding dirty. Need to get it registered and all that mumbo jumbo. Also I skipped out of work for a second to work on it and ride because I was caught up, now there’s work to do, haha.

No leaks and good power and sounds great! Actually that’s a lie, there is a little bit of oil on the top which looks to be coming from the tappet covers. But could just be from when I had them off earlier to readjust valves. This thing is awesome, an absolute pleasure to ride.

That is a very clean bike,the Mayor must have had it garaged.Do you think you'll let the Mayor see their former bike now ?

He asked me to shoot him a couple pictures of it when I got it running. Once I got it running the first time (before the top end rebuild) I sent him pictures and a video. He was pleased! Bet he’s glad someone is taking care of it now and it’s not just sitting collecting dust and getting rusty. That’s what I love about these old bikes the most—using the hell out of them. Instead they might be deteriorating in some dank shed or something.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Bravo, Dave. Another bike saved! What a nice clean '79.

[DaveBarbier]

Bravo, Dave. Another bike saved! What a nice clean '79.

It is a nice one! And with a little bit of effort it’s turning out to be a nice runner too.

[RAFster122s]

That did sound pretty nasty without the tappet nut, did you lose one inside the cover?  (or it is unlikely you forgot to put one on as you cannot adjust valve clearances without one on...)
Glad she's running nice and quiet and going to be a pleasure to ride.

David M

[DaveBarbier]

That did sound pretty nasty without the tappet nut, did you lose one inside the cover?  (or it is unlikely you forgot to put one on as you cannot adjust valve clearances without one on...)
Glad she's running nice and quiet and going to be a pleasure to ride.

David M

I assume I just didn’t tighten it? I really don’t know because after I adjust a valve and tighten it down, not like I wait for all valves to be done to do a final tighten. And yes, the nut is inside there. You can see it in the picture on the side of the spring.

[DaveBarbier]

Finally got to register the bike. Just in time for 30° weather! Actually it looks like this weekend is going to be nice so I’ll be out riding.

How many of you guys get classic plates? I just did on this one but never before even though most vehicles I own or have ever owned are “old”. It was $2 for the classic plate and the lady said that in CT any registered classic vehicle can’t be assessed by the tax assessor higher than $500. They use NADA Guides as their assessment and always in “excellent” condition, which for this bike is $2,270. So hope I pay cheaper taxes. Anything helps I guess.

[grcamna2]

Finally got to register the bike. Just in time for 30° weather! Actually it looks like this weekend is going to be nice so I’ll be out riding.

How many of you guys get classic plates? I just did on this one but never before even though most vehicles I own or have ever owned are “old”. It was $2 for the classic plate and the lady said that in CT any registered classic vehicle can’t be assessed by the tax assessor higher than $500. They use NADA Guides as their assessment and always in “excellent” condition, which for this bike is $2,270. So hope I pay cheaper taxes. Anything helps I guess.

Dave,that's excellent.I'm originally from Stamford,Ct.,moved to Ma. in my late teens.I didn't know the DMV likes classic motorcycles that much ! 

[DaveBarbier]

Finally got to register the bike. Just in time for 30° weather! Actually it looks like this weekend is going to be nice so I’ll be out riding.

How many of you guys get classic plates? I just did on this one but never before even though most vehicles I own or have ever owned are “old”. It was $2 for the classic plate and the lady said that in CT any registered classic vehicle can’t be assessed by the tax assessor higher than $500. They use NADA Guides as their assessment and always in “excellent” condition, which for this bike is $2,270. So hope I pay cheaper taxes. Anything helps I guess.

Dave,that's excellent.I'm originally from Stamford,Ct.,moved to Ma. in my late teens.I didn't know the DMV likes classic motorcycles that much ! 

I guess they do, haha

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

[DaveBarbier]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

Oof, that’s a bummer. Reg fee for me was about $160 out the door.

[grcamna2]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

Oof, that’s a bummer. Reg fee for me was about $160 out the door.

That's about what I paid for my early 80's 450 here in Ca.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

Oof, that’s a bummer. Reg fee for me was about $160 out the door.

That's about what I paid for my early 80's 450 here in Ca.

Yeah.  That's about right.  Our fees were sub $100 two years ago, but they went up to make up for budget deficits.  Dave: I thought Nevada would have lower rates.

[DaveBarbier]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

Oof, that’s a bummer. Reg fee for me was about $160 out the door.

That's about what I paid for my early 80's 450 here in Ca.

Yeah.  That's about right.  Our fees were sub $100 two years ago, but they went up to make up for budget deficits.  Dave: I thought Nevada would have lower rates.

Where does Nevada come in, Don?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

Oof, that’s a bummer. Reg fee for me was about $160 out the door.

That's about what I paid for my early 80's 450 here in Ca.

Yeah.  That's about right.  Our fees were sub $100 two years ago, but they went up to make up for budget deficits.  Dave: I thought Nevada would have lower rates.

Where does Nevada come in, Don?

It doesn't! I had a momentary lapse in memory.  I saw "Dave" and thought of member Dave Zajac from Las Vegas.

[DaveBarbier]

Lucky.  Our registration fees went up like 30-40% a year ago in California - at least for my motorcycles.

Oof, that’s a bummer. Reg fee for me was about $160 out the door.

That's about what I paid for my early 80's 450 here in Ca.

Yeah.  That's about right.  Our fees were sub $100 two years ago, but they went up to make up for budget deficits.  Dave: I thought Nevada would have lower rates.

Where does Nevada come in, Don?

It doesn't! I had a momentary lapse in memory.  I saw "Dave" and thought of member Dave Zajac from Las Vegas.

Oh haha, makes sense!

[DaveBarbier]

Was finally able to take it out for a real ride. Went out for a few hours running errands and whatnot. Performed very nicely. Speedo is off and so is the tach. I opened them previously to fix the needles from hitting the glass and now I just need to calibrate them somehow. When speedo indicates 30, actual is 25. When it indicates 60 actual is 50. So the amount it’s off is growing as speed increases. Tach seems to be off by about 500rpms but when it hits like 5500 rpm it seems to be very sluggish. I feel the bike is revving more than what the gauge shows. Hmm, I know there’s a very reputable place that rebuilds these things and he’s a member here but the price is insane. Something like over $400 to rebuild both.

Has anyone used the aftermarket gauges from David Silver? They look pretty nice and aren’t cheap either (about $170) so they could be a good option if I don’t want to keep messing with mine.

And lastly I probably need to adjust the mixture screws. Seems a little rich just cracking the throttle. But this will have to wait until next season as I’m going to winterize it tomorrow. The season is officially over for me. Today was a good day, though.