I used to be a forum member, but it was back in the mid to late 90's. Like most forums, it seems SOHC4 has gone through a couple moves/changes since then. My log in information is probably long been deleted so I opened a new account. Truthfully, I can't really remember my log in name nor know/have the email I used to register back then.
I haven't had a SOHC Honda for about 15-20 years as my SOHC had gone "adrift" a loong time ago. I got a text from my ex-wife the other day (who doesn't love getting a text from their ex
) that simply stated "come get your old bike or I'm going to have it hauled away for scrap".
Pardon? My old CB650SC is still around? I had assumed she had either gotten rid of it or burned it in the back yard (as was her tendency at the time with my stuff). Well, I figured no sense letting it go to scrap, so I arranged to pick it up one day when she was at work. I hooked up the trailer and headed out.
Well, when I got there, the bike was is sad shape. What she had done was push it out behind the shed and left it there for a good 15-20 years. Everything except the wheel bearings was seized solid. Luckily, the brakes hadn't welded to the discs so I could at least roll it.
Got it home and snapped a couple pics:
Your eyes aren't fooling you, the date on that plate tag is 1998.
It started out as a stock 1982 cb650sc Nighthawk that I took on trade for some work somewhere around 1991. It went through a couple rounds of modifications, with what you see here as its last iteration.
The front end and rear swingarm/wheel are from a 1985 RD500. I had a bud who used to track an RD500 back in the late 80's and one day he lunched the 2 stroke v4, hard. Bad premix, seized a big end and chucked a rod through the crankcase. Too rare/expensive to fix so it sat in his yard and eventually went for parts. I grabbed what he had left for cheap and grafted it on the CB.
The engine is mostly stock (put new rings in it long ago, stock 82 cam) with a MAC 4 into 1, a Dynojet kit and K&N pods.
Contrary to popular wisdom, the CV carbs run (ran?) pretty good with the pods. But I did also do the jetting work for them and understand what a cv carb needs to work. It could be temperamental at times, but when it was on it's game, it was crazy fast (for an old 650 sohc/4 that is).
The rear shock is from the RD500 also, but mounted cantilever as you can see. The RD also donated its tail light to the project.
I pulled the plugs and the alternator cover. Tried turning the crank and surprisingly, it actually turned. I expected at least one cylinder to have the rings rusted to it, but it seems to have avoided that issue at least.
The carbs were seized, wouldn't even open the butterflies. Choke was the same. Clutch lever was seized, as was the brake master.
The whole bike is covered in 20 years of environmental dirt, compounded by big blobs of pine tree sap and white latex paint drips all over it (they painted the shed at one point and obviously didn't give a rat's butt about the bike).
Got it up on the lift and pulled the bodywork, then pulled the carbs. Surprisingly, when I went through my drawer of "unknown" keys, the set for the nighthawk materialized. What's the chances of that after all this time?
The tank is a mess inside. It was in rough shape back when I was still riding it and time/neglect hadn't made it any better. It's still water tight, but I had used Kream on it back then and while it was still in the tank, rust had gotten a foothold behind it. I was able to pull nearly the whole Kream liner out like a plastic bag. Tank is a rusty mess inside. It's outside right now with a fan on the filler hole, as the old gas stinks to high heaven. Actually, it's pretty much pure varnish so calling it "gas" doesn't really describe how nasty it is right now. This is a tank that I’ll likely try the electrolysis rust removal method on and then bit it with one of the modern tank sealer products.
The carbs were in no better shape. I didn't even attempt to evaluate them. I just tore them down to their bits, dropped them in the Ultrasonic and let it run. A couple days later they are pretty respectable and I'm starting to put them back together.
The paint blobs and tree sap cleaned off with some products (and elbow grease) and the paint is still in great shape, even after the decade or two of neglect. At least thats
something positive. It was a pretty pricey paint job when I had it done and it seems it was money well spent.
The seat, once a nice custom piece, is now scrap. Being exposed to the elements has cracked it in a several places a d the marine grade vinyl is now hard as a rock. I'll recover it myself and likely stitch up something like this:
(i also do automotive upholstery, so a bike seat is a simple project)
The fairing is off and ex500, but I think I'll drop it and install a couple round lights. I'll just toss on an inexpensive aftermarket set of turn signals. The gauges are ratched as I was going for the "racer-boy look" of the mid 90's. So I found a used 1982 C650SC set for 50 bucks on ebay and scooped them up.
On the lift in the middle of teardown:
Even the frame has rust on it. Not horrible, but enough to warrant a full tear down and respray. There's also odd things missing off it, like nuts and bolts in odd places. Even one engine mount plate and hardware is missing, as well as the drive chain. Nothing I can't fix, it's just annoying that it would be pushed outside to rot and then be robbed of bits and pieces.
So that's where it sits today. I'm still not sure what to do with it. I've got my 89 FJ1200 torn down to the frame for a repaint, so i don't really need another project. I've also got my 83 Yamaha Venture that I swapped a Vmax engine into sitting in the shed, and an 85 VF750F project hiding in the back of the shop. So I certainly don't need another project, let alone a 4th motorcycle.
I may just get it looking half decent and running and then sell it on to someone who wants a project bike. There's lots of things I'd do differently now than I did then, but that's just a factor of finances and 20 years bike building experiences. I'm not really looking to put that much work (or money) into it now.
But.....I'm one of those guys who always falls into "the trap" all gearheads get sucked into: the more I work on it, the harder it gets to think about selling it......
More to follow.....
Edit: think I might keep it now (wife doesn't know yet and I'm not telling her!) so it needs a project name I guess. Seems like project "Black and Blue" fits the bill!
