Topic: Project "Hard Luck - The Red Racer" - updated 07/30/2010 w/new project!!!

[KB02]

Okay, so I finally picked it up today. My new acquisition is a Mighty K8!!!!
... okay, so it isn't quite as mighty as it used to be... but it's got potential!!!

Here's the low down:
K8. The numbers are right on both frame and engine, so no questions there. The motor won't turn over. The PO (who is one of the techs at the local Honda Shop) said he just hadn't dug into the engine since he didn't want a box of parts lying around. The tranny moves freely and it rolls nicely. The front caliper is gone as he had sold it to someone a while ago.

The PO gave it to me as a parts bike, but I'm thinking about possibly fixing it up for a custom job. Not sure what to do yet.

Here are some pics:



A small ding in the tank



A small ding in the side cover


The wetness you can see on the trailer is the water that dripped out of the #4 pipe. The exhaust is in fairly decent shape on the outside with the exception of #4, but you can see (not well in the pics, though) that the baffles have all rotted completely away.



What do y'all think?

[seaweb11]

K8 he he he........

[750goes]

IF you got it for nothing I would put a few hours of time into checking to see why the motor is locked up - bugger the cosmetics at the moment...

IF the motor is a simple fix - like replacing camshaft or camchain - then a smile is in order...

whats the PO view on why it locked up

any clues would be a great help but the bike looks pretty complete and original...be a shame to break it up...

offer it to eldar or quail, they will sure be in need of the parts.....

[snyquist53]

sell those pipes and use the money to fix the motor and build some 4 into1's.  chop it, lower it, and pop a wheelie

[KB02]

whats the PO view on why it locked up

The PO thinks that some water might have gotten into the jugs, causing the lock-up. At least that was his best guess. He really hadn't looked into it at all. That's going to be part of today's project (before and after work... I hate working retail), to look into that a little bit.

sell those pipes and use the money to fix the motor and build some 4 into1's.  chop it, lower it, and pop a wheelie

You must have been one of the people who voted for "Customizing it."    If it wasn't for this section of pipe, I might do that.



Who was it that stripped out the four into four exhaust?

[KB02]

So, in the short time I had this morning before going to work (did I mention I hate working retail?) I was able to get the bike into the garage and start the diagnosis. As I look into cylinders #1 and 4, I can see water just sitting there on top of the pistons (Darn!).

Couple of questions:
#1.) What would be the best way to get the water out? I have not yet check 2 & 3, but they're probably full, too. The plugs are gone, so the entry method is pretty easy to figure out. 
#2.) What would be the best way to take this engine apart? Obviously, since the engine is seized, the standard procedure is not going to work since it involves rotating the engine to get to the Cam sprocket bolts. Should I just cut the cam chain, or should I try to see if I can get the piston freed up?
#3.) And I do plan on doing a search on this one, but, in an 836 kit, the cylinders are just bored out, right? Hence if the cylinders are rusted up, the boring out should fix the issue? What is the bore? Is it .20 over? .30?

[sandcastcb750]

It looks just like the K8 I sold to a guy named Kevin was from Vermont back in 1994. That would be ironic.

[KB02]

You don't still have the VIN or engine numbers, do you?

[forwheeldrift]

some sort of racing replica would be cool.
Of cores, you allready have a sweet custom cafe, so a show room stock restoration would be cool to

[the_genrl]

hay thats the same color as mine!  i would at least get the motor running, regardless if you put it in the bike or not.  then you could put it in a dune buggy or something! 

[snyquist53]

put some compressed air into the cylinder to get the wter out and let it soak in marvel mystery oil or PB blaster for about a week.  that almost always frees them up.  if it were me i would just buy a better running motor and scrap that one.  with that much water in it you never know what the bottom end and tranny are gonna look like.  as long as the chassis is decent  you good to go

[KB02]

I have a little vacume pump that I used last night to get as much water out of the cylinders as I could. 2 and 3 were dry. I then emptied the last of a can of WD40 into all four and figured I would let that sit for a while.

The Front brake MC appears shot, but I still have the stock one off of my F1 that I could put on.

[sandcastcb750]

KB02- I will look for the registration but do to purges done in my house of old useless stuff, maybe won't find it. The bike came from Atlanta GA with 1500 miles, went to Massachusetts and ran untin 1987 with 11000 miles. I have the Georgia and Mass plates/tags still.

[KB02]

Well, It's got 16,000 on the clock, so there's a still a chance. 

[Mossy21]

I have two K8's and I love'm....    As for the rust in the cylinders, Pour some Pepsi (soft drink) in there, the acid in it will break down the rust.

[cleveland]

Free bikes are the best.....problem is they are so dam pricey to fix up. 

[Short Round]

If it were mine I would see if I could figure out whatw as wrong with the motor........ see if ity was worth fixing, and go from there..........Chris

[KB02]

yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do. I have the next two days off, so the engine will be coming out. 

[dusterdude]

well,well,well,we have a k8 huh?im sure you and eldar will become close friends .but seriously,pour some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders,let is sit for a few days then try to kick it,or better yet,put the bike in gear and bump the rear tire back and forth and see if it loosens up that way.good l uck.

[sandcastcb750]

KB02- How does the tachometer look. I kepted the original, which was flawless.

[sandcastcb750]

KB08- If the tach and speedo seem different condition/ appearance ...mabye mine. I saved the flawless tach

[ic455]

sell off what ever you know a chopper won't need, then chop it

[KB02]

KB08- If the tach and speedo seem different condition/ appearance ...mabye mine. I saved the flawless tach

They both appear to be pretty evenly matched. Oh well. Would have been ironic, though, huh? 

[greenjeans]

I had a 350 that was locked up with water & sitting a while back.... I blew out the water as best I could and tried everything I could to soak it with.....after reading a thread on this site, I dumped some acetone & ATF fluid in there and let is soak for 2 days.... Everytime I had a chance, I pointed a heat gun at it and warmed it as best I could....didn't want to point a torch at it.
Believe it or not the acetone & ATF unstuck it...  It took about 5 tries rolling it & popping the clutch to get it to break free.  Give that a shot before you take it out of the frame.  Good luck.

[KB02]

Well, The tear down has begun. I basically have it down to just a rolling chassis now. I went out and bought a large can of Kroil and squirted that into the cylinders. I did try the bump-roll and it did manage to free the clutch (which I didn't even know was stuck until I started trying. ) But other than leaving skid marks on the garage floor, it wasn't doing much.



Anyway, out the engine came.  I was very happy to see that there wasn't any water in the crank case when I drained the oil. I was worried that water had seeped down in there as it sat for god knows how long. So I'm good there. AND, one more stroke of good luck, as it turns out, the cam chain sprocket is stopped right at the point that the two bolt are sitting flat and level with the top of the engine!! This is going to make taking that head off sooooooooo much easier.