Author Topic: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .  (Read 11301 times)

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Offline dustyc

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #25 on: July 29, 2007, 02:39:21 PM »
I'm sorry.
1977 CB750

Offline steam-powered man

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #26 on: July 29, 2007, 05:10:44 PM »
i knew i was in trouble when i found the air/water separator line plugged into the cam chain tensioner tip, then found the front sprocket on backwards.  he really got me with the loose cam chain sprocket bolt tho:  said bolt backed out after my first ride and locked up the cam chain sprocket.  busted the sprocket, cam and cam chain.   :-\

found a used engine w/22K and good comp, made the swap in my cellar and have been happy so far after 700miles.
bobp       
searching for a dr350se

Offline Swede

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #27 on: July 29, 2007, 07:26:03 PM »
The PO of my bike was a complete moron and had no idea what he was doing.  He told me he cleaned and tuned the carbs on the the bike which was a bunch of garbage.  The day after I brought the bike home the #1 carb started pissing gas everywhere.  When I pulled the rack of carbs off he had tried to fix the problem by bending the crap out of the floats.  Instead of adjusting the tang he bent the two floats towards each other so that they were almost touching the center main jet.  But the best part was when I noticed the gap on the front axle.  When I pulled the front wheel off he had hammered a spacer made out of thin tubing into the bottom of the fork leg.  I am assuming he was trying to fix the brake squeal. 

Offline dustyc

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #28 on: July 29, 2007, 07:31:00 PM »
I'm not feeling so bad about my bike's story after reading some of these. 
1977 CB750

Offline Badger 5

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #29 on: July 29, 2007, 07:40:22 PM »
I had the same issue with my PO saying that the carbs were just cleaned in tuned.  By the time I got it home the 1st carb was spitting fuel all over the rode.  The guy said that he changed the oil 200 miles earlier but I didn't take his word for it and changed it myself.  The oil was the blackest I've ever seen and the oil filter had disintegrated. Then when I rebuilt the master cylinder I was got the big surprises.  The piston was cracked in half so that was interesting but the best part was instead of the small washer that keeps the rubber plunger in place I found a 1967 dime!!!!!!!!!!   So the bike was 10 cents cheaper than I thought.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2007, 07:42:48 PM by Badger 5 »
76 CB550K
75 CB200T
68 CL160 (AHRMA R78)
07 Triumph Bonneville Black
75 XS650

Offline Swede

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #30 on: July 29, 2007, 10:40:53 PM »
That is so classic about the dime.  I remember when I was talking with the PO that he was telling me about rebuilding the front caliper.  He just couldn't figure out why they had put an extra fiber washer in the package (you know the one to help the endless squealing) and decided to throw it out.  I only made the connection after I joined this group.  There are some brilliant people in this world...

Offline Schultz

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #31 on: July 30, 2007, 04:16:00 AM »
I had a guy ride over to my garage once and ask for some help with an RD350 he'd replaced the steering head bearings on. When I checked it out there was something very wrong with the front end. I wouldn't even ride the thing. Upon closer inspection I realized that he had put the race for the lower bearing in upside down and omitted the bearing. I'm not sure what his logic was. The five miles over to my house must have been pretty scary. A few months later the same guy on the same bike was working on his rear wheel and didn't put the torque arm/brake stay back on when he was done. When he took it for a test ride as soon as he hit the rear brake the wheel twisted up the brake linkage and siezed up on him. I think he might have high-sided, I'm not sure but he was in pretty bad shape. The funny thing was he was a smart guy just not mechanically inclined I suppose. I ended up with the bike.

Offline kslrr

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #32 on: July 30, 2007, 11:20:42 AM »
Got an '81 CB650C from ebay.  In the description he said he had mounted a rear wheel from a CB450 but also had the original rear wheel and wheels from a '79 650.  So, I knew what I was getting into, had parts and I have been working on bikes for 25+ years.  Found that that he did not fashion new axle spacers so the swing arm was pinched abit (took a bit of work to get the 17" wheel back in) but also used the CB450 axle which was sloppy in the swing arm slots.  Also, the CB450 rear drum was not designed to stop a bike as big as the 650.  This was not only stupid but dangerous!

Update Oct 2008: The 650 is finally done.  I had the carbs apart 6 times, had to swap out the MC and bleed the front brakes, corrected verious electrical issues, repaired the fuel petcock, repaired the tach and installed new turn signals since the PO hacked them off with a saw!
« Last Edit: October 04, 2008, 05:09:59 PM by kslrr »
Now  1972 CB350FX (experimental v2.0)
        1981 CB650c Custom with '79 engine (wifes)
        1981 CB650 engine
        2004 HD XL883C Custom
        1977 Yamaha XS750D (in progress)
Then 1972 CL175
        1964 Yamaha YGS-1T
No ride is a Bad ride

Offline DarkRider

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #33 on: July 30, 2007, 02:57:55 PM »
As for previous owner mistakes...eh..all i can think of is the crash damage my VF had before i bought it...and as for lacing rear rims on front hubs..its a common mod on the triples to get rid of the 19" front wheel lol...
'84 Chevy C10
'73 MGB Roadster
'69 Ford F250

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Offline Jugghead

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #34 on: July 30, 2007, 04:25:54 PM »
My CB350F came into my possession in the fall of 2005 really cosmetically beautiful, including original 4-4 pipes.
Someone along the way, however, managed to strip plenty of screws and bolts that I have slowly discovered during the required maintanence intervals.  Not to mention it was sold to me as "running" which it did for about a month, but then completely fouled out the plugs, billowed smoke, backfired, blew a fuse and gave me a nice intro to motorcycle mechanics to get it ready for springtime.
One bodger was the clutch adjustment screw on the right case cover...he snapped half of the adjuster off so it wouldn't take a screw driver.  Also, he managed to strip the fork drain bolts and "remedied" them with teflon tape.
When I drained/refilled the forks, I took all the gummy tape off, and now the left fork drain weeps (drips) fork fluid.  need to replace that little 6x8 screw. hopefully home depot/lowes has a replacement otherwise it is $1.00 plus $9.00 s/h from ServiceHonda.
When I rebuilt the front master cylinder and caliper, like many of you I found some gum-like rubbery red crap smeared all over the back of the brake pad and piston face. yuck! I cleaned that up and now the brake is pretty darn good, considering 35 year old rubber hoses. I can lock it at low speeds in my dusty, concrete surfaced parking garage.
The last bit of buggery were the rear shocks.  these things were shot from the beginning.  the would compress, and not return to original unless on the center stand for hours.  It made it seem like I was riding a hard tail bike and every philly pothole/ road imperfection would rattle a tooth loose in my jaw. I replaced with a $50 pair of OEM shocks off a 350 twin and the ride is amazingly better, as well as seat height/ corner response is back to normal.
Not nearly as bad as some stories, but, with a 30+ year old bike there is always something.
Oh the stories Tvag or 736cc could tell... :o
9/72 CB350F...15k miles and rising

Offline nteek754

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #35 on: July 31, 2007, 05:56:59 AM »
HMMMM , Ok let me see here. Graduated 1974 "honor roll" senior year not high honors, As and Bs. 1981 welding school. became certified pipe welder in six states as a pipe welder. When I got tired of welding went on to truck driving school and  acquired my class A for you that don't know what that is. I can dwive the big twuck you no da one wid da twailer behind them.
seven fifty four ever its not the destination its the journey Ive been collecting these old dinasours for 33 years . they are quite an ICON

Offline Tvag

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #36 on: July 31, 2007, 08:03:00 AM »
Quote
Oh the stories Tvag or 736cc could tell...

Actually, my PO was great to the bike aside from leaving it in the humidity and cold of New England for 20 years. Rust is my only complaint. PO didn't do anything f'ed up except abandon the poor baby.
1977 CB550K (on the road, FINALLY! 4/10/08)
1979 Kaw Z400B2 (someone's future parts bike)

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #37 on: July 31, 2007, 09:08:39 AM »
My PO was fine, aside from leaving the bike under a tree in his yard for a year.  The guy that owned it before him was the problem.

He'd hacked the wiring from some unknown Yamaha onto my 550F, removed the fuse block entirely (there was one inline fuse on the bike.  No wonder I caught it on fire!) and had splices that would blow your mind.  One particular favorite was the wire that inside the headlight bucket split, and then 8" further down the bike was spliced back into one wire with not even a component in between.  He also sawed off the front turn signal mounts with an angle grinder, lost the nut off the clutch adjustment screw (which I noticed when I tried to flush the oil system), patched the muffler by pop riveting a piece of sheet steel over a big hole, and a laundry list of other little things that just irritate the hell out of me.  I've already spent nearly 3 times what I paid for the bike just fixing what this dude mangled.  I'm amazed it didn't fall apart on its own.

Offline mrbreeze

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #38 on: July 31, 2007, 07:06:51 PM »
HMMMM , Ok let me see here. Graduated 1974 "honor roll" senior year not high honors, As and Bs. 1981 welding school. became certified pipe welder in six states as a pipe welder. When I got tired of welding went on to truck driving school and  acquired my class A for you that don't know what that is. I can dwive the big twuck you no da one wid da twailer behind them.
;D ;D ;D ;D.........you da man Craig!!!!
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Offline Badger 5

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #39 on: August 01, 2007, 04:58:15 AM »
A few words that would make GNO's (good new owners) much happier if their APO's had lived by them: "if you don't know what to do, DO NOTHING!"

My APO was the worse.  He knew what he was doing, he just put a lot of band aid's on so he could flip the bike.  That is the worse.
76 CB550K
75 CB200T
68 CL160 (AHRMA R78)
07 Triumph Bonneville Black
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Offline mrbreeze

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #40 on: August 01, 2007, 08:17:36 PM »
A few words that would make GNO's (good new owners) much happier if their APO's had lived by them: "if you don't know what to do, DO NOTHING!"
exactly!!!!!!!
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Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #41 on: August 02, 2007, 03:46:47 AM »
HMMMM , Ok let me see here. Graduated 1974 "honor roll" senior year not high honors, As and Bs. 1981 welding school. became certified pipe welder in six states as a pipe welder. When I got tired of welding went on to truck driving school and  acquired my class A for you that don't know what that is. I can dwive the big twuck you no da one wid da twailer behind them.
;D ;D ;D ;D.........you da man Craig!!!!

Ah you guys, you must have scared ol' TT away, looks like he deleted his snooty post and headed for friendlier pastures, ha ha! ;D
I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't afford new bike boots, until I met a man with no legs.

So I said, "Hey mate, you haven't got any bike boots you don't need, do you?"

"Crazy is a very misunderstood term, it's a fine line that some of us can lean over and still keep our balance" (thanks RB550Four)

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #42 on: August 02, 2007, 04:41:39 AM »
Stupid previous owners are the reason I have my bikes.  For some people, their position in life is to screw stuff up.  My position is fixing stuff that they screwed up.  Without previous owners I wouldn't have anything to do.  Where's the fun in that?

Offline Somemonkey

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #43 on: August 02, 2007, 10:13:51 AM »
I had the same issue with my PO saying that the carbs were just cleaned in tuned.  By the time I got it home the 1st carb was spitting fuel all over the rode.  The guy said that he changed the oil 200 miles earlier but I didn't take his word for it and changed it myself.  The oil was the blackest I've ever seen and the oil filter had disintegrated. Then when I rebuilt the master cylinder I was got the big surprises.  The piston was cracked in half so that was interesting but the best part was instead of the small washer that keeps the rubber plunger in place I found a 1967 dime!!!!!!!!!!   So the bike was 10 cents cheaper than I thought.

Holy crap dude. That last part made me laugh so hard I nearly farted. Good times.   :D

bluecb550

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #44 on: August 14, 2007, 03:23:36 PM »
The guy who I bought my bike from had it running on a full sized car battery on the luggage rack... Lots of smokey wires...

Offline mrbreeze

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #45 on: August 14, 2007, 11:22:15 PM »
The guy who I bought my bike from had it running on a full sized car battery on the luggage rack... Lots of smokey wires...
Awww hell!!!!!!!!!...................now thats funny :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
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Offline MoTo-BunnY

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #46 on: August 15, 2007, 01:39:14 AM »
The guy who I bought my bike from had it running on a full sized car battery on the luggage rack... Lots of smokey wires...
Awww hell!!!!!!!!!...................now thats funny :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

lol. . .. that one and Terry from Australia's wooden piston story are the kraziest, me thinks. ...

they make my dodgy brakes experience look pretty tame  ;D
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1970 Ding-How aka Nova R-S w/3.5HP Tecumseh MiniBike
1970 Taco Model 22 deluxe w/3.0HP Briggs & Stratton MiniBike
1973 GMC Vandura 3/4 Ton Van (350CID V8)
1973 Dodge "Chinook" RV (360CID V8)
1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 (4WD - 3A engine)
1982 Toyota Pickup Truck (2WD - 22R engine)
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1991 Diamondback Mtn. Bike

Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #47 on: August 15, 2007, 01:50:39 AM »
Actually, I kinda like that idea. I've often thought about fitting a vented "top box" on a rack behind the seat with a full sized car battery inside, (about half the cost of a bike battery here in Oz, and they all seem to last twice as long) with a "battery tender" hanging off it, cold weather and infrequent riding has claimed several of my bike batteries lately......... Cheers, Terry. ;D   
I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't afford new bike boots, until I met a man with no legs.

So I said, "Hey mate, you haven't got any bike boots you don't need, do you?"

"Crazy is a very misunderstood term, it's a fine line that some of us can lean over and still keep our balance" (thanks RB550Four)

Offline MoTo-BunnY

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #48 on: August 15, 2007, 02:39:50 PM »
Actually, I kinda like that idea. I've often thought about fitting a vented "top box" on a rack behind the seat with a full sized car battery inside, (about half the cost of a bike battery here in Oz, and they all seem to last twice as long) with a "battery tender" hanging off it, cold weather and infrequent riding has claimed several of my bike batteries lately......... Cheers, Terry. ;D   

LOL. ... . .and wheelies would be a bit easier with that setup, too!

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hoppin' on down the bunny trail . . .

1973 Honda CB500K2
1970 Ding-How aka Nova R-S w/3.5HP Tecumseh MiniBike
1970 Taco Model 22 deluxe w/3.0HP Briggs & Stratton MiniBike
1973 GMC Vandura 3/4 Ton Van (350CID V8)
1973 Dodge "Chinook" RV (360CID V8)
1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 (4WD - 3A engine)
1982 Toyota Pickup Truck (2WD - 22R engine)
1962? DriveX Pack-Mule (Tote-Gote clone)
1989 VW Jetta GLi 16V
1991 Diamondback Mtn. Bike

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Re: APO (a**hole previous owner) Thread - Your Worst Stories . . .
« Reply #49 on: August 15, 2007, 03:03:25 PM »
I've had a bunch of 'em and every one has been buggered. The most common is SAE bolts instead of metric. The worst was a "rebuild" with silicone sealant. It plugged the cam oil ports and starved the cam. The top end went molten!
Anyone ever hear of "Carolina chrome"? It's silver paint over rust!