Topic: SOHC4 Engine top end oiler anyone?

[754]

Hondaman, let me know if you need K swingarm cores ( 2 bad you are in USA) I think I can get some right now, have 2 77/78 F ones right now.

Personally i think you are better off sending same back, no snivelling about minor damage etc..

I think  the cam blocks are fixable but Is it worth it, Should be lots of used at wreckers I think. I may be able to source some..

When i fixed the single Honda cam bores I used Alum Sleeves, seems to me 6061 is a bit tougher than the original cast

[HondaMan]

Hondaman, let me know if you need K swingarm cores ( 2 bad you are in USA) I think I can get some right now, have 2 77/78 F ones right now.

Personally i think you are better off sending same back, no snivelling about minor damage etc..

I think  the cam blocks are fixable but Is it worth it, Should be lots of used at wreckers I think. I may be able to source some..

When i fixed the single Honda cam bores I used Alum Sleeves, seems to me 6061 is a bit tougher than the original cast

I think you're right about the 6061: the original is softer than 5051. Did you make some up like this, before? I am seriously considering making this into a process, as the cost of these parts is awfully high. Tonite I'm going to try to measure the pressures on the bearing surfaces, to see what bearing material would make the most sense.

Most riders don't mind sending me their swingarms and waiting a week or so while I go through it. Some, though, are in a hurry, usually in theSpring - I guess they procrastinated all Winter and the weather got nice, all of a sudden, gotta fix it! Not that I blame them, I would, too...

But, it would be good to rebuild, say, an 'F' arm, a K0 arm (good luck with THAT core), a K1-K5 arm, and a K6 arm (similar to the 'F' arm). Also a 500 arm and a 550 arm. Then I could, for extra $$, expedite something. At minimum, I'd like to have a K1-K5, a K6/'F', and a 500 or 550 arm. What do they cost up your way?

The local boneyards want $40 to $60 for these arms, which is too much for me. I only make about $12-$15 on a rebuild, when all is said & done. I really only do it to help prevent riders from getting hurt from speed wobbles, and to pay for the tooling for my little lathe.

[HondaMan]

Terry:
I don't want to steal any of your secrets, if that's what this would be, but...can I ask how big your oil jets are? I'm thinking of something along the lines of a 'bearing booster' only for the hot-idle scenario, on stock engines.

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Mark, sorry I was watching this thread on my Army computer but it was running so slow every time I tried to reply it conked out. I'm down to 1mm jets now, but haven't tested it yet because of my lack of confidence in the hose I've got here.

Tomorrow I'm going back to the place where I bought some 3/16" "cloth over steel" hydraulic hose that I just can't make fit my 1/4" fittings, and if I can get the correct stuff by the weekend I'll get it going again. I really do want to make it work, if only for my bike and Steelo's, but I'll be happy to make them for anyone who thinks they might be a good idea.

I've seen CB750 cam towers (and XL250/350 heads too) with bronze inserts installed back in the 1970's when they were ultra expensive to buy new, but I've got maybe 10 sets of good used ones here that I picked up on EBay for only a few bucks, so once again mate, I wouldn't spend big bucks tooling up, I think it'd be a limited market.

If I was looking at another sideline for you Mark, I reckon you couldn't go past a reasonably priced cylinder head or carb reconditioning service. With your knowledge of 750 engines, your meticulous approach, and your wafer-thin profit margins, you could advertise a "buy it now" deal on EBay for a changeover head or carb service and you'd have little competition. Just a thought, but I'm sure you could make it viable. Cheers, Terry.

[HondaMan]

G'Day Mark, sorry I was watching this thread on my Army computer but it was running so slow every time I tried to reply it conked out. I'm down to 1mm jets now, but haven't tested it yet because of my lack of confidence in the hose I've got here.

Tomorrow I'm going back to the place where I bought some 3/16" "cloth over steel" hydraulic hose that I just can't make fit my 1/4" fittings, and if I can get the correct stuff by the weekend I'll get it going again. I really do want to make it work, if only for my bike and Steelo's, but I'll be happy to make them for anyone who thinks they might be a good idea.

I've seen CB750 cam towers (and XL250/350 heads too) with bronze inserts installed back in the 1970's when they were ultra expensive to buy new, but I've got maybe 10 sets of good used ones here that I picked up on EBay for only a few bucks, so once again mate, I wouldn't spend big bucks tooling up, I think it'd be a limited market.

If I was looking at another sideline for you Mark, I reckon you couldn't go past a reasonably priced cylinder head or carb reconditioning service. With your knowledge of 750 engines, your meticulous approach, and your wafer-thin profit margins, you could advertise a "buy it now" deal on EBay for a changeover head or carb service and you'd have little competition. Just a thought, but I'm sure you could make it viable. Cheers, Terry.

Thanks, I'll take the idea into advisement. I'd enjoy a head-rework service! It could be as simple as the valve job, or as full as a 'stage 2' port job, as some call it here.

My immediate next task is to get the LED timing light gizmo to a buildable state. My wife broke her leg & ankle last Sunday, though, so I'll be tied up for weeks,  now, helping her out. She won't be able to walk for the next 2 months, probably. The doc says it may be surgery this week, we'll see. 

[Terry in Australia]

Geez, I'm sorry to hear about your "Missus" Mark, is she OK? Anyway, if you decide to go ahead with the head service, I'll take a "Stage 2" head mate!

I don't want to pull my 836 cc engine apart while it's running so well, so I've got my new Ape crank, Ron's (McRider1) H/D rods coming, and some 1060cc pistons sitting in a box, so it'd be nice to cap it off with a genuine "Hondaman" head?

No rush though, with the Aussie dollar sitting on 70 cents US (down from 98 cents a month ago) I'm happy to wait, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.

[HondaMan]

Geez, I'm sorry to hear about your "Missus" Mark, is she OK? Anyway, if you decide to go ahead with the head service, I'll take a "Stage 2" head mate!

I don't want to pull my 836 cc engine apart while it's running so well, so I've got my new Ape crank, Ron's (McRider1) H/D rods coming, and some 1060cc pistons sitting in a box, so it'd be nice to cap it off with a genuine "Hondaman" head?

No rush though, with the Aussie dollar sitting on 70 cents US (down from 98 cents a month ago) I'm happy to wait, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.

Well, if you were heading for max HP, MRieck could probably do a better job of an all-out head. He has many more tools. I would be keeping mostly stock parts (like guides) and doing the pocket-port-and-channel method I've done to many. MRieck can do stuff like bigger valves and bronze guides, so bigger carbs could feed those bigger pistons. My general approach is to match port flows to the stock valve sizes, trim the valve lips and polish them, make sure the transitions are all clean, and watch that the port itself doesn't get bigger than the 28mm carbs can feed. The practical limit for this method is the 836cc kit, after which a bigger carb is needed to prevent asthma and resulting oil burning problems from too much vacuum (ring flutter issues raise their head, then).

And, both MRieck and I can make a decent hemi out of these. I have found, though, that the nice "burned fuel" smell these engines normally produce can disappear to a normal 'stinky exhaust' scent, once they are hemi-ed. This is just because the swirl-burn action is gone, but it sure does boost the midrange and improves the top end breathing.

As for my poor wife: I'm still trying to get SOMEONE to put a cast on her leg and foot. I've run into a bunch of irresponsible doctors at the hospital-recommended orthopedic clinic, and they are not taking care of her. I'ts been 10 days since she broke, and they can't get their internal scheduling figured out: yesterday they said it would be ANOTHER week before they could put on a cast! She's completely bedridden right now, can barely even make it to a bathroom, so she doesn't eat or drink when I'm at work. This is outrageous, and I'm giong to tear into someone over it today, or find another doctor... 

[754]

Hondaman, sorry to hear about your wifes mishap. .Mine got run into on a ski hill in Feb & just got back to work in the last few weeks..

Terry , I had an idea I thought I would mention..

 Seeing as 1/4 inch line/fittings..is a bit big, perhaps consider this;

H-D uses a steel line with compression? fitting to supply top end oil on Shovelheads (66--840 and Sportys (57-84ish).. Anyway thes are much smaller and could come off a log manifold on the cam cover maybe, they would look similar to nitrous hard lines..plus you can chrome them..

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Mark, this engine is a while off anyway, Mike Rieck did a great stage 3 job on my 836cc engine's head (I was one of his first customers here) but I just thought I'd throw some more business your way, but no biggie. Sorry again to see that your missus isn't being looked after, that sucks.

Frank, thanks for that, I got some more hose today so I'll try to get the "prototype" up and running this weekend, I'm still not keen on rigid pipes though, I think once I can find some 12mm hex brass I'll machine my own jets and use the 3/16" ID hydraulic hose. Cheers, Terry.

[HondaMan]

Thanks Mark, this engine is a while off anyway, Mike Rieck did a great stage 3 job on my 836cc engine's head (I was one of his first customers here) but I just thought I'd throw some more business your way, but no biggie. Sorry again to see that your missus isn't being looked after, that sucks.

Frank, thanks for that, I got some more hose today so I'll try to get the "prototype" up and running this weekend, I'm still not keen on rigid pipes though, I think once I can find some 12mm hex brass I'll machine my own jets and use the 3/16" ID hydraulic hose. Cheers, Terry.

Well I,  chewed some butt yesterday and yanked the records and Xrays from the first orthopedic group and found another, closer to the house, anyway. They did the right thing, and understand the diabetic issues she faces. In fact, they MADE an appointment in the midst of a busy day for them, once I mentioned she had this issue. That's just what she needs...now it's the long wait.

754: I'm sorry to hear about your wife, too. Many years ago, I was skiing with my first wife (BTW, never marry a cheerleader...) and a drunken Arab came flying down a hill, out of control, and wiped her right off her skis. I was waiting down below, and here comes this blitzing Arab, yelling "SORryyyyyy" as he flew by, and then one of her skis comes coasting over the ridge to me. By the time I climbed back up to see where she was, the Ski Patrol was putting her on a sled. She was not broken, but didn't ski anymore that year.

Terry: thanks for the encouragement (and teasing, really, to me!), because Id like to get together a 'head service', for just valve jobs and mild street porting work. I'm going to spend this winter putting the tooling together, at least enough to do SOHC4 heads, which should also fit many vintage Kaws, if need be, to pay it off.

Right now, I have to go build some ignitions, to catch up on some surprise orders I just got!

[Terry in Australia]

No worries mate, I might still need you to do a head for me for the K3 I'm gonna finish so I can sell it, I started 9 years ago, and still haven't found the time, or the interest to go on with it, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.

[slikwilli420]

I realize I may be a horses ass for posting to a thread 3 years old, but I ran across this and its seems like a top shelf idea and I wanted to know if any progress had been made on this top end oiler setup. It seems like something I would not mind doing to my bike this winter.

[Terry in Australia]

I realize I may be a horses ass for posting to a thread 3 years old, but I ran across this and its seems like a top shelf idea and I wanted to know if any progress had been made on this top end oiler setup. It seems like something I would not mind doing to my bike this winter.

Thanks mate, coincidentally I'd pretty much forgotten about it until last weekend when I found the kit I made again, I'm just about to rebuild my race engine, and I'll be doing some testing once the weather warms up. Cheers, Terry.