Topic: Paddy - '78 CB750 - Version 3.0 Coming Soon!

[Little_Horse]

I would go back to the smaller mains since the elevation will compensate for the emissions parts.  By the way you can brush the plugs off in between tests and once you get results then a set of new plugs just to save a few dollars. Also take note the rules of jetting have changed since the lovely introduction of ethanol, at least it seems that way for me. I have to jet a few bikes that before the e10 ran great then didn't so it obviously has some affect. Carb 4 could still be having issues with float level. When you checked them with the tubes I assume you had some technical data for height? Make some changes and report back  .

~LH

[theofam]

LH, technical data and I don't often keep company!  To check fuel level in the bowls, I just attached a clear tube to the overflow tube, opened up the drain screw, and let it fill the tube while making a "J" with the tube by holding it next to the float bowl.  All bowls were very similar in that they were about 4mm under the top of the float bowl.

Since I last posted, I put the 110 mains back in, replaced the carb-to-engine boots with new rubber, swapped plugs, and put in some SeaFoam to try to clean everything out.

Good news is, he's running the best he has yet!  I took him on a few laps of the neighborhood and, other than my turnthepetcockonitis I'm suffering from, he starts first hit of the starter!

After he died due to turnthepetcockonitis, I didn't even check for fuel, so I pushed him home (only a block).  My neutral light had disappeared, but I was able to find neutral and push.  I got into the garage, and he thunked into gear without touching the gearshift.  I rocked back and forth awhile, and found neutral - as well as my neutral light. . . whew!  So, I'm wondering if something is wrong with the tranny, too.

My head gasket desperately needs replaced.  After warming him up this AM, I had smoke signals wafting out of my #1 cylinder's plug hole.  It's leaking from cylinders 1-3 terribly.

But, as long as I'm not fouling plugs, I figure I'll run him on a couple errands right now to see if he strands me.  Here goes!

[Little_Horse]

Sounds like some progress then

[theofam]

Paddy's running like a scalded dog!

I just ran errands around town, jumped on the highway and wrung him out on some side roads. I'm in love!  Not a hiccup.

I had promised myself a pint of Guinness at a new pub called Maggie Smith's once I got Paddy running. A pic is worth a thousand words, right?!

[Coyote13]

NICE! Awesome to see the old guy out and about.  i haven't been following too closely, but recall seeing your beginning. Cheers!

[theofam]

Coyote, thanks for checking back in!  As a fellow K8 owner, I thought about naming Paddy "Katy," but a search on sohc4 showed me you'd already had the foresight to do so.

It's improbable, but maybe it's possible, that Paddy's 12 year hiatus caused the head gasket to dry out and shrink.  Because, it's no longer dripping!!  Can this day get any better?

Oh, yeah.  My kill switch was also inop.  I had to replace my push throttle cable . . . again . . . yesterday.  Didn't think twice about it, but for giggles I tried the kill switch today - works like a charm!  Maybe a wire was pinched in the switch and taking the switch apart yesterday relieved it of its previous squish.  Like I said, can this day get any better?

I'm off to buy a lottery ticket!  I'll only need one based on the way my day is going.

[Little_Horse]

very good news! You still coming my way in June was it?

[Stev-o]

Great day, bet that Guiness tasted good! Happy for ya...

[theofam]

Stev-O, thanks for the well wishes!  The Guinness tasted so good I had to have two!  Today I grabbed Godzilla (GeeZee) from Jerry's place in Colorado Springs and ran him up to 12,500 feet on Pikes Peak.  He ran AWESOME!


LH, thanks for your help.  My dad and I are planning on running through Portland around July 10th or 11th.  As we nail it down, I'll let you know.  I definitely want to see your scoots and get introduced!

My fork seals are puking, even though I just replaced them.  I'll need to pull the front end back apart and try again.  I was hammering some washboard pretty hard on Pikes Peak - I guess it was too much for the little buggers.  Either that, or my fork tubes are pitted and need replaced (hope not).

My master cylinder cap isn't sealing well, either, so it seeps.  I rebuilt the MC, but the cap's rubber plunger dealy is the original, so maybe it's bad.  I may buy an aftermarket MC from David Silver Spares instead of keep messing with this one.

My horrendous head gasket leak has somehow sealed itself up.  I've checked the oil, and it's not burning anything noticeable.

I did the Paddy Ton today - at least he thought he was going 100 per the speedo.  Felt very smooth and was pulling hard in fourth!  I'm completely enamored with this scoot.  In fact, I'm wondering why the heck it was parked two POs ago.

[Stev-o]

Great pic! Bet it was a little chilly up there!!

[theofam]

In the 30s and WINDY!  My hands weren't working too well.

[xwolfkvltx]

Hmm.  As expected, my hub is chewed up.  They actually had to CUT OUT the bearing retainer nut (note cut-up bearing)?!


The service tech told me, "We're not charging you, because you seemed pretty upset."  Nah, I fully expect to be in a good mood when a noob tech just out of the Institute overdrills the peens and goes into the hub's threads.  Hell, I can do that for free, too!

Lesson learned - next time, I'm finding a local shop experienced in old rides - or, better yet, buying the tool!

I yanked the bearing today and am now awaiting new bearings and retainer nut.  I've both fingers and toes crossed the new retainer nut will somehow find purchase on those flat, chewed threads.  Otherwise, I'll be begging one of you for a surplus hub!

Theo, just wondering where you got your new retainer nut from? mine is stuck fast so im thinking it may need the same treatment that yours got. thanks

Tomorrow is a ski day, so I'm hoping Thursday I can start cleaning electrical connnections, grease them up, hang the headlight bucket, and run the rat's nest into it.  I should also have the push/close throttle cable Thursday to see if it fixes my throttle not snapping closed.

If all goes well, Friday could include my buying the battery, so I can start troubleshooting electrical!

My new 630 o-ring, 88-link chain arrived Monday.  I've also ordered sprockets and a sprocket oil seal.  Once I get the front end buttoned back up, I should be able to move to the rear wheel.  I'm kicking around putting Seamus' black/chrome rear shocks on Paddy, as I imagine the shocks are original and shot.  We'll see what I do once I get back there (hopefully early April at the latest).

[Stev-o]

Wish I could ride in the snow like you did back in May, it was 106* in Austin again today!

[theofam]

Wolf, I think I picked up the bearing retainer nut from David Silver Spares. It ended up going in just fine. I used some thread cutter lube, went in a few turns, backed the retainer nut out. Reapplied lube, went in a few extra turns, backed out the retainer nut . . . You get the idea!

Sounds like you're getting close!  Paddy's electrical wasn't too bad after sitting 12 years. Just a pinched rear turn signal wire and a broken neutral light wire half way down the loom.  My signals aren't working well. I suspect a lousy ground.

I had the issue of my throttle not snapping closed. I bet the push/close cable will fix it for you like it did mine. A word of caution, after a few hundred miles my pull/open cable snapped (glad I was close to home). If I could do it again, I'd replace both cables at the same time.

Hope you had a great ski day. Our season should start up late November.

Stev-O, you Texans have had a rough go this year with the drought.  XWolf gets major flooding in Australia and you guys can't buy rain!  Too bad. I hope it gets better for you soon.

[theofam]

As an update on Paddy, my kids are going back to school in a couple weeks, which starts my garage time back up (the stay-at-home dad thing is a good gig)!

The concensus is Paddy looks pretty tough in primer.  Overall, people dig it!  But, while we have warm weather, I'd like to paint him up stock.

My biggest question is the motor. He runs well, but he leaks quite a bit (4-5 inch drip strip on the floor at front of head after sitting a month). Do I pull the motor and change gaskets?  Or, do I just make sure he's got oil and keep riding until my pant leg gets oily, at which point I'd pull the motor?

If you have any desire to see a non-Honda ride report, here's an awesome trip I took with my dad this summer for his 66th birthday:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=702508

[theofam]

The kids went back to school yesterday, so the garage is officially open again!

After running Paddy about 25 miles north to meet a buddy for lunch yesterday, I started thinking he could run better.  He's still sluggish off idle (which I've read numerous posts of 78K owners complaining of the same issue).  So, I started today thinking I'd 1) dial in the carbs 2) fix the electrical gremlin that has done away with my turn signals.

I started him up to run all the gas out of the carbs and, realizing I hadn't turned off the petcock, figured the engine was warm enough to change the oil.  You may not recall, but, until late April, Paddy hadn't run since 1999.  Although I put in fresh oil 450 miles ago, I figured it'd be good to change it to rid him of any residual goop he had accumulated during his long nap.  Paddy likes to mark his spot, so I knew he was losing oil, I just didn't know how much.  Of the 3.7 quarts I put in a few months ago, today I drained two (2)! 

I fussed the rest of the afternoon with the carbs - on and off three times to swap mains and massage the pilot screws.  But, tonight I've come to the realization I need to rebuild the motor, or a portion thereof.

His drooling problem is predominantly at the head gasket.  I've fingers crossed he only needs a top end, as the bottom end seems to seal up very well and remains clean.  That said, there were shiny metal shavings (VERY small) in the oil filter housing, so maybe something nasty is lurking in the bottom end. 

On the bright side, I guess this'll give me a chance to take him back apart and get the frame powdercoated!

At this rate, I'm on track to have the world's first $7.8K 78K!  Good news is it'll be worth $2500.  Nice that my wife has come to understand the backward nature of motorcycle economics!

[Stev-o]

Alright, The Paddy saga continues!

Did you drain the oil tank? Guessing no since only two quarts came out.

[theofam]

Stev-O, now you see the size of my engine leak!  Yes, two quarts drained INCLUDED the oil tank.  I spent yesterday building more garage shelves to hold the miscellaneous pieces of Paddy. Frame-off disassembly starts Tuesday. The frame will look so sweet powdercoated!  Can't wait to dive into (and clean up) the motor, too. Thanks for following!

[Stev-o]

You're going to start teardown already? And miss the fall riding season??
Oh, but you have another bike, right?

[theofam]

Stev-O, thankfully, I do have another scoot to ride in the interim. 

I'm concerned to continue riding Paddy at the rate he's burning oil.  I can't explain my commitment to make Paddy better, but it almost feels like I owe it to him to fix him.  It's as if he's become one of the family . . . strange it is the tie I have to this old scoot.

[theofam]

Here was Paddy on Wednesday:


The coolest find during disassembly was an abandoned honey mine behind the rear tail light.


I tried to clean many parts along the way. Thankfully, many items are still in good shape after my quick initial build in April to meet the deadline for Godzilla coming through town for the Rally/Relay.  So, I now have two boxes. One of finished items, and a second with items that need attention prior to assembly.

I have to weld up a small crack on the right rear fender strut area of the frame. Otherwise, it's ready for blasting and powder coat!  Sorry for the crappy pic.


One hernia and two blown discs later and the motor is on the work bench ready for attention starting next week.


Have a great Labor Day!

[Little_Horse]

keep up the good work

[theofam]

Thanks, LH!  I love the tank, cowl and oil tank you did for wannabridin.  Turned out really cool!

[theofam]

With a bunch of parts off to be sand blasted and powder coated, I started cleaning the motor yesterday (why didn't I steam clean it while the bike was still running)?!

Got a bunch of grime off the bottom due to a leaky sprocket seal and leaky oil lines:


But, the front is where Paddy has been drooling the most. As you can tell, the 2 and 3 plug holes and below them down the front of the head and cylinder bank are NASTY!


Once the valve cover was off, I couldn't figure out why there was a coffee-ground like mixture on the 1 and 2 side of the rockers and camshaft:


Needless to say, the abrasiveness of the sludge trashed that side of the camshaft's lobes and journals. It also badly scored the cam holder on that side.

Off came the cam holder on that side and, there it was, the culprit.  The dreaded faulty "puck" under the cam holder that's directly above the #2 spark plug had a hole in it and (1)had been letting in dirt for who knows how long (2) let oil leak out and down the front of the motor!  What a bummer - a $3 part causes me to pull the entire bike apart!!

[lucky]

Hi, I'm Sean, and I'm a craigslist addict. I'm neck deep working on Seamus, my CB550, and, all the sudden, I had to have this:





His name is Paddy. He's a 32-year-old 1978 CB750K. I don't have room for him, so he'll go live with my buddy Bob for awhile.

He's a pretty good lookin' kid. He's not plagued with the rust of his brother Seamus, which'll save some bucks.  I'm thinking he'll be close to stock, but i want to have a flat, two-up seat and lower bars.

At first blush, I think Paddy'll need:
Carbs rebuilt
Head gasket
Seat
Side covers
Headlight and bucket
Rear turn signal lenses
Tires
Chain
Handlebars
Clutch adjustment

I decided I want to unveil Seamus on St. Patrick's Day, so while Paddy is hanging out for awhile, I'll be collecting the above parts in hopes of finishing Paddy quickly.

If you have some of the above parts, please let me know!

What evidence do you have that it needs a head gasket???