Honda Project

Since I'm not buying a Whizzer, I am trying to get the Honda running. I've had this thing for quite a while. I got it in trade for doing some work on another bike for a guy I used to work with. When he got it, it was decked out in pearl white paint, lots of chrome, extended tubes and a sissy bar. Unfortunately, he stored it in a metal shed with a dirt floor so the paint cracked and the chrome peeled off the engine parts. This left some nasty pits in the aluminum that were way too deep to buff out and rechrome.

Surly hooked me up with a stock front end and I started working on the aluminum bits. Some of the chrome would flake off in big chunks in the sandblaster, which would plug up the hose, of course. Some of it wouldn't come off at all. After sanding and buffing the parts to the point they were as good as they were going to get, I sprayed them with PJ-1 case paint and put them back on. I bought a new braided line for the front brake and new pads. The piston and seal in the caliper were shot. The seal was a stock part but the piston was no longer available. I machined one up out of stainless and I got everything working the other day.

I put in a new oil and air filter. If you look close you can see the cover that holds the air filter in place. I was missing the original, so I made my own. I cut two pieces of plywood to the outline of the airbox opening and sandwiched a piece of aluminum (about 1/4" bigger all around than the wood) between them and then hammered the edge over. Drilled a couple of holes and next thing you know, you've got a spiffy little cover.

About the only things left to do are putting in some fork oil and rebuilding the carbs. The forks have a big hex socket in the caps and I don't have a metric allen wrench that big. If I can't find something in my toolbox that will work, I'll mill one up. I've got the carb kits, so it's just a matter of cleaning off the work bench and getting after it. I haven't been able to find the key, however and I'm running out of places to look. That could set me back.

The sheet metal has all been repainted and looks really nice. I was going to take the whole bike apart and paint the frame but I think it will look OK after I clean it up. I can always take it apart this winter. I've got a ton of other things I'm working on this summer as well. The scattergun approach is my normal modus operandi. Hit a lick here, hit a lick there. Eventually everything that I deem important or necessary gets done. I'll post some pictures when I get the sheet metal on the bike.

P.S. I got my new helmet today. Puttin' my stimulus check to work.