1977 CB200

I ground down one of the link extraction pins on my chain tool, to make a pointed end that would expand the end of the tiny 219 rivet link, as in my first photo.
 
The DOHC 450 has always been this way and uses the same 219T chain and links. If done properly, it's very reliable.
 
At the moment all my time is being consumed by the little house by the sea I bought a few weeks ago; there are a few jobs to do… this photo explains why it is so attractive:

IMG_2874.jpeg


Bob (the dog) and I enjoy walking by the North Sea most days.

Having got the CB200 running and riding I’m going to move it over to the Lincolnshire house this week and then mothball the project for a short time, finishing off the remaining jobs later this year. I’ll still have my house in Northamptonshire until the summer, so I can afford to take my time moving.

Many thanks to all the help and advice from this excellent forum so far… I’ll be back (as Arnie would say).

Alan :cool:
 
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Othen said:
At the moment all my time is being consumed by the little house by the sea I bought a few weeks ago; there are a few jobs to do… this photo explains why it is so attractive
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A beautiful view for sure, understandable that you and Bob the dog like it so much. Don't be a stranger in between your efforts on the bike, we'll be here.
 
ancientdad said:
A beautiful view for sure, understandable that you and Bob the dog like it so much. Don't be a stranger in between your efforts on the bike, we'll be here.
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Many thanks.
I will absolutely do that.
My feeling is that in the fullness of time (next winter) I'll end up stripping the bottom and to check everything and change the cam chain. The project so far has established that the CB200 is basically sound and worth investing a bit of time in. Once the seaside house is well established (there are a few building and remodelling projects to complete there this summer) I can return to the CB200. In the meantime it is running and riding (with a list of things that need fixing one day).
Alan :cool:
 
Looks idyllic. I've never been to Lincolnshire, but my late and very much unlamented mother in law was a regular visitor to Mablethorpe. Closest we've come is a week in a sea front cottage at Bacton, in Norfolk. We experienced very bracing winds straight from the North Sea, and I say that with the experience of a childhood spent on the North Devon coast, facing the Atlantic.

This photo doesn't really convey just how strong the gale was, but here's our late Border Terrier, Bramble, enjoying the sea air !

lIsNflT.jpg
 
I have not had much spare time to spend on motorcycles (because of the recent additional house purchase), but I have worked out why oil keeps spilling out of the generator cover when i adjust the points (and it is good news I think). I happened to look at the CB200 from the rear yesterday and noticed it has a pronounced lean to the left whilst on the centre stand. I had a look underneath and on inspection could see the left hand leg of the centre stand is bent - it has been painted recently, but obviously must have got a bit of a clout in the past.

So, the motorcycle leans to the left > I overfill it slightly to meet the mark on the dipstick on the right side of the motor > some time later I remove the generator cover to see the timing marks > the excess oil drains onto the garage floor (well, actually into the catch tray I've started putting there after the first time I removed the cover). Einfach.

In the fullness of time I'll take the stand off, get it hot and straighten it. Another job on the 'one day' list.

:cautious:
 
After months of the solicitors crawling through the conveyancing process my house move is at last imminent. The CB200 is installed in my new place, but as you may see space is at a premium in the garage:

IMG_3187.jpeg

… the CB200 is in there somewhere. I’ll get a second garage built over the summer and soon get back to the CB200 project.

Watch this space.

:)
 
Othen said:
After months of the solicitors crawling through the conveyancing process
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Since I'm a Yank, my first thought was "solicitors"? Over here we just put up a sign at our door saying "no solicitors" (even though it doesn't work). But I remembered what a solicitor is there... :)
Othen said:
Watch this space.

:)
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We'll be here.
 
I’m more or less settled in my new place on the Lincolnshire coast now, so I’ve started picking up on motorcar and motorcycle projects. I got round to the CB200 this morning; I’m pleased to say that after a little fettling (points gap, ignition timing and carburettor screws back to their default positions), it started easily and is running reasonably well after a few months of inaction.

There is a bit more mechanical noise that I’m happy with:

Something is a bit noisy

… the most likely culprit is the cam chain, which as you may remember I didn’t change whilst the top end was apart. I’m pleased that the little twin essentially in good health, but I think the sensible thing would be to change the cam chain and the tip of the tensioner (now back in stock at CMSNL) as a winter project.

So, whilst I’m pleased It survived the move, I’ll push the CB200 to the back of the garage again until the winter - it will be worth investing a little more time in getting that noisy motor nicely sorted out for next spring.

:cool:
 
Richard Pitman said:
DS sells the correct length endless chain for the CB200 engine and the correct soft rivet links if you need to break it. These links are pretty fool proof ( well, I managed it !), outer plate sits against shoulders, so you can't make the link too tight, as is possible when riveting some 'O' ring chains, like on my CB600. Second pic below shows link with one side riveted, other side waiting to be done.

fMdUVF0.jpg


JWG18vp.jpg
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Hi Richard,
Having completed my move to ‘Vegas and contracted a builder to extend my garage, I’m starting to turn my attention back to motorcycle projects. With the CB200 I’m working out whether my strategy should be to split the crankcase and fit a continuous cam chain, or split the chain and use a soft link as you did. Have you had any problems with the cam chain you changed?
Alan
 
Apologies for belated reply, but no, no problem with use of a soft link. I suppose a continuous chain is used when building an engine from scratch as it's simpler than riveting a soft link, both of which are presumably regarded as being more fault resistant than the earlier clip link. I'd go with the soft link, rather than disturb an engine that is running OK and bedding in.
 
Richard Pitman said:
Apologies for belated reply, but no, no problem with use of a soft link. I suppose a continuous chain is used when building an engine from scratch as it's simpler than riveting a soft link, both of which are presumably regarded as being more fault resistant than the earlier clip link. I'd go with the soft link, rather than disturb an engine that is running OK and bedding in.
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Many thanks, I agree. I can’t see much point in pulling apart the bottom end unnecessarily.

Alan
 
… a tiny update. The little rubber strap that holds the back of the petrol tank had perished, I managed to find a NOS one from Singapore, it took a while to arrive in the mail, but has solved the problem and looks pretty smart:

IMG_3451.jpeg

… changing the cam chain is almost on the front page of my ‘to do’ list. I may well get round to it in October :).
 
Ah, the look of a NOS rubber part with the "talcum powder" still on it.

And a nice clean negative battery terminal too.
 
I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything for a while chaps - the CB200 project (and all my other bikes) has been on the back burner whilst I’ve been having my garage extended. I’m pleased to report the building work is complete, and now I have much more room:

IMG_3793.jpeg

… the bikes now have their own garage. Having more room is always tempting to acquire more essential things; the garage extension had only been completed 2 days when I acquired a very nice 1972 Volvo P1800ES. It is a nearly finished project with just a few loose ends.

I‘ll still get that CB200 cam chain done this winter.

Alan
 
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… here is that nice Volvo P1800 ES:

IMG_3810.jpeg

… it is a motor car I know quite well, I’ve been servicing it for the previous owner for the past 3 years. ‘Delores’ has had an excellent restoration some years ago, but covered negligible miles since. The restorer left a few loose ends: a new driver’s seatbelt (done) and a new driver side window regulator (I’ve found one from a LHD car, it is in transit from the USA) - plus a good service.

Alan
 
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Looks like a good increase in storage size, happy for you. The picture won't enlarge, I assume the Volvo you mention is the blue car in the middle. I'm curious about the red car on the right...
 
ancientdad said:
Looks like a good increase in storage size, happy for you. The picture won't enlarge, I assume the Volvo you mention is the blue car in the middle. I'm curious about the red car on the right...
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The extended garage is exactly what I wanted.

Here is a better image of the P1800ES - it is indeed the Alpine blue one:

IMG_3794.jpeg

The red car is a 1963 Volvo Amazon (122S):

IMG_3292.jpeg

… a more or less daily driver.

Alan
 
Nice projects with the Volvos. My uncle is currently working on this one. He is installing a rear and suspension out of a Lincoln in it. I’m not sure of the model or year. Nice looking garage addition. IMG_1985.jpeg
 
2wheel said:
Nice projects with the Volvos. My uncle is currently working on this one. He is installing a rear and suspension out of a Lincoln in it. I’m not sure of the model or year. Nice looking garage addition. View attachment 38898
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How lovely, a PV 444 or 544? This is the direct predecessor to the Amazon (P122S). Does your uncle’s car still have the 3 speeder gearbox?

My little P1800ES project is coming along nicely - I’ll get back to finishing off the CB200 soon - I promise.

Alan
 
My apologies for not getting round to finishing my CB200 project chaps. Everything takes much longer than one estimates.

The Volvo P1800ES I acquired towards the end of last year took a little longer than I has estimated - amongst other things I ended up having to take the gearbox off to change the crank rear seal (for a modern rubber one). I’m pleased to say that motor car is almost finished now, so once I’ve got my 3 other motorcycles serviced ready for the spring my attention will return to the CB200. I’ve already finished servicing the Amazon and Goldwing, so I just have the Royal Enfield and Triumph to do… then on to the small Honda.

I’ve put the CB200’s battery on charge and will start it tomorrow… and remind myself of what needs doing. If I recall I’d decided that it could really do with a new cam chain, so I’ll aim to get that done before midsummer.

More to follow.

Alan
 
After a few hours charging the battery, the CB200 started very easily (on the electric starter), which was good. The clutch had stuck, but freed itself with a little persuasion.

There is still something rather noisy going on around the cylinder head, I suspected the cam chain and so have adjusted it, but that didn’t change anything:

First start for 9 months…

… it sounds like the cam chain, but adjustment didn’t make any difference, so maybe the tensioner has run out of slack, or something else isn’t quite right?

I think what I’ll do is run a compression test in the next day or two to eliminate a valve issue (or not). If that doesn’t reveal anything I’ll probably set aside some time to completely strip down the motor and change the cam chain - check everything else as I go. I should think I’d be able to find time towards the end of April - so I have plenty of time to assemble the stuff I might well need.

I did take the motorcycle for a quick spin around our local roads - we have brakes, clutch and all the gears - which is nice.

Alan :cool:
 
Othen said:
After a few hours charging the battery, the CB200 started very easily (on the electric starter), which was good. The clutch had stuck, but freed itself with a little persuasion.

There is still something rather noisy going on around the cylinder head, I suspected the cam chain and so have adjusted it, but that didn’t change anything:

First start for 9 months…

… it sounds like the cam chain, but adjustment didn’t make any difference, so maybe the tensioner has run out of slack, or something else isn’t quite right?

I think what I’ll do is run a compression test in the next day or two to eliminate a valve issue (or not). If that doesn’t reveal anything I’ll probably set aside some time to completely strip down the motor and change the cam chain - check everything else as I go. I should think I’d be able to find time towards the end of April - so I have plenty of time to assemble the stuff I might well need.

I did take the motorcycle for a quick spin around our local roads - we have brakes, clutch and all the gears - which is nice.

Alan :cool:
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I'm not so sure the noise you're hearing is cam chain. I hear an intermittent ticking that doesn't sound like valves or cam chain, though I do hear a slight cam chain sound so it could be a little bit loose. The tensioner rod could be a little sticky in its movement in the head and might not have moved quite as far as the spring would have intended, though positioning of the crankshaft is important for the intake side of the chain to be properly tensioned. Hard to say what that other noise is unless it's a bit of cam float due to a bit of excess end play.
 
ancientdad said:
I'm not so sure the noise you're hearing is cam chain. I hear an intermittent ticking that doesn't sound like valves or cam chain, though I do hear a slight cam chain sound so it could be a little bit loose. The tensioner rod could be a little sticky in its movement in the head and might not have moved quite as far as the spring would have intended, though positioning of the crankshaft is important for the intake side of the chain to be properly tensioned. Hard to say what that other noise is unless it's a bit of cam float due to a bit of excess end play.
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Many thanks. I can’t identify the noise either, so I suspect it will be best to pull the motor apart again. Having done it once it shouldn’t take too long.

I don’t know much about this motorcycle, except that a PO had bored it out to 240cc some time in the past, so I rebuilt the top end with new barrels and pistons last year. I have a feeling it is time to go through the motor: certainly change the cam chain and check everything else. I don’t mind too much, I bought this as a project.

Alan :cool:
 
Othen said:
Many thanks. I can’t identify the noise either, so I suspect it will be best to pull the motor apart again. Having done it once it shouldn’t take too long.

I don’t know much about this motorcycle, except that a PO had bored it out to 240cc some time in the past, so I rebuilt the top end with new barrels and pistons last year. I have a feeling it is time to go through the motor: certainly change the cam chain and check everything else. I don’t mind too much, I bought this as a project.

Alan :cool:
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You might just ride it a bit to see how it is. The noise doesn't sound like it would be a problem and if you put a few miles on it while monitoring the sound to see if it changes at all, you might find it's no big deal. As long as it runs well, we've certainly seen them in far worse shape and being run every day.
 
Othen said:
The CB200 keeps getting pushed to the back of the queue, but I will get round to changing that cam chain soon.

In the meantime hare is another little motorcycle I’ve acquired:

View attachment 47266

… a 1957 New Hudson Autocycle.

:cool:
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OH DEAR....a new toy to play with !! that will relegate the incentive to do the cam chain. I seem to prefer the build over the run... but when I'm pretty much where I want to be, I stray looking for the next project. We were almost neighbours until you moved to the coast. Best, Simon (Rugby, Warks)
 
Garagista said:
OH DEAR....a new toy to play with !! that will relegate the incentive to do the cam chain. I seem to prefer the build over the run... but when I'm pretty much where I want to be, I stray looking for the next project. We were almost neighbours until you moved to the coast. Best, Simon (Rugby, Warks)
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Hi Simon,

I have at last run out of excuses not to start the CB200’s cam chain: not only have I sorted out the New Hudson Autocycle, but also finished another little project I got sidetracked with. This one was a 1939 Raleigh Sports Model pushbike, it was pretty rough when I bought it

Raleigh model 37 by Alan Othen, on Flickr

… but has turned out to be a really nice pushbike for getting around ‘Vegas:

Raleigh model 37 by Alan Othen, on Flickr

I‘ve cleared space in the workshop (not the kitchen - honest) and set up a bench for the CB200 work, installed better lighting and just today a proper ultrasonic parts washer arrived:

IMG_5415 by Alan Othen, on Flickr

The summer riding season seems to be over here in the UK, so I really have run out of excuses not to get on with that cam chain :cool:.

Watch this space :)
 
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… another thing I forgot to mention: there is another incentive to finish the CB200 project. My son, Dan, has just turned 21 and whilst here over the summer (he is a university student in Glasgow) he took a shine to the CB200 and has claimed it. He will have to get his A2 licence to ride it, but this is a good incentive for him to get that done. Once Dan has the licence I’ll deliver the motorcycle up to his flat in Paisley, and it will be a really coolio bike for him to get around town.

Alan :cool:
 
Good afternoon chaps,
The CB200 has (at last, I hear you say) got to the top of my ‘to do’ list, and I made a start by sorting out the project working space and getting it up on some stands this morning:

IMG_5971.jpeg

I’ve removed the tank (which I’ll give a good flush out with some acid before replacing) and the exhausts today - plus had a reconnaissance to make sure I have everything to hand, and made a list of other jobs.

IMG_5972.jpeg

There are a number of things I may as well fix whilst I have the motorcycle apart, this centre stand needs to be straightened - I’ll take it off once the motor is out and see if I can get it hot enough to straighten it by beating in the bench vice:

IMG_5973.jpeg

The instrument faces don’t match - I don’t know why, but I found the matching tachometer in the spares box, so I’ll see It it works.

IMG_5974.jpeg

It would be nice to tidy the switchgear so that the wires run inside the handlebars as on the original. I’ll see how difficult that would be when I fix the tachometer. If someone would post a photo of where the entry and exit holes go on the original ‘bars that would be much appreciated.

IMG_5975.jpeg
The garage is a bit snug with the Goldwing pushed back in, but there will still be room to work with the leviathan motorcycle inside.

That is enough for today. It is a glorious, bright winter’s day, so Bob (the dog) and I are off for a walk to the beach. I’m going to take my time over sorting out that irritating engine rattle - I’m pretty sure the fix will involve changing the cam chain - and checking any other likely culprits.

More to follow over the next couple of weeks.

Alan :cool:
 
These are SL/ CL 175 bars, but the entry and exit holes are the same. From memory, the locating peg holes are 3mm. At the bar centre, those two 3mm 'holes' are not used, just some ting left over from when bars were made up.

Edit: The locating peg holes are outboard of the main wiring hole.

1767209910143.jpeg

Clutch side


1767209938037.jpeg

Throttle side

1767209962178.jpeg
 
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Thank you very much, that should be all I need to route the wires correctly.

Alan
 
I'd skip the acid in the tank and use Evapo-Rust. Much safer and doesn't damage paint or rubber. I've used it on many tanks with great results. In cold weather I use an aquarium heater to warm the liquid in the tank.
 
ancientdad said:
If you're not aware, most carb rebuild kits are sold with incorrectly-sized jets and float needles so the advice is to always clean and re-use your brass parts (jets never wear out of course, only get clogged). Yes, oil is present in all the late '60s and '70s twins, though half a litre sounds as if it might have been a little bit overfull. As with all Honda twins, check the oil with the bike upright (on centerstand or held there manually) and without screwing in the dipstick.
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Hi, try those guys in Houston for carb refurb kits. They manufacture them to the original specs, did mine recently, perfect! They have some videos showing some great tips and tricks.

Also, yes oil does drip from the generator - normal! Good luck!!
 
erimus said:
Hi, try those guys in Houston for carb refurb kits. They manufacture them to the original specs, did mine recently, perfect!
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Glad it worked for you, but there are plenty of stories out there that don't end like yours. Not sure where those guys in Houston is buying their kits, but you might consider reading this.

erimus said:
They have some videos showing some great tips and tricks.
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Oh I'm very well aware of their videos, and though some of them are good for seeing the components involved for those who aren't as familiar with vintage Hondas, I wouldn't classify some of the things they offer like 'the points gap doesn't matter', or 'Honda made the valve clearances too tight and it causes damage', or showing customers to use a drill to lap valves, or especially these pictures from one of their videos, as tips. More like bad recommendations, and we do not subscribe to them here. Like using a hammer and putty knife to force apart a DOHC 450 cylinder head.

450-1.jpg 450-2.jpg

But you're welcome to do as you like, of course.
 
The CB200 has at last got to the top of the ‘to do’ list (I sold the GL1200A last week) so this morning I got off my arse and took the motor out of the frame:

IMG_6313 by Alan Othen, on Flickr

… so now I’m well past the point of no return. I have some much room without the Gold Wing in the motorcycle garage.

I‘ll take my time stripping the motor to find that pesky rattle. There are a few other jobs I‘ll do to take advantage of the motor being out: route the starter cable correctly, straighten the centre stand, wire the horn properly, route the cables through the handlebars… I’m sure there will be more.

Alan:cool:
 
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