Black Friday - a red 1965 CB160

Gimped ankles lol. That is a funny mental image for sure. Thinking rubber tank knee pads disappeared about the same time as solid pegs. Could that have been a coincidence?

Rubber knee pads went out around a similar time, the CB450K1 and K2 both had them ('68 and '69), it was the last year for the 450 and I think it's about the same for the 350
 
Yes the CL bar would bolt on but I've got the low pipes, which makes that difficult. I guess that's why all of the rattle-can & hacksaw customs are CL's.
 
Ok some more clean parts with a coat of CorrosionX:
The head pipes were putting out lots of red rusty rinsewater so after a good long drip dry I gave them 6 pumps of CorrosionX inside their head ends.

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On occasion I was able to lean over far enough on my CL160 to have the pegs start to fold up. Was a good indicator to not lean further. I still marvel at the things I did and got away with on that bike in the early 70's. Wore out some shoes riding it in winter while using my shoes as outriggers. Did learn not to use Amorall on a motorcycle seat.

On my ride to the University of Alberta I had to navigate 2 large traffic circles, they do move a lot of traffic up to a point as long as you have drivers who understand them. On the bike it was always dart in and dart out while hoping others had seen you. Occasionally I would take the same route in my 1959 GMC 3/4 ton long box with 17.5" tires. Went from darting to do you really want to mess with large oil patch bumpers thank you very much for observing my signal.

Of all the bikes I wish I still owned the CL is at the top of the list.

Like what you are doing with your CB160 and looking forward to seeing it together .... was going to say finished but they never are.
 
I appreciate stories like that. These days a CM400 is an old bike to most people and they wouldn't dare have anything older for fear of parts availability, expense or lack of forum support. I'm thankful when someone steps forward with advice, parts offers or stories. It enriches the experience for me.

This one will never be finished and that's on purpose, but I will be going through everything that needs it.
I'll check on that steering damper later today hoping the Seafoam Deep Creep has freed it up for removal.
Last night I ordered a tapered roller steering bearing kit with seals. There was only one brand available and I think I overpaid, but I didn't want one of the ball bearing & race kits from China, I'm trying to keep that stuff off this bike (but my inner tubes are of China manufacture) tires are made in Slovenia, control cables are NOS aftermarket Japan and I haven't replaced much else. Evaporust and CorrosionX are made in USA too.

I went looking for fork seals and gave up, I'll get the forks apart first and measure for seals myself, hopefully I won't need to replace many of the unseen parts within.
 
Some new bits arrived. I've got my speedometer drive seal from eBay, and from Scrambler Cycle I've got a full gasket kit, 2 carb kits, petcock rebuild kit and some reproduction stock grips.

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I know those repro stock grips, they're pretty stiff and small diameter. They look the part though, and if you wear gloves it makes them feel like the right size.
 
I'd have gone with something more comfortable, and still might, but some of these parts are just to have on hand while I can get them. I'll be checking out all of the existing stuff before swapping anything out.

I'm using Pro-Grip 699's on my Nighthawk, I wasn't sure if they'd really fit the look of this bike vs stockers.
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Yeah, I went with them on the 450 because they look original. Bad memory about how much or little I liked them, really can't remember one way or the other from when I had my new CL450 back in the day, I was too busy riding as often as I could. My previous new bikes then, SL175 and 350, had the grips with the vanes in them
 
Stock grips are still available (or were recently, I haven't checked in a little while) from Honda for around $9 each, just an FYI (and a little late).
 
No worries, I'll probably keep these repops and throw some Pro-Grip 699's on, I haven't decided yet. The repops were like $7.99 from Scrambler Cycle.
 
I just went up and shifted things around in the Evaporust. Moved the bolts and nuts on the chain adjusters and threw them back in. Took a look at the tool box, it'll stay in for a few more days in a few more positions. I pulled the switch wiring out of the Scrambler bars and put the switches in for an overnight soak. The mirror that came on the bike is coming along, it's not a metric thread and the mirror perch threads are buggered from when 'Ol Bob must have force threaded it in, thanks Bob. But the mirror glass quality is very good so if the rest of the mirror cleans up I'll just thread it back in with the checknut it came to me with. I ran the left hand handlebar grip under a trickle of hot water for several minutes and was pleasantly surprised that it slipped off the bar with only moderate effort. The right grip was still on the steel throttle tube, not much leverage there so I peeled the grip off in one continuous strand like an orange peel...and put the throttle tube back into the Evaporust. I also set the right hand side of the Scrambler bars in to soak and there was still some room so I set the front right corner of the front fender in to soak too. Maybe after a few changes of position it'll come clean too.

I'd love to set up a small tabletop booth with a pump, heater and positionable sprinklers to constantly shower parts with Evaporust. Big enough for a frame. I could just set both fenders in there and come back later. It'd need a filter too, just something to catch the suspended particles. That's a side project I should really do.

Anywho, the old grips don't match up to my repop grips at all, ima buy another set o 699's.

Anyone think I should use a plastic throttle tube for safety?

pics:

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It won't bend and jam to the handlebar. That's one reason you don't see steel ones anymore. Probably a DOT Reg too.

The left grip is in ok shape if you need it.
 
I see no problem with the steel throttle tube, needs to be greased. Plastic tubes are fine, no grease needed and they don't wear on the chrome of the handle bars that the steel can if not greased.
 
Alright then, I won't worry about it. Thanks LDR.

And my NOS front brake shoes arrived, the eBay seller Animalhouse2010 didn't pack them very well, just saran wrapped them against each other, wrapped some cardboard and packing tape around them and tossed them in a priority mail pouch. I'm a little pissed so I'm not leaving feedback, but they look ok so I'm happy to have them.

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I once got a set of 4 speed 450 transmission shafts/gears/shift forks from a seller who packed it in home insulation inside the box. It was great peeling the crap off the parts and then quickly washing my arms and hands with cold water in hopes it wasn't fiberglass-based. He's also the admin of the FB 450 group who booted me for telling the truth about those guys in Houston's prices and videos.
 
Wow, glad you're with us though.

These guys are involved with the Wheels Through Time museum. What the heck is with these people making businesses out of our hobby?
They seem to all be the same, don't they?
 
Wow, glad you're with us though.

Where else would I be? :) Certainly not at the revenue-grubbing VS site that is nothing like what the founders intended it to be.

These guys are involved with the Wheels Through Time museum. What the heck is with these people making businesses out of our hobby?
They seem to all be the same, don't they?

Yeah, and that guy goes around buying up old 450s too, makes used parts money and probably sells refurbed bikes as well. Well, in this case it probably makes sense as income to help with the expenses of keeping the museum open since Dale Walksler's passing.
 
Alright then, I won't worry about it. Thanks LDR.

And my NOS front brake shoes arrived, the eBay seller Animalhouse2010 didn't pack them very well, just saran wrapped them against each other, wrapped some cardboard and packing tape around them and tossed them in a priority mail pouch. I'm a little pissed so I'm not leaving feedback, but they look ok so I'm happy to have them.

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Alan,those brake shoes like good (y) They look like NOS OEM original shoes?
 
Yes, NOS shoes that weren't particularly inexpensive.
I'd have hoped for better packing due to the low quantity of them left in existence.

If they were damaged I'd get a refund, but a little common sense in packing them would have gone a long way.

I once received a box of computer power supplies at work, no packing material, just 6 of them rattling around inside a box. I wrote to our parts guy and he said to just use them, they'd be fine. Common sense escapes so many people.
 
Common sense escapes so many people.

I think it's pretty well known to most of us over the age of 50 that most younger than that age have been brought up in an environment of "replace" rather than repair, so no one ever really learns how things work which then removes them from the understanding of what can go wrong if parts are beaten around in shipment. Good example is spark plugs... order from a big seller like Amazon and you get a box with one shipping pillow off to one side of the taped-together boxes of plugs (or boxes of 4 plugs) while the rest of the outer packaging surfaces of the plug boxes are exposed to full impact from the outside of the shipping box itself, yet they somehow think they "padded" it for safe shipment. Probably half the people changing spark plugs today in the industry don't realize a cracked porcelain insulator renders a plug useless. At least the guy who packaged up the trans shafts and shift forks I bought in home insulation actually had them padded pretty well, just not in a desirable medium. I guess there's a line of thinking about electronics that since there's no moving parts (except the cooling fan in power supplies) it can't be damaged.
 
Thanks, maybe things look better in the photos? I guess that's ok since few of you will ever see it in person right? Just kidding, we've all seen nicer bikes scrapped so this one's gonna live on for them.
 
That stuff is great, even better than I thought. So cool to see the original red on the toolbox.

Alan is a one man advertisement for Evaporust. :lol::):lol: I have used on lots of rusty parts and gas tanks. It really is an amazing product. Anyone who has not tried it should if the need arises.
 
Yeah it does seem like they should send me a free gallon or two for dropping their name so often.

I just picked up this seat cover from Thailand, there were some with the Honda logo on the back screened in a yellow/gold color that I wasn't too keen on. This one has the logo in white but I'm not sure if the font is correct, I doubt many people will notice. This one also comes with the grab strap and all 15 chrome studs. I'm hopeful it'll turn out well.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/223607766126?hash=item34100fbc6e:g:MWMAAOSwH3ddQqMr
 
I'm sorry, WHAT?

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I'm thinking of replacing my cable adjusters but all of the ones on eBay are aluminum or chinesium, I looked at Amazon and nearly lost my lunch. This is out of control.
 
Amazon offers convenience, not the best prices. I look at Amazon for ideas on things and then search for the particular item I like on A. I can find 10-40% better pricing for exactly the same piece in most cases. Once in awhile I do get surprised by Amazon being the best price.
 
Yeah it does seem like they should send me a free gallon or two for dropping their name so often.

I just picked up this seat cover from Thailand, there were some with the Honda logo on the back screened in a yellow/gold color that I wasn't too keen on. This one has the logo in white but I'm not sure if the font is correct, I doubt many people will notice. This one also comes with the grab strap and all 15 chrome studs. I'm hopeful it'll turn out well.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/223607766126?hash=item34100fbc6e:g:MWMAAOSwH3ddQqMr

Nice. I like the heavy buffalo hide type texture. My original C200 is like that.
 
Thanks Ballbearian, I'm hoping it works out.

I found some chromed steel cable adjusters in 4into1's eBay store, I threw in some exhaust gaskets and rear brake shoes too. Thi$ i$ getting expen$ive.
 
Received my sealed beam, made in Japan headlight bulb today! Thanks Bill.

I stopped by storage and gave the steering damper another try...no dice so I sprayed all of the likely areas again with Seafoam Deep Creep and I'll try again in a few days.
 
Received my sealed beam, made in Japan headlight bulb today! Thanks Bill.

I stopped by storage and gave the steering damper another try...no dice so I sprayed all of the likely areas again with Seafoam Deep Creep and I'll try again in a few days.


Hi Alan,I'm glad the bulb arrived in one undamaged piece? and on time also. ;)
 
Alan is a one man advertisement for Evaporust. :lol::):lol: . . .

Yep, got me onto it!! Mmm, but then, I'm easily influenced!:eek:

I'm sorry, WHAT?

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I'm thinking of replacing my cable adjusters but all of the ones on eBay are aluminum or chinesium, I looked at Amazon and nearly lost my lunch. This is out of control.

Yep, prices of those things got me too! David Silver has originals, but for me, on a bike that's more for show, I don't mind defaulting to the Chinese product. (I know I might get a bashing for this, but hey, it's money saved for the better stuff!)
 
I don't mind defaulting to the Chinese product. (I know I might get a bashing for this, but hey, it's money saved for the better stuff!)

I like saving money on that kind of stuff myself, but I also bought the cheap Chinesium versions in levers/perches I bought for the 450 and they rust pretty quickly, so I'll be looking for replacements eventually. Oh, and the adjuster didn't turn freely in the perches either, I had to run a tap through them to clean up the Chineesy threads.
 
Yeah, let's hope the 4into1 chromed steel models fit and last, I really want these to blend and not stand out. The gray cables should be the attention getters.


Does anyone have any tips to get this steering damper out in one piece? I'm not sure if it's only stuck at the bottom nut or if it's frozen to something else. I've been spraying Seafoam Deep Creep on it for over a week and it won't budge. The knob isn't broken yet but I'm fearful of forcing it. If I bring in a torch will I destroy the friction discs? Not sure where to go with this.
 
I've not had to deal with it before so take my thought with a grain of salt, but I'd sacrifice the friction discs way before I'd put any stress on the bakelite knob. I'm sure if heat ruined the friction discs you could come up with something reasonable to replace them and they'd be underneath and mostly out of sight anyway
 
Yeah, let's hope the 4into1 chromed steel models fit and last, I really want these to blend and not stand out. The gray cables should be the attention getters.


Does anyone have any tips to get this steering damper out in one piece? I'm not sure if it's only stuck at the bottom nut or if it's frozen to something else. I've been spraying Seafoam Deep Creep on it for over a week and it won't budge. The knob isn't broken yet but I'm fearful of forcing it. If I bring in a torch will I destroy the friction discs? Not sure where to go with this.

Have not looked at the parts diagrams but you need to get some PB Blaster (my fav) up to where the threads are. If a full length rod , then up the bottom of the steering tree. Or maybe loosen the upper triple clamp to get closer to the threaded rod end.
 
Yeah, let's hope the 4into1 chromed steel models fit and last, I really want these to blend and not stand out. The gray cables should be the attention getters.


Does anyone have any tips to get this steering damper out in one piece? I'm not sure if it's only stuck at the bottom nut or if it's frozen to something else. I've been spraying Seafoam Deep Creep on it for over a week and it won't budge. The knob isn't broken yet but I'm fearful of forcing it. If I bring in a torch will I destroy the friction discs? Not sure where to go with this.

Yep. Our library shows CL160 Parts catalogue and it has a long rod threaded at the bottom of steering tree. Spray PB Blaster up from there. Sounds like a booger.
 
On the damper I was lucky on the Bomber because the threaded rod was already gone and I had most of the pieces except the rod. I do have the bakelite knob, but no rod. But what I can tell you is that the threads you are dealing with are the ones you can see at the bottom of the whole steering head piece. There should be a tiny split pin there that you can pull out. The threads are in a piece shown on the cmsnl.com diagram I tagged in posting #242 called 14. I don't see any way you can get penetrating oil in except up from the bottom so maybe you can put some in an old small plastic cap from a spray can and then duct tape it on so the nut is in the oil overnight. Or maybe your Evaporust instead of penetrating oil? And if you decide to use heat use a heat gun instead of fire. A decent electric heat gun will get it plenty hot and it's a bit less aggressive on the other things around the target.

My bomber came with the bakelite knob, but the threaded rod was gone, and I can't tell if there's still a stub of it in the knob or not. Without a drill press I left the knob alone and bought a piece of threaded rod, 5mm?, that I had to order from Amazon because no one carries it around here.
 
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