'65 CB160 "Ghost" Update

73Goblin

73Goblin

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Location
Lafayette, CA
Firstly, thx for the earlier comments and assistance! Much appreciated.

Screenshot 2026-05-09 at 06.47.54.png

Secondly, an update: I was able to get old "Ghost" (my son's homage to her white paint and age) back together yesterday and, as expected, am experiencing a couple new items to address:

1. As is obvious from the pic, the handlebars are bent with the right side back 1 3/8" (~35mm) or more from the primary axis,
2. The horn doesn't work,
3. The mirror mounting points are stripped,
4. Likely need new brake shoes,
5. Seat needs reupholstered,
6. Etc...

But for today's insights/comments, I'm troubleshooting what I'm categorizing as 'carb issues'; for lack of a better categorization. (Perhaps more generically, 'fuel delivery issue'? :unsure: )

The old girl starts - on both electric and kick - without fail. She also runs exceedingly well through all gears with no stuttering nor sputtering or lack of power through any/all of the bands. I took her out for a spin yesterday and gotta say that she's an absolute blast to ride: quick, nimble, a bit edgy, and a real head turner (sounds like my college girlfriend - without all of the emotional headaches...).

Having read this you're likely wondering what the issue is, that all sounds great, right? Well, no matter what I've tried I can't get her to idle; not fast, not slow, not idling beyond 5 secs or so at all before dying.

Again, everything about fuel delivery, air, and spark appears to be better than 'simply operable'. In fact, she appears ro be pretty "dialed-in" for riding purposes. Just not idling. I'm considering pulling both carbs and tearing them down. However, I'd prefer not to do so if they're not the issue. Having spent a couple hrs puttering with the carbs, I've not yet resolved this and thought to post here to get your insights/suggestions. Fire away...

Lastly (for today's questions), I assume that its not worth the time/effort bending the bars back? Just order a new set? Thoughts?
 
Have you tried connecting the horn directly to the battery to see if it's the horn or the switch that's at fault? The switch might also have dirty contacts.
You might be able to repair the mirror mounts with a helicoil.
I would definitely try to straighten the bars.
For your seat cover, many have used this vendor:

 
While it’s almost a certainty that you’ll need to open the carb and clean the idle circuit - you may want to clean out the petcock and see if that improves the fuel delivery.
 
boddy said:
boddy said:
Have you tried connecting the horn directly to the battery to see if it's the horn or the switch that's at fault? The switch might also have dirty contacts.
You might be able to repair the mirror mounts with a helicoil.
I would definitely try to straighten the bars.
For your seat cover, many have used this vendor:

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I only noted the horn issue when troubleshooting the carb. I *assume* its a simple wiring issue (break, ground, something) but haven't yet taken the time to check it out.

Yup, helicoil is the likely call. Amazon here I come!

Any suggestions on bar straightening? I haven't taken a look into that as yet.

Thx for the seat cover suggestion!
 
EzPete said:
While it’s almost a certainty that you’ll need to open the carb and clean the idle circuit - you may want to clean out the petcock and see if that improves the fuel delivery.
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Thx sir, I figured that cleaning the idle circuit was the likely 'go forward'. I'd planned to install a couple inline fuel filters anyway. Looks like old Ghost is heading back to the surgical ward.
 
The bars are a tough one - they appear to be slightly twisted and finding the right clamping angle to bend against is going to be a fun 3D physics problem.
 
If you can stabilize the bike, say in a motorcycle trailer, and can find a suitable anchor point then I would try a racheting tie down strap on the end of the handlebar. The other alternative would be to remove the HB and disassemble the switches and perches. Clamp the good side down to a solid surface and using a length of pipe for leverage, work the bars back into shape.
 
boddy said:
If you can stabilize the bike, say in a motorcycle trailer, and can find a suitable anchor point then I would try a racheting tie down strap on the end of the handlebar. The other alternative would be to remove the HB and disassemble the switches and perches. Clamp the good side down to a solid surface and using a length of pipe for leverage, work the bars back into shape.
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"Clamp the good side down..." may be a bit difficult as I'm unsure which side is good. 😁

I can say for certain that she was dropped on her left side thereby shearing of the end of the knurled clutch lifter rod, damaging the dynamo cover, and bending the left foot peg up ~1"; a fairly significant drop. Sooo... would the left side handle bar be bent too forward? the righthand side too far back? I can't seem to find a schematic that shows the specs at that level.

Oh, and that's not to say she wasn't dropped on her right either. I just don't have a spoken history of that happening.

I will say that I do like the Lefthand positioning better so I may just run with that and try to pull the righthand side forward a bit. Heck, if I could reduce the diff to <1/2" it would be a win.
 
While I agree that bars are bent, part of the "bent" appearance is caused by the fork tubes being twisted in the triple tree. Look at the top handlebar clamp and you will see that it isn't straight. My red line shows it. 60 years ago I would have parked on the right side of a substantial tree or telephone pole and whammed the front part of the wheel sideways, into the tree. That usually corrected it. Today, I would probably loosen the bolts that clamp the fork tubes in the triple tree, and correct it properly. And, yes, whammed is a word: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/whammed.
 
Fifty5 said:
While I agree that bars are bent, part of the "bent" appearance is caused by the fork tubes being twisted in the triple tree. Look at the top handlebar clamp and you will see that it isn't straight. My red line shows it. 60 years ago I would have parked on the right side of a substantial tree or telephone pole and whammed the front part of the wheel sideways, into the tree. That usually corrected it. Today, I would probably loosen the bolts that clamp the fork tubes in the triple tree, and correct it properly. And, yes, whammed is a word: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/whammed.
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Very Interesting! great insight. I wouldn't have caught that for some time. I did see that the Spedo was a bit crooked but assumed that that was due to the headlight mounts askew.

Is there a video tutorial on how to address this? I'd like to get her back to a weekend rider. Summer is calling, after all.
 
Firstly, a huge shout-out to EzPete for his assistance!

Thank you sir, very much appreciated.

Secondly, how the project came to be: I acquired a '65 CB160 that, for whatever the reason (my gut leads me to believe a limited crash was involved), didn't have a complete front fender. A PO had the front half of it removed to include the forward stays. (See pic)

Now, I'm not looking to restore the old girl to showroom quality (yet), but I would like her to be as original as I can get within reason. Upon reading about my need for a fender, EzPete was kind enough to supply one that he had kicking about his shop. (Thx again!)

Thumbing through old CB photographs I realized that a PO had cut off the front ~5" of the 'new/old fender' right at the forward stay. I've read that the two likely causes for this are 1) damage or 2) looks; some folks apparently didn't like the inherent homage to excessive CA fairings of the CB's cousins, instead looking for a more 'sporting' look. Either way... it was missing.

So my strategy was pretty straight forward: Mash-up the two fenders in order to create a 'complete' front fender.

The below pics tell the tale.

Lastly, I fitted the fender to my CB but will - when I go back and repaint her - remove the fender, clean it/prep it for paint, and during that process remove cut lines and some rivets getting her closer to original. I also intend to create and affix a forward fender license 'fin plate'. Admittedly, the plate won't be factory, but... Well, I just think they look cool. :cool:

I'll also likely fabricate the black rubber mudguards as their NOS pricing is outrageous. (~$50/per delivered)

Note: Being handy does not a metal worker nor a bike mechanic make; which I'm not - a metal worker/mechanic per se. If you have suggestions/insights/comments, by all means lmk.

More updates as the project progresses.

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Nice! Glad to get that fender off my shelf and back into the wild where it belongs. It came off a CB>”CL” conversion and I think they trimmed it to match the CL style.
 
Carbs are officially cleaned, limited parts swapped, all jet passages were checked and made clear, and then the carbs were reassembled and reinstalled. The carbs...? Honestly? They were in pretty darn clean condition prior to the work. Surprisingly so, actually. (The pic below is PRIOR to cleaning.)

After the rebuild I took Ghost out for a ~15 min ride. Nearly flawless.

Tomorrow I'll spend some quality tuning time, however... After taking her for a spin I'm undoubtedly looking forward to early Summer mornings and open backroads through the vineyards. Mists rising in the early morning light and the promise of a solid Cabernet at lunch. I'm all in.

For those of you who own CB160s: Is it my imagination or do these little beasts have some serious low-end torque and speed through ~40 mph? Surprisingly so for 60yr old 160cc engine.

When I got back to my shop this afternoon a buddy of mine commented that I was laughing when I got underway. Oddly enough, I don't recall laughing. Must have been that good of a ride?

Ghost_052726.pngCarb_1.jpeg
 
Man. Those carbs were in remarkably good condition. Original Keihin brass and all.

To give you an idea of how good those were - here’s what mine were when opened.

IMG_2822.jpeg

The 160 does pack some pop for such a small displacement bike - gearing also makes a ton of difference.
 
73Goblin said:
When I got back to my shop this afternoon a buddy of mine commented that I was laughing when I got underway. Oddly enough, I don't recall laughing. Must have been that good of a ride?
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Laughs and smiles is what it’s all about!! Enjoy the ride!!!😁
 
EzPete said:
Man. Those carbs were in remarkably good condition. Original Keihin brass and all.

To give you an idea of how good those were - here’s what mine were when opened.

View attachment 57991

The 160 does pack some pop for such a small displacement bike - gearing also makes a ton of difference.
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Yowza! That looks much more like a scene from Breaking Bad than a carb rebuild. :geek:
 
Of "Hills and Valleys" is today's theme.

After so much forward progress a mere 2 days ago, today saw a new issue arise whereby Ghost starts and then revs uncontrollably. A bit shocking at first, then I remembered the old tried and true WD40 air leak trick and... nothing found. I disassembled and reassembled both carbs - meticulously with a cmsnl blowup diagram - and found that both are missing aN O-ring on the air intake screw (part 16 in the diag below).

Could that be the culprit? The O-rings supplied with the rebuild kit are incorrectly sized.

Also, the cables need replacing as there's no real throttle 'snapback'.

Could that be the culprit?

Perhaps a bit of both?

More investigation happening this weekend...

CarbORing-lowres.jpg
 
For the 'rev uncontrollably" thing I would first check your throttle cable especially at the splitter where the one of the cable ends commonly frees itself and then hangs up going back in...especially if this condition just happened after running well before

Doubtful the missing o-ring would cause the effect you describe but others here may have another view
 
The lack of "snap back" is the cause - not an o-ring.

1. Slides hanging in the carb. Sometimes due to getting flipped side to side when you have both disassembled.
2. Throttle cable popped out at the splitter
3. Throttle cable binding and needs lube or replacement
4. Loose tension adjuster in the throttle tube/starter button housing has shifted and is binding against the throttle tube itself
5. That left grip is too tight to said housing and is rubbing against the housing
6. Forgot to put the springs back in the carb tops
 
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