Honda CB250n SuperDream Refurb

LETTER FROM VENEZUALA!

2012-01-08T15:25:00.000Z

Today I received a letter from a musician in Venezuala who happens to be rebuilding a CB250N, although he's looking to create a Cafe-Racer version. Good luck Manuel Barrios.

Listen to Manuel's music here...
Hombre Invisible

NEW DETERMINATION

2011-09-24T11:31:00.000+01:00

Tony from Wigan arrived this morning with his lovely condition blue Superdream. Fortunately, Tony's quite a knowledgeable and technical guy, so it was good to muse over the bike problems with him. Just to be 100% awkward, the bike wouldn't start up, so after cleaning up the plugs, she fired into life on ONE POT! Grrrr!!

We took some readings from Tony's alternator and checked over a couple of other things that I had been curious about and then determined that the problem must lay in the wiring loom. I've changed EVERYTHING ELSE and by the process of elimination, it simply must be a fault somewhere in the loom (musn't it?).

Tony and I agreed that it was worth removing the headlight and checking the myriad connections in there. If there's nothing wrong there, then I might look for a secondhand loom (I threw one away a few months ago, der!).

Anyway, MANY THANKS to Tony for coming over. Nice to meet you mate.

LEAKING FLOAT VALVE

2011-09-18T17:58:00.001+01:00

I REALLY didn't want to, but, I felt I had not choice but to remove the carbs again to sort out that leaking float valve. Took them off, fitted an old float and valve from a spare pair of carbs and tested it on a rig before putting them back on the bike.

While they were off, I checked out the jets AGAIN and made sure the sliders were sliding freely. Everything seemed spot on, but upon starting the engine, it's still running like a bag of shite! At least it's not leaking petrol anymore! I'm not going to change the stator until my new friend from Wigan has been.

This is all getting very boring and to prove that it's not just me who thinks so, I got an "Unsubscription" notice today from a follower, so it must be getting bad :-)

BIKER COMRADERY

2011-09-18T10:56:00.000+01:00

I was very pleased to receive an email yesterday from Tony in Wigan. He kindly offered to bring his CB250NA over to my house and allow me to swap parts from his to mine in order to help identify the problem. How good is that???

We're gonna meet sometime next week and although I probably won't remove anything from his bike, I will most definitely take some electrical readings for comparison.

GRRRRR!!! STILL NOT RIGHT!

2011-09-17T16:20:00.000+01:00

I tried to start the bike today and she just wasn't having it, so I attached the battery-booster and she spluttered into life once more. Once the engine was warm, it ticked over steadily but wasn't revving "perfectly". There was a slight hesitance.

Anyway, I then decided to take some resistance readings from the alternator connectors. They were as follows...

White-Blue = 5.2 Ohms
Green-White = 336 Ohms
Green-L/Blue = 138 Ohms
Green-Pink = 14.9 Ohms
White-Earth = 338 Ohms

So they all seem within range. The surprise came when I took a voltage reading from the white and blue connectors with the engine running - both were around 30odd volts instead of the 90-100v.

Just as I sat there shaking my head, the carb overflow pipes started dripping petrol onto the floor .

I then spent time replacing the Nippondenso CDI for another one, but it made no difference. I checked all the connectors in the ignition circuit, cleaned them with switch-cleaner, checked earths, etc, etc, etc.

What now? I think I'll put the original stator back in for a start, because that looked like brand new and all resistance reading are perfect. The carbs will obviously have to come off again to cure that damned float-valve leak too. After that, I think I'll commit hari-kari!

IT'S ALIVE ! IT'S ALIVE!

2011-05-26T21:11:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's alive again! Not 100% fit and healthy, but alive nonetheless. When I got home from work tonight, I whipped the overalls on and went straight into the garage, determined to make some progress. First job was to open up the carbs and give them one last check-over before installing them. One of the vacuum pistons wasn't sliding up and down quite as free as the other one, so that was the first thing I sorted. Then I checked the air-screws to make sure they were both 2-turns out. The carbs have been ultrasonically cleaned and completely overhauled with new Keyster kits, so no real point in checking the jets/needles, etc.

Once they were ready to go back on, I dug out the brand new inlet-stubs and fitted new o-rings to them. Then it was simply a case of connecting the cables to the carbs (from the left hand side) and offering them into the gap without the inlet-stubs attached. Once the carbs were in position, I fitted the stubs and tightened the 8mm bolts. With the overflow tubes in place, that was the first job done! Easy!

Next job on tonight's agenda was the clutch. Last time out it was stuck solid - no doubt due to being sat idle in the garage for over two years! I removed the clutch housing and then stripped the clutch down, separating the plates and then rebuilding it. Only took 10 minutes and I managed to reuse the existing (new) gasket.

With 2.2 litres of 10/40w added to the engine, it was time to fit the petrol tank and see if she would start. I was pleased to see that the Yuasa battery had kept its charge after sitting unused for a couple of months. The starter motor positively whizzed the crank around and the old girl spluttered into life.

She revved and ticked over pretty good, but not perfectly. The exhaust is blowing around the collector box (because I failed to buy new sealing rings) and after a while, petrol started to flow from the overflow pipes (GRRRR).

But overall, I'm happy that at least she's breathing and this is definitely a step forward. From here I can start fine-tuning things. Unfortunately, I couldn't take her out on the road to test the all-important 5000rpm barrier because the new front brake reservoir is dry. That's not a job for tonight!

I'm away for the Bank Holiday weekend, so there'll be no more progress until next week. Feelin good!!!

SPARE ENGINE?

2011-05-24T22:18:00.001+01:00

For some inexplicable reason, I bought another engine tonight! Why I did so I do not know, because the one in the Superdream has great compression and should hopefully be up and running pretty soon. Anyway, once it was on the bench I decided to to strip it down and check out the internals.

The camshaft, rockers and chain were all in good condition and when the head came off, it was clear to see that there were no problems with the pistons, rings or bores. I now wondering whether to build it back up and sell it or just keep it as a spare.

Garage is looking a bit tatty - need to have a Spring Clean I reckon! My son has sold his ZXR400 so I can now reclaim my garage in its entirety and should be able to find things where I left them :-)

A COUPLE OF SIMPLE SOLUTIONS!

2011-05-22T21:21:00.005+01:00

Couldn't undo the rotor-bolt because I couldn't stop the crank turning. Tried it in gear with someone sat on it with back brake on, but still no luck. I was thinking of fabricating a holding bracket from mild steel flatbar or put the drivechain through some steel tubing, but thought I'd give this a go first. There is, of course, a special "Rotor Holding Tool" but I don't have one.

Anyway, I put a small patch of rubber on each contact point of a household G-Clamp and it worked first time!! All I have to do now is find a damned rotor-puller. 20mm thread I think. Anyone got one??

UPDATE:
Just found an old 20mm oil-filter bolt (from the CB250 itself) and used that as a rotor puller. Worked a treat! I like finding things around the garage that can be made to do the job of an expensive "Special Tool" like the £36 "07733-002-0001" from David Silver.

Just for the search engines...

How do i remove the rotor from my Honda CB250N Superdream? Honda Part No : 07733-002-0001 CB250N Superdream "Rotor Puller Tool" can be replaced with a cheap oil-filter bolt from a CB250N Superdream.

ANOTHER DISTRACTION

2011-04-18T21:39:00.001+01:00

Ooops! Just when I thought I'd be knuckling down to sorting out the SuperDream, I go and buy a CBR600F with just 3,000 miles on the clock. Total minter!! Mind you, those 10yr old tyres have gotta go, lol.

ANONYMOUS FOLLOWER

2011-04-12T20:40:00.000+01:00

Today an anonymous follower sent me photos of his own CB250N Refurb, so I thought I'd post it on here. If you want to see more of it, click on the photo.

TWO AND A HALF YEARS!

2011-04-11T10:58:00.003+01:00

I just realised that I started this project two and a half years ago. That's ridiculous! I've been trying to figure out why this "quick refurb" has taken longer than previous "rebuilds". For example, my BEAUTIFUL 400/4 took around 6 months to complete.

Needless to say, one of the biggest obstacles to speedy refurbs is time. Working 5 days a week kind of interferes with hobbies. Mind you, that still leaves the weekends. Trouble is, I have a static caravan on the edge of the Trough Of Bowland and every Friday after work, I head over there on the bike and come back Sunday evening. So that only leaves weekday evenings - and I'm not always in the mood for farting around in the garage after 9 hours at work. That doesn't explain why the 400 was completed quickly and the 250 wasn't.

Another possible reason for it dragging on is that I just didn't perhaps take things as seriously with the CB250N. It was supposed to be a low cost "in the background" kind of exercise. Well it certainly was in the background!! But now it's time to sort the bladdy thing out. It's sitting there looking all gorgeous but doesn't run. As you know (if you've followed this blog for any length of time), I've tried everything to sort out the problem. The only thing which remains is the alternator/pickup. It just has to be that! (How many times have I said that)?

I guess we'll know for sure when that alternator arrives.

FOUND A STATOR!

2011-04-07T22:27:00.001+01:00

Been looking on eBay for a stator for AGES and tonight I spotted one for £25. It's described as a "Generator taken from a working CB250N" and it comes complete with the pick-up coil. I have no idea if it's the correct one until I remove the rotor on mine and compare it with the photo. I'll do that over the weekend and report.

Since postin the above, I have just done a search on Ebay.de (Germany) and see that these items are much more readily available over there - it was obviously a popular bike in that neck of the woods. Here's one that's for sale on Gebay....

Looks to be in fantastic condition and comes from an 18k bike. 60Euro!!

COMPRESSION TEST RESULTS

2011-04-07T20:44:00.000+01:00

Well, after sending off for that 12mm adapter for my compression gauge, I'm pleased to report that it was a waste of money, LOL. The readings on both cylinders was a whisker under 180psi which is pretty amazing considering that it's a 31 year old engine and it should be 185. WOW!

So I am now a much happier bunny knowing that I don't have a broken piston-ring or a sticky valve. I can now focus elsewhere and I have almost no doubt that the problem is electrical based. I just need to fit the carbs back on (with the new inlet rubbers which arrived today) and start looking at the alternator and/or pickup-coil.

See you next time!

PROJECT RESTARTED

2011-04-04T20:27:00.000+01:00

Well, for whatever reason, I decided to have another play with the SuperDream tonight after work. I pulled the old girl out from the back of the garage and put her in the main area ready to be worked on.

All I did tonight was remove the tank, panels and seat, and then removed the second-hand carbs I got from eBay. They hadn't cured the problem, so I might as well put the refurbished ones back on. With the tank off, I decided to remove the rocker cover and check those valve settings for the 100th time (just to be sure). They were all spot on!

Whilst removing the carbs (jeez - what a tough job), I realised just how hard those rubber inlet stubs had become. I'm gonna have to replace them with £15 replacements from DS. Just ordered them.

The Naked Lady (Bitch more like!)

FROM PETER IN STAFFS.....

2011-03-09T09:44:00.001Z

Hi, I've been following your blog since Nov 2009; I'm 48 and bought a 1981 250 Superdream around that time. It was in original condition with 16k on the clock and ran beautifully. Since then I've spent quite a bit on it (tyres, brakes, chain, filters, etc.) and have ridden it only occasionally. However, about 4 months ago I found out why my fuel wasn't lasting long; I saw droplets of fuel seeping through the tank paintwork. A rusty hole inside the tank, at the bottom of the 'narrow' end nearest the front of the seat. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!

Since then I've been waiting for a black one to replace it with to come up on Ebay but that's not gonna happen. I've bought 'Flowliner' to seal the tank but I'm really struggling to even get the rust out of the tank! Can I ask what you would do? Like you, I don't want this to become an 'Unfinished Project' ad on Ebay!! AND.... did you refurb and spray the tank yourself? It looks gorgeous! AND...........how can I get the engine looking as clean and shiny as yours? I know you're busy but I'm actually getting desperate for help.

Thanks for reading this.
Pete Wakefield, Alsager, Staffs.

Hi Peter, thanks for following the blog for so long! Sorry to hear about your tank problem - it's not uncommon on 30yr old tanks though. If I were you, I'd get a decent replacement tank from eBay and get it resprayed by your local bodyshop. Buy the tank decals first though from Sunrise Graphics. I had my tank, side-panels and rear cowl done to a very high standard but it cost me £400.

As for the engine, I thoroughly degreased it, and then applied MANY MANY layers of Sperex Engine Enamel, leaving good drying times between coats. It was obviously made easy because the engine was out of the frame. Hope that helps mate.

Tom

DEVIL'S BRIDGE

2011-03-07T14:52:00.000Z

Went to Devil's Bridge bike-meet on Sunday and a black Superdream rolled onto the carpark! I walked over to admire it and was very pleased to meet the owner - Gary Weldon. Gary has been following my blog for some time, offering help and advice and is a friend on FaceBook, so it was nice to meet face to face at last.

Gary restored his own SuperDream and it looked pretty fine (unlike this photo).

CARBS DOUBLE-CHECKED

2010-06-25T15:53:00.000+01:00

Don't know about you, but I always doubt myself before I doubt others! Feeling completely stumped by this problem, I decided to take the refurbished carbs to a professional mechanic to have them checked over. If I'd screwed something up and he found the problem, then apart from feeling a bit embarrassed, I'd at least have sorted the bike out.

Today I got my carbs back from the mechanic and basically, they're spot on!! So God knows what to do to resolve this issue. Think I might just let it all take a bit of a back seat while the sun shines and come back to it when there's bugger-all better to do.

Thanks to everyone for their tips, advice and general comments.

PUZZLED!

2010-06-08T08:25:00.001+01:00

The ~~new~~ eBay carbs arrived today so I installed them, replaced the oil and filter and fired her up. It's worse than before!! She would barely tickover! Attempts to rev the engine just resulted in a stall. With very careful and steady application of the throttle, I can get it to 7000rpm but it's missing like hell.

The left exhaust downpipe was stone cold and the right was hot, which obviously indicates that the left cylinder isn't firing, and yet when I disconnect the left hand plug-lead, the bike stalls immediately!

There's a spark going to the left plug, and if you examine it, it's wet as if it's not firing, and the downpipe is stone cold, so why the hell does it stop running when I remove the plug-lead???

This thing is doing my head in! LOL

MIGHT SELL "AS IS"

2010-06-01T10:17:00.000+01:00

I have STILL not spent any more time on the CB250. Just too damned busy with other things. I was thinking of putting it on Ebay as one of those famous "unfinished projects". I'd lose a fortune, but losing money is no stranger to me :-)

Any offers?
.

STILL NO CHANGE

2010-05-12T08:27:00.001+01:00

Reluctantly removed the float chambers last night (saves taking the carbs off). Fitted some new (old) floats and brand new float needles. Bike still flooding! Walked away again, avoiding direct eye contact with the hammer hanging on the wall.

FUEL PUMP

2010-05-06T22:43:00.002+01:00

Someone was telling me that years ago (before spirit levels), they used to get the height and level of the Dado Rails perfect throughout the house by using a hosepipe full of water, so I thought the same principle could be used to see what was going on inside the float-chambers.

So I connected some clear tubes to the floatbowl drain spouts and opened up the drain taps. As you can see from the photos below, both carbs were pretty much the same in terms of float levels. After all, they're fixed floats anyway! So, as suspected, the floats were working fine and were at the correct height. So what was the damned problem?

I removed the plugs and sat there scratching my head for a while. Then I noticed that the right-hand fuel level had risen dramatically and was flooding the right bore. I switched off the fuel tap and spun the engine using the started motor to eject the petrol through the spark plug holes. And believe me, there was a lot in there! The engine was acting as a fuel pump! And to add insult to injury, the petrol would have contaminated the engine oil, so another oil-change is due. Grrrrrr!

So, it looks like the carbs have to come off again!! I'm gonna order a couple of new floats and valves from David Silver.

CB250 SUPER NIGHTMARE

2010-04-28T22:28:00.000+01:00

I removed the carbs tonight and stripped them down. There was nothing wrong with them - all the jets were fine and clean. The one thing that puzzled me though, was the fact that it had fixed-level floats! I've never seen these before. As you can see from the photo below, the float on the left is the "usual" type with and adjustable metal tang, but mine (on the right) are all plastic and none adjustable. Everything else seemed fine though, so I put it all back together and fired her up. It was immediately apparent that the bike was much better. The engine revved freely and smoothly up to 10krpm. Great, I thought. I pushed the bike outside, put my helmet on and set off onto the main road for a spin.

Sadly, the bike started to splutter and die under load. DAMN this bike!! Damn it to hell! Walk away Tom, walk away.

WASTE OF MONEY

2010-04-27T22:46:00.001+01:00

Fitted the new Coil, CDI and Battery tonight and they made no difference! So that's it - it simply HAS to be a fuelling issue and the carbs will have to be removed. I should have done the job tonight but I was feeling a bit pissed off with it all, so I left it for another night.
.

MORE NEW PARTS

2010-04-26T15:09:00.004+01:00

I really didn't want to spend any more money on this project, but this "5k rev-limiter" problem is not going away. I've ordered a new coil from David Silver, a new battery and I've got this used CDI to install. I will, of course, install each one individually and find out which part cures the problem and report back. Personally, I strongly suspect it's going to be the coil. Luckily, the coil was only £19, but the battery was £30.

UPDATE ON YESTERDAY

2010-04-23T08:01:00.001+01:00

This morning I popped back into the garage before going to work and found that the Advance Dial on the back of the Gunson Timing Light had been turned up from its normal "zero" position. Must be from when I lent it to a friend. Anyway, as a result of that movement, it meant that my previous readings had been wrong. When I put the dial back to its default position, the timing on the bike is correct. So new CDI ordered for nothing :-(

Another thing... yesterday I was checking the timing using the left hand cylinder and didn't bother with the other side because the reading indicated that the timing was out, but since realising that the timing light dial was set incorrectly, I took a reading from the other cylinder and guess what? There was no reading at all because the inductive pickup wasn't detecting a pulse. Hmmmm. I checked to see if the spark plug was sparking and it was, so I removed the plug caps from their leads and snipped off 5mm of cable. I then refitted the plug caps into fresh cable. Connected the strobe and bingo! Looks like there had been enough connectivity between the cable and the cap for high-voltage to pass through, but not enough for the inductive pickup to detect. Sorted now!

So, it looks like I'm back to removing the carbs to find out what this problem is with the 5k rev limit.

IT'S DEAD! IT'S DEAD!

2010-04-22T22:35:00.001+01:00

Well, my rejoicing soon came to and end when I discovered (enroute to the MOT station) that the bike won't pull beyond 5000 revs. It starts to cough and splutter and die until the revs drop back down. This is normally because the high circuit of the alternator (the blue wire) has failed. So I checked the voltages (white and blue circuits) and found them both to be producing healthy AC voltages which increased with revs. Checked the timing with a strobe and it was out slightly so it's looking like the CDI has gone kaput! Damn!!! New CDI ordered. MOT postponed.
.

IT'S ALIVE ! IT'S ALIVE!

2010-04-21T20:20:00.008+01:00

I put £6 worth of petrol in the tank (yes, a gallon!) and connected a Battery Booster. Ignition on, starter pressed, VROOOOM!!!! Nice one.

SNAGGING LIST : (bet you misread that)

~~Petcock leakin~~g.
Carbs need balancing.
Exhaust blowing slightly.
~~Clutch plates stuc~~k!

That last one's a bugger! While I had the right hand engine cover off, I should have checked the clutch operation but didn't think to. I've tried rocking the bike backwards and forwards in gear but it ain't working. Dammit! I'll have to drop the oil and buy another cover gasket. Grrrr!

Other than that, I'm really happy with everything. The engine sounds lovely and quiet and the bike looks great.

UPDATE :

Pushed the bike down the street, built up a little pace and knocked it into gear. Sticking clutch plates no longer sticking! Also cured leaking petcock by inserting the sealing-washer which was sat on my workbench, D'oh! Another problem has reared it's ugly head though - at tickover and low-revs, it's all sweetness and light, but at higher revs the engine splutters and dies until it drops back into the low rev-range. There's a STRONG smell of rich fuel mixture, so I'm thinking that the carbs are going to have to come off to see what's going on.
.

LESSON LEARNED!

2010-04-20T22:13:00.003+01:00

After walking out on the bike last night, to teach it a lesson, I returned tonight and it seemed to have worked! I removed the headlamp and almost immediately found the short. It was a bullet connector which had come loose and was shorting against a steel bracket. Last night I recall thinking how easy it was, getting the headlamp to push into the cowl with that mass of cables and connector blocks. Getting the headlight back in the cowl tonight was an altogether different story! Grrrrrr!

Anyway, I switched on the ignition and everything seemed to work. Sidelights, main beam, dipped beam, horn, starter motor, panel lights, warning lights, but no indicators! Huh? I examined the connections at the relay and all seemed fine. There was no choice - that damned headlight had to come back out to examine the indicator wiring in there. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

So, I removed the headlight, checked the wiring and everything seemed fine. So what the hell could be wrong??? I sat there studying the wiring diagram for about half an hour, scratching my head. Then something dawned on me. Did the brand new indicators actually come with bulbs?? Hahahhaa, of course not! I installed 4 bulbs, put the headlight back on again, and all's well with the world.

I put the battery back on charge and left it for the night. Tomorrow I'll go get some petrol and fire her up.

BAD START TO THE END

2010-04-19T22:04:00.000+01:00

Went into the garage tonight and fitted the battery - main fuse blew instantly! Grrrrrr! Not really in the mood for it tonight, so I disconnected it and locked the garage up. That'll teach it!

NEARLY DONE!

2010-04-18T18:11:00.002+01:00

Another beautiful day and quite a productive one for me. I did quite a bit of fumbling around the garage before finally getting down to some serious work. Today I fitted the tacho and speedo cables, finished all the dreaded wiring in the headlamp, fitted the headlamp itself, the gear-lever, balancer box, downpipes, silencers and chain tensioners. Made a dramatic difference to the way she looks!

They look so good together :-)

IT'S NEVER REALLY LOST!

2010-04-17T18:35:00.000+01:00

You think you've lost something, but you haven't really. What you're searching for is sat right there under your nose. It's just waiting for you to order a replacement and then it'll pop right up! Take the chain-tensioner bolts for example; I order replacements on Friday and the old ones turn up today. I order a new number plate and the one I'd already bought turns up. Hey ho!

And then right at the back of the garage, I found this...

MORNING GLORY

2010-04-17T18:29:00.004+01:00

I was up nice and early this morning and had to pull the old girls out of the garage so that I could blitz it. After 8 years of dumping stuff in the garage, it was starting to look like a real shit-tip!

Anyway, it's all done now and I'm feeling much better about it. If I had the money, I'd drop this garage and build a new one, but I ain't, so it'll have to do for a couple of years at least. At least now I have much more room to move about.

TIME FOR A BRAKE

2010-04-16T23:24:00.003+01:00

After work today, I started putting the front brake assembly together. I fitted the front caliper, thoroughly cleaned the pads, pins and shims, applied Copaslip, and put them in situ. Then I moved to the master cylinder and was pleased to see that the paint finish was looking fairly good and seemed to have hardened off. After fitting the Goodridge stainless steel braided hose, I bled the brakes and tested them (as best I could). The white plastic reservoir was marked as a result of me trying to get it off the cylinder, but I'm not spending £61 to replace it with new! Everything else seems spot on, so tomorrow morning, I shall be spending my day having fun emptying the garage. Hope it's sunny!

WHAT A DUMB ASS!

2010-04-15T22:37:00.003+01:00

The new number plate arrived today so that was the first job for this evening's session. It seems to have a very subtle "glittery" sort of finish which I can't say I care for too much. Other than that though, it's the usual high quality stuff from myshowplates.com. Also arriving today was a parcel from Wemoto - the new handlebars. Look exactly like the old ones, but shinier, lol.

Then two things annoyed me. First up was the fact that I couldn't find the chain-tensioner bolts. I've ripped that garage apart and they're nowhere to be found. And worse than that is the fact that I can't find any substitute bolts out of the thousands that I've got stashed in the garage. Grrrrr!!!

To make matters worse (in a good sort of way), I found a brand new heavy duty chain and sprocket set that I'd forgotten I'd bought! Dammit, the rear wheel had to come off which inevitably meant that I'd mark the new paint on the brake plate - and yes, I did. Anyway, I fitted the new kit and then attached the chainguard. That's about it for tonight. Oh yes, I also applied a few more light coats of satin black to the brake master cylinder throughout the course of the night and I fitted and routed the engine breather hose.

On Saturday morning, I've got a skip arriving and I'm gonna totally blitz the garage! Everything that hasn't been used for more than a couple of years is being binned - I don't care what the wife says! In fact, she won't be here this weekend, so she's not even got a say in the matter. When that job's done, it'll give me lots more working space and I can get the dump much better organised. Looking forward to it!

A LITTLE CLOSER

2010-04-14T21:17:00.000+01:00

Tonight I carried on with the wiring. Found the old solenoid and wasn't too impressed with the state of it. Grubby to say the least, so I spent a few minutes cleaning it all up including the terminals and posts. Then I cleaned up the long starter motor cable and routed it along the frame, over the right coil and down to the starter. Next up was the battery cables.

Pretty soon it was all connected up to the main loom. Glad I took so many photos of the bike before I stripped her or I'd have struggled to figure out which way the cables were routed. One thing that cheesed me off a bit was the reflectors at the front of the bike. Ages ago I had decided that I didn't like them and wasn't going to put them back on the bike but tonight I realised that the clutch cable and starter cable were held in place by them Grrr. So I then had to pull the garage apart trying to find it. Jeez, what a job! Luckily I found the bugger and cleaned it up best I could.

VJMC PLATE

2010-04-14T11:29:00.002+01:00

I could have sworn that I'd already ordered a new number plate for the 250 because it's always the very first thing I do with a new bike, but after searching high and low, I couldn't find one so I ordered another.

In the "COMMENTS" section of this post, Matt is stuck with part of his rewire. Below is a diagram of the main harness showing approximate routing but there's still some twists and turns to take. If anyone wants to ask questions, refer to the number in red to indicate which part of the loom is troubling you and I'll email you some pix of my routing/connections.

MONDAY, MONDAY.

2010-04-13T21:38:00.004+01:00

Normally on a Monday evening I feel tired after work but this evening I went straight into the garage and started to detach the reservoir from the master cylinder. Inside was a truly disgusting mess as you can see. I can't imagine how the brake worked at all!

I swabbed out as much of the gunk as I could and then refitted the lever so I could flush the system through with clean brake fluid. Then I carefully scraped off the dried and hardened gunge and flushed through again, before blowing it through with an airline. The seal looked fine, so I reused it and refitted the reservoir. Looks okay now, so I can start work on the exterior finish.

After that, I moved on to the rear indicators. The fitting brackets were painted over the weekend and the paint had completely dried. Only took a few minutes to install them to the rear fender. Then I completed the wiring, using heatshrink tubing to keep connections nice and tidy. A couple of tie-wraps and everything was looking good. Finally, I fitted the seat cowl to the seat and slipped on the side panels and petrol tank for a quick photo.

SUNDAY - DAY OF REST?

2010-04-11T16:28:00.001+01:00

No day of rest for me! I was in the garage at 8am this morning, sanding, priming and painting bits of brackets and what have you. It's all stuff that should have been done a long time ago and it's now slowing me down. So the only "real" stuff I've done today is fit the seat catch, the side-rails and the rear fender assembly. Doesn't sound much, I know, but it was interspersed with lots of other preparatory work.

The wiring to the rear brakes and indicators was a God-Awful mess, so I ripped it all out and started from scratch. I always feel better when electric cables and connectors are new. If anything fails to work or sets on fire, then there's only myself to blame! Although not shown on here, I also fitted the oil pressure switch and connected up the neutral light today.

I also spent a great deal of time overhauling the front brake Master Cylinder which is in a right old state! Lots of alloy corrosion on the outside and lots of shit and gunk on the inside :-)

Finally, I did something that could have been left until much later, but I brought it forward as a bit of a motivator. Might sound daft, but I installed the clocks today because (in my head) it's a kind of a milestone and makes the bike look much more finished. This will encourage me to keep going. Luckily, I'd spent a lot of time on the clock components previously, so it was just a case of assembling all the bits, testing the 6 bulbs and fitting a brand new ignition lock. Looks pretty good! Yes, I know the bars look crap - I've got some brand new ones on order from Wemoto.

IAN PIKE's CB250N

2010-04-10T20:11:00.001+01:00

One of the visitors to my blog is Ian Pike and when he first started following my progress, he assumed that his own project wouldn't be completed before mine, but he underestimated my laziness, lol. Here's Ian's silver 250. You've done a great job mate!

A DAY IN THE GARAGE

2010-04-10T19:04:00.008+01:00

Well, despite the beautiful weather and the temptation to go out on the CB450 for a ride, I pushed my self to spend a whole day in the garage working on the 250N. To be honest, it feels like I achieved very little considering the hours spent in there, but that's how these things go isn't it?

I spent my time preparing the back wheel to be fitted. Considering that I've had the wheel on previously to roll the bike around, it felt like I was repeating myself, but of course I'd never spent anytime refurbishing any components on the wheel and was surprised at how much I had to do. Polishing the alloys was not a problem - they're in good nick and that little job was finished in no time at all. But the brake cam was seized solid and it took a long time to get the bugger loose! Once it was out though, it was all very straightforward - just a case of cleaning everything up and lubricating it all ready to go back in the drum.

AFTER THE CLEANUP

The brake plate (pictured above) was painted with a few coats of Smooth Silver after having applied a light coat of Etch Primer. The piece was then "baked" in the oven at low temperature for 20 minutes (much to the delight of my wife). I'm guessing our next oven-cooked meal will have a nice Hammerite odour, LOL. I gave the sprocket-guard the same treatment...

I could hide my cockups from you, but it's best to allow others to benefit from one's stupidity I guess... after fitting the rear brake lever and the torque arm, I installed the wheel. Then I tried to fit the operating rod to the brake lever but had absolutely no chance of getting the clevis-pin through the hole because the right hanger was in the way, so I had to remove it, grrrrrrr. Ah well, you live and learn. Everything's fitted apart from the chain-tensioner adjustment bolts. I can't find them! This project has dragged on now for 18 months and all the bits in the garage have been moved about and kicked around I don't know how many times! No wonder I can't find the things I thought I'd marked so well, LOL.

That's it for now. Hopefully, it won't be too long before the next installment!

THE FINAL PUSH

2010-04-09T08:29:00.001+01:00

I've decided to get off my backside and make the final push to completing this project! It's dragged on far too long and is in danger of becoming one of those "Unfinished Projects" for sale on Ebay. So, I thought I'd set myself a target and that target is the 16th May 2010.

On that date, there's a big show at Samlesbury Bottoms for vintage Jap bikes, organised by the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club, so I thought it might be a good idea to bring the 250 back to life in time for that. Watch this space!

WHEN IS WORK GOING TO RESUME?

2010-02-07T01:07:00.016Z

People email asking when is the refurbishment of the CB250N going to resume and I never know what to say because I don't really know. Could be tomorrow or next month. Basically, when the mood takes me LOL. Mind you, I'm guessing that I'll be spending time polishing and riding my lovely 1970 CB450 Black Bomber instead.

UPDATE : I've started a "CB450 DIARY" HERE

TAPER ROLLER BEARINGS

2010-02-07T00:36:00.006Z

KrazyJuiceDan wrote in the comments sections asking where the steel-washer from his newly bought Taper Roller Bearings went. Well here's the answer Dan....

CARBS & AIRBOX

2009-11-17T20:27:00.012Z

Realised tonight that before I could fit the battery-carrier, I had to fit the airbox, so I decided to do that along with the carbs. I had to take the back wheel off again to make room for the airbox. It all went back together without a hitch, a curse or a scuff. Before fitting the carbs, I applied a coating of AFC-50 Corrosion Block Grease to all the various bars, rods, cams and attachments to prevent them rusting, cos they're a bugger to reach once the carbs are in situ, and tend to get ignored during normal maintenance work.

Biggest problem tonight was finding the right bloody bolts. I thought I'd catalogued everything?!?!

Since taking the above photo, I've been back in the garage and fitted the battery-carrier. I'm quite enjoying these 60-minute stints in the garage each night!

Also finished the seat off tonight. Previously, I'd removed the leather cover, prepped the base and painted it black. Tonight I refitted the cover and it looks pretty good.

Tomorrow night is dog-training though.....

DID A BIT MORE OF THE WIRING

2009-11-16T21:32:00.006Z

Didn't have much time tonight because my daughter and grandson came over to visit, but I did at least manage to get the loom routed correctly and tied in place. You know, you'd think it was very easy and obvious where such a simple loom went on a bike, but when you look at the original photos, you'll be surprised at the twists and turns. Anyway, it's all pretty much in place now.

As you can see, I placed a strip of insulation-tape at strategic places around the frame to avoid the cable-ties rubbing against the painted frame.

Next job will probably be the fitting of the battery box.

BLOG MENTIONED IN MAGAZINE

2009-11-16T11:01:00.004Z

Just flicking through a copy of "Performance Bikes" magazine when I stumbled upon a review of the best 250's of all time and in amongst the CB250N section, was a reference to my blog!

I knew fame would find me one day :-)

STARTED WORK AGAIN!

2009-11-15T13:07:00.006Z

Well, after a long break, I've eventually dragged myself back into the garage and started to work on the bike again. I unravelled the wiring loom from its storage box and did some minor repairs (soldering breaks and remaking new joints) before re-taping it all from one end to the other.

I now have to refer to the myriad photos I took during the stripdown to help me to fit the loom in the correct place and to follow the correct routing.

DELAYS, DELAYS!

2009-04-14T08:21:00.003+01:00

Sorry about the lack of action around here! I had every intention of spending the whole Easter Period putting the bike back together, but I was hit with a heavy case of Gastroenteritis which kept me in bed (and on the loo) for 3 days. To add insult to the injury of being ill during a holiday period, the weather had been superb too! Ah well. Now that the sun's still shining when I get home from work, I'll maybe get some rebuilding done during the week.

BEFORE #54

2009-03-06T11:54:00.007Z

Just a couple more pix of the engine in situ with that gorgeous tank in place.

BEFORE #53

2009-03-05T18:19:00.002Z

Okay, so I got around to fitting the engine into the frame! This will no doubt encourage me to carry on with the rest of the bike and it'll hopefully be at a much better pace than previously.

BEFORE #52

2009-02-21T16:01:00.002Z

At last(!) the engine's finished and is ready to go back in the frame. Not too sure when that's gonna happen, cos I've got stuff planned for the next few weekends, but at least I know it's ready and waiting.

BEFORE #51

2009-01-01T15:06:00.005Z

Did a little bit more today and decided to temporarily fit the rear wheel on to help move the bike around the garage - I've not refurbed it so it's not at its best yet. Couldn't resist taking a shot with the tank and side panel loosely in place.

As you can see, the painted forks look pretty good.

BEFORE #50

2009-01-01T12:59:00.001Z

Started cleaning the engine today. This is gonna be a very unpleasant, difficult job and I'm not looking forward to it one bit. But, it's gotta be done!

BEFORE #49

2008-12-31T15:24:00.006Z

Since breaking up for Xmas, I've been spending a lot of time out on the Yam, so the Honda project has been ignored. I kept going into the garage to have a look for something to do, but couldn't really get motivated. I knew that the thing which would make me feel like I'd moved forward significantly, would be the refitting of the front end, so with miserable grey clouds in the sky, I decided to stay indoors today and crack on with the job.

Also did a bit of work on the engine. Wonder if that 1700 would go in the frame? LOL

BEFORE #48

2008-11-29T18:41:00.004Z

Here's some of the polished bits and bats. Pleased to say that the carb-covers came up extremely well and don't look out of place with the natural finish of the ultrasonically cleaned lowers.

WHAT PRODUCTS DO YOU USE??

2008-11-28T18:13:00.003Z

Which products do you use to obtain the very best results?

Well, there's just one in particular that I find works on ANY restoration project and I find that I go through lots and lots of it....

BEFORE #47

2008-11-25T16:50:00.004Z

Took a day off work today and managed to complete the frame. The finish is pretty satisfactory with a smooth satin finish and when it's hardened off completely, I'll give it a polishing to bring it up to a nice sheen (well certainly in the parts which will be exposed to criticism) LOL. Next job will be the front forks.

BEFORE #46

2008-11-12T22:15:00.003Z

After decorating at my daughter's house all night(!) I decided to squeeze in a first coat of primer on the frame. I'll try for another one tomorrow night so that it'll be ready for painting at the weekend.

BEFORE #45

2008-11-09T17:16:00.004Z

Had all day free today, but accomplished very little for some reason. Spent most of my time removing the wiring harness, coil, etc, and thoroughly degreasing the frame. Then I wire-brushed the heavy rust (mainly around the main-stand) and sanded the rest of the frame, finishing off with a layer of Kurust. It's now ready for priming, but I've just come in from the garage cos it's cold and miserable. Time for a curry methinks!

BEFORE #44

2008-11-09T00:05:00.003Z

Just took a quick photo of the tank and panels. Doesn't look as good on the photo as it is "in the flesh" because it's poor indoor lighting, but believe me, the finish is superb!

BEFORE #43

2008-11-07T17:53:00.005Z

Here's some photos showing the tank during it's preparation for painting. I'll post some pix of the finished work this weekend. The tank was shotblasted prior to being primed and a small dent was repaired by expert painter Ray from RPM.

BEFORE #42

2008-11-05T23:51:00.007Z

Just received the final update from Zed-Parts, showing the carbs in their final state of repair. They are currently undergoing a 2-day leak-test before being shipped out to me. Great service from Zed-Parts - highly recommended! The carbs look a damned sight better than they did originally....

BEFORE #41

2008-11-05T09:01:00.002Z

I haven't posted anything for a while now, because I've been busy with other things and not had any time in the garage. My daughter has just got a house, so that means I'll be spending a good deal of time over there helping to decorate, so that'll push the refurb back too. On a more positive note, I've just collected the fuel tank and panels from the bodyshop and they look SUPERB!! I'll post some photos when I get time. Also got a pair of new all-chrome rear shocks.

BEFORE #40

2008-10-29T00:38:00.005Z

Yet another update from Zed-Parts. It's great to deal with someone who's so communicative for a change! Carbs are lookin fine! What a difference from the state they were in originally, huh?

BEFORE #39

2008-10-26T19:48:00.002Z

Spotted a brand-new, still in the box silencer on fleabay for £24.99 so I bid on it and won. With a bit of luck I'll find another for the other side by the time the project is finished.

BEFORE #38

2008-10-25T14:14:00.005+01:00

I removed the forks today. I'm not having them polished because they always look naff that way. Instead, I'm having them professionally prepared and painted in a satin silver finish. That way, they'll look pretty good and it'll be easy to repair stone-chips, etc.

UPDATE: In the end I decided to do the prep and painting myself, in order to keep costs down. Applied a couple of coats of Etch Primer, then sprayed with a bright silver paint. They look fine.

BEFORE #37

2008-10-25T14:12:00.003+01:00

As you can see, the fork shrouds don't look too shiny! These will have to go into the re-chroming box. It's getting kinda full now!

BEFORE #36

2008-10-25T14:09:00.004+01:00

Starter motor gets its first coat of topcoat. This is a high-temp silver paint from Sperex. No need for high-temp on this component of course, but I wanted to guarantee a colour-match with the rest of the engine.

BEFORE #35

2008-10-25T14:07:00.003+01:00

This is the rear fender after its final coat of primer. Not looking bad at all now. Will be painting it with Smooth Hammerite gloss black.

BEFORE #34

2008-10-25T14:04:00.003+01:00

This is the battery-box after a bit of a cleanup. Some surface rust as you can see, but certainly no rot, so this will be reused.

BEFORE #33

2008-10-24T21:39:00.002+01:00

Originally, I intended rechroming the front mudguard, but it's in pretty bad shape, with some bad kinks and rot, so I ended up getting this one from fleabay. Really didn't want to, but little choice. Someone suggested fitting one of those pattern replacement parts but they look bloody awful (apologies to those who have them).

BEFORE #32

2008-10-23T23:08:00.003+01:00

Another update from the guys at Zed-Parts. The carbs are coming on pretty well as you can see in the photo above. The alloy was pretty oxidized underneath that black paint, but they reckon they'll clean up pretty good. Sadly, the carb tops are tarnished and will not come up as nice. There's the option of polishing them, but then they'll look at odds with the carb bodies. I'll wait until I get them back before deciding what to do.

BEFORE #31

2008-10-22T22:01:00.004+01:00

There's the starter-motor with its 3 coats of primer and above it is the finished side-stand. Tomorrow I'll probably put the first coat of silver paint on the starter and then begin work on removing the front wheel and forks.

BEFORE #30

2008-10-20T20:21:00.006+01:00

Took the engine out tonight (with the help of my son). Absolute doddle of a job: took the weight with a small trolley-jack, removed all the bolts and lowered the jack. Simple as that (more or less). The engine can of course be picked up by one person, but two makes it so much easier. Then I removed the starter-motor and began cleaning it up ready for its first coat of primer.

BEFORE #29

2008-10-20T13:22:00.006+01:00

Just had some photos back from Zed-Parts who are the people ultrasonically cleaning the carbs for me. They're concerned at the condition of the crossbars and various links, pointing out that they are very badly corroded, although they believe the carb bodies should clean up reasonably well. Apparently, the corroded parts are too bad to be yellow-passivated, so I'm having them chemically blacked.

BEFORE #28

2008-10-19T16:41:00.005+01:00

If you ever fancy refurbing a bike, you must get yourself a bench-grinder with a wire-wheel. It saves soooo much time stripping things back to bare metal, like this grubby side-stand. As for that rusty old fender, well I simply used a wire-wheel attachment on my cordless drill to get rid of the bulk of the rust and lingering paint, before giving it a soak in patio cleaner. Then it'll be a case of applying some etch-primer to the bare metal before finishing with the final coats of paint.

BEFORE #27

2008-10-19T16:38:00.004+01:00

After cleaning up the swing-arm, I sanded it down as best I could, applied Kurust, then applied a few coats of primer. It's now ready for the final coat, which will be a few layers of Japlac. Lookin good! The brake torque-arm has also been painted too.

BEFORE #26

2008-10-18T21:12:00.004+01:00

The swing-arm and brake torque-arm were heavy with oil and gunge, so after soaking them in the degreasing bath for an hour or so, I cleaned them up and inspected them for any signs of wear. It's not uncommon to find breaks on swing-arms that have been hidden by all the shite that builds up. Thankfully, both are perfectly serviceable (although I don't look forward to stripping them back to bare metal).

BEFORE #25

2008-10-16T20:09:00.006+01:00

This is one of the silencers. I would dearly like to replace with new, but I'm committed to spending as little as possible on this project, so it's a case of polish and elbow-grease. And lots of it!!! Despite their dreadful appearance, the silencers are mechanically sound. If I can get a few months use out of them, so much the better. Maybe replace them at the start of the summer.

BEFORE #24

2008-10-14T22:40:00.002+01:00

Just stripped the clocks down. A replacement set is on its way, but I think I'll just replace the damaged outer case and continue to use the original clocks - they're in good shape and have the correct mileage. The black bracket needs treating and repainting and some of the bulbs could do with renewing.

BEFORE #23

2008-10-14T22:37:00.003+01:00

Well here it is after I've finished treating it and after a few coats of VHT paint. Strangely enough, this paint is a very warm shade of black - looks quite unusual - it's Halford's own. If for some reason it doesn't work out (ie, it blisters or cracks), it's no big deal to whip it back off and redo.

BEFORE #22

2008-10-12T19:38:00.007+01:00

The exhaust collector-box is pretty damned rusty and by the look of it, has alreay been patched up with welded panels. Basically though, underneath the rust it doesn't seem too bad so I'm gonna see if I can salvage it.

I removed the loose rust from a section and then treated it with Kurust and in all fairness, it's come up pretty well. I could very easily paint over with VHT paint and it would look more than acceptable, BUT, will the Kurust treatment below the VHT paint react with the temperatures? A mate of mine suggested testing it with a blow-torch which sounded like a damned fine idea, so I'll pick one up and try it.

UPDATE : Heated the box up from the inside with a blowtorch and it appeared to cope okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and treat the whole thing with Kurust, then overpaint with Very High Temp paint.

BEFORE #21

2008-10-12T19:36:00.004+01:00

This is the bike as it stands. Long way to go!

BEFORE #19

2008-10-08T22:41:00.006+01:00

Well that's about it for a while now. From here on I will be busy stripping the bike, cleaning, carrying out remedial work, repair work and searching for cheap bits-n-bats. I want to refurbish this bike on a budget (for a change) instead of desperately hunting down NOS Parts and going way overboard like a silly sod.

Having inspected the engine, I'm pleased to report that it's in great condition. Suppose that's to be expected considering it's only done 20 thousand miles. It runs well and there's no noisy bits! Looks a bloody mess on the outside, but all's well on the inside.

See ya soon!

BEFORE #18

2008-10-08T22:39:00.003+01:00

Here's another one of the carb-area. Having had a closer look, it's clear that these carbs have been painted black at some time. I spoke to Oz at "Zed-Parts.com" and he assures me that his ultrasonic-cleaning service will strip off all the shite from the carbs, back to the base alloy. He will also be overhauling the carbs with Keyster Carb-Repair kits. Shipping the carbs off to him on 14th October, so I'll let you know what they're like when they come back.

BEFORE #17

2008-10-08T22:38:00.002+01:00

It's not pretty is it?

BEFORE #16

2008-10-08T22:34:00.006+01:00

I took this one from underneath the bike without even seeing what I was photographing and was VERY surprised to see what appears to be a HOLE in the sump pan. Since zooming into the photo I now believe it to be a rusty piece of the collector-box that has lifted up.

BEFORE #14

2008-10-08T22:25:00.002+01:00

It's seen better days huh?

BEFORE #13

2008-10-08T22:24:00.002+01:00

What a mess!

BEFORE #12

2008-10-08T22:22:00.003+01:00

And here's looking down on the swingarm from the OSR

BEFORE #11

2008-10-08T22:20:00.004+01:00

Here's a view of the underside of the bike showing the swingarm, sidestand, chain, etc. Grubby! It seems appropriate that the container of Muc-Off should be in the background :-)

BEFORE #9

2008-10-07T12:10:00.001+01:00

The carbs are disgusting and probably contributing significantly to the lack-lustre performance of the bike. Not looking forward to refurbishing those!

BEFORE #8

2008-10-07T12:09:00.002+01:00

Collector-Box is looking pretty horrible too. I think these originally had a painted finish - not sure.

BEFORE # 7

2008-10-07T12:05:00.000+01:00

The speedo/tacho cluster also looks very jaded and has actually got a big hole in it next to the ignition key where someone's had a go at nicking it probably.

BEFORE #6

2008-10-07T12:04:00.001+01:00

The indicators are taped up and looking very faded from 28yrs of sunshine (what? in this country?).

BEFORE #5

2008-10-07T11:48:00.002+01:00

The tank, sidepanels and tailpiece will be painted Black like the bike I bought in 1980, so the rough paintwork and dents on the tank don't worry me. That petrol-cap fastener needs some TLC though.

BEFORE #3

2008-10-07T11:42:00.002+01:00

The seat and base aren't that bad but will still need quite a good tidy up

BEFORE #1

2008-10-07T11:27:00.007+01:00

By the time this project is finished, I hope to have something which looks like this. Currently, it looks like this....