LONG LONG TIME

 WOW! Just stumbled upon this blog after years of forgetting about it. I've had a few bikes since finishing the old CB250N and my current bike is the new (2020) VFR800. 

I rebuilt two Honda 400/4's, a CB450 Black Bomber, a CB750/4 and this CB250N.

I no longer refurbish bikes - they just cost too damned much and I've got too many other hobbies, LOL 😂

A NEW DISTRACTION

Yet again, I've been distracted from the SuperDream by another bike. This time, my Yamaha FZ1 in the very unusual 'Teal' colour. I've fitted a Nitron Shock, IXIL Exhaust, Tail-Tidy, Puig bellypan, clear indicators, heated grips and satnav.

ANOTHER WINTER, ANOTHER GO

Well, the summer's over and I've had lots of fun on a FireBlade, but it's that time of year where I start the annual pilgrimage to Superdream Land. Started this bike in the winter of 2008 and here I am 5 years later without a usable bike. Will this be the year that I crack it? Can I really find out what's ailing the old girl? I feel like that doctor in the program "House" where each episode they struggle to save a dying man and are unable to diagnose the problem(s). Maybe I should get Hugh Laurie to take a look at it :-)

Here today's current state....

WELL, WELL, WELL....

My ugly mugshot was chosen to cover the Spec-Sheet on an online magazine called "SHOOT YOUR BIKE". Well, it wasn't so much my mugshot, as my beautiful SuperDream. I was caught on camera riding over the West Pennine Moors sporting my 70's helmet and leather jacket.

Click Here.

EXHAUSTED!

Someone said they bought a replacement collector box and had trouble with the dimensions of it - they had to fabricate some brackets to get it to fit. Well, I've experienced the same issue!

The box I purchased from Wemoto looks like an EXACT replica of the original (it's not one of those box-section replacements), but there's something amiss with it. It forces the silencers back about 25mm so they won't attach to the footrest hangers.Rather than make brackets, I might cut down the front end of the silencers.

Not sure yet - I'll have a proper look at weekend. I'm a little disappointed (to say the least).

MORE PARTS ORDERED

While I wait to get around to installing these 2nd hand carbs, I've decided to order even more replacement parts! One thing that I've not mentioned up to now (not sure why cos I'm not trying to hide anything), is the fact that the exhaust system is blowing.

The leaks originate from the collector-box. Although it was in overall "okay" condition, it did have some corrosion damage around the input and output tubes, which result in leaks. Since I've replaced everything else on the bike(!) I decided last night to buy a new collector-box and 4 new seals, plus two new header pipe gaskets.

Why do that now? Well, I met a guy at Rivington Barn on Sunday and he had a CB250NA which was in great condition and when he started it, it struck me just how whisper-quiet it was. I then got to thinking that I should sort mine out plus the leak just might be reducing the back pressure to an extent that it's making the bike run rough. Can't see it, but it needs sorting anyway.

So, I spent another £100 on the above, along with a replacement front brake pistion and seal to sort out that pathetic braking issue that I've written about previously.

ANOTHER SET OF CARBS!!!

Spent this afternoon stripping ANOTHER set of carbs and ultrasonically cleaning all the bits and bats and setting the float heights. Will do a bench-test to make sure there's no fuel leaks and then fit them to the bike to see if they make a blind bit of difference. I'm not expecting great things :-(

FLOATS ARRIVED

The new floats and float valves arrived from CMSNL. These are the fixed-height floats and therefore needed special valves. I installed them without removing the carbs, simply by removing the float chambers. All very simple and quick.

I'm pleased to report that everything went perfectly well and there are no more leaks. Hoorah!

 

 Unfortunately, the low-rev problems persist and I'm buggered if I can resolve the issue. I just don't know what else I can try - I feel like I've replaced everything that matters on the bike and all to no avail.

 

That doesn't mean I'm gonna give in though! Oh no. Winter's approaching and that's when I tend to spend a lot of my leisure time in the garage, so maybe I'll solve the mystery then.

 

FIXING THE IDLING

Two issues remain. One is the rough idling and the other is petrol overflow problem. The carbs that are currently on have been totally refurbished, ultrasonically cleaned and fitted with new jets, needles, etc. All measurements and adjustments have been checked by myself and a professional bike mechanic.

So I have decided to remove them and make up a set from the total of three that I have. Maybe I'll manage to get a good working pair. Or maybe I'll be making a monster :-)

UPDATE :
Okay, so I made up a set of carbs with ALL the bits ultra-sonically cleaned and checked. Everything bang on!! Fitted them to the bike and the petrol overflow problem seemed cured. Hooray! Unfortunately, it's now running like a bag o'shite. Very rough tickover, spitting and farting and basically worse than it was before.

Oh my God, I could kick this damned bike down the road! I've just sent off to www.cmsnl.com for two pairs of floats. They are constructed completely from plastic and have preset float-levels, so there can be no mistake there. Let's see how they go (when they arrive).

If ANYONE has a set of carbs that are absolutely 100% known to be in perfect working order, PLEASE let me loan them to see if they cure everything. I've removed and refitted carbs on this bike so many times that I can now do it like an F1 Pit-Crew member!!

And just to make the day perfect, the right-hand carb overflowed :-(

ON THE MOVE

Here's some more photos, but this time with my ugly mugshot included. As you can see, I'm sporting an authentic 70's Kangol helmet :-)

SMALL RIDEOUT

With the weather being so nice today, I went for a rideout on the old girl. Could only be a quickie because my dog has just had a litter of puppies and unfortunately started to have seizures, so we are hand-rearing half the litter. It's like having a load of babies that demand food every 2 hours. Incredibly tiring!

Anyway, I'm pleased to report that the bike goes very well indeed but it idles like a total pig!! Need to get that sorted. The front brake seems to be getting better and better, so it was after all, just the new pads needing bedding in. The rear brake is spot on.

It was fantastic being out and about again on a bike, even if it was just this old 250. I've missed it so much.

And here's a photo of my beautiful Boxer and her babies....

SOUNDS CRAZY BUT...

I know it sounds crazy, but after the summer's gone, I think I'll strip down the bike again and powdercoat the frame, swingarm, etc. Originally, I had only wanted to "spruce" up this bike and wanted to avoid lashing out any money, but now that I've had the bike so long (the longest time I've ever kept a bike), I think it only fair to treat her to a proper job.

Might fit a twin-disc front end to it too (although that would obviously spoil the originality of the bike). We'll see. The job would only take 2 or 3 weeks, because all the other parts on the bike are pretty decent.

BIKER CHICK

Not seen my Mum for ages, so I thought I'd pop by and say hello. Wasn't long before she was sat on the bike, lol.

BRAKE CALIPER

I know it's a long time ago, but I can't remember the SuperDream front brakes being this crap! I've obviously been spoiled by the modern MotoGP technology of today's sports bikes, but even so, surely they should be better than a mild deceleration?

I decided to strip down the caliper and take a closer look. It had been stripped before obviously, but that was a couple of years ago - maybe something had seized? Well after stripping it down, I could find no problem. Everything was like new and well greased with CopaSlip, so I applied some more and rebuilt it.

Took it on a test-ride and still the same. Odd!

EVER THE OPTIMIST

Ever the optimist, I installed SatNav to my bike today :-)  Well, not exactly installed, more like "attached" it. I used a ramball mount on one of the handlebar clamps. Don't think I'll bother hard-wiring it in though - not unless I'm gonna go on a long journey.

BIKE RUNNING GREAT

Well the bike runs well now and there's no hint of any problem at 5k! That's the good news. The bad news is that I am WAY too used to modern brakes and I'm struggling to accept the pathetic brakes of the 80's. I'm also not happy with the bike starting and tickover. Will look into that more when I have the time.

Here's some photos I took today up Rivington. Used a shite compact camera, so they're nothing special/

5K PROBLEM - GONE!

Well, I don't quite know how, but I've managed to cure the 5k problem. Tonight I bled the front brake and took the bike for a spin after warming it up. I purposely put the bike under load by going up a long, steep hill. Everything went fine, but the fuelling is still a little suspect.

But the main thing is, it doesn't die at 5000rpm, so I'm well and truly on the final leg of this ridiculously long journey which started out 3years ago as a quick "spruce up". Need to book my MOT for Thursday and see what happens. Once it's taxed and tested, I can concentrate on the fine-tuning.

And then sell the bugger! LOL

A BIT CLOSER

A bit closer to getting her back on the road today. I had to remove the top yoke because brake-fluid from the old master cylinder had leaked onto it and made a mess of the paint, so it had to be redone and then refitted. Also removed the exhaust system and fitted brand new sealing bushes in the expansion box. Finally, I refitted the headlamp and all that's left to do (another day) is to bleed the new master cylinder.

Here's some new pix...

NEW START

Optimism is a great thing. And so is sunshine. Both those things came together today and led me to open up the garage door for the first time in 5 months! The bike had reached the stage where it just refused to even start anymore. Very, very disheartening after all I've been through.

Without an engine that will even tickover, how the hell am I supposed to find the "5k" fault? Anyway, I removed the carbs YET AGAIN and checked everything over. Nothing was out of place, so I refitted them, checked the valve clearances YET AGAIN, checked the plugs and finally fitted the fuel tank (which was brimming with fuel). I had also removed the headlight to check all those "crammed in" connections - and they all looked fine. While it was accessible, I temporarily switched over from the new 3rd-party ignition switch to the old original one too. I took readings with a multimeter and found absolutely no difference between the two switches, so I replugged the new switch back in.

Battery-Booster connected, I pushed the starter button and after a little resisting, she gave in and fired into life! Bit of spluttering and farting, but after a careful tweak of the choke and throttle, I managed to get her ticking over calmly and even revving throughout the rev-range once warm.

So, so far so good. She now starts up first time every time but I have no idea if the "5k" problem still exists because you can only tell when the bike is under load. I won't be in a position to ride her until I've re-prepared her for an MOT.

Got a few little jobs to sort out before that though.

Letter From Australia!

Maddog, my name is Beau and I am a 25 year old from Australia. Because of this blog I now own a CB250N Superdream that was running perfectly until three weeks ago. It now has a crack around the sump plug in the crank plate and also a tiny rust leak in the fuel tank. Do you know anywhere that I can buy both of these parts new or used? 

Also, I started reading your blog last night and was up till 3.30am doing so this morning it has now made me keen to refurb my whole bike! What you have done inspiers me to go for it. Please continue with your blog and bike, as it is the most interesting and exciting read I have ever had.

Many thanks for the time to say my words
Cheers mate, Beau.

LETTER FROM VENEZUALA!

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

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

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

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!

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!

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?

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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.....

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