The curse of the CB650 C

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tidd650
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The curse of the CB650 C

Postby tidd650 » Sat May 22, 2010 1:56 pm

These things just happen and I am used to it, so this retelling is more for your entertainment than pity.

Last July I about a 1980 CB650 C, it sorta ran. The previous owner said there was an issue with charging. Since I have more of an electrical background than a mechanical I thought this might be the right bike for me to start on.

I had lots of fun replacing the electrical components and learning about how the charging system worked. It wasn't hard as most of you know. Last year I was able to get about 100 miles on the bike. This part of the story is outlined on my wiki or blog or something. I will attempt to find it and link it here when I get a chance.

In my short riding time I found that I had a fuel delivery problem. So over the winter I rebuilt the carbs. Of course, nothing would be complete without another issue. I had a garage break in, where somebody stole a bin full of tools and motorcycle parts. Guess what? Motorcycle parts aren't covered under your home owner's insurance. Then of course, I lost my job in January.

May 3rd I took a job in Durham, North Carolina so I gladly moved from Michigan. This weekend I had some time to work on the bike, the carbs were pissing gas from the overflow. So I was busy attempting to put an end to that. I thought I had everything figured out, so I went to start the bike. I had a bit of trouble, had to jump it with the car. That's when hell unleashed a little more on me today. The bike caught fire, melted damn near anything made of plastic or rubber above the gas tank. The tank imploded, and my brightly polished carbs are now blackened. Luckily a neighbor had a fire extinguisher. The fire department showed up later and checked out everything, turned off the sprinklers and such. Needless to say, I won't be riding anytime soon.

I do have a second CB650 C in Michigan, but I think the engine has issues. I am debating trying to get one good bike from the two, but at the moment I really need a local mentor and a beer. Is anybody in the Raleigh/Durham area?

If anybody needs parts, I might have extras for you. Just make a wishlist and I will see what I can do.

cb650
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Re: The curse of the CB650 C

Postby cb650 » Sat May 22, 2010 6:46 pm

That suck royaly man. If I was close I'd help. Sometimes we just have to keep going forward and laugh at shit that happens. With a beer of course.
Did you clean the tank out?!?!?!?!

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Volker_P
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Re: The curse of the CB650 C

Postby Volker_P » Sun May 23, 2010 6:15 am

Be sure that's not the kind of entertainment we look for. At least the exploding tank did not harm you.
The further proceeding depends on the status of the second bike. If it is fine except the engine, one could swap engines, otherwise -as you don't fear electric stuff- it might be better to swap the fork with all stuff on it and the wiring harness backbone to the burned bike. What do you think is about the other engine?
I would not sell any part until I have a running bike together.
Residuals from some fire extinguishers can be quite agressive. Clean especially alumina parts with a high pressure cleaner as soon as possible. Then leave one or two days in the sun until everything is really dry and spray with oil. Leave at least some days like that in case you should like to clean off the oil again. I would not risk that it looks really awful after some months - when it is too late to fight that stuff.
Cosky's great (free) online manual: http://cosky0.tripod.com

forum links to common technical issues

If you really like this site and you would not like to see it vanish soon, have a look there: Urgent: Future of HondaCB650.com Forum

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Re: The curse of the CB650 C

Postby Aatrain » Mon May 24, 2010 6:11 pm

I feel for you, man! But thanks for posting that; it helps put my charging issues back in perspective. Hang in there


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