Hello again adrenalin... The advancer is the cam that opens the points. If you take the point cover off and grab the points cam between your thumb and first finger you should be able to turn it about 15 degrees ( I don't remember exactly what the advance is) and when you release it it should return under spring pressure to it's original position. Also in it's original position it shouldn't be loose (maybe a degree or so only). You have to check this with the engine off because with your reving problem a timing light would show full advance as soon as the engine revs and that is what it's supposed to do anyway. I should add that if you could somehow manually advance the timing at idle the rpm would go up just because of the advance and that's why I suspect the springs on the advancer are stretched. Did I mention the advancer is a centripital device with springs and weights and the weights move out with increasing rpm and that action turns the cam lobe more advanced. I always figured that the reason the springs stretched was because when changing points some inquireing mind would take the thing apart and that's when they would stretch. By the way adrenlin there may be another answer to your problem not related to this but it's easy to check and it can cause eratic rpm's. I think you should double check your carb slides also. If you pull up on the throttle cable on one carb at a time and release it it should make a nice click when you let go of the cable jacket. Come to think of it check the carb synchronization. Pull the air cleaners on both carbs, look in the throats from the back and make sure they open at the same time, the same amount and close together. Did you check compression on both cyclinders? Oh OH OH... Last resort pull both mufflers off and see if things improve. When checking compression make sure choke is open and hold throttle full open (should be3 about 175# per cylinder. Test it cold and then test it again hot. If compression goes down check tappets, especially intake tappet. It's been a long long time and my 160 was bought as a basket case so I can't check any of these things I am telling you so if someone has better recommendations, specs etc. please chime in ,,I won't be offended.. Dave
Dave, Thank you for you time. You have given me lots to check. I thank you so much for your input. Thanks again, Mike
Your welcome Mike. I love troubleshooting. In my life before Honda shop I was an electronics technician (911 two-way fm radio stuff). Looking at my last post it was all over thee place. I also don't know your level of experience so I might have over explained the advancer or maybe not enough? Anyway try some of that and if it doesn't find the problem let me know and I'll do a better job. Dave
I love the old hondas, here's my 305 scrambler. My dad bought it brand new in 67. Before After so fun to ride
I have been an auto mechanic most of my life. Never worked on motorcycles but I am familiar with centrifugal advance. I could decipher your post just fine. I am going to strip the down to the frame either this weekend or next. Thanks for the pics Big-B Nice old bikes.
You did a great job on that 305 Scrambler! Some day I ever sell some bikes I would love to have both the 305 Scrambler and the Super Hawk.
I made some more progress on the bike tonight. My new gaskets and seals arrived today: While the engine ran great last spring when I tested it, I decided to dismatle it, and replace all the gaskets. That should save some leaking, and make working on the bike a bit more pleasant. Besides, it's bitter cold outside, I won't realistically be able to ride until spring anyway, and I can do the engine work inside, where it's warm! I brought the engine inside tonight. I started out by pulling off the shifter and the kickstart lever. I wanted to see some quick progress, as that was a good motivator for me last week. So I took the kickstart lever and new rubber down to the kitchen, and threw on a pot of water to boil. I pulled the boiling water off the stove, and tossed in the new rubber sleeve. I cut the old one off, then threw the lever into the hot water as well. I just left it in long enough to get it warm. I knew from experience that you want the rubber very hot, but the metal can be difficult to handle if it's too hot. I pulled the warm lever out of the water, and rubbed it with dish soap, then forced the rubber sleeve over the knob, and slid it into place. The result looks good, and reminds me how this whole engine will look after some elbow grease. The starter did not work last spring, and I never bothered to investigate much, as it started easily with the kickstarter. I decided to tackle the starter problem first, so off it came. It was immediately apparent why the starter did not work: it is (literally) gutless. The guts of the starter motor have been removed. Now I'm debating whether to bother replacing it, or simply make up a blanking plate, and then use the kicker. Since I'm hoping my wife will ride this bike with me, I will probably find another starter motor. Here's where the blanking plate would live, if I decide to ditch the starter:
oser Imagining the conversation the previous 'mechanic' had with himself when deciding how to 'fix' the starter has me in stitches
Here's a couple pictures of the 1965 CB160 I found at an auction. It had been stored properly so all I did was put gas in and add a new battery to ride. I use him to get the mail once in while. My first bike was a 1969 CB160 that I traveled the state of Montana on while in high school until I traded it for a 1972 CL350. <table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From 1965 Honda 160</td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From 1965 Honda 160</td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From 1965 Honda 160</td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From 1965 Honda 160</td></tr></tbody></table>
Nice bike, Montanaboy! I'll bet those pics are not recent. I had dinner with some friends who live near Lincoln last night, and they were not excited about going home to three feet of snow! I have the CB160 engine stripped down right now, and have most of it cleaned up. I plan to shoot some photos as I reassemble it. Anybody have any special photo requests, while I have it apart? (I have not split the cases, so I can't photograph the innards. I do have the head, barrels and pistons out, though., and both the clutch and stator sidecovers off.)
What a nice bike that looks like...!! My rusty rider needs everything and to make it look like yours I'd have to add $4000.00 to my investment to bring the total to hmmm let's see here.. Uh .. Oh yeah $4150.00. I found one of my old Kowa metal "dealer" boxes of special tools embossed with "HONDA" and "CB125-160" . Unfortunatly it's empty so I have to find the innards but that will be a nice display along with my rusty bike. As soon as I get some additional tools besides the partial bearing puller and partial valve spring compressor I'll try to post pictures of a 1960's "dealer initial" cb125/160 tool set. I won some piston ring compressors this morning on ebay for the "box" from a dealer back east. I don't remember ever using these when I was a mechanic nor do I remember any of my mechanics ever using them. Screwdrivers and fingers seemed to work fine. Most of the special tools were never used but we had to buy the boxes anyway. A NOS cheng shin 2.50 x 18 (Tiawanese for "don't ride fast") 2 ply showed up today to replace the very out of place 300/18 knobby on the front wheel. Maybe get it mounted this week. Dave
I'd love to see this bike going again! I just re-read this whole thread and would love to see some pictures of the engine when you get it all taken apart...especially the piston and rings.
Pics coming soon, Olas! I got a bit sidetracked when I pulled the engine apart, and discovered a big freaking pit in the side of one cylinder wall. Odd, since the bike ran pretty well before I pulled it apart. I really just wanted to replace the seals and gaskets, in order to stop the oil seeps all over the engine. I didn't dare use the cylinder in that condition, as it would likely break a ring or two eventually. Better to fix it right while I have it all apart. I took the cylinder block to a machine shop to find out how deep they would have to hone the cylinder walls to get the big pit out. They measured the depth of the pit and determined that it would take the bore farther out than the 1mm oversize pistons I could get. I started looking for larger oversize pistons among the race parts suppliers. In the meantime, I found a cylinder block on ebay that was advertised as "good used" for a low enough price to justify the gamble. As a plus, it came with pistons and rings, also "good used", whatever that means. The used block arrived today, and it appears to be in fine shape. It's dirty, but shows very little internal wear. The pistons are far less worn than the old ones. I'll probably run a flex hone through and call it good, then put it back together with the standard pistons, and fresh standard size rings. So I'm back on track now. The used cylinder head is soaking in solvent overnight to get the crud off the outside. Then I start the re-assembly. Progress coming soon! While I waited for the machine shop, then for the ebay head, I've been turning wrenches on this old CB400 twin. I bought it a few weeks back, based on this photo and a few others like it. The seller told me that it had a seized wrist pin, and that one cylinder had scored the cylinder wall pretty badly. I arrived to look at the bike, and found the engine in boxes. I bought it (cheap) knowing that I had CB400 engine in my parts stash with a good bottom end, and a bad head. The head on this bike looked good, so I popped it onto my old engine, and lifted it into the bike. It runs like a champ now. Got license plates today. My plan is to sell the bike this summer, but I'll enjoy riding it through the spring. As an added bonus, it came with an Amco rack and a color-matched period top box.
I guess I better jump in. I just picked up this CL 160 in running condition for $600. I'm presently removing the rust from the tank with Evapo Rust. Other than that the bike runs great.
I'm jealous! I'm having some challenges with my CB175 project. I can't get the Pecock to stop leaking. Solution? I bought a new 22mm Bung and screw-on petcock to replace the honda one. Should be coming in the mail. I'll get to test my ghetto-fabulous MIG skills. Cost for the new petcock and bung? $30 from Dennis Kirk. Of course, this is after I had replaced all seals on the old one.
You have convinced me to look for a CB 160 - I dont care its condition. Im not half the mechanic as many of you guys, but I guess this is how you learn. I rebuilt an old 79 CT 70 last year (ill try to post some pics) - I never got it running perfectly, as it would idle fine, then bog down when I drove, I would have to reach down and half choke it to get it to run properly. I know its probably to carb, but I rebuild that and tried to set it back to factory settings. Its always bugged me and I think i need a new project bike to take my mind off my previous defeats