Hey guys! I'm new here and to the motor cycle scene. I drove a 63' Vespa GL for a while and decided to upgrade a bit...so I bought Anyways. A few questions... Does anyone know where I can get some saddle bags for it? Leather is fine, canvas would be nice. Also, can someone point me where to buy some pipes such as these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CB36...0099182QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories I'm not buying those specifically because I don't need to be spending the money right this second. Thanks! I'll probably have more questions down the line!
what's wrong with the stock pipes? are they rusted out? really, they're the best you can get for the bike and they're worth a fortune because everyone that got a bike with non-stock mufflers(like me) wants the stockers. For saddlebags, Willie & Max can be had for cheap(mine were $15 and looked brand new). They're naugahide(sp?), fake leather, but they look the part. The biggest 'known problem' with that bike is the cam chain tensioner. The rubber wheels get chewed up pretty bad and your ignition and valve timing gets all wonky. There's a modern fix that you can get from Bore Tech that pretty much makes it bullet proof(from what I've heard) but it's $130 and you have to pull the top end, which means pulling the engine, to put it in. Don't freak out about it, but if you ever start having weird running problems and the usual suspects turn up innocent it's something to keep in mind. Nice bike man, welcome to the forum! my Dad's 350 that we're rebuilding:
Why thank you. It only have 6060 miles on it when i bought it a couple weeks back. It's fast as all get out. Those are 32mm carbs on it. I'm still debating on throwing on the drag bars and smaller tail light i have. I also want smaller turn signals.
hey Blaine? justathought from an old fart... Why don't you make sure it is safe, has good tires and brakes, etc... Ride it for a season, and THEN decide what mods you want to make. Lovely bike, but don't put money into it, when you may soon want something different. As it now stands, you won't lose $. You can cobble saddles bags of damned near any sort, and take them off as you chose. Have fun, be safe, take the MSF course if you can--it saves 10% off your insurance.
the rage about changing out exhaust pipes as soon as you get the bike, or car, is largely a result of the EPA. Modern stuff is restrictive to meet emissions--defeating those restrictions gets you cheap performance. Old bikes generally aren't like that. Those Honda engineers made those pipes for a reason. Without serious engine modifications to suit it, a different pipe will probably reduce performance. Downturned exhaust pipes are a cruiser thing, wouldn't look right on the Honda anyways. Kinda like putting 20" chrome rims on a WWII Jeep.
Without encoureging someone to get louder pipes I got to say it's the older bikes the see a bigger boost from a new pipe Not the newer ones. These bikes have done a great job of finding a balance between sound and performance. What suffers with new bikes and pipes is that the pipes weigh a lot.
I would ride for awhile on it before you make any changes. Heck you might hate the ride and want to get rid of it in a month. M
So there is a bit of maintenance I need to do on this bike. First, the front fork dampeners definately need a reseal and maybe new springs. Anyone know a good location to pick up those seals? I'll be surfing ebay a bit. Also I'm having a looot of electrical problems. No low beam and no rear tail light. The tail light will only come on if I turn the electrical system to off on the right handle bar switch. Also the blinkers are on the fritz. The left one will blink, the right will stay solid...but I'm pretty sure that's a terribly crusted over relay. Will a standard blinker relay from an auto parts store work in replacement or will I need a specially ordered one?
Here is a link to the fork seals you need, http://www.motorcyclesolutionsllc.com/servlet/the-99/Honda-XL200R-Rebel-250/Detail. And here is a CB360 wiring diagram. You certainly would do well to clean up the connections, but if there is some wire hacking this might help. Good Luck. It looks like a nice bike
The battery is brand new. Thank you very much for the link and diagram. I do have the original manual with the diagram but its all black and white so this helps a lot!
Just a quick comment. That bike looks reasonably stock. You seriously degrade the value when you start swapping out things like pipes, lights, etc. on an older stock bike like this. Go ahead if you like, but I'd save the old parts and not do anything that was not reversable. - Mark
Things I'm doing are just direct swaps outs that require no modification that compromise the original stock bike. All parts are being saved and stored safely. I bought this bikes with the intentions of giving it a cafe look, so that's what I'm going for w/o heavy modifications. It's mainly cosmetic.
I put the drag bars on today and rewrapped all the wiring with a nice flexable shrink tubing. The old wrapping was so old it would crack and crumble with any movement. I must say that doing any electrical work in those tiny little switch boxes is a pain in the ass. I have to go in and resolder the electric start button tonight before it will start. I think before the weeks out, I'll have most of the electrical system freshened up with new bullet connectors and wrapping. Wish i had a voltmeter to test everything to see where my tail light problem is.
you may not need a volt meter, you can do most circuit tests with a basic lamp and two lengths of wire, one with a crocodile clip on, you can make this yourself for next to nothing.
Ah you sir are clever. I forgot this method haha. I should just order a new wiring harnass from ebay to make sure all the electronics are in tip top shape, they arn't too expensive.
Here's the drag bars after a couple days work of redoing all the wiring on the handle bars (it was pretty dated). The mirrors are not stock, came with the bike...they are the next thing to go. They'll be replaced with either the stock metal roundies or continuing with the cafe theme, I'll get some bar end drop down mirrors.
Seeing that those arn't the stocks, I may be getting rid of them. I'm keeping all stock original parts incase I may want to convert back or something.