Tuesday 30 November 2010

The Good, The Bad and the downright Ugly


The Good
Well here's a couple of photos of bits I've started work on, the headlamp/speedo case which is now looking pretty good in primer, the handlebar clamps and left & right switches (main/dip and indicators).  The switches were fun, seized and a bit rusty with the screws to unmount the internal components also not yielding to a screwdriver. Liberal amounts of WD40, patience and a new ball bearing means they now function perfectly again. 



The Bad
And here's a couple of wheels to rebuild, they are rather rusty but the hubs look fine and polish up well.  If anyone out there knows if standard C90 wheels would fit, please let me know.



and The Ugly
mmm this one looks more difficult, I don't think a bit of sticky plastic and a washing up bottle will fix it.  Watch out for later blogs in which I may figure something out!  It is the seat off my CD90Z in case you're not sure!



Sunday 28 November 2010

CD90Z fuel tank woes.

Ok, what's the picture on the left of, a colander a tea strainer? No it's a CD90Z petrol tank.  Perforated across the top and as rusty as a rusty thing inside.  Probably scrap really but seem to be pretty rare and difficult to find a replacement so it may have to be a repair.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog I'm thinking of having a go at electrolysis to remove the rust - (not only an unwanted hair removal method).  If successful I'm hoping it will still be in a condition to repair with a POR-15 Fuel Tank Repair Kit.  There seem to be three stages to this kit.  First a chemical to remove fuel gum, sludge and varnish and then another to treat the rust.  Finally a tank sealer which makes what appears to be a tank within the tank. Well fine in theory but how well it works I hope to find out later.  This should hopefully make the interior of the tank impervious to fuel and oxygen.  Before I start fixing the inside I'll need to fill the holes from the outside and try the electrolysis.  See how these experiments work in a later blog.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Dismantling, stripping and sanding

Dismantling the bike was next.  This went fairly easily with liberal amounts of WD40 and the occasional use of a blowtorch.  I was reacquainted with problems my brother had had over 30 years ago; the bar through the stand was totally seized and needed heat and a visit from my mallet to persuade it to release itself from the position it had occupied for the last ... years.  I can remember my brother fighting with it.  I also noticed that the clutch cable anchor point on the engine casting was broken and was clinging on with the aid of a jubilee clip - another bit that took me back as I can remember this being a short term measure to keep the bike on the road - 30 years ago!  I have now stripped the frame, swinging arm, fuel tank and fork shrouds.  I have repaired the headlight with fibre glass and undercoated it.  I managed to find a new 6v battery at a car boot sale for a fiver which will hopefully give me sufficient power once it is filled with acid.  I stripped the paint with regular paint stripper and an abrasive wheel from Halfords.

So what's the damage?

Time has taken its toll on the CD90Z.  The petrol tank is rusted quite badly inside, with the odd perforated holes coming though on the outside (I will probably be having a go at using electrolysis to reduce the rust problem - more in a later blog). The chrome panels have also rusted through the chrome.  The seat is totally gone, cover useless and base very badly rusted - cough too much and bits just fall off.  On the rear suspension units the chrome has rusted.  The wheels are in poor condition; spokes and rims are badly rusted and the tyres after years of standing are split and useless.  The mudguards are rusted but should be recoverable - a bit of welding will be needed on the rear guard.  The handlebars have some rust but should clean up reasonably well but the indicator and headlight handlebar controls are rusted solid.  Forks are reasonable condition but the chrome is rusted and a mudguard screw is sheared off.  The chrome on all the indicators is pitted.  The headlamp has a bit broken off and the rim is rusted.  The keys are lost and the ignition switch rusted internally.  Well that's for starters anyway, I may find more as I go along - why am I attempting this?  The good news is that twisting the two ignition wires together with a 6 volt transformer supplying power produced a spark.   I cleaned the carburettor jets, filled the float with clean fuel and kicked over the engine and it actually spluttered into life - noisy though as the exhaust is non existent as the rust bug has eaten the silencer.  

The story begins - a very sad Honda CD90Z




This is a blog about a Honda CD90Z which my brother bought about 35 years ago. It used to be in great condition but after being sat outside a shed for the most of it's life the poor bike was rather sad and rusty. I was given the Honda about ten years ago and it has lain around for about 10 years in my garage, which at least kept the weather off it. So this is the story of what happens next, I will attempt to restore it as it is part of my youth - the only motorbike left of many that were around in my teens!  As you can see the CD90Z has some parts removed but you can see the poor condition in the photo - in real life it's worse!  In my next blog I'll give details on the condition of the parts.  In subsequent blogs I hope to say what worked and what didn't and tell of the good products and methods I may discover on rebuilding this bike.