polecat

Reading lots about rust and cause of I discovered a few things some may already know All these expensive rust remedies and such are a waste of money when you can just buy a tub of Oxalic Acid for a few quid Check out these results on Chrome http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/ind ... ic=4004702 and compare the price against leading rust remedies : http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=Oxal ... m270.l1313 I have no 1st hand experience of this product and am not selling it But it sure looks like a cheap alternative to re-chromeing or buying rust removal products ?

Oh My God where did my bike go ! After spending £8 on a 27mm spanner I managed to get the forks off at last and one thing led to another and I ended up with a Big pile of bits where my Bike used to be !! Now the fun starts restoring all the parts and putting it back together again .....now where did I put that tube of "no more nails"..............

Yes | have a Haynes, but my bike is not as well behaved as the one that Haynes take apart I think ill buy New bearings to be safe, as Its all apart...It would be daft to put potential damaged parts back at this stage as it would make more work in the future perhaps

ok so these aren t "caged bearings" so I better go pick them up from all over the floor then What grease holds them in BTW is it special ?

I just took the front main assembly? from my bike and as I took the main assembly from the frame all the little ball bearings fell out of the middle bit (Excuse the lack of technical vocabulary) I think these are called the race bearings. Anyhow My question is are the little balls supposed to fall over the floor or were they meant to stay in the "cups" ? Reason for the question is if they are meant to be loose like that I will pick them all up from the floor and put them back in the cups or if as I suspect they fell out cos the bearings are broke I will order New ones . Thanks for any awnsers

If there is water in the fuel tank it must have got in through the cap so i would check the seal has not gone missing in the cap .

I should have said put www in front of the first dot but I thought it was obvious There are parts diagrams for the entire bike, its worth getting the link working It would have been obvious for a less frazzeled person Actually I did get the link working and realised it is a firm in holland and they seem to sell nearly every part for my bike including the obscure stuff so Thanks for the heads up

Cheers I have just bought a set as they look just what I may need for the next one that gets stuck (and there will be one )

Finally got the engine out today .....YAY What a lot of cables and wires ! not to mention half the bolts were seized and snapped in the mountings It makes you realise though......Thought for the day : When you buy one of these old bikes they may look pretty good on the surface but once you start stripping it down and looking close at it, it is amazing how much work is needed to make it decent again,So when buying a project bike, imagine that for every fault you see there are most likely 10 more you that you have no idea are even there

Cheers for your help megawatt ...The eagle has landed Engine came out this morning

Thank you .....I bought a file then flatterned 2 edges then found a really nifty molegrip that was flat nosed and managed to get the bloomin thing out !! The fileing as you suggest was the only thing that really worked as it was bolted into rubber before the engine and heat not really an option

The link did not work for me Well i did try to google it and I did various searches but its the rear of the engine that the mounts do not even get a mention in the Haynes. I found a long bolt Top rear of the engine and it looks like there are a couple below at the bottom of the engine to but its too mucky to see really If in doubt just undo everything huh ! Edit I see the bolt on the diagram now so its one top rear and one bottom rear I took out the top one and missed the lower one number 22 Haynes lied to me

Can any of you loverly people tell me where the engine is mounted on a Honda CB250 cos the Haynes is not helping I know there are 4 bolts on the front of the frame and then the 2 triangle brackets in the middle , but Is it held at the rear of the engine at all ?

Cheers m8 thats what i wanted to hear I don't fancy filling a bowl with petrol to clean it cos I will get bored and light a fag Ill get some brake cleaner when I strip it down cheers

I apreciate your input but I was wondering if I can put it in soapy water to clean the exterior then clean it with something like brake cleaner after i have got most of the muck off it ? or will the soapy water damage something ? PS I dont have brake cleaner but I have ACF50 or white spirit or petrol ?

I have managed to get the Carbs off my bike and would like to know in order to clean all the muck from them can I put then in a bowl of soapy water (washing up liqued) and wash them with a tooth brush or do they have to be cleaned in petrol or something >? Thanks for any awnsers

From what I understand this bike was only sold in the UK as a 250 and 400 and in the rest of the world it was only sold as a 400 and also they only had a one year production run (1978)before they turned it into the Superdream. It is a crossover bike between the old K series CB250 and the Superdream so apparently it was a way of trying out the reaction for the new fangled alloy wheels and a few other features before the launch of the Superdream. It is basicaly very simalar to the old K series apart from the forks and wheels and some other parts I have not yet discovered The Superdream is built on the same frame with a simalar engine (maby same ) but they totaly restyled it to make it look all modern .....New tank, side panels, seat,rear guards and lights,clocks ect and all this set off the new Cornstar wheels it looked like a completly New bike (which it wasn't) That is all I really know but I doubt there are only 17 left registered as they come up every now and then on ebay with V5's ? Show me some pics of yours please, I would love to see it !

I would have driven up to scotland for less than that Seriously though Teach yourself or get some classes !! What I know about mechanics you can fit on a postage stamp but since I bouught that CB250 I am learning new stuff everyday ! Utube how to do vids and THE MOTORBIKE FORUM are an amazing way to learn the basics like stripping bikes so my advice would be to you or anyone else ....If not buy a bike to fix up, at least buy an old caliper from ebay and restore it fully then sell it back after,cos what you learn doing it is priceless and if it all goes horribly wrong you have not lost your real brakes on your bestest bike ??

What do you mean by the bike has a tendency to *SHIVERS* tramline? Anyone know what this means? "tramlines on the road", the road damage or grooves and ruts left by HGVs/tractors etc which can take you off course a bit. Not nice, but a common problem with thin wheels. Do you think better tyres will solve this problem or atleast make the situation better? Ive noticed it too now you mention it. The stock tyres on the one I bought, 59 plate,WERE chinese tyres and they are a very Hard nylon type compound which I could not get on with at all ....The bike would twitch a lot on any shiney surface patch in the road and would follow the smallest ruts in the road . So although the tyres only had 1500 miles on them I changed for the Michelins And it was like a diferent bike when I picked it up ! I would say if you are a new rider or born again rider and will be using the bike to take your test then it is well worth the money getting sportys put on for the improved road holding and smoother ride you get in return. The tyres are the most important part of a bike IMO

I tried molegrips and they cant get hold of it . Problem is the inlet rubber prevents getting a grip and the bolt has a skirt washer atachment I did try lots of things without making it it much worse I will try the hammer and chisel idea as this worked with my oil filter when it was stuck but problem is this is a 8mm bolt and not much to it. once out it will Never BE A BOLT AGAIN !!! Thanks for the replys

Busy day on the bike today and as you start stripping an Ebay bike down you realise more what a mess bikes can be under the skin A few parcels arrived today like caliper seals, copper grease ect and My Star buy Engine brackets ! I had already noticed the lower bracket was only held on by one bolt and then on further inspection noticed one of the complete top brackets was missing ! so very hasty look on Ebay and I found a complete set from banzaibikes ! and they were very reasonable at £7.99 so I spent a few hours grinding off the rust with my dremel and they are now like shiny metal ! good thing really cos the ones on the bike are pretty badly corroded ! I bought all the paint for the frame for £35 which will be Red Oxide primer then high build undercoat and finished in would you belive "Simoniz Super tough chip resistant" gloss black Motorcycle Frame paint.which will do the job nicely. I need to get the engine out next and came stuck when a bolt seized on the carb inlet so waiting for advice in the pitstop section how to remove it I was really fortunate yesterday when I had an overwhelming urge to get the bike under cover and 2 minutes later the heavens opened and we had a monsoon ! Thats about it for today folks

Went to take my carbs off today and as per Haynes removes the bolts connecting the carb to the engine. bolt 1,2 and 3 no problem then when I got to the final bolt I found the head is pretty rounded and no spanner on my planet will fit it and get enough purchase (including sockets) Anyone know a practical solution to my problem I would be really grateful

I just bought some carlube copper grease and it says on the packet "helps prevent disc brake squeal " if that helps

Thats why I love this forum ........It stops me doing something Stupid

can you tell me what is red rubber grease and what is the diference between this and copper grease ? Red grease is specially designed to lubricate rubber without causing it to swell. Copper grease should never be used where it could contaminate seals as the metalic particles will cause excessive wear of the seals, it should only be used on the back of the pads, and then only sparingly. cool thanks I will get some on Hebay cos I wanna do it proper What do you use on the bolts and pins btw? copper,red or white heat grease ?