polecat

can you tell me what is red rubber grease and what is the diference between this and copper grease ?

I have new seals on order as a matter of course so I am delighted now its out cos I can start cleaning it up

Thanks M8 but too late on the WD40 Update : You just reminded me I have one of those 12v tyre inflators and unbelivably it just poped out the piston Sorted thanks for the input

I could use brake fluid but I have not got any I do have a lot of new engine oil though and I thought that brake fluid was a kind of oil anyway but if not I will have to get some cheap brake fluid.

Is there any reason that I should not flush my master cylinder with engine oil, as in would it cause any damage? reason being I want to use engine oil to flush the cylinder out of the caliper using the master to obtain the preasure needed. Once done I would then flush it out with brake fluid before refitting the brake? If that makes sense..... question is would engine oil damage the master ? ps I do not have a vice or air compressor so this seemed logical to use the thing designed to push out the cylinder to remove it completly

Started the strip down today and was totaly amazed how easy the exhaust bolts came undone considering how rusty it is (thanks WD 40) Seems if I want to go back to original twin exhaust I will have to find a left hand mounting bracket as it must have got lost when it was converted 2 to 1 . Did some cleaning up on the right hand side now I can get the bike outside in the sunshine The Fuel tank is really clean underneath and no rust or dents anywhere on it

No I may skip getting it Mot'ed and just get on with it Still working on the Brake(what a lot of bits ) and need to get the Piston out which is stuck (and get some parts for it ) Really Pleased today as I rode the bike for the first time (up My Private lane of course ) and the clutch and gears were all fine and that is a big worry out the way

Ill put a couple in my restoration thread in old bikes and bikers tonight

Also great for electrics and plastics I spray it everywhere and wipe it around with a cloth and it keeps my bike sparkly all through the winter

Thanks for the replies I thought stripping it was the right thing to but needed the green light from TMBF One item is now currently about 20 pieces on my bench

The CB 250 T brake caliper on my 1978 bike is a little tired and on closer inspection I have noticed one of the pin boots is broken and the retaining clip seems to be missing. The whole unit appears to be suffering from corrosion inside where the little observation window broke some years ago. It is working but slightly concerned about it sticking sometimes Should I try and free it up and get it back on without dismantling it or should I strip it down,clean it all up and try and get the new parts from god knows where ??? (david silver ect only have seals and piston) or should I try and buy another caliper of maby a superdream and hope it fits Any advice welcome ....AKA what would you do ?

Mods refer to performance inhancments and handling ect not asthetics but if you told your insurance company it was black then maby should tell them its now yellow Painting would depend what on what you are painting as to how you prepare it Ie a good acrylic primer on plastics and metal but self etch primer on alloys ect. You would still benifit from using the good old Red Oxide primer on bare metals IMO but respray for tanks ect if it is in good order then Just key it with 120 grit and a coat of high build acrylic then Flat top coat followed by high gloss clear coat. For the Frame I would use an enamel paint rather than acrylic. There are lots of good guides on UTUBE if your not sure

I thought my cb250 engine was mashed as it was only running on one cylinder but it was incorrect gap that caused the problem ! sometimes it is simple things (and when it was running before it had same symptoms as OP's bike Btw)

Thanks for the Advice Good news Yesterday .... I decided to sort it out and checked the plug had a spark (which it did ) but funny enough I still did not have a spanner but mannaged to undo the plug with my fingers ! (maby last owner did not have a spanner too ) I then adjusted the gap to 0.7 not 0.3 as it was and then refited the plug with a 3/4 " ring spanner after cleaning it . then switched on and it ROARED into life ! I reved it to 5000rpm then let go and it ticked over at about 900rpm and was running like a swiss watch Such a relief to know the engine is working well without smoke or weird noises coming from it ! " ITS ALIVE " I am now thinking if I can unseize the front brake I may feel brave enough to try getting it to an MOT station Funny how the simplest little things can look so serious though !

Just replaced the battery and realised the terminals were marked green or black ! looked in the Haynes and it said "failure to connect battery terminals in the correct polarity can destroy your electrical system " Great help So it was the old "green wire or black wire" in those old Bomb disposal movies I figured the terminals were set to fit on the battery and took a chance ....... switched on the ignition and ...phew light on dash lit up I gingerly pushed the starter button and it turned over (big relief, so the starter Does work ) Bike did not fire up so I remembered I had drained the float bowls (maby this bike has a primer setting on the cock) I put the fuel tap to the full up position and pressed the start button ...... At first it spluttered into life then Died, I tried again and this time it ran and even ticked over but did not sound great. I had a feeling it was running on one cylinder so touched the left hand exhaust near the engine outlet and it was warm..I touched the right one and Burned my finger ! MMmmmmm Guess it is not working on the left one then ! A bit more reading told me I needed to check the plugs to see if it was sparking on the left side but my sparky spanner did not fit the plug as they seem fatter than my XJ600 so I have had to leave it like that for now

As some of you may be aware I have recently purchased an Ebay special "Needs TLC" motorcycle sight unseen (always going to be interesting ) I paid £225 and £140 delivery to my house, so if it was a real dog I have not lost to much money. My knowledge of motorcycle mechanics you could write on the back of a postage stamp but I do have qualifications as a panel beater/spray painter (hopefully come in handy later on) When the bike arrived I went through a detailed examination and came to the conclusion that It was going to be a good bike to restore as it was complete and not too messed about yet very badly neglected over the 33 years of its life. I was confident the engine would be fine as it had only done 24000 miles (nothing for a Honda) and in the last 10 years had only done 500 miles ! The engine will fire but die soon after running for a few seconds,Inside of the tank full of residue but not rusty. Starter motor worked then stopped after a few turns which I read is most likely flat battery (got it on charge) and the final problem is seized front brake (going to have to learn to strip and fix) The reason for this thread is just a basic journal for anyone interested to follow the progress and maby encourage (or put off) doing a simalar project yourself I am confident I can bring this bike to near new condition and will restore it a little bit each day but without falling into the trap of feeling any pressure to rush it. Today I just spent Polishing up the engine (silver foil and autosol really DOES work !!) Battery is on charge so I can test the starter motor tomorrow and if that works I will start to strip the Carbs !! (expect many HELP MY CARBS ARE IN BITS threads soon ) Just a few shots of the bike when it arrived yesterday and today when i started pulling bits off :

How much does this cost compared to the F1 ? is it as hard to get tickets ? I would quiet fancy a trip to silverstone but car racing is rather boring to me

Good for you ! enjoy

Thanks for the Advice ! I followed this and several shoppers outside wh smiths called the police on me

Fuel tap is just held on by one screw and can be picked up from hebay as for choke I had a simalar problem just before the cable snapped ! Easy job to replace the choke cable ( 5 mins) should cure the problem or get a replacemnet houseing on the handle bars if not

I would definatly get Michelin PILOT POWER SPORT a little more money but excellent tyres especially in the Wet (England)

Exactly what I was thinking ..there is gonna be at least one chance in a month to give her a blast I am pretty sure and this is how I plan to get through the winter.

Well done m8

I keep mine in the bank

Now Thats a tyre !