Dreaded Cam Chain Guide

Thinking out loud here is the marks in the cylinders at the lower end of the stroke .
Perhaps all the way down .. If so I would probably use them.

Was it one ring or one piston that got damaged ..
I would look into inspecting the pistons You have 4 -- One is scrap and 2 have rings sitting.
But there exists inspection routines and dimensions for the pistons and ring groves.

I would put the sticking ones in oil and tapping on them ( Rings ) ..now and then New rings is normal provided they ( pistons ) can be used
.
Not sure if std dimension ( pistons ) is available I had problems finding if I recall right.
 
Now is when the rings go in, right.......Damn I hope this thing runs.........
 

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Back together, head torqued, all seems to be good "EXCEPT", looking at the parts fiche for a 1979 there appears to be washer (#9299506100) under the nut on the spring advance side. Mine is missing, nut only, but it appears to be just a plain lock washer style, anything special here? I have checked the shaft pegs and they are inline, I also have one small shim apparently for under the advance arms, from what I have read on other threads they tend to disappear and are not the end of the world if they are not present. You watch all of the tear down video's, read all the threads, but these little details can really make you scratch your head.....
 
Yes, just a regular lock washer under that M6 nut, and the one on the other side as well. Yes, the thin shim washer goes under the advance weight/arm, and yes, it's common for them to get lost.
 
Thank you 5t, as always so much appreciated. I am going to adjust the the valves, set the points, and let it rest and season for a short time while I prep the frame getting it ready for the install. If it runs, I will report back, if it doesn't or grenades then I will quietly disappear into the background. Of course I will go over everything one more time, static timing, carbs have already been rebuilt, and I plan on a good crank over after filling with oil to make sure there is pressure by cracking a oil tube bolt before adding fire. The help on this site by 5T and rest of the gang is invaluable for those of us not blessed the in-depth mechanical ability you guys so freely and willingly dispense. Hopefully I will report back, again thank you one and all......
 
To little oil
Honed cylinder and bought a new stock size Piston New Rings


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gggGary said:
Flooded with gas?
Click to expand...

I don't believe so Did not do anything to Carbs before or after :Mostly had weak charging ( spark )
And rich mixture .. black plugs

The Fumble was that the oil level glass had a line on it inside ..A dirty sight glass.. After probably being parked longer times by previous owner.

I looked at the glass from the outside visual inspection instead of putting it on the central stand pulling out the dip stick.

Out on the road it stumbled and stalled .I believed a Misfiring which happens with old bikes weak charging.
Bike started ran with a knocking the piston wobbling back and forth in the bore

Pulling out the stick barely any oil in the engine and the line was still there inside the glass but virtually no oil.
Embarrassing to admit but that was a case of Operator Incompetence.. S**t Happens
 
bosco659 said:
Is this the source of choice for the front chain guides? Thinking I should get a couple of spares.
Click to expand...
Funny thing is, if you zoom in on that pic on Gary's website, the same exact numbers are stamped on that one as the ones stamped on Mikes XS Chineseium's.

Did he just plagiarize the picture? (Most likely, I hope)
 
I bought one from Mike’s a while back and the problem I found was in the casting. Cheaply done and IIRC I had to use a slightly longer bolt in the bottom hole because the threads were crap. They may have changed suppliers since then but IDK.
 
Vincenthdfan said:
Funny thing is, if you zoom in on that pic on Gary's website, the same exact numbers are stamped on that one as the ones stamped on Mikes XS Chineseium's.

Did he just plagiarize the picture? (Most likely, I hope)
Click to expand...


I wonder if he just used that picture for reference? Because it states new manufacturers? From what people say hoos front guides are more quality.
Does anyone have one from both supplier, or can speak on this?
 
joebgd said:
I wonder if he just used that picture for reference? Because it states new manufacturers? From what people say hoos front guides are more quality.
Does anyone have one from both supplier, or can speak on this?
Click to expand...
Do a search. It was covered extensively. @Jim covered it in his build thread, IIRC. Revival Parts front guides are considered unacceptable by at least some of us. Revival is MikesXS, Dime City, Z1, etc.
 
The problem with the MikesXS guides, at least for a while anyway, was the holes weren't drilled at the right angle. The rounded casting for the holes doesn't sit exactly perpendicular to the face of the guide, it's angled slightly. That means the hole should be drilled at that angle to follow the casting. The MikesXS guides weren't. The holes were drilled straight down into them. Here's some pics of a Hoos guide compared to a new original. You can see the holes are drilled correctly and follow the angle of the casting .....

FrontGuidesCompared2.jpg


FrontGuidesCompared6.jpg


FrontGuidesCompared7.jpg


Now, I have used the MikesXS guides in the past but that was probably like 10 years ago at least. They seemed fine back then and I never noticed the holes being drilled at the wrong angle. They mounted up fine and worked OK. It was only a couple years ago that their bad ones came along, bad production run maybe? I don't know if they've corrected the issue or not.
 
jetmechmarty said:
Do a search. It was covered extensively. @Jim covered it in his build thread, IIRC. Revival Parts front guides are considered unacceptable by at least some of us. Revival is MikesXS, Dime City, Z1, etc.
Click to expand...
It was RobinC that discovered it. The convo is here.
Mikes guides weren't just drilled wrong, they were cast wrong.


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Jim said:
It was RobinC that discovered it. The convo is here.
Mikes guides weren't just drilled wrong, they were cast wrong.


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Fwiw... me, Robin and I think several other contacted Mikes about this. Their response was they were OK with the guides and would continue to sell 'em as is.

In other words, we don't care... we're the only game in town, take 'em or leave 'em.
I chose to mod my own guide instead. Here.
 
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Jim said:
Fwiw... me, Robin and I think several other contacted Mikes about this. Their response was they were OK with the guides and would continue to sell 'em as is.

In other words, we don't care... we're the only game in town, take 'em or leave 'em.
I chose to mod my own guide instead. Here.
Click to expand...

See, thats what makes me want to just sell em all and quit.

A vendor puts this stuff on their website and sells absolute crap, no regards with where it came from or what quality it is. :mad:

Before you know it, your whole bike (or trash bin) is made up of Chinese sub-standard crap parts that just wont work or will fail almost instantly.

I bought one of those clutch actuation worms/cams from Mikes and as soon as I got it I knew it wouldn't work. It wouldn't clock anywhere near the original, had tons of built in slop in the design, etc, etc... I threw the whole $50 part in the trash, lesson learned.

On another note however, even though I've never been a huge Honda fan (just never bonded with their feel/designs like I have Yamahas over the years, despite owning several Hondas, always ended up selling them)...I did buy a couple Honda CB350's as of late, a 1970 and a 1973.

I bought them because I love the looks of them and the way the engines sound and rev out forever...they're really fun little rippers.

Anyway, these old Hondas have a pretty tremendous support network. The vendors actually use the Chineseium crap they're selling and if it doesn't pass muster, they stop selling it and go to a different supplier. Their parts they sell are on very nicely categorized websites, shipped very fast and relatively inexpensive all in all....especially when compared to our only game in town, Mikes.

My point? I dont know...just needed to vent I guess.

I do know however, that it can be done much better based on my experiences with these other vendors.
 

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