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By Bill Gallagher
 Hi, My name is Bill Gallagher, and I am a new member of the club, you may not even have my check
that i sent the other day. I just got a beat up 1975 CB360, and this will be my winter
[or longer] project. I have NEVER
done anything like this, although I will be getting help at a small
engine repair course and a separate auto body repair course at the local
vocational high school.
I am not the least bit talented along this
line and part of the reason I got the bike was to fiddle around and
learn how some of this works. I have a '86 shadow but i am reluctant to
work on that because i might screw something up.
I am writing to you because you might consider posting this and even hear about my saga of
working on this project as it goes along. I got the bike
for $100 and the seller said "all it needs is a battery and some points.
Is that the usual cry??? it seemed to roll ok when i first saw it
but when i picked it up at night the front wheel was locked and later
[after lifting it on to the trailer] i found that the brake was seized
on the disc.
So far it has been an exercise in getting things off. The
crankcase / oil pan drain plug is stripped , the master cylinder cap
needed to be backed off with quick grip mini bar clamp, I had to ask
someone how to get the seat up, and how to remove the gas tank! Easy if
you know how, a mystery if you don't know. I also just learned there is a
long bolt thru both air filters.
Just got some nice literature from "merlin books" and "motorcycle memories"
and these have been of great
help. If you want to hear more let me know. You might entitle this
"A Novice's approach to restoration or salvage". I have already got
some good tips from what you have posted on the home page. Looking
forward to being in the club! Bill Gallagher
Click here to e-mail Bill Gallagher!
And Bill's Adventure Continues....
Part II - New Exhaust Chrome in a Rattle Can!
Peel, Smell, or Both?
Hi, I am reluctant to write any more because I now know more about the vjmc and boy
will I ever sound like a newbie...perhaps what I will write will serve as some kind of comic
relief and it will be a bit of nostalgic stuff for the folks who have done all these stupid
things in the past...
Well the project is progressing(??) very slowly ...I have received many
comments and helpful hints...perhaps the most useful is that I now realize that I am not
"restoring" the CB360 but I am really doing a "fixerupper"..This realization takes some
of the intense pressure off my mind and I sleep better and am now content to work for a
decent runner and not perfection.
Out of frustration with not getting alot of things off,
[the points are still on and the phillip head screws are a mess.....Haynes 'motorcycle
workshop practice manual 'pg 21 " these crosshead screws are installed during assembly
with air tools and are next to impossible to remove later on without ruining the heads"].. I
decide to DO SOMETHING to "fix" something. The left exhaust, which you
can see in the photo above, was ground down to remove the rust ..god knows what the inside
looks like. Well I decided to prime it and paint it with chrome paint.....it looks great!!!
I have received two opinions on the long term outlook for this so-called paint job..one guy
says it will flake off once it gets hot and another guy says that will not happen but it will
smell... In the near future I will continue cleaning up the tank and the residual sludge in the
fuel system and i will try to figure out some of the inactive [dead] electrical wiring..The
vjmc digest has certainly been a source of lots of information, needless to say.......
I have
my little ammeter...and I have a can of yamaha carb cleaner [both of these items have been
discussed in recent digests.]..Actually the digest sort of intimidated me since I now know
that what i write will be read by many, many sharp guys, but then again, these guys who
write in the digest, by in large, are humorous and understanding, so that is a blessing ..
I
want to thank all the guys who have already written to me with encouraging comments...I
tried to get the oil filter off but that needs more work too..I replaced the crankcase cover
and thought i could get by with the old gasket.....well now it leaks, but only a little bit
...Oh and after i did that "job", I placed my gem back on the side stand and walked away
and IT FELL OVER..I am old and hardened so any flames generated by this piece will be
ignored..
Looks like Bill's on the right track, but he's got a long way to go... Click here to e-mail Bill Gallagher and offer your suggestions / support.
Part III - The carbs come off for cleaning
She's gonna run soon!
First of all I want to thanks all the guys who have taken pity on me and who have sent
along good advice and great words of encouragement. Bill Seymore told me to use a #2
phillips head screw drive for those pesky screws..then tap it in ,turn abit ,tap it in ,turn abit
and then they come out without resorting to an impact driver. Certainly worked for me!!!
I have discovered the wonders and joys of air powered tools in my autobody course, and
the small sandblaster is hardly ever out of my hand. A futile attempt to get the beast
started last week was a failure, so I did the obvious and got the carbs off and will clean
them ..They were messy yet not worn.
As I have mentioned I go to another class i.e. small
engine repair and the teacher / guru there is a huge help. He was explaining something
about the carb and I understood part of it but I feel that I will never really understand
anything beyond the basics of carb function. I put some points in but will will probably go
with electronic ignition if it is a"runner". The inside of the fuel tank looks ok . I was
impressed by the thread on the e-mail list that spoke to all the chemicals one can pour into tanks to get rid of
[?] or control rust in the tank.
So the work is progressing slowly.......Musings...someone
prefaced a question in the e-mail list with the remark.." I hope this is not a stupid
question"...and then I think the question was about "matching numbers". Hey that was a
question I had, since matching number seems to be a big thing for the folks who lust
after British bikes. I guess what I am trying to say is that there are no stupid
questions....However on the other hand I will be forever asking the same [and thus stupid
questions ] about carb function.
Will the CB360 run this spring?... Click here to e-mail Bill Gallagher with your support.
Part IV - Bill Buys ANOTHER CB360!
He's past the Point of No Return!
An Obsession...
What is happening to me?? I now can string a bunch of bike abbreviations after my
name. I just bought another bike, an alleged CB360, but it's really a mixture of a CB360 and
something else.
Anyway, it is a runner, and it came with a trash barrel full of parts [most
look like CB360 stuff]. The big selling points, in addition to the selling price of $200,
were the barrel of parts, four wheels with tires and parts of the front suspension....and a
really cool skull decal on the fuel tank.
The skull is tastefully done and the flames shooting
out the back of the skull add a certain charm. The barrel of parts is a real
treasure chest ...two carbs, lots of lights, a wiring harness, crankcase cover, clutch plates
and many other gems. These may become a source of income in my old age...
My original CB360 is coming along slowly.
I am afraid I have developed some odd obsession with all
these bikes. I have a feeling it is a common affliction in VJMC.
Bill Gallagher '86 Honda
Shadow, '76 CB360. '74 ?CB360, and miscellaneous parts, Yamaha 4hp outboards [2],
Do you have advice for Bill to help him deal with his affliction?... Click here to e-mail Bill Gallagher.
Part V - Running on One Cylinder and Low Compression. - Time to Open Her Up!
The first bike I bought is lingering in the garage, and the second one which was sort of a
runner has occupied my time. Both are CB360.
Alot of time was spent trying to time the thing.
It was discovered after much investigation, trail & error, and cursing that the wire
to the right cylinder point was shorting to the plate and thus the whole electrical system
would short out....i.e. I
pressed the starter button and click and nothing happened and the lights went out. Things
cleared up with fixing that wire.
The wire to the left cylinder point, on the other hand, was
just shorting out enough so that the left cylinder would not fire.
The bike had been going on only one cylinder but it seemed ok to me,
maybe a little sluggish but what do I know?. I never
noted that the left pipe never got hot after my quick spins around the block.
Well, we
finally got that figured out and routed the wire so it did not touch the cover. It was then
time to test the compression. The right side was ok [?a little low], but the left was very
low. The small engine instructor, Jim, said he was amazed how bikes can start and even
run on such low compression. Anyway, we thought it was the valve and a brief spin [now
with both cylinders working] elicited some backfire . This suggested even more so a
problem with the left exhaust valve. To fix this, I'll have to take the engine out.
Well, I guess part of this process was to be a learning experience.
Jim saw that the right plug was
fouled and he had a little trick to clean off the carbon and this can be used on the road
to rejuvenate plugs. He mounted the plug in a vise and just cooked that baby with a
propane torch. The end result is a glowing tip, and a white, carbon-free ceramic piece
around the center electrode..hey it worked....Two caveats.. 1. Those babies are HOT for
a long time so let them cool. 2. The plating on the threads has been cooked off so apply
a drop of lubricant to the threads...
So now it appears I am looking at a top end overhaul....Bill
Gallagher
Do you have any thoughts about Bill's engine trouble?... Click here to e-mail Bill Gallagher.
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