You are here:
- Home
- Shopping
- Motorcycles
- Motorcycle Repair
Motorcycle Repair/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| 2001 Honda Shadow Ace 750 | 2/7/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I have a 2001 Honda Shadow Ace 750. The battery keeps dying. I changed the battery to a new one ... A: Mr. Riley, You didn't mention the mileage on your bike and any past history of repairs/issues. The ... | ||
| Float levels | 2/6/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I have 1997 Honda vt1100c and I need to know how to set the float levels on the carbs? From where to ... A: Joe, from the looks of them at: ... | ||
| 1988 suzuki lt500r a.k.a. quadzilla | 2/6/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: I bought a lt 500 it started and ran good when I test drove it but when I got it home it won't start ... A: Chad,I had one of these beasts in my shop. They are notorious for having fuel/carb problems. Try a ... | ||
| 1979 Honda CB650 | 2/5/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I am restoring my fathers Honda CB650 and I am stuck. The honda will not run without the choke on. ... A: Mike, be sure that the petcock, fuel screen and fuel tank are all clean and can freely flow fuel to ... | ||
| Under engine mounting bolt design difference | 2/4/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I have a spare one that has no tapering of its midsection. The threads on the spare are in excellent ... A: Bob, Honda went to great lengths to keep things light, but strong, in the beginning of production of ... | ||
| points | 2/3/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: what is the point setting on a 1971 honda cl 100 A: Frank, Honda specifies a point gap of .012 to .016" Turn the motor over until you see the points ... | ||
| 07 GSX-X 750 Wheels | 2/2/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: I'm trying to find out watch material these wheels on my bike are made of because I'm wanting to ... A: Dustin,They are a magnesium wheel. Similar to aluminum but stronger.Find a machine shop that does ... | ||
| 1971 Honda 750 four | 2/2/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: How do I remove the petcock form the tank. I found a small hole in the bowl and instead of replacing ... A: Bubba, I may tell you wrong but here goes. Honda used about 3 different styles. One had a large nut ... | ||
| Honda CB77 | 2/2/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I've just finished a top end rebuild on my CB77 (rebore/new pistons/rings/timing chain etc) No ... A: Paul, after about 15,000 miles or so, there are some parts in the transmission which are usually ... | ||
| honda shadow | 2/1/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I have a 1993 honda shadow 1100 and the engine went bad so I bought a 1997 motor. Come to find out ... A: Shawn, you have to match the chassis' electronics with the motor configuration. The different module ... | ||
| automatic clutch not disengaging | 1/30/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Bike/engine: 1974 'mighty green' Honda Trial 70, Work performed: new kick starter shaft installed, ... A: Scott, the clutch function's centrifugal engagement function is controlled by the rollers which are ... | ||
| speedometer light globe | 1/28/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I have a 1997 250cc Honda Rebel. The other night I was on the way home in the dark and my ... A: Dennis, these bikes use a tiny wedge base bulb. Follow the wiring into the base of the meter and ... | ||
| CL72-CL77 oil pump interchange | 1/26/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Bill I have a CL72 that has a cracked oil pump base . I was wondering if the 305 oil pump is ... A: Bob, The wet-sump pumps are all the same, except that the CL pumps have the extra boss underneath ... | ||
| 1983 cb900c | 1/25/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: what is the proper procedure/adjustment order to dial start and dial in a newly rebuilt carb on this ... A: Chris, as far as I know the 1983 models were CB1000Cs, which replaced the CB900C editions of the ... | ||
| 1985 nighthawk cb650 head noise | 1/23/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: ....the as i rode it all summer it slowly got worse.....and finally after 6000 miles the rattle ... A: Rob, There could be two problems. The rattle may be a valve rocker that worn or out of specs. The ... | ||
| cam chain adjustment | 1/23/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: How do I adjust the cam chain on a 1980 yamaha xs1100 special. This is a 3 cylinder. Thank you. A: Glenn, I don't think that your Yamaha XS1100 is a 3 cylinder bike. They made XS750/850s in triples. ... | ||
| 1980 yamaha xs1100 special | 1/23/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: How do I install a boot over a drive shaft on a 1980 yamaha xs1100 special? A: Glenn,This going to be difficult to explain. Try to put it on the center stand Remove the rear wheel ... | ||
| engine stalling under load | 1/22/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: My question is not necessarily Honda (as you recently helped me with),but could affect any bike I ... A: Ken, you didn't say if it was a stock bike with OEM air filter and mufflers or not. ANY changes to ... | ||
| Light bar | 1/21/2012 | Mike Wells |
| Q: Got a light bar for 99 fatboy. Do I take off the old bar blinkers and wire the new ones and ... A: To make the job look better I would follow the wires to the junction where they are wired in and ... | ||
| 1972 sportster | 1/19/2012 | Mike Wells |
| Q: Just bought this 72 sportster in pieces with rebuilt motor and trans but person says it wont stay in ... A: If the motor is sitting in the frame you can remove the plugs and rotate the motor at the rear tire ... | ||
| starter on heritage | 1/19/2012 | Mike Wells |
| Q: I'm pretty sure the starter is shot and not being an overly knowledgeable wrench turner, how ... A: Bendix is out of the starter, so yes it needs to be replaced. To change it out you have to remove ... | ||
| honda vt1100 | 1/19/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I previously asked about a non running 1985 vt1100 shadow. Im getting spark but VERRRRRY weak. I ... A: Jason, if you have spark to the plugs, it is probably good enough to run. CDI ignitions produce a ... | ||
| 2004 Honda VTX Petcock Leak | 1/18/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: I have a 2004 Honda VTX 1300C that the fuel petcock is leaking through the vacuum hole. I have ... A: Aaron. The bike will run fine as the vac hose is suppose to open up the petcock so the engine will ... | ||
| Suzuki LCD odometer/fuel gauge issues | 1/18/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: 1999 Suzuki VL1500 - Awhile back the odometer started switching back and forth from current mileage ... A: Bob, Some of the digital units did,nt fair well in the beginning. You may need to replace the entire ... | ||
| 1996 Honda Magna VF750c | 1/16/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I have a 1996 Honda Magna VF750c. I was riding when it started cutting out on me and then it ... A: Ken, If you had given me the wire colors/location, I could have given you a better idea of the area ... | ||
| Cutting out at full throttle | 1/15/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: I have a 1999 Honda Shadow 1100. When I crank the throttle wide open or nearly wide open, it cuts ... A: Mike it could be several things causing this problem. Lets start with the cheapest fix first. There ... | ||
| fuel line arrangement. | 1/15/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Good afternoon Bill, I am trying to restore a 1967 Honda CB77 and am in the process of replacing the ... A: Mel, If your bike is actually a late model 1967-ish version, then your fuel tank does not have the ... | ||
| 06 nightrain steering head adjust | 1/14/2012 | Mike Wells |
| Q: with stock drag bars of 26 in. wide, front end will fall to either side too easily, it seems. I'm ... A: To check to see if they need adjusted, have the bike sitting on a stand where the front wheel is off ... | ||
| Oil in stator housing | 1/14/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Bike is a 1970 Honda CD90Z, 4 stroke(general export model). I took the cover plate off the stator to ... A: Ken, no worries, mate! Honda put all the stators inside the crankcase and coated them with epoxy so ... | ||
| 1984 magnum v65 1100cc | 1/12/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Could you please tell me where to find the solenoid and starter on my bike. It starts then kicks out ... A: Jim, the starter solenoid is up by the battery, usually with a fuse holder attached. It connects to ... | ||
| clutch casing | 1/12/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: I am leaking oil from the clutch case near where the cable goes in.It looks like a new gasket was ... A: Rob, If for some reason the gasket does'nt have the silicone line on the gasket try s product called ... | ||
| clutch casing | 1/11/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: I am leaking oil from the clutch case near where the cable goes in.It looks like a new gasket was ... A: Rob,make sure its the gasket thats leaking first.Wipe the area clean with a dry rag the be careful ... | ||
| cl72 ID | 1/11/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Could you please identify this s/n for me. I know the CL72 was a 4 yr build but what year is this ... A: Paul, Honda went a little crazy in 1964. They made bikes that had serial numbers beginning with 4, ... | ||
| Trouble shifting into 1st - '01 V-Star 1100 | 1/10/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: '01 V Star 1100 Classic - I recently purchased this bike and it is the first bike I've worked on ... A: Chris its possible but the nut not being locked coud create another issue. If the nut backed off any ... | ||
| 2005 Sportster Custom | 1/9/2012 | Mike Wells |
| Q: Just discovered this website. My right turn signal has stopped working for no obvious reason. ... A: Did you check with a test light to see if you have power to the rear bulb that is not working? Slso, ... | ||
| 65 dream | 1/8/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: I just bought a 65 dream to restore. Looks like ca77. It has this huge fairing that the headlamp was ... A: Bud, It isn't from Honda. I have the Honda accy catalogs from that era and have never seen that ... | ||
| yamaha motorcycle | 1/8/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: What type of oil should I use in a 1981 750 Yamaha D A: Aaron,Is this a v-twin 750 or the inline 4 cylinder? Depending on the milage you might try some ... | ||
| coolant leak | 1/7/2012 | Gary Blake |
| Q: i have a 03 750 shandow ace and the tube between the cylinders are leaking coolant ..what is all ... A: Ken, I'll try to answer this and do it from memory. There should be two metal tubes going down into ... | ||
| honda 1979 xr 185 | 1/7/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: what are the settings for the screw under the bowl for the carb on the xr 185, thank you A: Bill, XR185s with the PD31A carburetor have the following settings: Float level: 12.5mm #115 main ... | ||
| 1962 honda dream 305 paint | 1/5/2012 | Bill Silver |
| Q: Can you help me with matching the original paint colour for the 1962 honda dream 305? thanks A: Will, they came in 4 colors for the US market. Which one did you need? From my Honda Dream ... | ||
Motorcycle Repair
Answers by Expert:
Bill Silver
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Need help with vintage Hondas from the 1960s? I am an expert with 250-305cc bikes in particular and most all of the other pre-91 models, in general. I do NOT claim to have a great deal of experience on Gold Wings, Cruisers, ATC/ATVs and dirt bikes.
Experience
I have owned/ridden/maintained Honda motorcycles for 35 years. I have written five books on Honda repairs and collecting. I was a service manager for two Honda shops back in the 1980s.
Organizations
VJMC (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) of North America
Publications
VJMC newsletter, as editor for two years and as contributing editor currently.
Education/Credentials
3 years auto shop in high school, teacher's aide in Automotive Technology in Jr. College, Diesel mechanic course in college, self-taught mechanic and automotive writer.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.