AboutBill Silver 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.
Question Do you have to have a battery to start the bike or is that mainly for the lights,horn etc? The valves that were on the head look good but I read where you should not use lapping compound because of the surface metal on them. And then some say lap. I don't know if they are honda valves. Is there a way to tell? I tried lapping before and can't get perfect results with leaking. Shirley
Answer Aloha, Shirley... The ignition system is magneto, so no battery required to run the motor. Battery is a reservoir for the charging system to light the lights and horn. If you run the motor w/o a battery, the charging system will go to full output and fry the light bulbs. Either disconnect EVERYTHING related to the charging system and electrical system, other than the ignition or put a fully charged battery in place.
You can lightly lap in Honda valves. A proper seat will show up as a thin ring in the middle of the valve head contact area. If the seat in the head is rounded over, then the flat valve face will not seat properly and thus not able to seal at the interface correctly and transfer heat as it should.
If that is the case, then the seats need to be ground properly, so that the valves can seal correctly and the seating area is in the middle of the valve face.
Be aware that if the valve guide clearances are excessive, then you can't get the valves to seat properly.
