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 On my bike the starter motor and starting chain and sprockets spin the crank just a little bit but then it makes this grinding noise do you know what would cause this? Also i am going to get a new carb do you think a mikuni VM32mm would work good on it? (it has the same engine as the rebel it that helps)
Answer Erik, basically you need three #7 springs shown on, if the rollers and caps are not damaged.
You will need a special tool rotor puller to get the rotor off the end of the crankshaft. Check the crankshaft seal while you are in there, as they have been known to get pushed out in high-mileage applications.
I would check with SUDCO and see if they have some recommendations for enlarging the carb size that you have now. Honda engineers these things with a lot of care and consideration, so you can't just throw on a bigger carb without consequences. With only a single port, you can flow just so much fuel through the head and valves. I think that a 32mm carb is probably way to big for a bike with the porting, cam timing, valve sizes, restricted intake/exhaust system and compression that it is designed with now.
