Hello from a new owner with questions.

[screamineagle]

Just wanted to pop in here and say hi to everyone. I am the prowd new owner of an '85 250 Rebel and can't wait to get it going.

I purchested this bike from a private owner for only $900. That was down from the $1200 he wanted for it. But I noticed a little rust on some of the bolts and some pealing of the clear coat on the tank so I wouldn't go any higher.

All in all it's a solid bike altho when the guy got it to my house the tank was leaking where I noticed the peeling from. Right now the tank is in the radiator shop to get it welded up and have a liner put in it. I don't know why Honda didn't do this at the factory.

I do have a few questions about a few things.

1. The turn signal switch on the bike does not lock into any turning position. Is the normal or should I replace it?

2. From what I've read in this forum there are some of you that have had the tanks and other parts painted. In a round about way, how much did it cost to just get the tank repainted?

3. The only problem I have with the bike running is that when it's warming up and you twist the throttle it hesitates like it's not getting fule. Once it runs for a while that goes away.
Does anyone know what the problem could be?
I'm leaning towards having to get the carb redone.

4. Why hasn't Honda gotton on the stick and made another 450 model?
If I was to ever want to "upgrade" that is what I'd want to go with. The bike fits me perfectly even tho I'm a bigger guy. The only other bike that I have found that had the look and the seat feel that I liked was Harley's Dana wide glide. But that thing is like $14,000, and I'm not made of money.

5. And one last thing. Does anyone know what tires I can use other then Dunlop's D404 and F11TT ?

I'll ba greatful for any and all help. Thanks.

[cTc]

Welcome, and congrats on the find.

To answer your questions,

1) The turn signal switch dosent lock into position, It's like a momentary switch That returns to center once it has made contact on the outer leads.

2) If the tank is pretty straight and not requireing body work, you caould come out really cheap going the ratlle can route. Or noramlly I charge between $200 and $300 to repaint. With any body work and repair costing extra on case by case basis.

3) The problem there is prett common, a lot of times a bike will not run with out using half choke and then it will spudder and die when throttle is given. This is a problem with the slow jet in the carb. A good carb cleaning will fix this problem. There is likely all sorts of gunk and crud inside there. You should see a big difference in the run performance after a cleaning.

4) The 450 caused honda a lot of grief from HD back in the day. I gess they are gun shy or re-producing it. I have a rebel 250, shadow 600 vlx, and a dyna wide glide in the garage. Go with a vlx, or even a 750 ace, the HD's are not what everyone builds them up to be.

5) As for tires, There are several companies that make tires for the rebel just look for the right size and you can choose from there. The rear is 130/90-15 and the front is 3.00-18

Good luck with the bike.

Later.

[GearJammer]

Welcome to the board, screamineagle...

3) As CTC mentioned, a good carb cleaning can make a world of difference & it's a pretty straightforward job. Another thing to keep in mind is that the Rebel (as well as many other Japanese bikes) are cold-blooded, in that they require a bit longer warm-up period.

4) There's some controversy on this one. H-D tried to sue Honda for the design of the 450cc Rebel, saying that it was a "copy" of one of the Harley models. How H-D would try to compare a parallel twin to a vertical twin is beyond me, but whatever, LOL! Seeing as how the 250cc Rebel is pretty much a downsized 450cc Rebel, one might wonder why H-D didn't try to sue Honda over the 250cc as well. But ultimately, H-D lost the suit. That would seem to give Honda the right to re-introduce the 450cc version of the Rebel if they chose to. Now, here's where my own theory comes in: The 250cc Rebel is Honda's "hooker" bike, the bike that they easily get new customers to buy at a relatively affordable price & then many owners later decide to up-grade to a larger model bike, so Honda stands to make another sale. The 450cc Rebel was/is completely substantial enough to be kept & used as a person's main ride, therefore, no urgent need to up-grade, which is why I believe that Honda discontinued the 450cc version. A decision based on pure economics.

5) Any tires of the same size could be substituted. Economy brands can be found at www.jcwhitney.com, tho' they do offer some quaility tires at very affordable prices as well.

[screamineagle]

Hey there CTC and GJ, thanks for the help.

The tank was in good shape as far as being stright with no dents or dings in it. If it had had any I would have just oppeted with a new tank. So I guess I lucked out there.
I'm not going to go with the rattle can approach as I want it to look like the stock paint and I also want to put some graphics on it before it is clear coated. I just hope it doesn't cost $300 to get it done. For that I could have gotton a new tank.

Now as far as cleaning the carb. What is the best approach to do this?
Does the air box have to be romoved to get to it?
If I have to take the carb off I might as well send it out and have it rebuilt.
Just for some FYI, I'm an old car nut. I'm no mechanical dummy. I've been working on cars for over 15 years (shade tree of course). Now on a car all you have to do is remove a wing nut and your there at the carb. This cycle carb looks like it's a pain to get to.

As for the tires, I haven't found any, other then the Dunlop, in those sizes. I saw one front tire that I liked, but wouldn't you know I forgot where it was...LOL. Not to mention that all of the sites I've been in let you look up tires with no problem. Now try to find the tubes and rim strips to go along with them. I can find the tires at one site, and the tubes and strips in another, but why pay all that shipping? So right now I'm just writing to them to get all that strightend out.

GJ, special thanks for putting up some very good web sites to go to. I already have J.C. Whitney's site bookmarked but i got one for that Rebel place in Fla from you on another post.
i'd just like to add, for anyone reading these posts, a few more great places to look.

www.bikebandit.com - This site is where you can find just about any O.E.M part you would need for your Rebel be it 2 years old or 20 years old, and the parts are new.

Also try E-bay (yes e-bay). I have found some great deals on there. Just do me a favor, please don't bid aganst me....LOL. I picked up a complete clutch pack for around $40 that only had about 160 miles on it, and the right hand controls for a dollor. I also found one of the most important tools your ever need for the bike. A shop manual. The only problem is having to wait for everything to come in...LOL.

Well, take care everyone. And thanks again for your help.

[cTc]

eBay is a good place for anything, I do about $5k - $8k a year on there.

There wouldnt be a need to send the carb out to re-built, just buy a $2? carb kit from ebay, it comes with the needle and jets and gasket set, the main thing is to clean the crud from the inside. I have gotten it do to about a 1 hour procees, from removal to cleaning to re-install. I would highly recommend getting a clymer manual. It will show you step by step on the remoavel and cleaning process.

Good luck

[GearJammer]

When your manual comes in, you'll see the info that CTC refers to. There's a good step by step section on carb disassembly & cleaning. As I recall, the airbox doesn't have to be removed, but the breather hose coming from the airbox simply needs to be disconnected & pushed back out of the way. Fuel line from petcock gets removed, throttle cable gets removed & then it's simply a matter of pulling the carb from the manifold (friction fit, nothing to unbolt) The disassembly & cleaning is easy, just please remember to not get any Carb Cleaner on any rubber/neoprene parts & you should be just fine. Rebuilds w/new jets, etc. are sometimes needed, but most often one can simply clean the existing parts & be good to go.

I was able to buy a new front tire, new tire tube & rimstrip, all from JC Whitney & changed the tire myself. Changing tires by hand isn't the most fun (LOL!) but I like to do as much of my own maintainence as possible. Then again, for $6-$10-$20 at an indie shop, it might be worth it to keep the frustration level at a minimum, LMAO!

You can also buy a roll of 10 mil Pipe Wrap, 2" wide (the kind that plumbers use) & one hefty roll of Pipe Wrap can be used instead of rimstrips & will probably last you a lifetime. Two layers of Pipe Wrap & bingo! :wink:

[screamineagle]

Hello again CTC and GJ,

Looks like this might be a daily report...LOL.

Well yesterday was wet and rainy so I just sat and looked up parts. GJ, thanks for the advice about looking closer at J.C. Whitney. It payed off. The tires, strips, and tubes are on order. Other parts should start ariving soon.

The tank is still in the shop, and for being the first part I took off and sent away, it looks like it's going to be the last part I get back and put on. I still have to order the graphics I want (hello E-Bay...LOL), but I'm still undesided between three of them. Guess it's time to bring the wife in on it...LOL.

I found out what one of my problems with the carb was. I was turning the choke the wrong way. I thought that pulling it all the way toward you turned it off. Hey, give a 50/50 chance and I'll get it wrong every time...LOL.
I made my own "test fule tank" using a syringe like thing, that is used to mix 2-cycle oil and fule, and some 1/4 in. fule line. I put a filter in-line of corse.
Anyway, I got the bike running and let it warm up while I figgured the choke thing out. Sure enough, it ran rough wile it was cold, but once it warmed it ran fine. With the new set of plugs I put in it, it sounds like it's going to be a strong bike. I still may pull the carb and give it a once over with a can of carb cleaner.
Once the manual gets here I might just see if I can attempt to pull it apart. The only thing is that if I'm going to do the job, I'm going to do it right and order all the little shaft seals and everything that a simple rebuild kit doesn't seem to have.
I can get a canister of carb cleaner, that has a basket in it, from the auto parts store and soak all the hard parts at least overnight. If any crud is left after that it's there to stay.

I do have to say this. This bike seems to be taking on a life of it's own. I've noticed some of the switches that were not working before are now starting to work. Like the shutoff switch. I may just take the cases off and hit them with contact cleaner and lube them up a little.
As for the bar controls that I just ordered? Hey, I might just send the cases away to get them chromed. Or I could always just turn around and sell them back on E-Bay...LOL.

BTW, The turn signals do stay on when you flip the switch. The switch returns to center and you have to push the switch back in to turn them off.

Y'all take care now. And thank again for all your help.

[GearJammer]

No thanx necessary, screamineagle. I always check JC Whitney first because of their prices. They don't stock everything, but they're getting better.

Yep, those "fuel I.V.'s" work great! LOL! You just might luck out with the carb. It's obviously your call entirely, either do the carb removal & cleaning or possibly just add some "SeaFoam" to the gas tank once you get it back on & see if the "SeaFoam" will do the trick. I had no choice but to remove/clean the carb when I first got the 250cc, but your's doesn't sound too bad. The proof would be during the ride, seeing how it responds throughout the entire gear/rpm range.

You obviously have a good working knowledge of what you're doing & that's very cool. Also agree with you about these Rebels. They're pretty "rider friendly" & lend themselves to the personalizations that you've got in mind.

Good luck & please do keep us posted...

[screamineagle]

I'm sure going to try that Sea Foam once I get a tank.
That reminds me. I got a call from the place I took the tank to. They started sandblasting around the seems and found that there were too many large holes to be welded.
Seems someone before me put body filler in there to plug the holes.
Once they got around to the lower flange, and started seeing pin holes start to appear around it, they stoped and called me.
The tank is shot and I desperately need to get another one. If anyone here has one to sell PLEASE let me know.
I'm also going to put a callout for a tank in the Swap section.

To keep everyone up to date,

It's been raining on and off all day so I didn't realy get anything done but going to get the scrap metal that use to be a fule tank back from the shop. I need to mesure it up so I know how big to order the graphics.

I started receving parts in today. :D A clutch pack I ordered on E-Bay, and the Clymer Manual. Other then that the bike is still undercover. I hope to be getting more parts in for it tomorrow.

As always, I will keep everyone up to date as things happen.
Well I'm off to read the manual and get an edjucation...LOL.

Y'all Take Care.

[GearJammer]

Dang! Sorry to hear about the tank. Mine had a small seepage at the rear base of the tank & rear mount, apparently a design flaw & the stress factor hits that area fairly commonly, but sounds like your tank had more problems going on than just that.

You're no doubt keeping an eye on eBay for another used gas tank. If you prefer the stock tank, I respect that. But there's always the option of using an alternate tank, used Sporty tank, used peanut tank, etc. Mounting shouldn't be a problem, the main thing is to insure clearance from the handlebars when turning in the full range in both directions so's not to chip or dent paint/tank.

[cTc]

Sorry to hear about the tank, wish I goul see the areas in question, I've always wanted to cut and stretch a rebel tank and increase the capacity.

I replied to your post in the SWAP MEET (http://www.hondarebelforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=125) forum. Might not be what you need, but thought I would put it out there.

[screamineagle]

Yeah, the tank looked like it had sat out in a yard on the ground for a couple of years. One of the holes was big enough to put the tip of my pinky through.

I'll get a few shots of it here soon and see if I can put them on here for ya's.

Anyway, just to keep things up to date,

More rain today, so notthing done to the bike. I did however receve more of the parts I ordered. Such as the tank mounting hardware, brake and clutch lever pivot bolts, new peg rubber and covers, and the second most important thing I will need. My lid.
Looks like I'm going to busy this weekend.

Found a nice late model tank on e-bay. It statrted out at $10. Now it's up to $81. Soon it's going to be out of the range that I will be willing to pay for one that old.
Shoot, I might as well get the bike painted white with red, blue, yellow, and green striping on it with graphics on the tank that say "Built by E-Bay"...LOL.


Well that's about it for tonight. As always, I'll keep everyone up to date on this project.

Take Care.

[GearJammer]

"Shoot, I might as well get the bike painted white with red, blue, yellow, and green striping on it with graphics on the tank that say "Built by E-Bay"...LOL. "

Pretty sure I've seen some people say that they'd actually built their bikes almost entirely from eBay items.

Sounds like you're sprucing up your '85 & that's always a positive thing. You're getting familiar with your own ride & that'll pay off for you as the more you learn about your bike, the better equipped you are for dealing with any problems that come up.

Projects are always an adventure (hopefully a good adventure, LOL!) with the ultimate pay-off being once it's done, you can fire it up, take her for a ride & have the self-gratification of knowing that you made it happen. Now that you've got the manual, there's no shortage of things you can check out & do. When new parts come in, you can install those. While waiting for parts, time can be spent cleaning up items, poishing parts, making various adjustments such as the final drive chain, brake adjustment, on & on...it's all good.

[cTc]

It would be a good idea to keep records and even photo record of your rebuild/restore. One day you can look back and show what you had to do to go from point A to B.