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48K views 387 replies 24 participants last post by  Shaun Eagan 
#1 ·
Hello.
So I'm new to this forum and motorcycles in general. I just bought a 85 Honda rebel for $375 over the weekend. Very little rust but it was kept outside for what they said was one year. When I got it they couldn't get the bike started. When I got home I tried it myself and noticed it helps to have the killswitch off. What I need help with is that it won't idle at all I have to give it gas to get it started and if it comes close to no throttle it will just go out as if it stopped getting gas. I checked the plugs but I don't know to much about them. They looked clean. No extra gas or oil on them and they weren't overly white or black. I tested the spark and they have been a bit small but they were there. I checked the oil and it might be a bit low it hard to tell. It doesn't look to dirty.

The bike has 11k milked on it and the headlight bulb is out and the front master cylinder sight glass is broken so it has no brake fluid so the front brake doesn't work.

Anything you guys could tell me for hints or suggestions or even maybe what I should do, I could really use the help.

(Also hopefully this is the right part of the forum to post this thanks guys. Also I'm writing this on my phone so please excuse any type-o or weird auto correct stuff.)
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to forum, For starters you will have to dismantle the carby & soak in chemdip for at least 24hrs but only the metal parts in the dip ,no plastic or rubber parts. then rinse with water and blow out the with air compressor , Your brake master cyl will need to be replaced or rebuilt , and your head lamp will need to be replaced with a later model one because they are no longer made. Plus all fluids need to be changed, oil and fork oil as well
 
#3 ·
Thank you for the quick reply. Alright so new head lamp do you have any suggestions by chance? Also I compressed the forks a few times and it appeared that some water condensate showed up on the forks. Would this mean there's a leak in one of the seals? Will this cause problems?

Do I have to completely replace the master cylinder or can I just replace the porthole/ maybe the bladder inside?
 
#4 ·
Jacks rebel warehouse has good upgraded head lamps to suit
you maybe able to rebuild the master cyl and replace the glass
if seals were leaking you would have oil coming out. you can drain oil n see if there is water in the forks
 
#5 · (Edited)
Here is a replacement lens for the master cylinder. Rebel 250 450 Master Cylinder Sight Glass Lens Window | eBay

Being glass, it won't haze or crack like the OEM plastic lens.

Replacing all the fluids (engine, brakes, forks, gas) is probably a good idea, since you don't know how long they've been in the bike.

An inline fuel filter (look in Wrenching section for a video how-to) is always a good idea. Look in the tank and see if there is any rust. If so, there's a sticky on tank cleaning in the same section.
 
#9 ·
Ha. Thank you.

If you don't care about upgrading, I have the original headlamp from my 86 if you're interested. Shipping costs plus 5$ and its yours. Worked fine when I took it off my bike a month ago.
Oh that would be very cool. could you pm me more about it? Also are there a lot of benefits of upgrading? I don't want to be mean but I'm wondering if I should upgrade for maybe brighter or something that will last longer potentially because I'm a new rider.

How are the tires doing?
I believe the back is fine. not badly worn and they both appear to be holding pressure fine. The front looks older however. There are some cracks in the tire between the tread and both rims have a bit of rust.

If one of you guys could tell me how to add pictures I could put up a few so you guys could see.

I picked up some carb cleaner today and will try and clean the carb soon. I was talking with someone and they said I should also rebuild the carb. get news parts and what not. Do you guys agree?

I was also looking at fuel filters today (because I plant to clean the tank and figured might as well add one too.) and the old owner sent me this link to a petcock and filter in one.

DO you guys think this would be a better alternative then just getting a filter by its self?
New Honda Rebel CMX 250 Fuel Petcock Gas Valve | eBay

Its a lot more expensive then the $4 filter I was looking at.

Also they sent me this for the master cylinder

Honda Rebel Brake Master Cylinder with Lever 1996 2012 Polish | eBay

Should I try this or just go for the glass porthole since that's the only thing wrong with it?

Wow! You guys are so friendly thank you so much. You already are a huge help.
 
#7 ·
Congrats Zackaddict and welcome to the boards!

Definitely clean the carb as wjmrty suggests. That should take care of the idle problems. While you are at it, have the battery checked. This can be done at any car parts store. If the bike sat for a year, you probably need a new one.

As others have said, change all the fluids including the fork oil. That way you have a baseline "known good" that you can work from.

There are many options for the headlamp replacement. You will need to replace the whole assembly as the 85 used a sealed-beam headlight. Get a used headlamp from any 2000+ model year or buy a new one from Jack's. When you do that, it's also a good idea to replace the regluator with one from a 2000+ Rebel. That will keep your starter switch from overheating.

Here's a long thread with many headlight options: http://www.hondarebelforum.com/f37/headlight-upgrade-13142.html

How are the tires doing?
 
#10 ·
Oh also and there was a "pinhole" leak in the tank that the past owner put tank sealant in and I think that worked. but the inside of the tank is also rusty. When i clean the tank will that eat the sealant away? causing more problems

Oh and does anyone know a good way (beside replacing) to get rid of some of the rust on like the chrome parts or what not.
 
#11 ·
The benefit to upgrading your headlight is a new H4 headlight will be much brighter than your old sealed beam. What kind of carb cleaner did you get? I ask because if you bought aerosol carb cleaner then don't expect it to get clean. You need something like Berrymans ChemDip. It comes in a gallon bucket and has a parts basket inside to load the parts on. You'll need to dismantle the carb, remove all rubber and plastic parts, then soak the main carb body, the float bowl, and the accelerator pump bowl in the cleaner for at least 24hrs. Then rinse all the parts with water and use an air compressor to blow out every passageway and orifice on the carb, this steo is very important. If your 85 has the original petcock then it came stock with a built in filter located in the bowl on the petcock.
 
#13 ·
I do believe I have the original petcock.

The carb cleaner is just called carburetor cleaner (with dipping basket) its from napa (mac's 6402)

will that not work?
 
#14 ·
Yes, if it's a cleaner that you dip the parts in it should work fine. You still need to dismantle the carb and only soak the metal parts then rinse and blow out all the passageways with an air compressor.
 
#15 ·
alright. So I shouldn't have to replace parts inside the carb unless they look like they need replacing. also I heard that I should open up the petcock and clean inside of it, then reseal it. Will this help at all? Is it a waste of time or am I just more likely to mess it up?

Thanks again guys.
 
#18 ·
Another question. What type of oil does the bike take? I heard I can use transmission fluid for the forks, will that work or should I use oil as well?

Also how much movement should the choke lever have? I'm not sure if mine works properly. I have roughly an inch of movement.
 
#19 ·
For motor oil any good quality automotive 10w40 or 20w50 if the outside temps reach 100 degrees or more. You can use ATF in the forks, do not use motor oil in them. The choke lever moves an inch or so. I can give you an exact answer until I can check it on my bike.
 
#21 ·
Hey Zack, you beat me to that bike if that's was the red 85 in Portland. Good deal. Have fun fixing her up.
Haha ya that is the one. How did you know? Should I look out of anything when I take apart the carb or clean it? Besides just not dipping the plastic / rubber bits?
 
#22 ·
I was pretty sure it was the same bike when you mentioned the price and noticed you are in Maine. I would have gone to pick that up if my truck wasn't being worked on. There are some great threads on here to help with the carb cleaning - never done it myself (yet).
 
#24 ·
Opened up the carb today. dang, that thing was dirty. Ill add some pictures but wow. I also drained the tank as much as i could so i can clean that too. I can actually hear sediment sloshing around in the bottom.
 
#26 ·
Okay I'll pick up some "the works" today after work.

I followed the carb disassembly thread but I feel like it left off early. I still have seals and things still attached. Do they just pull out?
Should I clean the bolts / springs also or mostly just the larger pieces? I couldn't find a thread on what parts to put in the wash.

Also I take it that cleaning the carb will remove the petina from the outside of the carb.

My brother mentioned that I might be interested on putting one of those air filter pods on the bike to replace the air filter box. Can you guys put any input into that?

When I was taking the car apart I had two tubes that weren't attached to anything; one was the gas overflow but the other just wasn't attached to anything. Could you guys tell me where that one was suppose to go?
 
#29 ·
What is still attached? You need to soak the main carb body, the float bowl, accelerator pump bowl, jets, and jet holder. You need to remove anything that is rubber or plastic including the plastic bushings on the throttle linkage.

Replacing the air box with a pod filter is a bad idea unless you just like removing the carb multiple times in the process of tuning it.

The tubes you are referring to are the carb vent on the left side of the carb and the other one goes to the drain on the bottom of the bowl. Both of them exit under the bike and aren't attached to anything.
 
#27 ·
The airbox is part of the factory tuned induction system as well as an integral part of the very important crankcase ventilation system . If you substitute a pod filter, you can expect performance issues unless you can retune the constant velocity carb and successfully modify the crankcase vent system.
 
#28 ·
If the tank is rusty and has been "fixed" previously I'd just replace it with a new ebay tank for cheap. Most come with a new petcock assembly too.
I'd also stick with the stock airbox and just replace the foam element with new one and lightly oil it before installing.
 
#30 ·
There are small O-rings on the air/fuel screw (see numbers one on assembly #5 and the carb drain screw) here: 1985 Honda CMX250C A CARBURETOR | Cheap Cycle Parts

Remove these with a bent paper clip or crochet needle. Note the order they came out in and replace the same way.
 
#31 ·
Alright no filter pod. But while on the subject should I try and open it up and clean the air filter? Does the bike have a filter just like a car? Or should I not really worry about it.
 
#33 ·
You should definitely check your air filter to make sure it's in good shape, clean, and oiled. If the foam is still in good shape and not deteriorated/crumbling then wash it with dish soap in the sink and let it completely dry, then re-oil it with motor oil. It only takes a small amount of oil to saturate the entire foam element then squeeze out all the excess oil.
 
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