[johnhaynie40]

My daughter bought a fairly nice 1986 CMX250C which came from a police auction. 75k miles, but appears to have been stored outside and hasn't been washed since, well, 1986. I've restored several cars, couple boats and even a Cessna 150, but this, at the age of 60 will be the last on my list of need toos.

I actually rode the bike home. Runs and handles great considering it has been setting outside for years unused. Everything works except the rear blinkers. Unbelievable!

My plans are to take it down to the frame and refurbish and/or replace everything with exception to the engine. I'll do the carb, starter, etc.. but really don't want to get into the engine. I do have a broken exhaust stud, which hopefully won't lead to cylinder work or replacement.

I'm looking for any suggestions on the process. I've got the bike up and on blocks. Where do we start?

Looking forward to using this forum as a well appreciated tool over the following months!

 

[johnhaynie40]

Oh yeah...

 

[flitecontrol]

Welcome to the forum. Other than the seats, which can be recovered, the bike looks pretty good.

Get a Honda service manual.

Probably ought to replace the rubber engine mounts if they show signs of deterioration.

Sounds like the PO drained the carb before storage, which is unusual. If the bike runs well, I'd leave the carb alone and not open it up unless you need to. New carb slide diaphragms are no longer available for that model, and it could be damaged in the process.

You may be able to remove the broken stud yourself. You probably know the routine, but lots of penetrating fluid over 3-7 days, left hand drill bit, and if needed, a square screw extractor may be all that's needed. Replace the front shock seals and fluid.

ATF weight oil is what factory used, but if you want a slightly stiffer ride, 15w fork oil will do the trick.

Rear blinkers could be corrosion, disconnected/broken wire or something else. Dielectric grease will help keep cleaned connections from corroding.

Replace the chain and both sprockets with quality parts. DID, RK, Sun and EK all make top quality chains, JT Sprockets and Sun make good sprockets.

Change the oil, but be sure it doesn't contain any friction modifiers, which will ruin the clutch. Most 10W-40 and 15W-40 are safe to use. Castrol GTX 10W-40 and Shell Rotella 15W-40 are used by many members of this forum.

 

[Markrkolb]

Welcome to the forum! I love the blue color. That bike has a ton of potential!! Youtube has a lot of videos for cleaning/polishing aluminum, cleaning the carb, etc. most importantly- if you have a question, type a few key words in the “search community” bar and a lot of questions get answered. Finally, ask here and a lot of smart people will help!!

 

[Emil]

Welcome to the forum!
I've had broken studs on the exaust headers 2×. They are a pain to remove, but with lots of patience.... AND a new pair of true vice grips, & some penetrating oil, they come right out. I always replace all 4 at the same time. If the grips fail, then you can weld a nut to the end of it & wrench it out.
It looks very similar to my '86 Rebel. Same color too! Only mine had far more corrosion.

 

[johnhaynie40]

Thanks for the carb advice. For reasons unknown I love to teardown and rebuild carbs. This one I will avoid. I have found that the parts for for this "1st gen" are less plentiful. I'm still in the process of figuring out what the exact differences are. Already soaking the exhaust stud.
Thanks for the reply and will look forward to your future references!

 

[flitecontrol]

Here are some of the differences between the first (1985-87) and second (1996-2016) generation bikes: Old (1987) 250 Rebels v. New 250 Rebels - differences? | Honda Rebel 250 & 450 Forum (hondarebelforum.com)

I would mention there are several differences in the carbs.

 

[johnhaynie40]

Thanks again.
I've found Partzilla to be an excellent source for I.P.C. and parts availability. Ofcourse Ebay, etc.. Do we have any others you might prefer? especially for stuff that's just not available new?

 

[flitecontrol]

Jack's Rebel Warehouse: https://www.rebelcatalog.com/s/shop

Used parts aren't shown in the catalog, you'll need to call or email.

 

[johnhaynie40]

Wow, this just doesn't look right

 

[SoakedKarma]

Looks about right to me. Someone has been in there so it is in a bit of disarray.
Should look a bit more like this without the alkali dust.

 

[SoakedKarma]

looking closer,, this connection is wrong.. Dark Blue is headlight high beam, Light Blue should plug into a similar 3 bullet female connector that is Light Blue source.. that connection has connected the high beam to the turn signal indicator light in dash
Dark Blue source connector should have one unused female bullet connection..

1st generation wire diagram can be found on this thread.

Honda Rebel 1985-1987 Wiring Diagram

compliments of Flitecontrol - thanks

www.hondarebelforum.com

 

[johnhaynie40]

Any leads on Honda Service Manual for less than, say $35?

 

[johnhaynie40]

Thanks for the download

 

[johnhaynie40]

This thing is practically falling apart by itself. Lovely teardown with no stripped screw heads, broken bolts and very little corrosion.
The few times that I did start this babe it had been setting for several years and the starter seemed to make a funny noise as if it were a solenoid type starter refusing to disengage after it started. Only for maybe a second. Now that I have educated myself on how the whole process works, I'm not sure if it was even the starter making the noise at all. Ideas?
As far as my starter goes, if it was engaging and not slipping, should I even disassemble the clutch? I'm still waiting on my Svc Manual, but don't find any mention of lubrication and certainly not adjustment. Always easy to access later too.
I will be removing the starter motor itself for the usual teardown, inspection and rebuild.

 

[flitecontrol]

I'm in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." camp. I'm sure you will find things that are broke though.

 

[johnhaynie40]

Bottom of the heat rear fender
This is going to clean up nicely

 

[Emil]

My '86 looks similar at the moment. Keep at it!

 

[johnhaynie40]

Sorted!

Could not get handle bar cap/bolts off without destroying the bar "holders". So soft aluminum. Removed bars as assembly. 1st thing that didn't come apart like it was made to be worked on!

 

[johnhaynie40]

Yeah, I've got to get a manual 😕