Welcome All, Just saying hi, more soon.

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:17 pm

Hello to all, My name is Justin and I'm in the Dallas area of Texas. I have a 1980 CB900C that is pretty much stock, to my knowledge thus far anyway, and will be needing some help, as I apparently bought it with issues.
I love this beast of a bike and am still glad I purchased it, and look forward to the vast knowledge it sounds like I can find here and hoping to keep her on the road for years to come Smile

Once I have the pictures sized down, I will post them. She's pretty nice and my first in years, as I just recently re-applied for the M on my license again after saving up for the course to refresh my skills a bit, since I've had 2 knee surgeries.
Going to search the tech forum tomorrow as can, but for any that may have something handy for me to check, the shop has had my bike for a month and finally stated they can't fix my carbs and I need new. Sad

Looking for my best solution to get back on the road as quick and efficiently as possible, even if that means, unfortunately, buying brand new carbs.
Currently been looking at the Keihin CR33 carbs I discovered after the shop said there really are not new carbs for my bike, but not sure if that's my best option Confused

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:53 pm

Bring the bike home, remove the carbs and clean them up, they will work just fine. There are several write-ups on doing it yourself. You will soon learn that you have to work on this bike yourself

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 12:17 am

Welcome here! Your carbs are almost certainly serviceable. I think "modern" mechanics just don't know how to work on these old bikes.

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:05 am

you're justin time

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 7:02 am

Welcome to the site Justin ... Smile

If you want it done right ( to your standards ) , do it yourself .

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:29 am

WELCOME!!!

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:07 am

Having a vintage bike, mostly rules out service at the dealer. There's nothing but headaches for them and you both. That means you need to be able to diagnose and solve issues with your bike. The mechanics are pretty straightforward, and you have a wealth of experience right here.
Your stock carbs can almost certainly be rehabbed; either by yourself, or send to Sean.
Read the NMT and then Sean's checklist to get started.
Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:35 am

Welcome

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 3:22 pm

Welcome to here wave

There are numerous docs in the Tech Docs area for you to study.

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:12 pm

Tests are on Fridays

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:56 pm

Appreciate the welcome all.
To touch on a few responses, I would not even be able to take it to a dealer as they just refuse to work on it at all and offer to sell a brand new bike.
The shop I took it to is known for working on old bikes and new bikes and usually does amazing work, hence why I took it to them in the first place.
Also, took it to a shop because, as much as I enjoy working on these things, life is somewhat in my way right now, as I wake around 0700hrs with my son and its all about him & taking care of him until I go to work at 1400hrs, then I'm off at 0200hrs to do it all over again.
When I get my days off work, there is no help with my son in most cases, leaving me only the time to wind down with the ride to and from work when I can, and occassionally after I get him down for the night on a day off of work.
Wouldn't trade my son for the world, but he's not yet old enough, at almost 2, to help daddy crank a wrench Sad

though looking forward to that day as well! Smile

As you can all imagine though, that leaves very little time for self done repairs, currently, also the reason for the shop and my consideration of new carbs. From what I've found, the sites offering them state they come pre set and ready to 'add bike and go'.
I did notice mention of Sean for rehabbing carbs, but not sure if they are, since this shop has experience with older bikes and advised on either getting new or getting used and rebuilding myself or by them :/
Alas, all is not lost, I stay positive and reallly just want to be back to riding asap Smile

By the way, anyone know if the shop is able to charge me for making my issue worse than when I brought the bike in to them??? Really hoping there's something I can do other than pay a few hundred for a now unrideable bike to come back to me on a trailer when I rode it in.

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:02 am

shops still charge for not fixing it right,but you get a discount

you really need to get it home and do it yourself

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:13 am

So you rode it in to get fixed and after they fixed it, it won't run?? I think I would explain it to them on those terms.

[quote]I did notice mention of Sean for rehabbing carbs, but not sure if they are, since this shop has experience with older bikes and advised on either getting new or getting used and rebuilding myself or by them :/

Exactly why are these carbs too trashed to rebuild? trust me Sean can rebuild your carbs and for less than a new set

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:40 am

9quote) Exactly why are these carbs too trashed to rebuild? trust me Sean can rebuild your carbs and for less than a new set

Well, for starters, while 'fixing' them, a couple of the adjusters were apparently siezed and he broke them in the process of trying to loosen them to set properly, and he stated that they are un-synchronizable after everything as 1 or 2 are not seeming to even get fuel now and another will not stop getting fuel.
He's apparently spenty 8-10 hours of labor off and on to 'fully clean and repair' them, only to have to tell me that he does not even beleive that it will turn over now, in its present state.
He and the owner/manager of the shop, said the carbs were pretty bad to begin with, and the mechanic himself stated that it looked like someone had already tried to rehab the carbs as they had quite a bit of new parts in them.
Seeing as how I hae not seen them myself, not certain beyond that.

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:33 am

welcome to caveman motors

where you pay dearly to join our club

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:28 am

The only way to get any satisfaction from a shop is usually to go to court. Otherwise they're going to stick to their story as long as they can. You probably don't even really have any proof that the carbs you got back are the ones you took in though.

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:03 am

Of course they say they're not fixable. They've already made their shop fees off you, they have no incentive to actually fix your stuff. At this point it's cheaper for them to not fix them.

If you want to keep your stock set, you'll need to rebuild them yourself or send them to somebody like SeanG who rebuilds these exact carbs every day. Actual "new" stock carbs are no longer available and would cost a fortune even if you found a set. If you go with aftermarket, you'll need to spend time and money getting them tuned to your motor.

Getting the stockers fixed by somebody who knows what they're doing is the best option (in my opinion).

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:15 am

I'm sure that they broke off the fuel mixture screws but even that won't keep them from functioning, obviously since it was when you took it to them. The one is leaking fuel because the seat is dirty and it's not letting the needle seat. I have never seen a set that couldn't be bench synched which again is close enough to run. If they knew what they were doing then they would know these things, make the bike run and tell you that's the best they can do, sorry.

Ya, Gene is right, I doubt that you are gonna get off scott free but I would raise so much hell and make such a scene that they would give me a discount just to make me go the fuck away!

Getting those screws out is now a major pain in the ass but like any broken bolt it can be done. The rest is just a matter of cleaning and replacing any parts that are broken, bent or damaged.

Sounds like you just need to get the bike home and buy another set of carbs and clean them yourself or send your set off to be repaired and cleaned. Who was offering carbs bike ready?

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:52 am

I think you should also post the name of the shop that charges for screwing your bike up for you .

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 9:03 am

antiques always need home fixing, you rarely see a vintage anything in a public shop

your bike is an antique, treat it as such, kid gloves and patience

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:22 pm

Thanks again to all on the welcome responses. Going to leave this welcome at the welcome and move to the help area for my carbs.
Might have to send them off to SeanG as advised, since the shop Mechanic stated that on 2 carbs he broke the idle screws on and broke 2 easy outs trying to remove them, but who knows at this point, other than the mechanic that is.

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:28 pm

I don't think even Shean is going to be able to get broken EZ outs out, just not enough room to work the edges with a drill bit. Might be able to drimmel a slot but who knows

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 7:06 am

The time I went to battle with a bike shop, when their main office got the letter from my attorney, they got right on fixing everything to my satisfaction so I would go away peacefully. Fortunately my attorney was a personal friend and did the job for a free lunch. Wink

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:55 pm

Lucky for you on that one genesound, sounds like I need one of those friends too! Laughing

Going to talk to them on Tuesday and get it back, hopefully without too much fuss and $. They're a local shop in Plano, Tx called Crossroads, and this is unusually subpar performance for them, so we will see what happens.
I'm about to try and locate SeanG with a PM as well and see if/when he might have a set available, then it will be looking up the sync tool I need for them once I get them on the bike.

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:13 pm

tachks wrote:

Lucky for you on that one genesound, sounds like I need one of those friends too! Laughing

Going to talk to them on Tuesday and get it back, hopefully without too much fuss and $. They're a local shop in Plano, Tx called Crossroads, and this is unusually subpar performance for them, so we will see what happens.
I'm about to try and locate SeanG with a PM as well and see if/when he might have a set available, then it will be looking up the sync tool I need for them once I get them on the bike.

I used to live in Euless, ... never heard anything negative about Crossroads. But then, I never heard much at all really, and I don't go looking for bike shops as a rule.