Orphaned RB finds loving home.

[Anonymous]

Ever been to a dogs home and seen an old boy who has lived a hard life just staring up at you and you melted and brought him home? Well I did with an abandoned Sharpei a few years ago and he turned out to be a cracker of a dog and he returned our love in spades even though he was an itchy, grumpy and smelly money pit that paid for a few vets holidays I suspect.

Well, my sentimentality must also be shared with old, unloved CB1100Rs. In particular, a South African refugee who managed to escape from a life of race and road hell in the hands of the Boers and managed to conceal itself on a boat and find its way to the all welcoming multi cultural motorcycle heaven that is the UK. Once here, it posted a soulful picture of itself on the web and the next thing it was starting a new life with great benefits in a much more loving family and its metamorphism to a god of the road was about to begin in a small village in the archaically known Palatine of Chester.

Fact 1:- The bike was bought unseen and unheard from the middle of the North Sea with just a phone call. Not recommended.
Fact 2:- The seller was in a stronger position than the buyer due to the above. I was smitten and wanted it. Caveat Emptor.
Fact 3:- A picture can paint a thousand words, but it can hide a thousand issues.
Fact 4:- A thousand words do not tell all.

Well that is a quick background to my latest R acquisition. I am now assessing my impulse buy and deciding on the next step forward. A full blown rebuild to showroom splendour or a freshen up refurb and ride it with the patina of its 36 year history ( of which I know Jack S*** ) for all to see, admire and comment on.

Here are a couple of shots of the Beastie. I just know I am going to love it.
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[JohnS]

Well Done Andy, It doesnt look bad at all. I think its been loved most of its life.

JohnS

[Anonymous]

That is a very good find.
May be only a big fresh up?
Good luck with it.

[Anonymous]

The earlier pictures make the bike look a little cleaner and unmarked than it actually is when you see it in the flesh. However, the potential for a lovely original looking bike with its history on show for all to see is there as most of the hard to locate parts are on it. The wheels are in good condition with just a couple of hours with degreaser and WD40 required to get them looking lovely. Same for all the rear of the bike actually apart from the rear disc. This is heavily scoured and may not be serviceable. I will have to make some enquiries to see if it will skim without it becoming too thin for safe use. The battery carrier has cleaned up well along with the plastics for the mudguards and chain guard. They are looking as good as new now. All I have to source here are the rubber mounting bushes for the indicator securing plate. Three of them were broken.
I’ve added a couple more photos as we all like pictures.

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[Anonymous]

Bit more cleaning up completed today. Rear wheel has come up well as has the swing arm. The R/H foot peg / exhaust hanger casting was broken when I got the bike. Fortunately I had a spare set of brackets so that problem is quickly solved.

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[JohnS]

Andy, Its even got the rubber trim that fits into the of the rear brake pedal.
Thats a good sign its been cared for.
JohnS

[Anonymous]

Yes, things looking ok up to now John. Still haven’t heard engine run yet. Saving that treat for later. Going to get everything chassis wise sorted first. It’s fun up to now.

[Trevor Hughes]

Andy

That looks like a good find. From the pictures it has most of the unique original RB parts there. Even that broken Footpeg hanger appears all there, they are so rare it has to be worth getting fixed.

The electrics box and lid design were used in a similar setup on other Honda’s, the CB750/900F2’s and the Silverwing’s. While they may not be quit the same I have seen them fitted to another RB and it work well. There was also a company re-manufacturing R disc’s on Ebay so that shouldn’t be a big issue.

Another one saved.

[Anonymous]

Hi Trevor,
Not sure how easy to fix the bracket would be. However I won’t chuck it out. May be useful for someone who wants to build a special without the rear section as the foot peg still fits and the frame mounting points are not effected.
Actually picked up a complete GL500 connector box, lid and brackets this morning for £20 from a specialist CX500 breaker close to me. Should fit fine with a little work on the brackets. I had located all original parts from various suppliers within UK and EEC but it would have worked out considerably more, in the region of £200. Think they were made of gold.
I also had a bit of luck with the rear indicator spacer section that I was looking for. Found a brand new one in my box of spares. However, I have ordered a set of invisible brackets from the CB1100F. net site that will allow the rear indicators to be fitted without using the spacers, so I will probably run like this for a while now I have a choice.
I think the front indicators have been replaced at some point in the bike’s life. They are both of the thicker x- section and one actually has no wiring as it has been cut off as it comes out of the indicator. So a search for the correct thinner ones is now underway. Any leads gratefully received.
Also got a few replacement rubber mounting blocks for the rear light / indicator mounting bracket.
Up to now then things going smoothly. Hope it continues this way as I move to the front end of the bike and finally the engine.

[Anonymous]

So, with the swing arm removed it seems an obvious time to replace the drive system. Haven’t looked at the drive sprocket yet, but the rear sprocket looks to be in perfect condition with no signs of wear to the teeth. The sprocket looks original Honda but is a 44 tooth size, a size not listed in the parts manual. Do any of you know the factory supplied set up for RB front and rear sprockets? My RC runs a 39 tooth rear which is quite a difference from a 44 tooth item.
Also got a nice surprise from my stash of spares. The original chains fitted were according to the manual DID50ZL or RK50LO. Back in 1997 I bought a new 39 tooth rear sprocket from Bill Head Motorcycles who were clearing out some old Honda stock and as part of the deal I got a drive chain as well. Thought I would check the size of the chain last night and guess what, it is an original Honda packaged 52 link RK50LO.
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[Anonymous]

Hi Andy

I bought a RB chain kit from ebay last year it was supplied with Afam sprockets and a DID Gold chain,It was only £62 so i did not mind one tooth more on the rear of my RC.. the sprockets supplied were 17/40 which i think is correct for a RB.. A RC is 17/39 as you stated ..A 44t rear sprocket is the std size for a CB900F..my Honda CB1100F runs a 17/41 as standard

Keith

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that info Keith. I just whizzed off the front sprocket cover and the drive sprocket is indeed 17 teeth. The 44 rear seems too large to me. I am now leaning to getting new sprockets and using my NOS chain. I have another slightly modded RB that is currently at another location. The gearing on that bike seems ideal. I will have to have a look at what that is currently running before I make my final choice. Any further advice or thoughts greatly appreciated though.
In the meantime I will remove the front sprocket and give the area a good clean up.
With the rear end all removed now, it is not so easy to lock the motor to undo the front sprocket. The engine turns over before the bolt loosens. I do not think it is a L/H thread so anyone any suggestions to lock motor and make this task do-able?

[Anonymous]

So, according to the RB manual the bikes left the factory with a final drive ratio of 2.35. Assuming that my 17 tooth front sprocket is correct then the original factory rear sprocket would have been a 40 tooth item. The currently fitted 44 tooth sprocket that now gives a 2.59 ratio tells me that a previous owner was chasing a bit more acceleration at the expense of top end performance.
I am really interested now to see what is the current set up on my other RB as that bike does feel a little more lively in normal road conditions than my RC.

[Trevor Hughes]

@AndyJ 3945 wrote:

Hi Trevor,
Not sure how easy to fix the bracket would be. However I won’t chuck it out. May be useful for someone who wants to build a special without the rear section as the foot peg still fits and the frame mounting points are not effected.
Actually picked up a complete GL500 connector box, lid and brackets this morning for £20 from a specialist CX500 breaker close to me. Should fit fine with a little work on the brackets. I had located all original parts from various suppliers within UK and EEC but it would have worked out considerably more, in the region of £200. Think they were made of gold.
I also had a bit of luck with the rear indicator spacer section that I was looking for. Found a brand new one in my box of spares. However, I have ordered a set of invisible brackets from the CB1100F. net site that will allow the rear indicators to be fitted without using the spacers, so I will probably run like this for a while now I have a choice.
I think the front indicators have been replaced at some point in the bike’s life. They are both of the thicker x- section and one actually has no wiring as it has been cut off as it comes out of the indicator. So a search for the correct thinner ones is now underway. Any leads gratefully received.
Also got a few replacement rubber mounting blocks for the rear light / indicator mounting bracket.
Up to now then things going smoothly. Hope it continues this way as I move to the front end of the bike and finally the engine.

Andy, I have been keeping an eye out for the small section indicators since I broke one of mine walking passed the bike in the garage. You do see them from time to time in the Auto-Jumble. I found one at Popham Jumble £5 but it was fitted to a big section spacer. When you see them on EBay it’s difficult to know from the picture if they are big or small.

[Anonymous]

Andy

A good welder could weld you broken footrest plate easily..it probably would be best to bolt your good one behind it using suitable spacers to hold it in the right place to tack it together

I had my welder repair a crack in my Alternator cover,and as you know they are Magnesium and it came out well

Keith

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[Author]

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