My new JDM "Super" Bike

[slowbird]

We last left off with the bike running. I had topped off the tank with a Jerrycan to keep the fleshly cleaned tank brimmed with fuel to prevent any rusting and the bike sat for about a week in the garage.

When I came back to work on the bike I couldn't get it to run. It would start a little but stumble and die. I pulled the leg shield off to look and noticed the fuel filters weren't really filling with fuel. I wasn't sure if maybe the fuel lines weren't routed correctly but the tank was the highest point by far so I can't imagine even a slight upwards bend would prevent fuel from flowing.

I opened the tank and peered inside. Looked fine. Both pick up tubes in there looked clear and unobstructed.

I tried again and the bike fired up. Fuel filters filling nicely. Not sure what was wrong. My only idea is that maybe the tank isn't venting well? With the tank filled to the brim and the bike sitting in a hot garage it built up some kind of pressure and prevented the fuel from flowing freely? Maybe?

Anyways, bike runs. I took the opportunity to shim that needle in the carb.

I moved the clip one position up to its highest/leanest setting. It definitely feels smoother at part throttle now. An improvement for sure. Carb must be running a bit rich.

I took it for a cruise around town. Put about 20ks on it. Feels good.

 

[GreyGhost]

We last left off with the bike running. I had topped off the tank with a Jerrycan to keep the fleshly cleaned tank brimmed with fuel to prevent any rusting and the bike sat for about a week in the garage.

When I came back to work on the bike I couldn't get it to run. It would start a little but stumble and die. I pulled the leg shield off to look and noticed the fuel filters weren't really filling with fuel. I wasn't sure if maybe the fuel lines weren't routed correctly but the tank was the highest point by far so I can't imagine even a slight upwards bend would prevent fuel from flowing.

I opened the tank and peered inside. Looked fine. Both pick up tubes in there looked clear and unobstructed.

I tried again and the bike fired up. Fuel filters filling nicely. Not sure what was wrong. My only idea is that maybe the tank isn't venting well? With the tank filled to the brim and the bike sitting in a hot garage it built up some kind of pressure and prevented the fuel from flowing freely? Maybe?

Anyways, bike runs. I took the opportunity to shim that needle in the carb.

I moved the clip one position up to its highest/leanest setting. It definitely feels smoother at part throttle now. An improvement for sure. Carb must be running a bit rich.

I took it for a cruise around town. Put about 20ks on it. Feels good.

I haven't finished the setup yet but I picked up a spare wideband gauge for projects like this. The plan is to shove a sniffer tube up any exhaust to be able to check afr quickly and easily. It will likely be power hungry as the sensor heater will probably stay on.

 

[slowbird]

I haven't finished the setup yet but I picked up a spare wideband gauge for projects like this. The plan is to shove a sniffer tube up any exhaust to be able to check afr quickly and easily. It will likely be power hungry as the sensor heater will probably stay on.

Something like that would be incredibly helpful!
Would a sniffer up the muffler be accurate? I always thought a bung had to be welded in closer to the engine to get an accurate read

 

[GreyGhost]

Something like that would be incredibly helpful!
Would a sniffer up the muffler be accurate? I always thought a bung had to be welded in closer to the engine to get an accurate read

It can be done. That's what dynos often do and similar to what was done for e-test iirc. I suspect there will be an offset (eg. 14.8 on gauge may be 14.0 if measured properly). I can use an existing car with one installed propely to check. Sticking it on the outside will probably be garbage but if you can get the sample from 12" into pipe it should be a good sample. It will be hard for sensor to stay hot enough. There are a few different adaptors available to do it without fabrication.

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[slowbird]

It can be done. That's what dynos often do and similar to what was done for e-test iirc. I suspect there will be an offset (eg. 14.8 on gauge may be 14.0 if measured properly). I can use an existing car with one installed propely to check. Sticking it on the outside will probably be garbage but if you can get the sample from 12" into pipe it should be a good sample. It will be hard for sensor to stay hot enough. There are a few different adaptors available to do it without fabrication.

Neato! I'd love something like that. Takes all the guesswork out.

 

[slowbird]

So I've been riding the Super Cub a bunch. Haven't gone through a Full tank of gas yet, it really seems to sip. In the meantime I did some cosmetic stuff.

I had already replaced the horribly scratched and scored turn signal:


BEFORE:

I don't know how that happened.

AFTER:

Much better


Next was the headlight. It wasn't very clear and it had seen better days:

The murkiness was on the inside of the headlight. I tried going in through the headlight bulb opening to clean it but didn't make much of a difference. Thankfully wife brought a spare from Japan. After some buffing I swapped the headlight out with a fresh bulb.

Much better! But that front cover under the headlight with the yellowed white plastic and worn Super Cub Emblem is really bothering me. Researching how to restore faded white plastic apparently soaking in a solution of Comet powder helps. I tried that for a bit and it seemed to help a little. Another method was to rub a lemon all over the white plastic and leave it in the sun. That really seemed to do the trick.

I also added a new emblem I found quite cheaply from Amazon.jp:

BEFORE:

Comparison:

AFTER:

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. The white isn't a perfect match to the Leg shield but it's much better I think