Reviving a Honda CBR600F3

[nthach]

I've been tasked to revive a friend's CBR600F3, it was sitting in garage for almost 10 years with the oil pan off, he stripped the drain plug threads and forgot about it. My plan of attack is to reinstall the oil pan and pull the plugs/valve covers and oil up the cams/lifters/cylinders, then slowly turning over the engine to lubricate those surfaces. Good idea? I was also planning on changing the coolant with a fresh fill of Honda coolant and changing the oil/filter as well. I do suspect the carbs are plugged up thanks to CARB gas - he thinks Sta-Bil might have prevented the gas from going bad but I want to drain the tank, see if I can get anything out of the float bowls and it's turned rancid I'm gonna have to clean up the carbs. How difficult is it to clean up carbs on these? Anything else I should take care of to get this bike out of the garage?

 

[skyactiv]

Cleaning the carbs is the easy part. Removing and reinstalling them is the pita. Sta-Bil or not, assume the pilot jets are gummed. NOTHING you add to the gas will clean those. ALL gas will turn rancid with age, CARB, Mexican, Ohio gas.. .

 

[BigCahuna]

You can expect to replace the tires and battery. Check real good the inside of the tank for rust. And put a big inline filter on it after you clean the carbs. They're gonna have to be taken apart and soaked to get them right. The fork seals might be dry and leak a bit. Only way to tell is to check them after the first ride. Nothing money and time can't fix.,,,

 

[fdcg27]

Slowly turning the engine over will do nothing to lubricate anything. Pulling the plug wires and cranking it will. In my experience, if you can get something to run after having sat for some years, it'll usually then clean up and run well. This would be my first resort before removing and the carburetors and taking them apart. As a side note, how could one strip the drain plug threads and then have left the machine sitting for a decade? I wonder what else might be wrong with it?

 

[BrocLuno]

Pull the plugs and leave them out. Pour a shot of WD-40 in each cylinder and spin the motor with new oil in the crankcase. It'll snot the WD-40 out, but it'll lube the rings and upper cylinder walls enough so nothing sticks on fire-up. Yeah, you'll have to inspect the tank and clean the carbs. +1 on the fuel filter. All else comes after it runs. If it runs OK, air the tires and ride around the block a few times to get it all circulated. Change the oil again. Then start on the safety list like tires and such. Don't waste a penny on that stuff until the engine runs OK. I'd run some outboard oil in the gas for a few tanks. Maybe 100:1 so it won't smoke much. It'll lube the valve guides and keep the rings loose. One valve has been open for whole storage time so there is some aluminum oxide on that piston. You want to keep it soft so it can be pushed out the exhaust and not packed in around a ring ... If the ignition is solid, I'd put platinum fine wire plugs in it after all the break-in and resto work ...

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

As a side note, how could one strip the drain plug threads and then have left the machine sitting for a decade?

He met someone and got a job as an AV installer - he's busy with the SO and schools needing full AV installs. The machine shop installed a Heli-Coil into the oil pan. I found a coolant leak and lo and behold there's bad gas in the tank. The carbs are coming apart.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno

Pull the plugs and leave them out. Pour a shot of WD-40 in each cylinder and spin the motor with new oil in the crankcase. It'll snot the WD-40 out, but it'll lube the rings and upper cylinder walls enough so nothing sticks on fire-up. Yeah, you'll have to inspect the tank and clean the carbs. +1 on the fuel filter. All else comes after it runs. If it runs OK, air the tires and ride around the block a few times to get it all circulated. Change the oil again. Then start on the safety list like tires and such. Don't waste a penny on that stuff until the engine runs OK. I'd run some outboard oil in the gas for a few tanks. Maybe 100:1 so it won't smoke much. It'll lube the valve guides and keep the rings loose. One valve has been open for whole storage time so there is some aluminum oxide on that piston. You want to keep it soft so it can be pushed out the exhaust and not packed in around a ring ... If the ignition is solid, I'd put platinum fine wire plugs in it after all the break-in and resto work ...

I actually like that idea - I do have Penetro 90 at my parent's garage and that has a healthy amount of ZDDP, antimony and a little Teflon in it. I'll use that to help break the rings loose. I've never ran 2-stroke oil - I think I have some of the stuff laying around. I think I saw a fuel filter on the bike - I'll double check and see if there's a screen on the petcock. I know there were some new plugs installed, the proper OEM spec NGKs. Doubt there is a double platinum option. So far, the oil pan is back on - OEM Honda gasket + high tack to hold it on. The fuel tank is off and this coming weekend, the carbs are coming off and will be soaked in Yamalube carb dip. I also flushed the brakes, there was some rank fluid in there. In went some DOT4 Wearever fluid, I can't find Castrol or ATE fluids in 12oz/500mL containers locally.

 

[nthach]

We put the bike back together - we've decided to gamble on starting it up without touching the carbs. I sprayed some Penetro 90 down the spark plug holes and turned the engine over by hand to lube up the rings. I added a shot glasses' worth of MMO and an ounce of Gumout Regaine to the tank and added an gallon of fresh premium. The bike did take a while to kick over but it was running like nothing ever happened. Saved my friend $140 in seals and gaskets from the Honda bike dealership and saved me a day of labor. What's next is a new water pump gasket. I did suggest fork seals and fresh shock oil, valve adjustment and new tires.