T W I N F I N M O T O

[twinfinmoto]

Looks like all my wires are fried thru. Throttle cables are also pretty scored, though they were still pulling. Clutch seems fine and the spark plug cables don't look damaged. But definitely all my electrical, and everything going down to the points plate is COOKED! On top of that, whatever made the engine overheat in the first place is obviously an even bigger more long term issue. Do I pull it all back together and hope that I can then address that issue? And what is that issue anyways? I checked the oil today and it seemed like there was oil in the engine. And beyond that I have some other maintenance I was just getting ready to tackle -- a few bolts on the engine case need to be re-threaded with time serts, and I need to replace the front fork oil seals. Going to sit on it over the weekend and see what nature has to say. Ever tried to get fire extinguisher dust off? It's a pain in the butt and tastes nasty!

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All shook up

Driving home from Numbered tonight and Im having to rev pretty hard and ease on the clutch to get any momentum going. Coming up the last hill to my house Jade dies out but I'm able to roll up just to the base of my driveway with my remaining momentum. I notice briefly that both my turn signals are on at the same time. Never seen that before. I roll Jade back against the curb and hop off, noticing a light under my gas tank at the same time. I am curious how I’ve never noticed (or changed) a lightbulb between my tank and engine so I lean in and down for a close look. Turns out it’s flames, under my gas tank. I freak out for a moment realizing I need something to put out the fire and also that the gas tank is right above the flames. I know it was dangerous to reach for the tank and pull it off, but in that moment it seemed like the right thing. I was able to turn off the petcock, unhook the rear tank mount and pull it off the frame, disconnecting the fuel line all in one go, in just a few seconds. The petcock lit fire as it popped open but I was able to blow these small flames out quickly.

Then I still had the burning frame. I put the engine down and ran as fast as I could up the hill and into my house scaring Kelsey as I burst thru the door. I yelled “my bike’s on fire and I need the extinguisher” as I ran past her and grabbed the small red tank from by the fridge. I bolted back down the hill, trying to figure out the tool while Kelsey dialed 911. Right as she was being transferred to the LAFD I figured it out and white smoke started pouring out from the tip of the extinguisher. I got it under control, she called off the troops and I took a big sigh of relief. I made sure the fire was out, removed my battery and put the tank back on. Now I guess I’m back to skating to work for the moment.

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Removing the battery after the unexpected electrical fire.

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Jade, Custom. 

1977 Honda CJ360-T

Hand Color Processed 35mm film at @codyslr​‘s home studio.

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Threw this little LED circuit test light together to help me out with ignition timing. Now where's that Clymers...

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

Queue Johnson & Wood. Valley parts & services shop that’s been there since the 60′s or so. Our guy (Bob I think) made an appropriate first impression, responding with “Hold on, I’ll be here all day”, when I asked about a foot peg while he was still writing down the details of my tire purchase.

Long story short, we got everything we needed and this place is amazing. Go visit before it (hopefully doesn’t) go out of business. 

Feeling stoked and looking sharp, the newly mounted tires on the newly spoked & shined rims were eager to get back to the shop and hop on the frame. Along with the tires came a 98 link chain and rear passenger footpeg (that even matched the one still on the bike!). 

We got back to the shop and put the cleaned brakes back in their hubs, the front wheel back up on the forks and rear wheel on the swing arm. We strung up the chain, brought the bike down off the block & attached the muffler. Woo, so exciting! 

We reattached and tuned all the cables, popped on the tank and the seat and she was ready to go! Her name had popped up the previous night from a collective effort and inspired by her color... so here she is: ‘Jade’, our CJ360T Cafe/Brat Inspired Rebuild (Round 1). After a few kicks she fired up and we got in a victory lap in the parking lot. Still a bit of tuning to do over the next couple weeks - most likely in the carbs & ignition timing - but she rolls, fires and looks fresh! 

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

DAY 6 TIMELAPSE

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

When Mix and I first started planning the build/trip I was thinking a 3-4 day long weekend would be the right amount of time, but Sunday came singin’ around and I was relieved we had 2 more days. It ended up being a pretty short day in the shop, but Mix got to touch the Pacific for the first time, so all was well and good in the end.

We split right up and Mix got to spoking & truing the wheels while I went at the tank. There was one motorcycle shop open late(r) on a Sunday down in Torrence so the our goal in the morning was to get the wheels together and bring them to the shop in order to buy & install new tires. Timing lucked out and we hustled down to the shop. It was going to feel great to have the wheels all done and possibly even buy a replacement chain to get the bike up and running for a victory lap before Mix headed back out. Not out lucky day though - when we get to the shop they are out of front tires that fit my rims! 

Feeling pretty bummed that we had rushed all morning and then driven 40 minutes to this shop that left us hanging, Kelsey made the right decision and brought us all to the beach for a some quick reflection time. We gathered ourselves and headed back, ready to get as much done as we could. 

There was another shop I’d contacted that said it could take care of tires for me so we put the tire bit on hold till the next day and hashed out what we could do in the meantime to get everything prep’d. We finished painting the tank and the gear box, took out the battery cage, removed the rear tire’s rubber fender, & fiddled with the electronics for a bit. 

Feeling like we had our work cut out for us the next day, we called it a night at a reasonable midnight and headed home (only after getting a quick peep at the tank on the frame of course). Check the timelapse!

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CJ360T RESTORATION MODIFICATION // 

DAY 5 TIMELAPSE

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definitely got our heavy metal fix on as well.

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

MIX’S HAND on DAY 4

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CJ360t RESTORATION MOD //

A few more shots from the front brake hub near-fiasko & respoking.

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

Day 4 started up with a wash/rinse/repeat. A heavy dose of purple power all on the engine block, down the frame, on the brake hubs and just about everywhere else followed by the hose took about 20 years off the bike in 15 minutes. Felt pretty good! Of course we didnt forget to bag the carbs first. 

After the bike was sparkling (ish) we were ready to get started on the wheels. First we had to split the old chain, which I guess must have been factory because there was no master/quick link to take out. We sized up the new chain I bought and it was too short! I’d ordered a 94 link chain based on the recommendation from the site I was ordering from, but the chain I took off was 98 links. Partially my fault for not counting, but I was surprised that either the site was incorrect or something on the drive chain system wasn’t stock on the bike and therefore needed a longer chain. After bumming out for a few, we pulled it together and moved on. More work to be done!

We pulled the brake hubs out of the wheels to disassemble, clean and replace. The rear brake ended up looking really fresh and totally new so we didnt do much to it, but the front brake pads needed to be replaced. Cue another sticky part! Damn this front brake hub! The spedo screw & cable, now the brake pad pivot...this is the stuff you can’t know about a head of time and can easily add hours to the job. After lots of lube spray, rubber mallet-ing and crying (to ourselves of course) Mix grabs the vice we had borrowed from Chris (the original owner - cool dude!) and whips up some resistance. After a few turns and slips we get a good grip and the rusty seal cracks! Outside with the parts for some evaporative (and super gnarly) brake cleaner. 

The next task wasn’t fun or easy, but after a trying a few different tools (and a quick run to Autozone for Mix’s new tire iron set) we were able to get the tired off the rims. We despoked the rims rubbed off as much rust as we could. The plan was to plexi-dip the rims black but after shining them up they looked pretty damn good so we kept them chrome. 

With chrome on the mind we spend a couple hours getting really intimate with the hubs, some steel wool & some Mother’s chrome shine. Stoked about the shiny wheels, Mix threads the new spokes and we call it a day.

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

DAY 4 TIMELAPSE

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CJ360T RESTORATION MOD //

DAY 3 RECAP

Time to fire up the beast! 

My friend Dan came by with a couple tools - compression tester & grinder - and started off the day by taking some extra steel off the frame. Then as we were removing the stater cover to start timing, we encountered another damn stripped screw! What a fucking hassle. Somehow Mix was able to do a perfect drill out - he used a drill bit the size of the shaft of the bolt and drilled thru the head until it disconnected and we could pull the cover off around the bolt. The hard part when doing this is making sure you’re going straight down the bolt so you dont damage the case, but Mix nailed it! woop!

Then we started cold timing with the valves followed by the ignition - guided by sifu Mix and the Clymer’s manual. We hooked the carbs back up, reattached the battery, added a little gas and brought the bike outside. Kicked it for a while and listened to it turn over. Didn’t totally get it reving but felt good enough about the engine to keep working on the bike.

I made a quick run home to grab the last big part I was waiting for - the original 2-into-1 exhaust system for the CJ360T. It was definitely pretty rusted out on the inside. We removed the headers for cleaning and installation and mounted them to the engine. I did a bit of rust removal by steel wool for the outside and shaking the muffler around for the inside.

We spent a bit longer tinkering around with the timing after the headers were installed and then after a quick run to Autozone for new plugs, we got her to rumble! One of the carbs was working a little slow, but nothing we were too concerned with. 

Yay! We took it apart and put it back together! Time to start getting it looking right and for us to give her a name.

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CB360t RESTORATION MOD //

DAY 3 TIMELAPSE

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The weather was perfect all week and we listened to so much hip-hop.