N00b Introduction

[Noblehops]

Pardon my bad manners for not doing this sooner - I've been here for a month or so availing myself of the wisdom and buying a few parts. Great board, and vibe.

My name is Nils, I might know a few of you from ADV or the KLR and CBX web boards that I frequent. I live in Massachusetts and I have a motorcycle problem, like many of you. The current stable includes a 2007 BMW R1200GS, a 1980 Honda CBX that I just finished restoring, two POS 1972 Kawasaki H2s that I can't yet bear to tear into, plus a 2003 VStrom and a 1991 KLR that are both stashed out west at my brother's house in AZ.

More recently I purchased a very nice (but lightly crashed) 2001 R1100S Light, and I have been going through it, doing some cosmetic and mechanical repairs and improvements, getting it fully dialed in for me. It's a really fun bike to work on, and as usual I am learning a ton of new stuff, and that is of course a lot of the fun. I am very much looking forward to riding it in a couple weeks when it should all be back together. I will post separately about my project as soon as I can get my photos all captioned, but here's a 'before' for starters:



More soon,

N.

[wswartzwel]

Welcome to the board.

Noble Hops??? You involved with brewing?

[ricky racer]

Post a picture or two of your CBX.

[Noblehops]

Originally Posted by wswartzwel

Welcome to the board.

Noble Hops??? You involved with brewing?

Good catch Bill, some folks think I am attributing nobility to myself with my handle :-). My involvement with brewing is on the consumption side actually but I do love me some microbrews. We now have a great little brewpub in Amesbury where 'everybody knows my name'. I think I'll go there tonight!

N.

[Noblehops]

Originally Posted by ricky racer

Post a picture or two of your CBX.

With pleasure Ricky :-):

Beginning:






Middle:






End:








The entire bloody-knuckled saga:

The Not-Restoration of My Honda CBX - Nils Menten (Noblehops)'s Photos

N.

[LeftCoast Peter]

That is awesome!! Thanks.

[Bob Hancock]

A noob to this forum but an artist with a wrench. That Honda is spectacular! Welcome aboard....will look forward to your R11S Light project.

[Noblehops]

Originally Posted by Bob Hancock

A noob to this forum but an artist with a wrench. That Honda is spectacular! Welcome aboard....will look forward to your R11S Light project.

You are too kind. I am way more persistent than I am skilled. Being BOTH would have been way better. But thanks :-).

N.

[Guest24]

Can you relate what you did to clean up the engine?

[ricky racer]

WOW!!!! That is beautiful!!! Thanks for posting!!

[Noblehops]

Originally Posted by Nail24

Can you relate what you did to clean up the engine?

Sure - being a CBX, that is of course the whole thing with the bike, that wall of engine coming down the road at you. The short version is that I stripped it of all the covers I was going to polish, bought rubber stoppers for the intake and exhaust, taped and masked the other openings. I then scrubbed the living ****e out of it with citrus degreaser, rinsed it, dried it, then had a guy with a massive truck-mounted powder blasting rig come over and baking-soda blast it (accept no substitutes) while I turned it around and over on a wood pallet. Then another wash and rinse, degrease with mineral spirits, and then spray painted the engine with 3 coats of VHT high temperature paint. Let it cure for a week, then carted it off to my powdercoater, who then baked it for an hour in his giant oven at 200 degrees.

Here's the engine, post prep, just before paint:



More on page 10 of the gallery here:

The Not-Restoration of My Honda CBX - Nils Menten (Noblehops)'s Photos

Then it was put back the now polished or powdercoated covers, and start reassembling the thing.

This guy is a friend from the CBX community, he went a few layers better, with acid etch and primer, and he used a cheap but effective Harbor Freight engine stand that made the job a lot easier. My guess is that his finish is likely a bit more durable than mine, although a year later mine still looks perfect and is well-stuck.

It's a fiddly, multi-step, but not difficult process. The VHT paints and primers are really great, of course the secret is the prep and the masking.

The International CBX Owners Association • View topic - Soda Blasting and Painting your Engine Pt 1

The International CBX Owners Association • View topic - Soda Blasting and Painting your Engine Pt 2


Hope that's helpful,

N.

[roadrash666]

Absolutely frickin gorgeous! The CBX is one of my favorite bikes of all time and a true mechanical masterpiece. I would LOVE to own that bike you should be very proud of your efforts. Welcome to the asylum

[slowrider]

Welcome to the board. i just noticed you were MA, we're doing a weekend ride out to Lake George this weekend. The weather looks suspect but you would be welcome to join us.

Weak Sauce Tour 6.1 May 14-15

[Guyf]

That CBX is gorgeous!

[AZ-Twin]

You do very nice work, welcome to the forum.

[Noblehops]

You guys kick a$$. Thank you for the good words and the welcome.

N.

[Noblehops]

Originally Posted by slowrider

Welcome to the board. i just noticed you were MA, we're doing a weekend ride out to Lake George this weekend. The weather looks suspect but you would be welcome to join us.

Weak Sauce Tour 6.1 May 14-15

Kevin, thanks for the invite. I can't join you this weekend but I appreciate the invite.

N.

[bacn5]

Welcome! The exhaust on the 1100s looks to be modified. Is there a ballance tube? Can you post some better shots of the headers?

[Noblehops]

Originally Posted by bacn5

Welcome! The exhaust on the 1100s looks to be modified. Is there a ballance tube? Can you post some better shots of the headers?

Sure thing. I'm starting to think my bike is a mismash of models!



What does this tell you, if anything?

N.

[bacn5]

Sorry that looks stock. I could not see the crossover pipe in the other photo. While you have it off you may want to clean up the welds on the inside of the flanges.