Darrell's 1965 Honda CB77 Superhawk Auction Find

[dhinch279]

Hi everyone,

I just recently came across this Superhawk at a local auction in a rural area that had about 20 other bikes. I was actually at the auction to bid on a BSA but it went out of my price range. This one however I couldn't pass up. Apparently everyone was there for the british bikes so I scored this complete bike for $90. It has 3,824 original miles(or at least that is what the gauges say). I don't many decent pics but I do have a couple. I need to figure out how to resize them. You can click on them to make them bigger.












My issue right now is that I have replaced the starter relay, both coils with dyna coils, NGK spark plugs and wires, Charlie's Place regulator/rectifier, and upgraded to Charlie's Place electronic ignition. I have also completely rebuilt the carbs and I still can not get it to run at all.

I have adjusted the timing to the Charlie's Place specs and all I get is a back fire out of the exhaust, or if I adjust the timing it will back fire out of the carbs. I can't get a solid run even for a few seconds.

I am at a loss right now and can't figure out what exactly I am missing.

[Seadog]

Sounds familiar. Check your coil connections.

[mike in idaho]

The timing may be 180° out. When the timing pickup is aligned with the marks, the intake/exhaust rockers should be slightly loose(valves closed). If both rockers are tight it is on the exhaust stroke.

[DJM]

Did it run before you carried out the (expensive) upgrades or didn't you try it?

You have altered several thigs at the same time and now have the classic problem of working out which one (or more) is causing the problem.

Might be an idea to put it back to standard spec, see if it will run like that and then progressing from there.

I'm sure the upgrades should / will give an improvement over the original 50 year old stuff but in my experience, the standard ignition and charging system work just fine if they are in good condition,

[dhinch279]

Did it run before you carried out the (expensive) upgrades or didn't you try it?

You have altered several thigs at the same time and now have the classic problem of working out which one (or more) is causing the problem.

Might be an idea to put it back to standard spec, see if it will run like that and then progressing from there.

I'm sure the upgrades should / will give an improvement over the original 50 year old stuff but in my experience, the standard ignition and charging system work just fine if they are in good condition,

I did try to get it started with the original equipment and had ignition issues. The bike hasn't been registered since 1974 and according to the previous owner it was parked long term shortly after. The points were actually corroded together and the spark plug boots and wires just fell apart. I cleaned everything up and tried my best to get a spark but was never able to. I just decided to upgrade the whole ignition system and here I am. I have plenty of spark now, and I know i am getting at least some fuel to the cylinders because I have pulled the plugs and there is fuel on the spark plugs. It's my opinion at this point that I am missing something on the timing.

I am going to completely reset the timing and try the 180 degree recommendation from Mike from Idaho to see if that helps out at all.

[dhinch279]

Well I figured out how to make the pics larger but I think I went a little too far the other way. Anyway, the 180 degree change made all the difference. I got it running! Which is a huge plus! Now it just runs balls out even though the carb slides are down and the choke is on. If I turn the choke off it idles at about 6,000 rpm.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do next? I have followed Ed Moore's Tuning Recipe to start the carbs off, but it seems like it is getting a lot of air from somewhere. I have even tightened the air screws all the way tight and it will still run at high RPM's.

I also noticed oil dripping out of the right cylinder as seen in the pics below. It looks like it is coming out from behind the ignition somewhere and running to the front of the motor onto the exhaust.

[mike in idaho]

Make sure both slides are in the correct way around(cutouts toward the air cleaners) The carburetor tops are different for left and right, they need to be on the correct side to keep the cables from binding.