New bike with a few small issues

[Toledo]

Ill keep this short, sweet and bullet pointed because I see you guys get bored easy…

Im only just getting back into bikes and bought a 88 Honda Bros 400 a few weeks back and loving it but have a few issues to sort

• Crunches into gear a bit more than It should, bike is at 88,000 km so probably due a clutch. Where do I get one and can I do it myself” – Have done a car clutch before.
• When slowly coming onto throttle while crusing there is a thump of power rather than it coming on gently – is this likely to be a loose chain? Couldn’t see an easy way to adjust tension?
• Throttle sticks on WOT – likely to be at handlebar end or at carbs?
• When taking off from a stop it seems to hesitate/cough slightly if I WOT. Not much but noticeable – would this suggest a carb clean out is due? Fuel/air filter perhaps? This is only while starting off.
• I installed a new (and bloody bright) LED headlamp and have now lost dash lights and rear tail light (not brake lights tho). The LED light was only 3 wires and its done properly so cant figure that one out.
• Need a few spare parts if someone can point me in the right direction of someone breaking one.
• TOTAL NEWBIE QUESTION – is there a separate gear box oil? Or does it use engine oil to lube the gearbox? What oils should I be using when I change it?
• It has a factory end can on the exhaust that sounds okish but looks pretty average, Ideas on what I could replace it with? Id like something that still helps to show off the single sided swing arm look. Maybe something like a buell one where the bulk of the can is in front of the back wheel?

Thanks for making it to the end guys…
309671

[Maha]

:yawn: Sorry ...what?
It's an old bike NOT new, Wham had just broken up when it came off the production line, and like Wham, it's now a little tired and worn out. You have to wake it up before you go go.

[unstuck]

Carb needs cleaning and tuning + replace the fuse you blew wiring in the new LED.:innocent:

[Toledo]

* New to me.

[Toledo]

Carb needs cleaning and tuning + replace the fuse you blew wiring in the new LED.:innocent:

Thanks, Is there a sticky on here somewhere about best way to clean carbs out? I haven't had much time to poke around it yet...where are the fuses? Does anyone have a link to a manual or similar for this model?

[unstuck]

http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm There is a manual thread on here somewhere, do a quick search, you will find it.:2thumbsup

[ducatilover]

Good choice in bike mate, love a good Bros.
Get a Bros/Hawk GT650 owners manual for your chain adjustment.
Throttle sticking, take tank off, move throttle wheel on carbs by hand and see if that sticks (I doubt it). I imagine your cables and throttle grip need some lube

No idea about the LED headlight, unless you've gone and blown teh fuse

Hesitation at low revs, may just be a small motor/too much right hand issue.
Is the exhaust and airfilter standard, or is it de-baffled? De baffled will mean you need a wee bit more fuel going through. So figure out what revs it does it, if right off the bottom you may get away with a little more fuel screw (say half a turn out) other wise float height/needle height

Engine/gearbox oil are together. Buy some Motul stuff or something from a bike shop, JASO MA/MB rated ideally and you'll be sweet.

[Murray]

Ill keep this short, sweet and bullet pointed because I see you guys get bored easy…

Im only just getting back into bikes and bought a 88 Honda Bros 400 a few weeks back and loving it but have a few issues to sort

• Crunches into gear a bit more than It should, bike is at 88,000 km so probably due a clutch. Where do I get one and can I do it myself” – Have done a car clutch before.
• When slowly coming onto throttle while crusing there is a thump of power rather than it coming on gently – is this likely to be a loose chain? Couldn’t see an easy way to adjust tension?
309671

Tighten chain - if its too loose could be reason it crunches - probably won't be reason for thump of power tho.

Rest has been answered I think - oh hesitation on starting off and occasional cough could be air leak in carburetor set up somewhere- sounds like carb should come out and looked at and it would fix most of the problems

[AllanB]

Oil and filter change in the first instance. If the stuff in there is old it is also being churned through the gears.

Throttle as above plus check the condition of the cable(s) if they are dirty they need cleaning and lubricating. If kinked that may cause the stick.

Throttle sleeve on the bar may be full of 88,000 kms of accumulated gunk. Remove, clean and re install.

Muffler. Skys the limit if you have the skills or $

You could consider modding this for your under engine look - you will need to set up new headers to suit http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/parts-for-sale/exhaust/auction-854686893.htm

No disrespect bu the age and km of the bike .... me I'd troll Trademe for a suitable can to replace the stock one or you can buy a new one from bike shops for around a hundy and graft that bad-boy on.

Emgo brand make reasonable megaphone mufflers - note the ones with removable baffles have shit packing so allow for a roll of packing material too.

The 17 inch shorty is bitching but very loud ...... but given you can pull the core out you can mess around with making noise reducers. Fun too.

These chaps have a selection http://www.motozone.co.nz/resources/products/17383-34.1999/emgo-2014-classic-cafe-catalogue.pdf

Any bike shop can get them from the NZ supplier.

[caseye]

Send bogan a pm he will know everything about which you speak.
Look him up and you will see why.

[bogan]

Send bogan a pm he will know everything about which you speak.
Look him up and you will see why.

Speaketh his name and he shall appear...


Ill keep this short, sweet and bullet pointed because I see you guys get bored easy…

Im only just getting back into bikes and bought a 88 Honda Bros 400 a few weeks back and loving it but have a few issues to sort

• Crunches into gear a bit more than It should, bike is at 88,000 km so probably due a clutch. Where do I get one and can I do it myself” – Have done a car clutch before.
• When slowly coming onto throttle while crusing there is a thump of power rather than it coming on gently – is this likely to be a loose chain? Couldn’t see an easy way to adjust tension?
• Throttle sticks on WOT – likely to be at handlebar end or at carbs?
• When taking off from a stop it seems to hesitate/cough slightly if I WOT. Not much but noticeable – would this suggest a carb clean out is due? Fuel/air filter perhaps? This is only while starting off.
• I installed a new (and bloody bright) LED headlamp and have now lost dash lights and rear tail light (not brake lights tho). The LED light was only 3 wires and its done properly so cant figure that one out.
• Need a few spare parts if someone can point me in the right direction of someone breaking one.
• TOTAL NEWBIE QUESTION – is there a separate gear box oil? Or does it use engine oil to lube the gearbox? What oils should I be using when I change it?
• It has a factory end can on the exhaust that sounds okish but looks pretty average, Ideas on what I could replace it with? Id like something that still helps to show off the single sided swing arm look. Maybe something like a buell one where the bulk of the can is in front of the back wheel?

Thanks for making it to the end guys…
309671

I get parts like clutch plates from HordPower.com, iirc the 400 has the same plates as the 650 but fewer of them. Search around hawkgtforum.com for a definitive answer on that one though.
Might be cush drive worn, chain's on these bike should be 'loose' so go by the recomended specs for them, not rule of thumb. Adjustment via the eccentric at the rear (pinch bolt at rear of swingarm).
More likely in the cable somewhere I'd say, or at the throttle end. Carb end is pretty basic connection.
No need to WOT from a a stop-start
You might have bumped the park light circuit when you were changing the bulb?
Don't know of anyone breaking one up locally. Always a few parts for sale on hawkgtforum though, shipping from US isn't too bad either.
No it uses engine oil in gearbox. type depends on how often you change it, I got with motul 5400 and change it once or twice a year depending on how much riding I do.
Not aware of any off the shelf exhaust solution that does what you want; a lot of people for for high mount cans but imo that covers up too much of the SSSA.

[aws]

Not sure what you mean by "crunch" into gear, but I find that most modern bikes give a fair clunk when engaging first from neutral, so this seems pretty normal. I'd have thought that a bike clutch would be a fair bit easier to replace than a car clutch. It is also running in the engine oil so fairly different from a car.

[Toledo]

Thanks guys, have had a chance to strip it down and poke around a bit now. There are a few issues that I need to sort out but in general the bike runs pretty well.

What I meant by crunch into gear is exactly as you have described, going from neutral into first. If this is normal I will leave it be. I thought it might have been to do with the clutch because if I roll the bike forward slowly as I do it there is no crunch, and is worse when the bike is cold.

I'm still a little confused about why its rough coming onto throttle, it's hard to explain but it's like if I twist the throttle slowly while crusing I get nothing, get nothing, get nothing then get a clunk then power as normal. Feels like something in the drive gear is loose?

I'll have a look at the hawkgt forum and try to find the parts I need.

Thanks!

[aws]

It wasn't quite as you described, but I used to get a small clunk taking off when I had a partially seized link in my chain. I think it was occurring just at the point where chain tension got high enough to straighten the chain. It's pretty easy to check for this issue by flexing all the links.

[Toledo]

New development this morning.... Decided to count gears and found I only have 5, 1 down 4 up. Is this normal for this model or is something wrong?

[Toledo]

Don't worry, just looked it up and this model is only a 5 speed :confused:

[kiwi cowboy]

Re the clunking into gear from neutral do you just pull the clutch in and whack ya foot on the gear lever?.
I have been told its best to pull the clutch in and blip the throttle before engauging gear.
The reason for blipping throttle is to help separate the plates especially with cold engine .

[aws]

Re the clunking into gear from neutral do you just pull the clutch in and whack ya foot on the gear lever?.
I have been told its best to pull the clutch in and blip the throttle before engauging gear.
The reason for blipping throttle is to help separate the plates especially with cold engine .
Interesting idea. I'll need to try that. I sometimes find if I hold the clutch in for a few seconds first, there is less of a clunk.

[Toledo]

Urgently need a new ignition for this tonight, can anyone in akl help?? I assume there are a few models that this shares the same ignition with...

[nseagoon]

I know this thread is now a little old but I've gone through a couple of these bikes.
The Gearbox on them is typical Honda. Hardy but clunky, that may be the issue you're having.
as mentioned, cush rubbers is a possible cause. easy way to tell is either put it in gear with engine turned off and see if you can get the sprocket to move without the wheel moving.
Otherwise look at the sprocket when you put it in to gear when running. if it leaps forwards without turning wheel the rubbers have worn out.
If replacements are required it's an easy fix, you'll just probably need a rattle gun and adaptor to get the wheel nut off. I used a 6 ft bar and jumped on it and wouldn't budge it.

I had one with a straight pipe exhaust and it hesitated a little at start up especially when it was a very cold morning.
but once running for a minute or so you should have normal performance. If you're talking about a dip in revs if you blip throttle at idle that is normal for these. they're only 2 cylinders and carb so no computers to counteract anything.

If I remember right the fuses are either beside the battery or underneath it and accessible on the left hand side. if your lights are out after rewiring 99% sure you've blown one.
If you do LED turning signals too make sure you either buy a resister pack or install resisters yourself for two reasons. 1- the indicating rate is really fast and annoying, 2-can cook the relay, or fry fuses.

[Toledo]

A few updates...


Im pretty sure the Cush drive rubbers are stuffed. Will replace them but where is the best place to get them from?

Fuses are below the headlight and one was blown, and then blew again, and now seems to be ok and has been for a while... think there was a short rubbing somewhere but has been stable now for the last few months of everyday use.

Ignition replacement was easy and very cheap thanks to aliexpress...

Still hesitates a little if you blib the throttle when its been at idle, doesn't bother me anymore. Will stall sometimes if left to idle for too long at a long set of lights and then you go to ride off on green, but if you just clear it with a blip of throttle first and then take off its ok.

I have an exhaust setup in mind, will update later.

Front fork seals replaced.

Gotta say that for all its quirks I still LOVE this bike! its a bit under powered but just so much fun to ride!. hoping that some exhaust work and putting pod filters on it will increase the power a little bit.