I sold the Harley 2 weeks ago and could not get over the motorcycle less blues. The 72 CT90 just did not fill the void. I have had a motorcycle since I can remember. I was crying to a Harley buddy of mine and he said he had the cure. I went over and in the corner of his garage sat this bike. Unmolested, undamaged, and unridden. 8521 miles and just had new tires, metzlers, and a tune up. He had owned it for two and a half years and put 120 miles on it. Said he would let me have it for 2G. I could not get to the bank fast enough.
Now for the problems. Valve tapping upon start up. Goes away after 5 seconds. Is it shims or is it adjustable tappets?
Miss at idle. I am sure it is the idle circuit in one of the carbs. Worse when cold. Almost goes away when wormed up. Not there above 2000 RPM.
The rims have some kind of staining on the aluminum where they are suppose to be shiny. I tried polish and it looks like it will clean up but will leave a mark or stain in the aluminum. I hit it with some 1500 grit and looks like it may smooth out enough to paint. Anyone painted the outer part of the wheel with any luck? Any ideas?
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Wow, great find! That looks to be in remarkable shape!
The tapping you hear on start up might be the cam chain tensioner. Nothing to wory about until it starts to make noise even after it's warm. It's a pretty easy fix though. The valves are very simple to adjust. No shims, they are a tappet type. Do a seach for valve adjust and you will find step by step instructions on how to do it. There is even a thread on a home made tool to make it even easier.
After sitting for so long I would suspect the carbs are a little gunked up. You might have to pull them and give them a good cleaning to correct that idle issue.
After riding a Harley you will be pleasantly suprised on how well the 'cane rides and you'll enjoy the extra power too!
Welcome and congrats on the find!

 

Great bike !
As your other questions have been answered, I'll stick to rim cleaning.
Buy a tube of Autosol metal cleaning paste and a soft cloth buff - I assume you have an electric drill.
Remove the wheel/s
Spread the paste over the affected areas, once you've removed the surface gunk with 1500 grit.
Buff the wheels - will take quite a while, but they should come up good as new.
(If you can't find any Autosol, car rubbing compound or buffing soap works well too)
I did it to 3 bikes with very good results - all early bikes like GSX1100, XJ900, GPZ900 etc.
Hope this helps !

 

Welcome, and youll see the common knowledge of the great bunch here beats every garage!

 

Congrats on a great deal and a great bike, enjoy!

 

Great find.

I used JAPLAC on my rims - It comes in spray cans and is like a paint / laquer mix.
looks like glass when it has dried.

In order to get a good finish I used a bar to support the wheel between two axle stands.
Then sprayed the wheel whilst rotating it slowly on it's own bearings.

Here is the result



[IMG]local://upfiles/11256/2A608218F2FB47038D218D840292C014.jpg[/IMG]

 

Bought some mothers polish for aluminum wheels today and I will have a go at it tomorrow. I think I will be able to get them acceptable. I not looking for perfect. Just want to get the grundge off. I will be pulling all the plastic off and giving her a good once over. Should look like new when done. I am going to check the valves and sync the carbs while I got it apart. I am hoping that the miss is just something in the idle circuit. It has sat for so long that is my first guess. I will swap plugs around first and make sure it still misses on the same cylinder. I have installed a new plug before in other bikes that was bad from the start. The guy I got it from just had the service done in the last 10 miles and said it ran perfect prior to the service. That is why I want to check the plugs first, then valves, then check the carbs. Should be able to run it down that way. Thanks for the info guys. I appreciate it.

 

Great looking bike. Unreal of a find. Some people have all the luck. Welcome to the club.

 

Before pulling her down, take her on the road for a couple of hundred Kilometers - she probably just needs a good run - at that mileage, valve adjustments shouldn't be necessary. Put a little petrol additive in the tank to help clean any gunk out of the carbs, and you should be away !