I got my 87 cane on tuesday, my first bike. Its awsome! Very fast! I got some questions though;
-What RPMs do you guys normally shift at, do you redline it all the time? is that safe for the engine?
-Where is the horn on this thing, its not working I wanted to see if maybe its a loose connection or something?
-The rear rotor is shot, the guys i bought it from put new brake pads on front and back wheels, but the rear rotor is bumpy and rough. I go to a technical highschool, and I was thinking about bringing it into the machine shop and having them re-surface the rotor. Is this possible with a rotor that small? How much is a new one? and If I got a new one, or this one resurfaced, could I still use the same brake pads, or would I have to put on new ones?
-Where can I find parts for this thing?
-What type of gas do you guys run in yours, I first put in 87, then someone told me to go higher, so i put in the highest - 93.

All help is appreciated, Im completely new to this, and thank you everyone for your help.

 

Welcome, If you haven't already get some riding gear.

-Shifting, If i am not rideing hard and just enjoying the day i will shift arround 6-7.
-I can't remember where the horn is, but I do know that it is easy to hit with your thumb
-You can pick up a new rotor from https://www.ronayers.com/ - you can buy OEM parts for less, rotors are still not cheep. Other then that ebay is a great resource for parts for the bike.
- most canes have a problem with the CCT (CAM CHAIN TENSIONER). It will be a knocking noise when the bike is running. You can pick up a manual one from. http://www.cbrzone.com/sprockets.html.

-bj
http://www.askbj.com/bike/index.htm

 

welcome, liek wiley said, get some gear. thats important. i normally shift my bike arond 5-6K on normal riding, and if you want the TOP speed out of your bike you will have to ride each gear out to get the most speed from it, this is not technically bad for the engine, just puts more stress on it than would be if you were not takings the RPMs that high. the bike was built to go up to that, so as long as you dont redline it, you should be fine. ronayers is a good place for parts, i like http://www.mrcycles.com relatively cheaper OEM parts IMO but do the shopping around. eBay is also a GREAT place to get parts, people will part canes out on there and list everything cheap. going to probably have to use salvage yards as well to get some parts. if necessary try the online multi-yard parts request, just google 'used motorcycle parts.' as far as the horn goes, tht button is on the left bar under the signal switchs. the actual horn is right under the headlight by the oil cooler and its easy for the 2 hots going to it to come lose. i dont know if you could grind that rotor down or not. sure it would not hurt, but im not sure. check ebay, i saw some on there the other day. i started running 93 in my bike at first, but it really doesnt matter. you are not going to see any power difference. i have heard some places hondas are not built for higher octanes, but it wont gurt it either. i try to run it some times to try and make it burn hotter to try and keep the engine clean, but with gas prices as high as they are. there is no need to. i just run 87 now. also get yourslef a clymes service manual. very detailed maintenance, breakdown, and repair with pictures.

 

Ras awesome advise, I was looking at the pic of your bike, do you have duel rotors? Also I was thinking would grinding down only one side of the duel rotors would cause braking inbalence.I think I read an article about high octane fuels as Im a huge mx'r, that most bikes are actually made for just reg gas, by adding octane you could actually lose some power. I'v put octane boost in my cbr didn't notice any real power increase, just revved slightly higher.

 

its got 2 in the front and 1 in the rear. i would think you could turn these the same way as you would for a car, but im just guessing.

 

I'm not excatly sure, as I just buy new parts, that it would be a good isea just to turn down one, pads would be diff, effecting balence for sure, what ya say Ras, I totally respect your opinion.On that line wandering what is the diff between my 89 and 87?

 

i would just get a new set, wouldnt want to risk it. i dont know for sure and dont want to tell you otherwise. if its something you really want to know, post it in general tech, as many people dont come in this sub forum.

 

answers to your questions:

1. i shift around 5-6, but if you really wanna bang through gears, 9-10.

2. the horn is located under the bottom triple clamp. it's just bolted to it underneath. maybe loose connection or maybe just plain missing.

3. rotors have a minimum thickness. get a micrometer and find out. the minimum is stamped into the surface of the rotor somewhere near a mounting bolt hole. take measurements in various places and see if any come near the minimum. if any are less than that then the rotor is junk. does not matter how much rotor you have left. too thin and the rotor will not dissipate heat very well and will eventually crack.

if pads look decent you could reuse them but if not too much pad left, replace them. if you resurface, just get new pads so that they can bed in and wear properly.

all rotors can be resurfaced no matter what size, you just have to make sure you have a hub adapter for the rotor to mount to before putting it on the lathe. if your school has a flywheel grinder, you could use that, too. but it takes a lot more skill than using a brake lathe.

if you don't wanna take chances and hurt yourself or the bike, get new rotor(s) and pads. much, much safer in the longrun.

4. for gas, i run 87. it's quite okay. this bike has lower compression than newer models, i think it is 10.5:1. newer models to generate more power have to run higher piston pressures (12-13:1) thereby using higher octane gas to prevent predetonation. if your engine is stock, just save your money and buy 87. you won't suffer any loss in performance.

hope this helps.

matt

 

Awsome! Thanks for all of your help! I think Im just going to keep the rotor, its bumpy and rough, but its got brand new pads and it works fine, just means the pads will wear down faster, then I will get a new rotor. It still stops me and i figure if worse comes to worse during a ride, ill just downshift and use the front brake. Do you guys down shift to stop? Im not exactly sure how to but is it important? I will go soon and pick up some riding gear. Im also going to paint my bike soon, Im thinking metalic black. Any one got good ideas for a color?

 

my question to you is - have you ever taken a motorcycle course of any kind? if not, then you really should take one. it will teach you to be a safer and better rider and basic skills.

you should be using your fronts to stop more so than the rear. the fronts provide the majority of the stopping power. if you are not using the fronts, then you should start using them more now. you can use the rear brake in conjuction with the fronts. but get in the habit of using the fronts to stop because the rear will not provide enough stopping power when you need it most.

you should be downshifting as you are slowing down and be in second or first gear coming to a stop. if someone rolls up on you, you will be in an acceleration gear ready to move away. or ready to make a turn.

don't be afraid to use the front brakes. you won't fly over the front unless you grab alot of brake. the faster you need to stop, the greater the lever pull.

i don't know about other riders, but i really do suggest you take a motorcycle riding course. there are things that aren't really worth learning the hard way.

here is a story about a friend of mine who didn't get used to using the front brakes. he for the most part used the rear. i knew this because he was always getting new rear pads installed. one point on a ride, he had to panic stop, so he stomped on the rear brake causing it to lockup. this caused the bike to skid and as the rear was going around, he released the brake so now the rear started to grip coming out of the skid. when the rear got traction, he highsided. long story short, he was able to walk away from it. now he uses the fronts more and the rear sparingly.

matt