I forgot what a static magnet these plastic parts are for attracting dust nibs. Had to impose on my long-suffering wife the use of our dining room table to do some polishing indoors after supper. The light's better and we get more channels in the house

Good enough for me, but the keen-eyed will spot a couple areas for improvement. I probably could have sanded the clear totally flat (and still might, depending on how the remaining panels go) but I'd rather focus my energy on getting the rest of the paint done for now

If we're being optimistic, mid-April is the earliest that anyone in this town gets their bikes out with any regularity. At my snails pace, getting it to 100% could be close, but I've got enough done that I could slap something together pretty quick if the weather turned nice all of a sudden

 

Update: First tuning attempt was an abject failure

I'd bought a cheap motion pro carb sync tool, and set it up following the instructions perfectly, fully loosening the choke screws and installing the little restrictor things in each hose. Installed the calibrator header and plugged it into the nice warm engine and within seconds each liquid column was maxed out. Shut it off before the liquid could be sucked out. Attempted to loosen the choke screws even more, and one of the screws split in half. Screws are made from extruded aluminum, or some infernal Chinese pot metal. Only the finest ingredients, I'm sure

That'll teach me to buy the cheap tool. Nicer one ordered, with actual gauges and stuff

Tried to salvage the situation, since the engine was warm I attempted a pilot screw adjustment. Each screw set to 2 turns off seat. Found that #3 was seized. Stopped myself before it stripped, but she'll be going back to the bench for some gentle negotiations. Two steps back

Replacement pilot screws are hard to find though. OEM screw sets discontinued, and even aftermarket kits rarely come with pilot screws. Found a cheap set from China, in a ricey gold color. What could go wrong?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-Metal-E...xZsKsE&vxp=mtr

At least there's still snow on the ground so it's not like I'm missing out on any riding. Would be nice to get this project done though

 

I've not worked on an '87. Do the mixture screws have a D-shaped head? If so, in the past, I've taken a fine hacksaw blade and sawn a groove in the head to accept a flat blade screw driver.

 

These ones come with a slot head, and decent access too. I've got half a mind to give it some penetrant and a couple days and see if I can work it free. It runs great off idle, and even the idle itself isn't that bad, but cylinder 3 is definitely a bit off with an occasional misfire, and when the plugs originally came out I remember cyl 3 was showing rich

I've almost justified going up to the better carbs from the later models, but if that happens it'll be after this riding season is done and the budget has been replenished

 

Sorry should add that the busted screw was on the motion pro tool, not the bike. I've got a seized pilot screw, but I've got options for dealing with that

The tool is going right in the garbage though. Pathetic

 

Sorry you didn't have a good luck with the MP sync tool. I have their gauge set and it's always been good. Getting the knurled screw adjusted just right can take some getting used to, but other than that it's been good.


Better luck with the new set!

 

Yeah I looked it up. Apparently, the Hurricane produces 36 cm Hg, and the max for the tool is 40. That's right on the upper limit, so maybe not surprising that the fluid was sucked out

As for the broken screws, we can probably blame the 200lb gorilla

 

I almost purchased a MP tool a while back, decided against it until someone puts up a vid on how to do it with the later carbs, Honda made them harder to work on with later models as they were not getting enough service work on the MK1

 

For what it's worth, balancing carbs seems to be a pretty easy job, and service interval is 12k, so it should be done every couple years. The only challenging part is locating the adjustment screws and the tool would probably have been just fine if it hadn't been that strong of a vacuum. I'd recommend taking the tank fully off the bike and using a temporary tank so you get better access cause access is a bit tight though

I've got a few motion pro tools and never had a problem, though in this case I would really like to see those screws be made of steel instead of aluminum, or even selling replacement screws would make the tool more useful. I found carb sync tools in the same price range with better range/adjustability, so we'll give those a shot and see if I get a better result

The pilot screw adjustment does look nasty for the MK2-on models though, since they put the screw on the bottom in later years, and it looks like specialty tools are the only way to get it done

I'd love to say that they took a page out of VW's playbook, but in my experience all OEM's are guilty of trying to quash independent repair shops/hobbyists from fixing their machines

 

First ride! I was in a bit of a funk after having to sell off the 2014 (couldn't afford to buy it from the estate, so off she went, not my choice) and I decided to get the Hurricane running for a little shake-down run to make sure it was behaving the way it should

After a hilarious catastrophic fuel leak caused by me forgetting to reinstall the o-ring on the fuel tank float, I buttoned up the old girl, slapped on the minimum number of parts to make it street-legal, and took it for a rip around the burbs

The good:
-Ran flawlessly!
-Stiffer springs in the front really help when you a fatso
-Lovin' the new tires, even though I wasn't exactly going hard
-Front brake is not too grabby (was concerned with the sintered pads/ss line combo)
-Paint looks pretty good in the sun
-Riding position is super liveable (had thought about putting a 1 inch drop on the pegs, but I think she'll be fine for now)
-No leaks, except for a bit of fuel whenever I turn the petcock to 'reserve' for some reason. Annoying.
-Nothing fell off!

The bad:
-Rear brake excessively soft. I'll bleed it again to see if it helps
-Rear spring is also on the soft side, but not problematic. Feels a bit wishy-washy
-It might take a while for the ratbike smell to disperse
-I forgot how much heat comes off these old sportbikes! That's one thing the modern bikes really get right most times

The great:
-That powerband! There's something intangible about it, even after riding modern bikes, about the way that Hurricane motor spins up. They really nailed it with this powerplant. No flat spots, very linear, and every bit as fast as I remember

De-licious

As for body, I've got a redo on the left side cover, and a huge sag on the belly pan. Now that she's been in the sun, I think I should go back and clearcoat the tank as well. No luck tracking down the '1000' decals either, so she's probably not going to be fully completed just yet. That said, I'll repaint what needs to be repainted, bomb the mirror stalks, slap the rest of the bodywork on, and happily ride this bike for what's left of the summer. I'll get some more pics when she's all there. In the meantime, she gets to be a ratbike for a little while longer