Honda clr cityfly issues

[Milliways]

Hi peeps, been away a while as my comp snuffed it lol.
My clr is running bloody slow, i have changed the spark plug, fitted a new airfilter, new sprockets and new tyres.
0-30 is ok but struggles from there i cant even hit 50 on a straight... 5th gear might as well not even be there as the bike goes slower and a slight up hill it goes to about 25mph, i only weigh 12 stone so i dont know what the problem is :'(
Any ideas,
Thanks all and its good to be back!

[NiteW4tcher]

when u changed the sprockets did u match them up with original?

if you have changed the gearing the engine may not be able to match up and will seem under powered (i changed my gearing on my gsxr so i had more acceleration but 20mph ish less top end)

did you check the spark plug gap?? does the engine run ok?

does it splutter or hesitate to rev? any odd smoke out of exhaust??

i belive the engine u have is from a honda xlr (could be wrong)

[Milliways]

Thanks for the reply :) no smoke and i got the sprocket changed at roy vincents, it doesnt splutter or hesitate on rev and the gearing is stock, also the plug gap is to book spec, just has no guts, way less than the cg125 i rode for my cbt :'(

Dave

[Toph]

Have you had the compression checked? , sounds like a sticky valve, or broken piston ring??
I've ridden a city fly, they go really well, 60+ mph on a flat road should be no problem.
I'm sure the more talented mechanics on here should give you some good advice. :)

[Milliways]

No i havnt had that checked, I might take it to roy vincent to get it looked at, hopfully its not gonna be major and not be too expensive! Thanks for the info mate

Dave

[Jon_W]

Could be a number of things.

As toph says, get the compression checked. Also check the carb. Could be dirt in the carb or a split rubber. The only other one is ignition. Check the HT lead and plug. Take the plug out and see if you have a nice bright spark.

[Wes]

Ok, check the fuel filter if you can, this could be a problem if its blocked, also the breather hole in the fuel cap if worth a check to make sure its clear.

[Milliways]

Thanks for the advice peeps, i have no idea where the fuel filter is lol but will have a search, i checked the breather hole and is fine, the caliper isnt workin right and binds the break slightly (could be the prob) so i have ordered another one off ebay. Will update when i have fitted the caliper ^^

[Wes]

Front or rear caliper? you could always run the bike up on a rear paddock stand and see how it goes through the gears, you might be able to hear or see something you don't notice when on the bike.

[Trev]

Thanks for the advice peeps, i have no idea where the fuel filter is lol but will have a search, i checked the breather hole and is fine, the caliper isnt workin right and binds the break slightly (could be the prob) so i have ordered another one off ebay. Will update when i have fitted the caliper ^^
On a lower power bike a binding caliper can have a noticeable effect and a must to sort for safety reasons as well. As the heat will build at higher speeds then possible that it will be even more noticeable then.
Unless it's been knocked likely it will only need a good clean and possibly new piston/seal kit. Be aware that usually a new caliper will not include new seals and piston unless specifically stated in the ad. You would be better off trying to clean/rebuild yours first.
Roy Vincents should be able to tell you if caliper can be cleaned/rebuilt and give you a price to do so, shouldn't be a huge sum on the CityFly.

[Milliways]

I am having some problems with the caliper now :'( i have replaced the pistons, bled the brakes, new pads and still it binds! any ideas? is there an adjuster or sommit i am missing?

Please help lol.
Dave.

[NiteW4tcher]

replaced the seals i assume aswell? were the pistons that bad?

[Milliways]

Yeah the pistons where terrible! But i checked the seals and they where fine, i just resetted the pistons about 5 mins ago, but didnt make any difference. Its almost as if the pistons arnt retracting enough.

[Scotty]

What you might have to do is remove the seals and clean out the grooves in which they sit - it's a job I had to do years ago on a ZX-9R that I had which had really badly binding brakes. The pistons were pretty crappy but they cleaned up ok with some tlc but behind the seals was loads of salt corrosion which basically pushed them inwards and made them grip the pistons excessively hard and preventing them from returning properly when the lever was released. The remedy was to remove the seals (easily enough done without damaging them if you're careful and they can be re-used) and carefully clean all the crap out of the seal groove. I ended up making a special tool for the job from the stainless steel strips you get in windscreen wiper blades (knew they'd come in useful some time hehe).
Before refitting the seals it's worth getting some proper brake grease (it's the colour of cherryade) and putting plenty in the seal grooves and on the pistons to ease re-assembly and minimise corrosion returning. Then re-assemble and bleed again. If problems persist it's time to look at the master cylinder (in fact check that it's not holding the brake on before stripping the calliper again)

[Milliways]

Thanks for the advice scotty, i will check the seal grooves. When you said check the brakes arnt being held on, what do you mean?
Cheers.

[NiteW4tcher]

what scotty was saying is it may not be a caliper issue but the master cylinder could be faulty and keeping pressure / not releasing therefore holding the brakes on slightly

not sure but if u take the top of master cylinder off then push the piston the fluid level should rise in cylinder res if it doesnt then the master cylinder is playing up ...........just going on past experience

[Milliways]

Thanks all for the advice and i have solved it!
Scotty was right about the seal groves, they were filthy, so i cleaned it all and changed the seals, put it all back together. While i was bleeding the brakes the bleed valve broke away from the caliper!! so i had to repair my original caliper enough to be able to put the pistons back in so i had to go through the whole process again! what a nightmare but i sorted it and now works great... took it for a test ride and reached 60mph!! scared me ****less lol. thanks again to you all.
Dave.

[NiteW4tcher]

glad its sorted [smiley=thumbsup.gif]