my latest project 1978 honda twinstar 185

[outskirtscustoms]

That has got to be the cleanest engine I have seen....ever! Looks like it's new old stock!

 

[heartlandcruisers]

yeah i was really surprised it looks that clean.
there is oil in it but that's expected.
no wonder she runs decent even with her valve issue.
sean

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

Have you asked your local Honda dealer if they can get parts? I bet nearly everything for that bike is still available.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[heartlandcruisers]

yeah te only dealer here tried to shaft me saying i needed a whole new head in order to d the valves so im staying away from those criminals

 

[heartlandcruisers]

got my valve seats today.
i then proceeded to do more tear-down work mainly for clearance.
i stopped at the cam as i cannot figure out how to remove the timing chain.
i ordered a manual once that gets in proceed to dis-assembly and repairing the valves.
i also found a couple other issues during tear down that im gonna fix.
there is a couple pinholes in the pipes so im gonna quick fix it til i get the drag pipes i want( thanks for the idea mikeeebikey, i like it)
that's about it for now more updates soon.
Sean

 

[DPARTY82]

Good choice of bike. I picked up a 1978 Twinstar at a swap meet last year which was my first bike. Grew out of it pretty quick but it was fun none the less. It was blue instead of the red like yours but it was a good bike and great on gas. Got a 1981 Kawasaki 250 for this years project. Small bikes can be a blast if you do them right!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Small bikes can be a blast if you do them right!

Yep, and great fun to ride, you can have fun on them without the need to go insanely fast! I find they are more fun to throw through corners than the bigger, more powerful, heavier bikes...

Luke.

 

[DPARTY82]

Here is my Twinstar with my Mongoose Beast. Sure makes the Honda look tiny. Paid a pretty penny for bike but it was from a dealer and needed nothing but a battery. Had brand new Bridgstone tires (correct vintage tread), perfect pipes, perfect seat, and no rust anywhere. Had 9k miles on it when I got it but like I said, it was a good starter bike but my 255lbs body grew out of it fast as it was taking me an hour just to make it to work. And since it was all original I didn't want to start modifying it in any way.



Here is my newly acquired project, a 1981 Kawasaki kz250 that I won at an auction for $500 (4k miles). Think I did OK but not great either. It needed a starter clutch and since I was new to bikes I had no idea what I was getting myself into (shoulda paid no more than $300). Ended up having to use a torch and grinder to remove the seized on flywheel. $250 later I finally got it running. Only thing is I wish the bike had a kick starter like the Twinstar but since it only has electric start there was no way around but to replace the starter clutch. I plan on making a street tracker out of this one. Will start a thread once the weather cooperates so I can start working on it!

Good Luck with your bike!

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Good choice of bike. I picked up a 1978 Twinstar at a swap meet last year which was my first bike. Grew out of it pretty quick but it was fun none the less. It was blue instead of the red like yours but it was a good bike and great on gas. Got a 1981 Kawasaki 250 for this years project. Small bikes can be a blast if you do them right!

sounds like you got the second color choice available on these
i been researching like crazy on these. they were only made 2 years and in 2 colors for 78 which was the red which is my color and blue whicj is yours.
it's a pretty neat lil bike.
i already been offered 800 for it as it sits,but i do not plan on selling it anytime soon.
i lik the smaller bikes for learners.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Here is my Twinstar with my Mongoose Beast. Sure makes the Honda look tiny. Paid a pretty penny for bike but it was from a dealer and needed nothing but a battery. Had brand new Bridgstone tires (correct vintage tread), perfect pipes, perfect seat, and no rust anywhere. Had 9k miles on it when I got it but like I said, it was a good starter bike but my 255lbs body grew out of it fast as it was taking me an hour just to make it to work. And since it was all original I didn't want to start modifying it in any way.



Here is my newly acquired project, a 1981 Kawasaki kz250 that I won at an auction for $500 (4k miles). Think I did OK but not great either. It needed a starter clutch and since I was new to bikes I had no idea what I was getting myself into (shoulda paid no more than $300). Ended up having to use a torch and grinder to remove the seized on flywheel. $250 later I finally got it running. Only thing is I wish the bike had a kick starter like the Twinstar but since it only has electric start there was no way around but to replace the starter clutch. I plan on making a street tracker out of this one. Will start a thread once the weather cooperates so I can start working on it!

Good Luck with your bike!

man that kz looks a lot like my lil guy lol
hard to believe how big those beasts are. that's an awesome pic. i might do one next to my genesis just for fun.
that is a problem with auctions. sometimes they are more trouble then you realize.but still what it all comes down to is if you will enjoy the bike or not.
it is weird it don't have a kickstart. that is definitely downside but still a very cool bike
i am thinking my size may be a problem with this bike.i am a big guy.
but i mainly bought it as a project and to teach my wife how to ride.
she wants to ride it lol she keeps askin me when i am gonna be done.
i can actually get it some soon so we shall see how it goes.
more updates soon.Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Yep, and great fun to ride, you can have fun on them without the need to go insanely fast! I find they are more fun to throw through corners than the bigger, more powerful, heavier bikes...

Luke.

i agrre with that luke.
the bigger bikes are a lil tough to maneuver sometimes.
this lil guy is easy to handle and hugs the corners.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well some pics of my progress.
this looks bad but i mainly took it apart for clearance of the parts i had to remove.
i am down to the timing chain and once my clymer manual comes in i will have it off and the valves fixed.
another reason she is all apart is i plan on cleaning the frame and respraying the rusty areas with black paint to make her look good underneath.
quoting roli from counting cars "i hate a dirty vehicle" so i am cleaning everything while i got it apart.
here she is as she sits right now

i know im thinking backwards but i added the bullet valve caps i took off my genesis i swapped them with a pair of mongoose valve caps as i will be riding this more then my genesis

and the rear wheel tough to get a good angle i did discover i gotta clean the wheels a bit but i will eventually just right now i wanna get her running i can detail her after shes running good.

all the parts om gonna go thru clean and repair as needed.

my genesis is still being loved i just had to repair the bottom bracket so she had to make her photo shoot as well don't need no bicycle/motorcycle fighting the bicycles outweigh her lol

thats all i got for now i forgot to psot these pics in ym last update so here they are.
sean

 

[DPARTY82]

Looks like you're really givin' it to her! At the end of the season last year I remember my clutch was starting slip so if I ever decide to ride her this year I now have an idea what the bike looks torn apart.

Funny thing is I have a Genesis Onyx also. I got to ride mine once and during that ride the rear tire decided to deflate on me for no apparent reason other than possibly me being to heavy. At that time tubes were hard to get for it so I haven't really thought about fixing her up. Kinda regret buying the Onyx since I got two fat bikes since then. Just collecting dust now.

The Clymer manual will help in tons! That was one of my first purchases when I got my Twinstar last season. Keep us updated on her progress. Riding season is almost upon us.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Looks like you're really givin' it to her! At the end of the season last year I remember my clutch was starting slip so if I ever decide to ride her this year I now have an idea what the bike looks torn apart.

Funny thing is I have a Genesis Onyx also. I got to ride mine once and during that ride the rear tire decided to deflate on me for no apparent reason other than possibly me being to heavy. At that time tubes were hard to get for it so I haven't really thought about fixing her up. Kinda regret buying the Onyx since I got two fat bikes since then. Just collecting dust now.

The Clymer manual will help in tons! That was one of my first purchases when I got my Twinstar last season. Keep us updated on her progress. Riding season is almost upon us.

thanks dparty.
i actually got the valves done and shes back together,but there's still a miss. im gonna see if i need to adjust the timing on her.
my onex has given me lots of trouble to the point where she,too collects dust.i have had problem after problem with it the rear wheel seized, the bottom bracket seized.handlebars bent.flat every other day.
the onex is a lot like a Cadillac. a great riding bike but she will nickel and dime you to death.
which is really a shame because they have potential to be really good bikes if parts were readily available to overcome the weak areas in them.
i was referred to the clymer manual from the guy i bought the bike from. he also says it will outweigh the cost in time it will save you to do it myself rather then have a dealer do the work.
im kinda sour towards dealers after the one i dealt with around here tried charging me 405 dollars for a part i bought on ebay for 4 bucks.
so that was another factor in the clymer manual. i have heard their really helpful.
more updates soon but im kinda waiting until my manual comes in before i do anymore work.
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well took her out for a ride this morning at 5 am (stupid alarm clock went haywire and woke me up on a Saturday at 5 am :banghead so after being rudely awoken by a rogue alarm clock that doesn't exist anymore, i decided to see if i can get the ol girl out for a ride.
she did great! running good, no sputtering
.so i figured what the heck take her out for a long ride.
that my friends was the mistake of a lifetime.after about 5 miles away she decided to quit on me and not fire back up.
so on top of being woken up rudely,i had to walk 5 miles pushing 307 lbs of dead weight up hills and down the road with no lights or power.
then to boot ,our finest around here,rather then seeing if i need help which i would not have taken since i currently do not hold a valid motorcycle license in Nebraska,tells me i should walk the bike on the right side of the road rather then on the left.
needless to say i just turned my mp3 on and walked on rather then saying what i wanted to say.
so end of my rant,i decided rather then get mad at her,listen to her see what the problem is?
so i am gonna see if i can find her ailment and get her right again.
she acted like she was out of gas but the tank is half full. so ruling out out of fuel im guessing the carb may need either cleaning or some adjustments. we shall see i also suspect the timing is off a bit since she does protest starting when shes cold.but once warmed up she runs ok.and there is some backfire a bit.but she wasn't doing that this morning til i took her out.
anyone have any ideas where i might begin on this problem? i feel stupid because usually im pretty good at fixing things but ill be darned if can get her to run right.
but on a god note this ol girl is really growing on me.
it felt good to be out and enjoying the open road be it it was 19 degrees and max speed was 35. it was still great to get out like that.
more updates soon as i find the problems and fix them.
Sean

 

[outskirtscustoms]

You might try to clean out the tank and carb again and add a filter between them, sounds like it probably sucked up some junk from the bottom of the tank plugging a jet. It has happened to me many a time. Always at the worst time and place too.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

You might try to clean out the tank and carb again and add a filter between them, sounds like it probably sucked up some junk from the bottom of the tank plugging a jet. It has happened to me many a time. Always at the worst time and place too.

yeah i never thought of that.
she has been sitting a little while before i bought her and i added old gas form last summer to her.so that's possible. im gonna try that.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Also if it's been sitting for a while check the tank for rust with a flashlight or put your finger in the fill hole and rub the inside of the tank and see if it feels ruff or smooth. If your finger comes out brown then empty the tank entirely and fill it with vinegar or CLR depending how bad the rust is (If you use CLR I'd advise taking the fuel valve off the tank if it has one on it because I don't know if CLR will eat the rubber inside it. Rotate the tank every so often so everything gets coated. Might take a few times to get it clean but it will help.

Once it's clean enough rinse it out with baking soda and water to neutralize the acid then rinse with water to get rid of any residue, allow to dry then gas it up and she should be good to go. If it's really bad they do have a tank coating stuff you can buy but remove the petcock valve on the bottom of the tank before you try that stuff... I've learned the hard way.

 

[DPARTY82]

Don't forget to check every bulb (especially the headlight) to make sure none of them are burnt out. Might sound like a small problem but I learned the hard way when I bought mine. Since the battery was weak in mine bump starting the bike cause over charging to the headlight and blew the bulb. The Twinstar being a 6v system is kinda a pain in the a$$ as far as finding replacement anything for. If the headlight burns out, the bike will eventually burn the main fuse and won't run. You might be able to start the bike with no headlight, but it won't run for very long since the headlight in these bikes play a very important role. The current pretty much runs through the headlight bulb first and then dispurses into the blinkers/brake light until the remaining excess current is grounded by the rectifier. The rectifier should be getting hot or else it is bad. Hot means good since current running throught it causes the rectifier to heat up. On my bike the rectifier was old and I was noticing it wasn't draining the excess volts and in turn was popping the headlight bulb. This happens because there is only one fuse in this bike, not a seperate headlight fuse (this makes chasing anything down electrical a chore unless you have a voltmeter). And finding a bulb is almost impossible since the headlight is a sealed headlight unit and must be replaced as one unit. Not cheap by any means. Any headlight you find online for this bike is NOS because they just don't seem to make the 6v headlights anymore. I got lucky and found an old headlight assembly from a Suzuki that had a removable bulb that fit into the housing of the Twinstar. Now instead of paying $60 for a headlight every time the headlight blows, I only have to spend $6 on a new bulb. And bulbs do burn out over time, it happens. Just thought I would throw this out there just in case this may help you now or in the future.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Don't forget to check every bulb (especially the headlight) to make sure none of them are burnt out. Might sound like a small problem but I learned the hard way when I bought mine. Since the battery was weak in mine bump starting the bike cause over charging to the headlight and blew the bulb. The Twinstar being a 6v system is kinda a pain in the *** as far as finding replacement anything for. If the headlight burns out, the bike will eventually burn the main fuse and won't run. You might be able to start the bike with no headlight, but it won't run for very long since the headlight in these bikes play a very important role. The current pretty much runs through the headlight bulb first and then dispurses into the blinkers/brake light until the remaining excess current is grounded by the rectifier. The rectifier should be getting hot or else it is bad. Hot means good since current running throught it causes the rectifier to heat up. On my bike the rectifier was old and I was noticing it wasn't draining the excess volts and in turn was popping the headlight bulb. This happens because there is only one fuse in this bike, not a seperate headlight fuse (this makes chasing anything down electrical a chore unless you have a voltmeter). And finding a bulb is almost impossible since the headlight is a sealed headlight unit and must be replaced as one unit. Not cheap by any means. Any headlight you find online for this bike is NOS because they just don't seem to make the 6v headlights anymore. I got lucky and found an old headlight assembly from a Suzuki that had a removable bulb that fit into the housing of the Twinstar. Now instead of paying $60 for a headlight every time the headlight blows, I only have to spend $6 on a new bulb. And bulbs do burn out over time, it happens. Just thought I would throw this out there just in case this may help you now or in the future.

that actually makes a lot of sense
my headlight doesn't work and now i am wondering if that is causing some issues.i know when i priced the headlight it ws somewhere around 60 bucks so you're not kidding about it being expensive.
i didn't realiz that about the electrical system.
i am gonna try to replace the headlight and see if that helps anything out.
my battery wont stay charged and i was not gonna replace it, but now i might replace it and the headlight and see what if that helps her out.
she still runs now she just quit and i put fresh gas in her and changed the fuel line filter and she is running now but still rough.
i did get my clymer manual yesterday so im gonna begin doing some of the major work on her and get her back to the way she once was.
ore updates soon.i promised my wife we could build it together so i have to wait til shes off work.
sean