i did a compression test for fun an wasnt to happy. it came out at 50. should be between 100 an 150 from what my book says i hope it is because of the broken reed. which i havent had the money to order yet due to moving an school. i hope i can get the stuff i need before winter i really want to hear this run.

Wow, even 50 with a dead reed is pretty good, you get that fixed you should be good to go. Don't stop now, your too close to hearing that thing run.I've heard you can make good money showing a little leg and batting your eyes under a street light, the wife may not like you "contracting" but it will buy reeds:smirk:

Hang in there, you're not the only one out there building on a tight budget. I have a vintage project of my own that is going slow because of lack of funding. It'll get there.

Also consider selling a kidney on ebay. Keep at it, you'll get there bro.

50 psi is not good sound like you may need bore it with new piston & ring
If the cylinder wall look good and is 100% rust free and free of any deep grooves you always have some very light scoring you maybe able to re-ring it after quick hone job.
Broken reed have nothing to do with it they just control the fuel-air mixture admitted to the cylinder. As the piston rises in the cylinder a vacuum is created in the crankcase beneath the piston. This vacuum opens the valve and admits the fuel-air mixture into the crankcase. As the piston descends, it raises the crankcase pressure causing the valve to close to retain the mixture and pressurize it for its eventual transfer through to the combustion chamber.

Just keep at your project sooner or later you get
The last project I did took just over years to rebiuld from the front to back that was Honda 300EX it was trash really bad when I got.

A bad reed can cause a partial loss of compression. As the piston begins the upstroke some of the charge can be pushed back throught the intake port until the rings are above the port.

bronc3 said:

I'm sorry it dosen't work like that becuase the exhaust port is still in the open which in turns make reflected pressure wave on exhaust pipe know as scavenging.
Reed valve is a simple effective form of check valve commonly fitted in the intake tract of the piston-controlled port. They allow asymmetric intake of the fuel charge, improving power and economy, while widening the power band.
Compression timing is very short usely start rigth around 280° before 0° TDC so it very small volume of compression and that why head have very small combustion chamber in order to boost compression ratio unlike a 4 stroke usely start rigth around 185° before 0° TDC which why the head have high volume combustion chamber and dish piston so don't end up with high compression ratio.

sorry i have been away for so long. been due to moving around a few times an sorting stuff out. i just ordered my reed valves today. the bike has found a nice home in my buddies garage so no worries about weather. im goin to see if i can get it running when the valves come in. i did the compression test wrong. i guess you need to have the throttle open and put a small amount of oil in it. my buddy picked up a 86 moto 4 225 so i have been hellping him with that hopen this spring i can have them both goin so he can try to follow me around the trail lol

i got the valves in an what do ya know it started an died. then it did it again so i cleaned up the magneto an double checked the carb. now it backfires when i kick it over. im guessing the timing is off a hair or two. i cant seem to get the bolt off to pull the magneto so i can give it a good cleaning. im goin to borrow a inpact driver from a friend in a few days to try it again.

im getting new screws in the morning. and i have to find a way to make the pics smaller from my phone

did some more work today mainlybsanding the forks i set the timing the way my book said an third kick she fired right up an stays idling on its own. im goin to fine tune the carb tomorrow and sand some more on the forks. i got to check out the clutch cause its frooe up again.im hoping its just cause it was sitting.

clutch plates probably dry, need to ride it thru the gears a couple times....gr8 project, well done man and thru the floods as well...DONT SELL HER

korosys, on 14 February 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

it wouldn't hurt to pull the clutch in and zip tie it like that while you are fooling with other stuff

ok ill do that... yeah this things goin to be with me for a very long time. its the first bike i have ever done this much work on. im goin to be looking for a late 80s to early 90s bike to work on next. been leaning more towards an enduro but i have seen a few street machines that are tempting. i got to sell some stuff from my xl350r before then.

Very good to hear you've got a runner! I believe you should keep this bike as long as you can. It'll never be a cozy bike to ride on the trails like a later model machine with more modern suspension, but on an old dirt track or easy trails, she'll probably really shine! This is a nice, rare bike. Don't sell it!

i had some epic failure today trying to put tubes in. i poked a few holes in it....not a happy situtation, just happy the kids wernt there. i knew it was a bad idea to do it myself but i figured with the weatherd tires and cracked rear rim the shop wouldnt do it. so im goin to wait till i get new tires and a rear rim.i ordered a skid plate. was in good shape but loaded with grease an dirt. i got it cleaned an just painted it up a little bit ago. ill put up some more pics next time i go visit her. for now the beer drinking begins.

Graet project. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the finish.

finishing this seems like its a ways away lol i get one thing done then i find something else. so i discovered today that the thing i thought to be a hose clamp was actually a bracket to hold on the skid plate, to bad i tossed it out. i took the clutch apart and got it moving but it still sticks a bit so i will be taking it apart again. i sanded a few things just to clean them up a little. here is a few pics of the skid plate an the clutch.





oh and i drained the oil out and it looks like there was water in it so i think a case flush is needed




and she smokes a little hahahaha

Very cool you got her running, good work. It felt good I bet to hear that thing start and run for the first time, almost got it don't stop now.
You say you want another bike to work on, enduro or street, both have there merits, but a nice enduro can go any place you point it.