Old motorcycles

[Oaken]

Hi All,
Does anyone know of any shops that work on old motorcycles?
Preferably Hondas and in OC.
I have a ‘71 Mini Trail I’ve been working on, but I’ve reached a road block and could use some help. I’m not looking for a complete restore yet, I just want to get it running.
(not my pic)

 

[-ROCKY-]

Sorry I can't help you. But that sure is sweet! I would love a 70s motorcycle. Even a mini!

 

[UPSed]

I can't help you either but I had a '75 Honda Z50. I loved that little mini bike.

 

[Cornholio]

What’s wrong with it? Did you pour gas in the carburetor? I can try to get it going if it’s not a complete tear down job.

 

[Y-not]

Does it have spark at the plug ?
Does the gas flow to the carb ?
Did you try starter fluid in the carb to start it?

 

[-ROCKY-]

Does it have spark at the plug ?
Does the gas flow to the carb ?
Did you try starter fluid in the carb to start it?

Now we're cooking with fire!

 

[-ROCKY-]

Even old gas will make it not want to run. Make sure you're starting with fresh gas.

 

[evdog]

Good luck in your quest. For my 2008 CRF230L I found that none of the Honda dealers in SD would work on bikes that are more than 10 years old.

I found an independent shop on Yelp that focused on dual sports and dirt bikes and had good reviews. That guy was pretty good but he refused to work on a lot of stuff like pit bikes, mini bikes, scooters and similar.

Unfortunately he closed up shop abruptly in 2022 and I haven't found a good replacement yet.

There are some good independent mechanics out there, including some who will come to your place rather than you take the bike to them. I'd look for someone like that on yelp. Old motos aren't complicated, so it hopefully won't be hard to get it working.

Aside from that, does it have a battery, and if so is it charged or will it take a charge? Between that and the other things suggested the other thing is make sure the fuel petcock is turned on. My embarrassing moto moment was taking the 230L to said mechanic because I couldn't get it to start. Guess what wasn't turned on?

 

[Oaken]

I rebuilt the carb, new plug and cable, new fuel line, new throttle and brake cables.
Have not tried priming it, and yes petcock was open. The gas is a bit ‘mature’, so I’ll try swapping that out.
Thanks for the suggestions/replies you all.

 

[Y-not]

I rebuilt the carb, new plug and cable, new fuel line, new throttle and brake cables.
Have not tried priming it, and yes petcock was open. The gas is a bit ‘mature’, so I’ll try swapping that out.
Thanks for the suggestions/replies you all.

Keep us posted on the results.

 

[doublewide]

 

[Y-not]

It reminds me of the time in the summer standing inline at Joe's Italian Ice in Anaheim when thier power went off.
One of the kids that worked there pulled out a generator and couldn't get it started. Poor kid was sweating buckets. He tried for 15 minutes. The manager was going to shut the place down.
My daughter told me to go over and help the kid, so I did. I checked everything and found out that he didn't turn the gas on. I opened the line and told him that in 3 pulls it would start. Sure enough it started and they had power from the generator.
The kid had a look on his face that made me laugh. I told him what I did and advised him to remember how I went about finding the issue.

Everybody in line was clapping and glad they would get their Joe Lattes today. Yes the manager gave me a free rootbeer Joe Latte.

Thread topic: I did work at a Yamaha dealership in Pico Rivera and then at Carl's Speed Shop (Harley race shop) in Uptown Whittier a few seasons ago..