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My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 07:49 pm Jul 23 2012
by Dekon
Going to start a rebuild thread on my 1989. I picked it up on CL for $200. They had it listed for $250 and said they needed it gone that night. I offered them $200 and said I could be there that night to pick it up. They agreed and the funny part is it was less then 3 miles from my house in the next town over. Some of the issues have been resolved as I figured I would start this now.

So, the good:
1. It is complete.
2. Had a recent top end job.
3. All the plastic and seat cover look really good.
4. Answer SA silencer on it(don't know if that is good or bad)
5. Appears to have brand new Boyeseen reeds in it.
The bad:
1. The pipe is so twisted that it was only held on by the springs and silencer.
2. It is missing one spoke in the rear wheel. I looked in the nipple and it appears it did not break off in it.
3. Needs a rear tire.
4. The kicker will only kick 1 out of 10 times.
5. The kicker is rusted to the kick shaft.
6. Water pump seal is toast.
7. Acerbis HL but it is missing the wiring and light bucket
8. Hot pink air box mud flap.
9. Cracked KIPS accuator cover.
10. Missing the light switch.
11. Missing the odometer.
12. Needs fork seals.
13. Needs new fork boots.
The ugly:
1. I do not know if it runs, see #4 above. It does have spark though.
2. The LH KIPS valve is stripped and the top pivot point was snapped off.

If it runs, hopefully I can get it all back together and looking like some of the builds I have seen on here. I going to try and keep it as close to stock as possible. One exception will be the pipe. Not sure if I am going to go DG or FMF. I know there is a lot of work to do but hey, for $200, I could not pass it up. I like to get my hands dirty and get satisfaction that I fixed something. I even got a copy of the factory service manual off the net for nothing. If it does not run, I'll part it out.

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 07:54 pm Jul 23 2012
by diymirage
thats pretty cool
i am actually working on a 96 CL special and it too is missing ONE rear spoke

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 07:19 pm Jul 25 2012
by Dekon
So today I thought I was going to start to put my motor back together. Unfortunately, the dealer ordered me the wrong gasket set. They got me one for a 97-03 220. But, I did get to put the KIPS back together. It was a lot easier then I thought it was going to be. Took me a total of about two minutes to get everything lined up properly. I actually surprised myself. I also replaced the kick shaft seal and the water pump seal. So, at least I got that out of the way. I have to say I am really enjoying this build.

diymirage, have you found a way to get one spoke?

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 07:36 pm Jul 25 2012
by diymirage
found a guy on the bay who is selling them by the piece, 6 dollars shipped
if i had the cash laying around i would have bought a whole set, used the one i needed and put the rest on ebay for 5 dollar a piece

oh well

tomorrow im picking up my KIPS parts and gaskets and putting my engine back together aswell :)

on a side note, i changed the oil on my DD KDX with 10W40 and the clutch was slipping like crazy
i put maybe 4 hours on it before i had a chance to change over to ATF type F, you guys think that caused any lasting damage to the clutch ?

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 09:28 am Jul 27 2012
by Dekon
So, checking the numbers on the top of the piston, I discovered it is a Wiseco standard size piston. Looks like there was very, very little run time on the engine after it had a top end job.

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 10:06 am Jul 27 2012
by Thrahl
About getting just one spoke, I was in a similar situation with my old Chinese dirt bike.
If you measure the length and rough width of the spoke you need, you can just use any spoke. You should probably get a new nipple with it too though.
I was missing 5 spokes on the back and like 3 in the front. I ended up running a mixture of stock Chinese spokes, some aftermarket spoke kit that I got really cheap, and some really old Harley spokes I got on eBay for a few bucks each.

Just make sure the bend in the end is right for your hub.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 10:51 am Jul 27 2012
by scheckaet
what happened to ordering them thru ron ayers or bike bandit...

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 01:15 pm Aug 03 2012
by Dekon
So, I got the bike all bolted up and the kicker still slips, actually now, it does not catch at all. I think the gears are gone. They worked before I added the tranny oil(10W-30)and now, nothing. So I think I'm headed over to Fleabay to find a new kicker mechanism. Just kind of PO'd right now, I thought I was going to get it fired up this weekend. NOT!

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 06:58 pm Aug 03 2012
by dfeckel
You may want to check that the circlip on the kicker mechanism is still in its groove. If it pops out, the tension on the spring which pushes the kicker ratchet gears together is lost, and you will get symotoms just like you are describing.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 09:46 pm Aug 03 2012
by Dekon
Thanks, I'll check it out.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 01:23 pm Aug 10 2012
by Dekon
The CL Special is ALIVE!!! :boogie: I got a 94 kicker mechanism through ebay and installed it today. The bike fired on the fourth kick. Comparing the original to the 94 one, you could see how the teeth were rounded over just a little. They meshed great, but slipped when kicked. Took it for a quick spin up and down the street, and it pulls really hard. I was actually surprised by how much power it had. So now I can commence to stripping it down to a bare frame and begin the rebuilding process. :grin:

Now, thre next problem area. The drain plug is stripped. Anyone have any thoughts on a fix? I was thinking of going up to the next size bolt and retap the hole.

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 03:04 pm Aug 10 2012
by sarrant
I'd probably go with a heli-coil.

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 03:12 pm Aug 10 2012
by diymirage
i would never EVER put a helicoil in that area
i have no problem putting them somewhere where you tighten it once and the forget about it, but for a drain plug? nope

besides, is it even the case that is stripped or just the bolt?
if i remember correctly the E model drain plug is that much longer then the older models so you just might be able to get a late model drain plug and cut out the thread (same pitch) a little deeper and call it good?

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 03:23 pm Aug 10 2012
by rbates9
The next size up would probably work pretty good. Even if it is not metric. Take a trip down to the local auto parts store and see what they have for options.

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 04:01 pm Aug 10 2012
by sarrant
I've put heli-coils on spark plug holes, which on my bikes probably get more action than the drain plug. Usually checked every ride. I've had ones with probably hundreds of cycles.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 08:12 pm Aug 10 2012
by rbates9
To put in a helicoil you will need to drill out the drain plug hole and re tap it to accept the helicoil, then the only benefit of having the helicoil in there is that you could still use the stock drain plug. But it would probably be cheaper to just get the next size up drain plug, drill and tap to the correct size for the new plug and not have to deal with the helicoil at all.

Re: My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 09:08 pm Aug 10 2012
by Dekon
Yeah, I do not want to use a helicoil. I rather drill and tap the hole to the next larger size. The helicoil is a last resort.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 07:11 pm Aug 13 2012
by Dekon
So I figured I would show a picture of what I am starting off with, so here is a picture of my '89. Right now it is down to a motor, swing arm, and forks. Hope to finish stripping it down tomorrow. I want to get the frame and swing arm painted before school starts in a few weeks.
Image
You have to excuse the mess, my garage is never that messy.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 09:24 pm Aug 17 2012
by Dekon
Well, today I finally got it down to just the frame. Hopefully this weekend I can strip the paint off of it. There is no place remotely close to me that will sandblast the frame and swing arm; so I am go to do it using aircraft stripper. If anyone has something else that will strip it down better, please let me know. Also, the brake rotors are rusty, what can I clean them with? It is a little to heavy for using steel wool.

My 1989 CL Special rebuild.

Posted: 11:06 pm Aug 17 2012
by rbates9
For the rotors read this, http://kdxrider.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... apo#p88407 and if you like what you read then go here, http://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallon-e ... 96431.html . I have never tried it but the write up looked to be promising.