double b from wv

a few years ago, i inherited this bike after my dad died. its a 2003 honda cmx 250 rebel, blue, with only 1'520 miles on it. it sat in storage for a few years, and this spring i brought it out to get it road-ready. ive never owned a bike, so i'm new to all of this. i do work on my cars though, so im pretty sure that can handle the bike... if i knew where to start!

the biggest problem is that the the carb is seized up. i can try to turn it at the cable connection (on the carb itself), and it wont turn at all. i've read the owners manual, which says that prior to storage, you are supposed to drain the bowl on the carb to prevent things like this from happening. apparently, that never happened.

so basically, im wondering what would be the best route to take with this? should i tear it down and try to clean things up, or would it be best to just replace the stuff? are there any advantage to buying the complete carb over the rebuild kit, other than the labor? (i went to the honda dealer and got prices. a new carb runs like $400+, but the rebuild kit is only about $35. needless to say, the kit is more my price, plus the bike only books for a couple grand, so im not trying to sink too much into it.)

is pulling the carb pretty straight forward? are the bolts plain to see and get to? what about torque specs when i put it back together?

other than that, i need to remove the tank, drain it out, and clean up the inside. seems simple enough, but i think i need to get the seats off first. how do i do that?

once it comes down to pulling the tank itself, are there just the two bolts attaching it to the frame (up by the neck and down by the seat)? any tips for getting the bolts out w/o messing up the chrome finish?

as for cleaning out the inside once drained, i was told to put some BBs and seafoam in the detached tank, put the lid on it, and swirl it around. the idea being that the cleaner would eat away at deposits, while the BBs knock any flakes off the tank walls. does this sound kosher?

any other tips for a new guy?

double b from wv

anyone?

The_Head

sorry man. I've owned both a CB250 and a CMX250, but I never had any carb problems with them. That's a good little engine though.

double b from wv

thanks for the input.

i found a manual online, but its for the 80-something through 90-something, i think. and its for the 450 rebel, not the 250. but, if the bikes are anything like the cars, i figure that they are built similarly. and at least the book might give me some idea of component locations and such. i havent really looked at it very much yet though. ill have to look into a manual for mine.

can anyone tell me what the causes of a seized carb could be? just rust on the butterfly and stuff probably, since it wasnt drained?

if that's the case, would it be worth the time to try taking it apart and cleaning things off? if i get it freed up, and everything looks clean and safe for the engine (nothing scaling off inside the carb), that should work, right? i'd at least like to get it fired up and see that it will run before i go buying a bunch of stuff for it. if the carb cleaning wont work, and i have to rebuild it to get it running, i will. but id rather not. my car has needs right now.

what about the seat? is there some trick to getting them off, or what?

theedeadmau5

dude i've rebuilt carbs and cleaned them all my life on all types of bikes, and every time they never run quite as good as a brand new one but thats pretty common sense. if you're not worried about it running in tip top then save the cash and rebuild(granted if this is the only motor work you'll have to do of course). carbs usually seize due to rust obviously but also when they sit for long periods of time without being used or drained the gas inside the carb starts to harden or become thick and this is especially true for a 2-cycle.

as far as the seat goes im clueless. sorry

double b from wv

got ya. its not that i dont want it running tip-top (hell, its practically a new engine), but its more of a money issue. plus, i dont ride bikes, so i dont know if i will stick with it. might just sell it off and put money towards the car in the end. so for right now, until i decide what to do with the thing, i'd just like to have it running pretty good. if i learn on it, dont wreck it up, and decide that i might like riding bikes, i will keep it and probably put more money into it.

so what's the difference between a brand new carb and one that i rebuild myself? i mean, other than the casting, shouldnt everything else get replaced by the rebuild kit? why dont they run as well on a rebuild as the prebuilt carb? also, are there any speciaityl tools that are commonly needed for a rebuild?

SweetRed99Si

Do not listen the guy above you. If everytime he rebuilds a carb and it doesn't run as well as a new one than he is obviously doing something wrong. I worked at a Honda dealership for a couple years. That carb is so easy to rebuild. Get a carb kit should include gaskets and jets etc. etc. Go to Napa get a Dipping bucket or basket. It contains a solution that we use to soak the various pieces of the carb in. Let it soak for roughly 4-6 hours so that it can eat away at all the ****. If you get all new jets toss the olds ones. If you don't get a piece of guitar string and run it through the jet to clean all the crap out. Once this is all done take some compressed air and blow it out. Put it back together just the way you took it apart and you're golden. If you need more help just pick up a Honda Service Manul I think there like 50-60 bucks, but it will show you how to do all the MX you need to that thing. Good luck and enjoy there cool little bikes.