CB350 Back Together

The thottle cable came in late on Monday. It was easily installed and the tanks and side covers went back on, and in the tank went some premium non-alcohol-laced gas. I choked the bike, hit the start button, and Old Faithful almost came to life. I tried again and got nothing.

I decided to spare the battery and try kicking. After a dozen attempts I gave up. I figured perhaps the battery after sitting so long needed a good charge, so I plugged in the battery tender and waited. This morning, after being on all night, the charger was still showing a solid red charging state. So, I let it go and just now came back from lunch and checked on it—still red.

I am getting the feeling that the battery may have coincidentally reached the end of its useful life. If it does not charge by tonight, I will probably replace it. I think this one has been on well over two years, and these little bike batteries, even when taken care of by using a tender, just do not last too long.

The replacement will have to wait for a bit, however. Tomorrow we load the car up with camping gear and kids.We are heading up to North Carolina, to Davidson River near Brevard, for a quick summer family vacation before shool starts back up in August. In case you haven't read my earlier blog about it, on my recent ride with my brother, Tim, we stopped at Davidson River Campground. I thought then how much the kids would love it, with a swimming hole and tubing right in camp, and Sliding Rock minutes away. So off we go for a five day campout. When I get back, a new battery will go in and we will see what happens.

UPDATE: Wednesday afternoon: I went out again and still had a red light on the charger. I went ahead anyway and tried to start the CB again with more or less the same results as before. I hooked up my spark checker and turned it over again and had good spark on both sides. I reconnected the plugs and tried once more and within a few revolutions of the flywheel, using the now functioning electric starter, Old Faithful jumped back to life and ran as good as she ever had.

Cheers,

Road Dog

"Ride Your Own Ride."