November 1, 2015 - Beginner Biker Adventures

Honda-CBF-500-Service-Balance-Carbs — Balancing Carbs

After buying a second-hand bike it’s always best to give it a thorough service to ensure it’s in tip-top condition and there are no ugly surprises. The seller had informed me this CFB500 was due its yearly service, so I set about completing all the usual chores: new air filter, oil change and new filter, new spark plugs, cleaning brakes, checking clutch/throttle play, checking chain tension, emptying breather tubes and generally greasing everything as needed. I like the Haynes manuals for jobs like this, both as a checklist of jobs and for info on bike specifics.

I also gave the carburettors a balance and doused the bike in ACF50 whilst I had the tank off. Being a twin, balancing the two carbs was a doddle. A quick whizz round the block confirmed everything was running sweet and a well-deserved cuppa was in order.

For this half term holiday, I had the chance to undertake one last ride for the year, out to North Wales to catch up with family whilst having a blast on the bike. I took Friday off work to ride up but didn’t set off until near lunch as I waited for the rain to abate. The roads remained wet for most of the afternoon and the weather was grey. I took things steady, even though there were much fun and technical bends to negotiate. The route was very similar to the one I undertook last time: London, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Brackley, Banbury, Stratford-upon-Avon, Droitwich, Kidderminster, Bridgenorth, Shrewsbury and finishing in Welshpool. Nightfall hit I passed Bridgenorth, whereupon I was glad I had the Fazer with decent headlights and enjoyed the London’s novelty that is the main beam.