Did the De-Smog

I have a 1997 Black Standard and just finished up de-smogging her over the weekend. I know there are already lots of threads on this topic, so I'll keep it brief and just share some thoughts and experiences with the process. I have (I think) above average mechanical skills and would say the process is not really hard, but it is very tedious. As others have noted, sometimes you need to just walk away from the project for a little while and get your wits about you again.

One of the challenges I ran into was loosening the forward bolt on the left side check valve case. What genius thought of putting the bolt directly under the cross member between the carbs and then putting locktight on it? The only thing I could get on the bolt was a 10mm box end wrench, but then I couldn’t get enough leverage to crack the bolt. I tried using a swivel and a crows foot adapter but neither would fit. I was finally able to get a small hammer down in there to tap on the wrench enough to break the bolt free. If anyone knows of a trick for getting this bolt out it would sure be nice to know it.

Another challenge was finding the 14mm freeze plugs to plug the four air exhaust ports. I ended up finding some 9/16” aluminum ones at a local auto parts store, but had to file the circumference down a little bit to get them to tap in properly. I strongly suggest you source these before you start.

The last thing (which is a very common problem) is getting the airbox boots to fit down over the carb flanges. Actually, this didn’t fight me too much but why Honda didn’t just make the flanges a little longer is beyond me. I would definitely modify the connection if I had to do this more often.

The good news is all of the chirping, and popping and burbling on decel is gone. I should have done this mod a long time ago. And besides, the fat lady can always afford to lose a little weight.