Motorcycle Repair: 1975 Honda cb200T, carburetor jets, poor connections

Question
Last October I got myself a 1975 honda cb200t.  Once Spring came along I went out and bought a new battery, had it fully charged an everything.  My problem seems to be that when I start to ride it completely drains that battery within a matter of a minute or 2 depending on how I ride it, whether I "hotrod" with it or just take it easy.  Please let me know what it could be so I dont end up emptying out my wallet at a shop, I leave in November for the US Army, I just want to go riding a few more times before I'm gone.

Answer
Eric, I would have the battery recharged and load tested, to eliminate a possible bad battery, first.

It is impossible to drain a fully charged battery in 1-2 minutes without doing serious damage to the electrical system, so I would suspect poor connections, if the electrical system suddenly goes dead. Check the fuse, of course. Fuses have been known to crack/fail instead of just blowing open due to a short circuit.

Because these bikes do have "always ON" headlights, there is a big load on the electrical system all the time. Obviously, the bike is 35 year old and all the electrical connections and the ground points need to be checked and cleaned.  Check the back of the ignition switch for a tight connection at the plug in and the base of the switch. You didn't mention the mileage, so I have less of an idea of mileage related issues. Try disconnecting the headlight in the beginning to lessen the current draw while you are checking things out.

There are troubleshooting charts and info at www.electrosport.com  You will need a good volt meter, to do the tests, however.

Parts illustrations are available online at many sites, including www.cmsnl.com for part numbers and exploded views of the components.

I hope that you stored the bike properly and drained the fuel out or used stabilizer, as it is easy for the carburetor jets to get plugged up, which makes the bike hard to start and they won't idle properly.

A full tune-up would probably be in order: valve adjust, ignition timing check, carb clean, fuel system check/clean, etc.

Bill Silver