Motorcycle Repair: oil seal, honda cb, bill silver


Question
Like this recent question "1984 honda cb700 sc   10/15/2009
 Q: i have a 1984 Honda CB 700 when i got the bike five months ago the only problems it had was the ...
 A: Micheal... The small pushrod seal will just pry out and you can drive in a new one, pretty easily. ..."
my '84 non US 750 nighthawk has the oil seal described on the other side of the foramen through which the pushrod goes, and appears as though it should be inserted from the other side.  I had pried it out not knowing this and now wonder if I need to approach it from the other side or if there is still a insert to pry out that allows insertion from this side?  Thanks

Answer
Randall, I haven't worked on this specific model and from appearances of the illustrations, the seat should have come out of the recess from the outside, which is normal Honda practice. In rare occasions Honda has put seals in from the inside, before the cases were bolted together, but that is fairly rare.

The seal doesn't have a lip or tang that would prevent it from being inserted from the outside, from what I can see on the drawings. If the seal is indeed inserted from the inside, then the cases will have to be split to do so. Access to a factory manual would be very helpful in resolving this question for you. I don't have a shop manual for this series of bikes in my possession. My focus on vintage Hondas ranges from the 1960-70s era.

Bill Silver