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Currently the bike is running reasonably well but since fitting all the new parts it won't pull as low down the rev range as it did (no laughing all those of you that own 535s, 750s, etc!), I can only think that the carb had been adjusted by the previous owner to work with worn out spark plugs and a clogged air filter. So when I get the chance I'm going to have a bash at adjusting the carb, I don't foresee any problems, the proper Honda manual has very clear instructions on how to get right. Fingers crossed!

UPDATE - 2002.

Following a winter layoff and relocation to a different home, the Rebel was even worse - erratic tick over, totally gutless and horrible to drive. I decided that the only thing for it was to strip the carb and give it a good going over. To do this the fuel tank has to be removed which is really easy however actually removing the carb isn't. I found the easiest way was to remove the studs from the cylinder head and take out the card and inlet manifold at the same time. I then stripped the carb from the inlet manifold and cleaned it thoroughly. Nothing showed signs of wear or leakage and so was confident all would be well. The carb was mounted back on the inlet manifold using the heat resistant spacers smeared with Blue Hylomar, the inlet manifold was then re-installed on the cylinder head using the existing rubber O rings and Blue Hylomar. Whilst the tank was off I decided it would be a good idea to check over the ignition coils for cracks in the casings or bad connections. Everything was fine but all connections were cleaned up, sprayed with WD40 and resealed. The tank was cleaned, checked, re-fitted and filled with new petrol.  And the it was as bad as ever. By this time spring was well on it's way and I didn't want to spend the rest of the year with a unreliable bike. As a final idea I decided to change the plugs for new ones, I'd assumed this would be a waste of time because the current plugs had only covered 500 miles and looked almost perfect. I called down to a local bike shop called Jeff Halls bought 2 plugs and a rear indicator stalk that had been broken when I bought the bike. When fitting the plugs I noticed that they had an extra letter at the end of their designation, I gapped them, thought what the hell and fired the Rebel up. Even on the choke she idled like a beaut. I couldn't believe it, so I left her to warn up thinking that this can't be right. After warming through I adjusted the 'idle screw' and took her for a spin, magic is the only word I can think of to describe the transformation, I ended up riding around for an hour without an side panels on wondering when it would revert to old form, it didn't so I called back to the garage, fitted the panels, checked her over, filled her up and went for a good long long cruise in the Peak District happy at last!