Rogue's NC30 Project

Did a 4 mile loop. Pulls good and needs more work. I think the forks are fluid-less. Very clunky. I think a keeper. So brake lines, pads, front tire, fork rebuild, some cables, rear shock…on and on. Taking this budget slow unfortunately.

 

Awesome. I'm seriously considering moving some things around and looking at 400s.

 

Right down my alley! Looks outstanding.

 

I'd talk to Rick again, get his feedback on the forks. He most likely has the exact setup for what you are looking for. Save you a bunch of setup time.

 

You're working on a 400 now! lol

 

Thanks dudes! That is a good call NC. I will chat with Rick about forks this week, now that running is not an issue.

Since this bike is on the keeper route, I will be tearing down and performing all the detail work I skipped to get to this point. I am jealous of Capt80s standards so it will be time to put in the elbow grease.

I do have some questions:
Return to push and pull throttle cables? Seems like return cables make things sticky.
Fuel tank heat material. The original was falling apart in my hands. Skip replacing or get the thermal lining material?
More questions to follow as usual.
Cheers!

 

Heatshield Products makes some good stuff for insulating the tank. You just have to be patient with the install.

 

OK, went through the hassle of figuring out the picture thing. This is Heatshield Products adhesive backed insulation on the bottom of a 6g tank and also wrapping a 6g modified airbox. Also has Heatshield Products insulation sleeves on the fuel lines.

 

Nice pictures (and workmanship). According to the ST1300 "gurus" by rights your 6G should have exploded in a ball of fiery VTEC bits from doing that. Collective wisdom there would suggest that by insulating key parts, you expose the rest of the components to extra heat...I may have done a "poor-mans" version of your tank heatshield on my 1300's tank underside using adhesive-backed gold foil; looks a bit like the Apollo moon lander now. Probably worth at least another 3km/hr too.

 

Nice and clean dudes! I will look into the material tonight.

FYI, it is not that I can't do an intro net search as much as I prefer reasonable advice from people who are working on the exact type of projects I am. I can find a million POS things on the net to support my build, but I want the good stuff.

Much appreciated!

 

Quick question. Popping on decel, off throttle. Too much fuel or too much air? I couldn't find a solid answer on this forum.

 

Usually means lean on bikes I've ridden and worked on.

 

I was surprised exactly how much it affected. On the dyno, once at temp, at 192 degrees, insulating the tank, airbox, and fuel lines was good for roughly 1.5 RWHP. The engine also ran smoother and throttle response was noticeably improved off the bottom due to the consistent temperature. If I would have followed through with the cold air intake that was partially designed for it, I'm sure it would have been good for more than the 1.5. The issue was the loss of tank volume, as the intake would have come through from the top of the tank. As it was, at full tilt, it would sometimes only make it around 100 miles on a full tank of fuel. I didn't want to make it worse.

 

Franken engine!

 

Fork me. Ok, so I have only ever rebuilt 1 set of forks. VF500. They were not bad once I understood how they are put together. Judging from the parts diagram, these are more complicated, but similar (as probably most forks are). I did buy the correct tool to remove the locking ring when I did the 500 and I have the PVC installation tool.

The question are:
Do I need anymore special tools?
Judging from the videos I just watched, the process seems to be very similar to the 500. Although I do not know what the long rod does.
Are there items that are easy to break if I don't use the correct process?
I still have 1.5 qt of new fork oil, although I am not sure if I need something better for harder riding? Not sure what weight oil I have left from the 500 rebuild.
Am I man enough? lol

 

#13 is your cartridge holder with top-out spring and the tube at the top connects to your fork cap to pull fluid for rebound dampening.

If your caps have "TENS" adjusters (for TENSion), they are very similar to 94 CBR600F2 forks that I have done. On the 94 F2 cap and there is a "needle" on the bottom of the adjust screw in the cap that modulates rebound flow (dampening) as fluid is pulled up thru the hollow tube.

Cartridge designs like the 90-97 VFR do not have adjustability for rebound, and they are not hollow at the top.

Later designs like the CBR600F3/VTR1000F, the cap adjusting screw connects to a long adjuster rod and modulates rebound flow down near the cartridge.

Shootin' from the hip there, but I think that sums it up decently. Terry can likely expand/enlighten/correct more if needed if I mixed some stuff up.

Anyway, you shouldn't need any more special tools if you can get the caps off and drive bushings/seals.

What fluid was appropriate for the 500 damper rod forks (~10wt) is likely too heavy for use in these cartridge designs (~5wt)

 

Assuming you're not planning on splitting the cartridges no special tools other than suitable sockets/hex and spanners etc.

Seal driver is always handy (you can 3d print one if you have a suitable printer) and an impact driver very useful to undo the bottom bolt.

 

Most old damper rod forks tend to have been ATF rather than fork oil (which both doesn't have a clearly defined viscosity grade and varies all over the shop depending on brand with actual viscosity).

As for the NC30 (and NC35), the HBoL says a 10W oil for them[1]. I've had recommended Putoline (its also what RO includes [Putoline HPX R] in his "fork uprate kit") because I'm told its the most consistent.

[1] 390cc, 122mm oil level (std measured, no fork spring, leg fully compressed).

 

Ooo good info, thank FD! Ordering from RO today. Budget is slim, so it is just a fork rebuild at this time. No extra cool bits from RO at this time.

 

Finally got my key chains from Japan/China on! hahaha