Big Red under the knife

A while back I had completed my 88 750 but had a few little things that were irritating.
Overly long rear brake line,
Odd unloaded head shake at stop signs.
Ugly fan switch.
Overly loose throttle.

Well it only took me 45min to get the entire front end apart, including bodywork. New personal record.
Dived into the head bearing since it was the deepest problem. I think the culprit is an “under pressed” lower head race. Would I be correct in that conclusion or keep digging? Frame lower race looks seated. Just tried to use my dental pick to catch an edge and I can’t get between the frame races, so I think those are good.

 

Well that bearing and seal are NOT seated all the way. Can't say for sure that is THE problem, but it is A problem. Also make sure the races appear to fully and EVENLY seated in the frame. Look for small shavings of aluminum above the race as it can be an indication of a crooked installation. Perhaps measure the gap from the frame to the race with a caliper. That one does look pretty good tho.

At this point (now that the front is apart again already) I would probably be popping the races out of the frame and inspecting the frame area for any shaved material, making sure the seating area is clean and undamaged.

 

Shouldn't you support those cylinders to take the strain off the hoses?

 

Do you mean the exhaust headers? I think they should be pretty solid. I could be wrong though.

 

I was on the fence about pulling them. The both seem completely seated without any shavings around the area. I tried to get .004" gauge in there, but it wouldn't go.

 

They are not the "funnest" things to drive, especially the lower one, but also not the worst. If I'm going back in to investigate something and I'm that far... I'm investigating. Costs you nothing really, piece of mind is worth a lot.

If you didn't feel funny on the install and got good "tone" when they hit home, then probably fine. I have removed some when I didn't get warm fuzzies and was really glad I did.

If you do pop them, put them in the freezer for a few hours before re-installing.

 

Calipers and slave cyl.

 

Lazy me says leave it, but tomorrow I will be energized to knock em out. Freezer trick indeed. I might even spend a minute warming the frame, although it is alum and it will bleed off quick. probably not worth it. lol

 

Oh, yeah. I lowered the front jack (after the photo) to let the calipers rest on the lift without stress. I noticed they were putting stress on the harness as well. Sorry, I misunderstood.

 

Bearing fully seated. Moved 2mm -ish. I lowered the front by 10mm compared to before. It was almost -1mm in the clip ons before. Not sure why I let the forks sit so low. The front has always been oddly light and the body position is too neutral. My back and arms didn’t know if they should support forward or completely upright.
Tightened the throttle up. Too much twist required to get off the stop. Last thing is to clean and maybe lube the turn signal switch gear. Too sticky currently.

I have some stomp grip on order for the tank. The seat and tank are too clean and smooth. Hahaha.
Also ordered make your own brake line kit. It should be fun. I like to use Black Friday to buy moto stuff on discount.
All in all, it took 4 hours to pull all apart and put back together. Tomorrow is test ride day for the VFR and RVF. Yeww!

 

God, I really like this bike. I am very happy you kept it (for now).

Looking forward to a ride report. There is no reason that bike shouldn't be very responsive, predictable and stable.

 

I went back to back RVF/VFR.
VFR:
It was very windy 25-25 mph steady head/side, so the VFR suffered with a little wandering due to wind. Throttle is perfect now and the bike is smooth. Like too smooth. I wonder if I am even riding a bike. That heavy feeling is gone. She almost feels weightless. hahaha
I still feel a little low down motion, but I checked and double checked everything. No idea, but it doesn't effect anything until you pull to a complete stop. Otherwise it is so responsive to every input. Over all I am pleased and it will make a great commuter for another billion miles with how new it feels.
A side result, since I lowered the front, the windscreen now puts a little more wind over my head so it is much more effective. I guess that is why they perform aero on race anything. It's the mm for sure!
RVF:
Much better ride quality. I pulled out all turns front and rear to achieve any actual suspension. The springs must be for a larger person. There is nothing left to pull out preload wise. It was much more "knife" feeling up the canyon. The wind didn't mess with it too much amazingly. I think I will still need to get a shock, but that can go on the back burner until I sell more bikes. It will be tolerable enough to get to next summer. The forks will be done at the same time.
End result, I just like my little bikes so much. I still prefer to ride the RVF, although that VFR is so comfortable. hahaha

Next on the lift is the ST1100. I need to perform lots of TLC and consider if she goes or stays. There is a small part of me that thinks, if it is a cruiser than be a cruiser and if you are going to cut up canyons be a knife. Unfortunately the VFR is right in the middle for me. but she doesn't cost that much to keep and the RC36 proj is waiting in the wings so keep her until the RC36 is completed perhaps. Or just pass her down to my son.

 

Very good.

Please try to describe better what you are feeling when coming to a stop.

 

Also, you might consider some RC36 or CBR-F2/3 bars if you want to be a little sportier and get some more weight on the front end. Stock RC24 bars are pretty high.

 

Not a bad idea..hmmm xmas gift!

 

Nice looking VFR . I wonder if the conical roller bearings should be tightened to the torque for the original ball bearings.
How is the handling affected by lowering the front a cm?

 

I tighten my roller bearings to where the triple clamps do not freely flop side to side without forks and a wheel installed. Actually, pretty stiff. But when the front end is assembled, the steering absolutely will freely swing on it's own to the other steering stop.

I can steer all of my bikes with no hands on the bars by simply leaning. I have never had to adjust after assembly, and I do not get any head shake or deceleration "tank slappers", even with no hands.

There is def a "feel" thing when assembling, but I have done A LOT of tapered steering head bearings. I can tell from how it feels with no weight that it is going to be perfect when the whole front end is on.

I have never used a "torque" when assembling steering bearings. Method might not be for everybody. Doesn't matter.

 

I use the same procedure! hahaha. Or I did on all my race stuff. I did follow spec this time because I thought my method through out the years may be wrong, but I think I will readjust this weekend.

I am pretty sure I mentioned this in the past, but I have had this weird looking socket for 35 years, never knowing what it went to or even how I got it. Turns out it is the special socket for the adjustment and and lock ring for steering heads. WTF I will take a photo tonight.

 

It's the big "castle" socket, right? I have the Honda one. One of my favorite tools.

I over-tighten with a 1/2" socket wrench, quite a bit, when I first assemble to seat everything. Back it off and cycle the triples a bunch of times. Then start bringing it back down to where I want it.

When you say, "follow spec", which one? Cuz the SM doesn't cover tapered. I bet yours were too "light" this time. Maybe even had some play that you felt right when the front end unloaded at a stop,

 

Yes, but I didn't even think about tapered vs roller. SHIT! That is probably the "unloaded" feeling. Damn, I need to try out your method this weekend. You don't have an estimated torque value?

Looks like this: