It's aliiiiiiive!

So, after tearing the carbs off at midnight last night, and basically spending all day cleaning the carbs up as good as I could, my new miniceptor is up and running!

Idled a little low for the first 10 minutes or so, so I adjusted it to about 1200 - then it began to creep up into the 2200 range or so, so I dialed it back down, and it stayed back around 1200-1300.

Choke off, rpms steady, temp guage normal.

Turn signals, lights, work. Horn doesn't work, probably have to fix that before I get it inspected. Needs an oil change, new spark plugs (these guys were pretty black, weak spark. probably why it didn't start earlier, coupled with probably being flooded, because I'm an asshat.), brake fluid and tires inflated.... but fingers crossed, the hardest part is out of the way. Little maintenance, and time to learn how to ride her.


In my best Bart Scott impression: "CAN'T WAIT!"



Beers and hookers on me tonight, boys!

 

Nice work mate, get that oil changed and see if maybe you can find a local member or recommended workshop who can help sync the carbs properly - if you're gonna bring her back from the dead, you might as well cover all the bases...

 

Damn, nice catch. I actually forgot about that. Ran smoother than expected off the bat, so of course my brain goes batshit and forgets the important remaining things

 

Grats! Lots of fun to be had in the future I'm sure.

Regarding the horn, I'm guessing the battery hasn't been charged properly in a while? Before you rip stuff apart make sure the battery has been on a decent AC charger until it reads done. If you do have good voltage at the horn try tapping on the center of the diaphram a little bit with the button held. There's a little solenoid in there that pulls in and out to vibrate the horn disc, and sometimes the release mechanism gets sticky, so the solenoid just pulls in and stays in when the button gets pressed. If this is the case it will usually make a little tiny chirp noise right off then nothing.

 

Congratulations on getting your Mini going, Happy & safe riding!

 

Thanks guys.

Hey, do me a favor and tell me that the horn ISN'T supposed to be under that bracket below the fairing, held in with two bolts that look to be 13mm-ish?

Because I've got two plugs hanging there, and I'm going to wager my first born (he's potty trained) that the horn is supposed to be.... THERE.

?

 

Seems likely. You can pick up a replacement at the local parts barn for pretty cheap. Easy way to find out for sure is to put a test light or a meter on the plugs and see what happens when you hit the button.

 

Yep it's awol!
You can install an aftermarket car horn in its place, many VFR's have done so.

 

*as I'm rummaging around looking for my test light*




And another oddity, and after some searching it seems mine is nothing special - yo Honda, wtf is with the kickstand?!

I can barely get my foot between the shifter and the kickstand when it's up. What gives? You guys keep yours on there?

 

I have a size 12 foot & have no problem with the position of my shift lever or the kick stand, so I would see if the Previous Owner didn't reposition the shifter to his liking?

 

Nice Bart Scott reference.

Wish I wasn't so busy. I could use some beers and hookers right about now.

 

Really cool man..Im super stoked for you! Im kind of in the same boat with this Hawk I got recently. Carbs have been rebuilt, although all the components were pretty flawless..and im just putting in a new fuel system now cause the stock pump was bad. Got everything in the mail today except one of the things were the wrong part..so I guess I got more time to polish the cylinder covers. But I cant wait to get it installed and see if the bad boy starts!! Good job!

 

Bart Scott - Can't Wait! - YouTube

 

Lol CANT WAIT!!

 

First thing I notice, looking at it this morning, is that the linkage is bent. I'm not sure if/how that affects the distance between the shifter and the stand - but I will shortly. Is it adjustable, though? My shop manual will be here tomorrow, either way.

(edit: answered by own question. adjusted it after I straightened the linkage, but adding more space between the sidestand and the shifter made my foot position fairly uncomfortable, with my foot almost parallel to the ground. No likey. Being tall-ish (6-1) might have something to do with it, but the shifter feels MUCH more comfortable lower, where my foot rests pointing at a 45 degree angle (maybe a little more?) to the ground. Don't see any way to make this happen without removing the sidestand, or relocating it. Bah.)

Took her for a ride today. Gas leaks if the petcock is turned ON after you shut it off and kickstand it. Not sure exactly the issue, but I'll be taking a look. Doesn't leak gas while riding. Also, the previous owner fitted a vinyl vacuum tube from the engine nipple to the one on the petcock - I'm assuming the factory setup was a piece of rubber tube, 3/16 inner diameter or something close?

No more dumb questions after the FSM gets here, promise.

 

Not sure what year you have, but this horn is on ebay, so I thought I would give you a link.

01 2001 HONDA VFR800 FI VFR 800 HORN | eBay

David

 

Here are 2 pics of my shift lever, Hope this is some help?

 

On the kickstand - look closely at your photo and compare with the photo posted by Apittslife. In both cases the kickstand seems to have a slight bend - so presumably that is how Mr Honda intended, but it seems your kickstand is attached quite a lot further forward which may explain why you are having problems putting the stand down. I don't know if this is simply a design difference between earlier/later models or whether at some stage someone has decided to move it?

 

His linkage was bent, causing the shift pedal to sit too low, as he stated already. As for the kickstand, looks to be design postion to me, as there's clearly a guard by the foot knub at the end to prevent your toe hitting the pipe when you lower the kickstand.

Kraken, does the gas leak from the petcock itself? or from one of the carb bowls? The petcock likely needs to be rebuilt or replaced if it's leaking. Not sure about the vacuum hose, but can't imagine it's the cause of the leak.

 

Ok - as for the kickstand - comparing the two, it also seems that mine is WAY forward from the other picture. Just comparing the position of the mounting point itself, you can see it. And if that's the case, it appears I'd be able to slide mine back, re-adjust my shift lever and everything SHOULD be okay - I think.

Appreciate the picture, helped immensely.

As for the leak, not sure, yet. Couple of things I need to address. The 'S' fuel line from the petcock to the three-way valve before the carbs split. The clear vinyl tubing used on the petcock to engine vacuum wasn't sealing all that great at the petcock end, and gas was escaping during start-up. And the petcock diaphragm itself was warped, and likely responsible for gas leaking as well.

All sorts of fun, obviously.

And I pulled the carbs again, because I didn't set the float heights. No idea if a wrong setting could be a culprit with these problems as well, but after the initial cleaning I gave it, it ran a little rough at lower RPMs. Maybe I was expecting better throttle response/off the line power from the bike, or maybe it really was running too rich (smelled like gas, before the leaking began). So I'll re-do them tonight and re-set the floats. I've got the FSM now, so I should be good.

As for the hoses, think Honda would carry the OEM ones? Or somewhere online? Because it looks as if the OEM petcock vacuum line hose is rubber w/heat shielding on it, and the 'S' fuel line is shaped that way for a reason. Don't want to be putting hoses in there that are just going to pinch up or not fit right.

Oh, and the oil smells like gasoline - so definitely a rich condition, hopefully corrected by the new spark plugs and adjusted floats (tonight). Will change oil tomorrow and cross my fingers.