Refurbishing my '99 5th Gen

Discussion in '5th Generation 1998-2001' started by GreginDenver, Jan 13, 2017.

  1. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    Getting closer and closer to riding this thing...

    Today I put the rear suspension back on the bike.
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    In this pic you can see the Daugherty Motorsports Custom Rebuilt 954 shock.
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    Ready for the rear tire to be installed, so now I can remove the rear portion of the maintenance cradle.
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    And then it was time to install the front tire and remove the front portion of the maintenance cradle.
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  2. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    But the really great news from today's work is that it runs!!

    After I finished getting the bike back on 2 wheels I filled up the coolant and the oil and gave the bike a thorough check to be as sure as possible that everything was ready to go. The engine only took about 10 seconds of cranking to refill the fuel lines from the pump to the injectors, then it started up into a nice idle. It was about 65 degree in the garage and that caused me to forget about the choke lever, I started it up without any choke and it did just fine.

    I let the bike warm up a bit then shut it off to check the oil level, it needed another 1/2 of a quart to bring the quantity up to near the full marking of the sight-gauge. Then I started it up again and let it warm up completely. No leaks! When it warmed up it settled into a slightly high idle, around 1,300 to 1,400 RPM. I revved the engine a little (just to about 5,000 or 6,000 RPM) and throttle response was excellent.

    Onward... more tasks to accomplish before I can ride.
     
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  3. MooseMoose

    MooseMoose New Member

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    I was gonna' say that idle is dead on (1300 +/- 100rpm) but then I decided to look it up. I guess 48 state 98/99 is 1200 +/- 100.

    I'm just amazed at how good that bike's guts look. Fresh, CLEAN, suspension and wheels. Your attention to detail is amazing and, though I've already said it, thanks for all of the detailed pics. These are the kinds of threads I learn the most from.

    Make me almost jealous enough to clean mine up. Almost. Mostly, when the sun shines I am itching to get outside and ride.
     
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  4. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  5. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    My favorite self-preservation oriented motorcycle modification...

    Ten years ago, at the age of 42 I got back into riding motorcycles, it had been 22 years since I quit. When I bought my "return to riding" motorcycle, a 2005 Kawasaki EX250, it was great to be back on the roads. But I'd forgotten how horrifying the cagers were, wheeling around all distracted, absolutely failing to see people on motorcycles.

    So I put a Kisan Pathblazer on the EX250 and then on my Suzuki GSF400.

    And now the VFR800 is getting one too:
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  6. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    Today I'm going to finish up the refurbishment project:

    1. Finish putting the fairings back on the bike
    2. Perform a Starter Valve Synchronization
    3. Set the idle speed

    4. Go riding.
     
  7. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    Enjoy number 4 mate, you've earned it!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  8. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    Another thing that bothered me about the '99 was the seat. The bike came to me with two seats, a Corbin seat and the OEM Honda seat. When I rode the VFR around town in stop-and-go traffic (which requires a lot of putting your feet down on the ground) with the Corbin seat installed I noticed that it was uncomfortably wide when my feet were on the ground.

    Yeah, I can see that the Corbin seat would be really comfortable for long cruise situations, but I discovered that I'm not a fan of it for around-town riding.

    So I re-covered the OEM Honda seat with a cover made by Top Sellerie (a French-made product). I'm impressed by the workmanship on this seat cover. The materials are good industry-standard stuff, but the workmanship is great. Top Sellerie must have some skilled people working the sewing machines in their manufacturing center. The fit of this cover to the OEM Honda seat-pan and foam was wonderful.

    Here's some pictures that show the difference in the width of the Corbin and the OEM Honda seat:
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    Here's a couple pictures of the width measurement of the OEM Honda seat.
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    And here's a couple pictures of the width measurement of the Corbin seat.
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    As you can see, the Corbin seat is about 1.5 inches wider at the critical point where your legs pass when you're feet-down at a stop.

    So, here's the change of seat cover for the OEM Honda seat:
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    Now my 5th Gen has an "around town" seat and a "long distance" seat.
     
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  9. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    I'm also a big fan of adding new seat covers. Both of these I purchased from Firma Wijalis via eBay, who appear to be a Polish seat cover manufacturer with endless options for colour and materials. Based on the two I've bought, they are incredible value for money.

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    Attached Files:

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  10. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Now that interesting. I too have a Corbin and also don't care for it, as it keeps me too put. I like to have a freer feeling. For two up I'll throw on the Corbin, as that's a whole other thing. I didn't notice the width, now i gota go measure mine for just curiosity sake. Now that cover is pretty sharp looking, other than that, is there a reason for it to be changed? I mean not that that's not a good reason. didn't know if your cover was kinda on the fence.
     
  11. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    The cover that was on the OEM seat had that old, faded-black, tired and stretched out look to it. Once I'd realized that the shape of the Corbin didn't agree with me it just didn't seem right to put all the effort into refurbishing the bike without bringing the seating surface up to a higher standard too.
     
  12. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    I have a couple seats for my 2000 VFR, the stock seat and a Sargent seat, and I too have noticed the width of the Sargent seat being a bit of an annoyance in stop and go traffic. A friend of mine has a 98 VFR800 that came with a Corbin seat so I tried a bit of a comparison. The biggest difference I have noticed between the Sargent and the Corbin is that the Corbin seems much stiffer on the edges of the seat. The Corbin is also a tad wider then the Sargent seat. The final difference, and this is very much personal opinion, is that the foam on the Sargent is softer. Both the Corbin and the Sargent are vastly more comfortable on longer distance rides, but I would have to give the edge here to the Sargent. Though the Sargent seat is wider than stock, the softer
    edges on seat put less pressure on the inside edge of your legs, making stop and go traffic a bit more bearable. Like you though, I still switch seats during the week if I'm commuting to work, but put the Sargent on for
    longer rides.

    Love what you've done with the bike so far and the attention to detail is fantastic. Enjoy the new machine, not that any of us would doubt you will. LOL
     
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  13. MooseMoose

    MooseMoose New Member

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    I have a Sargant, too, and the width is obnoxious for a shorty legged guy. It's like the bike being an inch taller as far as putting feet down. Pardon my graphic statement here, but it also pinches my dick against the front of the seat under braking when I'm really up on the tank -- an old habit of keeping my weight way forward for turning from a 3rd gen with worn out rear shock, and something I do approaching a stop so I can get my foot as far down as possible. The stocker has a better slope up front and doesn't keep me on my toes or worried about minor discomforts when stopping.

    I like that it's split, though. I always stash a little something under the seat cowl. In fact, I'm headed down to get coffee beans right after I send this, and I'll stash a pound of coffee, a book to read, and some other sundries there when I wouldn't have had room for any of it under the full seat.

    As a result, I haven't gone back to the stocker, even for running errands and around town. I've learned to work with the oddness, but these wider/firmer seats are a mixed bag, for sure.
     
  14. sfdownhill

    sfdownhill New Member

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    Hey Greg - I'm still enjoying your thread as reference material! I have a couple questions:

    [1] Did those like-new fork sliders come out of the neglected state you got the motorcycle, or did you have them powdercoated or painted?

    [2] If it doesn't cause a conflict with one of your contracted sponsors, will you please name the citrus-based cleaner you've been using? I'm going through a friend's 2002 and I might as well get onto the right foot cleaner-wise, even though I'm midstream in the project.

    [3] Did you use the citrus cleaner to get the gunk out of the brake calipers? If not, what did you use? The 2002 had goo and gunk in the master cylinders [But not as bad as yours had - those were naaaasty] and I can't leave my friend's brakes in such a poor condition. Like you, my most-troubling components to work on are brakes followed closely by forks.
     
  15. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    When I used the word "neglected" in describing the bike I was referring to the long-term maintenance items, things like the brakes never being serviced, fork oil being original to the bike (18 years old), the fork seals had never been replaced, the tires had been allowed to go well beyond the point of safety (the front tire was worn into a very triangular profile), the starter valves had never been synchronized and the bike had never had a valve check/adjustment since it rolled out of the factory.

    But on the good side, the bike had only 19,000 miles on it, it had always been garaged, the oil had been changed regularly, the chain and sprockets had been replaced and the coolant had been replaced a couple of times. And the bike had obviously been handled carefully throughout its life.

    So the fork sliders just needed to be cleaned to look brand new. The paint on them is original.

    Really, my thanks go out to the prior owner for preserving the bike as well as he did.

    I've found that any brand of citrus-based degreaser is good as long as it isn't a "foaming" type. For some reason the foaming version just doesn't do the work like the plain liquid spray. During the refurb work on my '99 I used different brands of citrus-based degreaser purchased at Autozone, O'Reilly's, Walmart, bicycle shop brand (originally purchased as bicycle chain degreaser) and some from Costco (I think).

    The only fail was the foaming type and I can't remember where I got that bottle from.

    Yes, I used the citrus-based degreaser on everything. However, I never let it sit and soak on any parts, just spray on and scrub then rinse and dry with a towel. I don't know what the degreaser would do to parts if I let it soak long-term.

    But the citrus-based degreaser is only half the equation: I also have a huge selection of scrub brushes, bottle brushes, toothbrushes and baby bottle care brushes (some of these are tiny and narrow and flexible). This large selection of brushes gives me the ability to get into the tiny spaces like the little passageways in the brake calipers, master cylinders and the clutch slave cylinder.
     
  16. sfdownhill

    sfdownhill New Member

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    Thanks for the detailed response Greg. I'm sending a link to your thread to my cousin - he and I wrench together from time to time and he'll get a kick out of it.
     
  17. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    If, when your cleaning the bike and want to get into a tough area with a bottle type brush, but just can't get a good angle, a nice truck is to remove the handle from the brush and attach it to a cordless drill. Use the drill on low speed and you can use it in either forward or reverse to scrub some of those hard to reach areas.
     
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  18. slowbird

    slowbird Member

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    Great thread. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

    I too want to clean and flush out my braking system but the Linked brake bleeding procedure looks like a PITA....as does the De-Link.
     
  19. sfdownhill

    sfdownhill New Member

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    OK Greg - I've got all three calipers from my friend's 6 gen taken apart and cleaned. The calipers are almost as clean as yours were when you were done cleaning them. My question is how did you get them to shine the way they did after you were done with them? The calipers I am working on came out clean, but they have a very dull, flat finish - no shine.
     
  20. Shamrock

    Shamrock New Member

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    This has been a most excellent thread-------Thank You Mr. Greg!
     
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