1994 RVF400R Build Project

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by NorcalBoy, Nov 7, 2018.

  1. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Officially dead in the water, without the stem. I could do some jinking around and try to do a few things without it, but not really feeling the risk of having it go sideways this close to the finish line. Did do a few things this AM.

    Measured and cut in the temp sensors for the rad in and rad out radiator hoses

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    Installed the upper radiator and the reconditioned meters and sorted the wiring layout. It was nice to not have to go through the gyrations of getting the radiator fit up like the first scrum.

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    Looking forward to seeing the meters lit up soon. It's going to be a surprise, as I can't remember what color LED's I used for the meters :Laugh:.....tomorrow the CNC of stem #2, hoping Rob can get the thing right this time and I can button this up and on the way to the tuner.
     
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  2. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    Should be out working in the yard, yet here I am admiring the bike again! Sucks about the stem.
     
  3. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Very uncharacteristic for this to happen with anything Rob does. All of his work is typically very top shelf. His main clientele is MotoAmerica guys, race car folks, and prototype stuff for military drone manufacturing. I know he felt pretty rotten about it. Having access to a machinist and full shop with just a text, is non existent. I can be patient, considering all he does for me.
     
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  4. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Met up with Rob this morning and he performed his usual black magic and got the steering stem polished up. We took the bottom triple over to Evan Steel Performance and borrowed their press for a few minutes to press the stem out so the fix could be on. Thanks to Phil and Evan for letting us just waltz in and use their shit.

    Rob performing his usual dark arts to get the stem whipped into shape...went manual on it

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    Rob also machined up a press tool to get the bearing pressed back on the right way

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    Back at Evan's place, Rob pressing the stem back into the lower triple

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    As we were already at the shop, Evan and Phil are going to be doing the break in and tuning, so I got to spend some time talking about what the process would be, tuning the Ignitech CDI, when I was going to drop it off, and approximately how long it would take to get it done. Should be dropping it off before Friday of this week.

    The finished piece, ready to go back in

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    So the project is back on the boil and I need to knuckle down and get this thing wrapped up for tuning. Getting a little closer...
     
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  5. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    After a little more than a year and a half., I finally got her up off the ground. After looking at the pile of parts for so long, wondering if it was ever gonna go back together, it felt pretty good to crank it up on the front stand. Even that came with some trials and tribulations, got the bottom triple in and adjusted, went to put the stand into the bottom of the steering stem....and boom, the pin that goes up into the stem was bigger than the hole, Pin 17.17 mm, Hole 16.75 mm. It was so fitting, lol. Went back to Rob with the pin and he took it down to 16.45 mm. After that, perfect fit. Rob said he left the stem walls a little thicker to increase the rigidity.

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    Mounted the exhaust, which can be a bit fiddly, and got it all aligned and straight

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    Went to work on the radiators to get the cooling system buttoned up

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    Got all the fan wiring routed. I still need to complete the wiring for the manual fan switch, but I need to have the bars mounted, due to the switch location. I also have to finish the wiring for the dual temp gauges, but I have a custom length 3CS from Eastern Beaver just for that. I will also have two fused circuits available for accessories later on.

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    Dual gauges installed on upper triple. After the hiccups with the new stem to accommodate the bracket Rob fabricated, it sure was nice to see it all in place

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    Tomorrow, I need to get the front end, wiring, and fluids wrapped up...but I'm getting some new ink at 11:00, so that will take a couple hours, most likely finish it off Wednesday, and I still need one part to come back from powdercoating so that I can mount the chain guard and secure the rear brake line.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2021
  6. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    If I understand right you are taking a delta Temp on the inlet and outlet Temp of both radiators? Was this bike known for overheating?
     
  7. Diving Pete

    Diving Pete Member

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    No - however this bike isn’t standard
     
  8. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    Understatement of the week right there Pete!
     
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  9. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    in southern arizona overheating is common; in slow traffic it's normal.

    gallery_3647_3444_149590.jpg
     
  10. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Got quite a bit done today.

    Worked on installing the coolant overflow bottle and hoses, then went to work on the front end. At 11:00 AM I had an appointment with the stabby nap lady...took the fo fitty for a rippity rip to the appointment. Love that moto.

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    After messing around with that, went back to work. Not gonna type a lot of words, too beat. But here are some pics of where she's at. Will prolly finish her up tomorrow and drop her off at the tuner Thursday.

    Instrumentation, manual override fan switch installed. Need to fill and bleed the brakes tomorrow.

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    The amount of components that are packed on this thing is mind numbing

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    Gratuitous side shots. I really am not feeling those red centers on the rotors anymore. Can't wait for Braketech to call me and tell me my Axis iron rotors are out of manufacturing and ready to ship.

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    Super happy with the PVM's. As advertised, they mounted straight up, not one issue, perfect fit.

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    Does the 160 make my ass look fat? I need to cleance the carbon chain guard just a smidge. It clears, but I would like to see a little more for peace of mind.

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    Tomorrow is temp gauge wiring, front brake fill and bleed, airbox, battery, torquing rear axle nut and front right axle pinch bolts, after I get the axle set. Throw the seat and tank on, do an electrical check, put a couple gallons of fuel in the tank and off she goes.
     
  11. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    Yeah a little chain slap and it could saw a bit off the guard. Looking great!
     
  12. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    It's the tire side that is a little close. It would be similar to shaving the fork guards on a supermoto. Nothing major, I have a text into my man Rob to see if he has a CNC tool that will cut it cleanly. Cutting carbon can be messy, without the right tool. I would water jet it, but it's too minimal to go that extreme.
     
  13. Diving Pete

    Diving Pete Member

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    Whats wrong with using tape and a dremal?
     
  14. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Precision, man, precision. So much easier to do trimming with a CNC in manual, perfect, every time. However, I might end up doing exactly that, depending upon how busy the CNC is, if it's running jobs, I can't just stop everything for this. Also trying to decide whether or not I want to go over there.
     
  15. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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  16. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    no frame slider to protect your elegant bodywork ? :rolleyes:
     
  17. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    No. Frame sliders don't protect anything....but the frame.
     
  18. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Got a few more things crossed off the list. Got a little sidetracked taking my truck in for service to put the finishing touch to all the work that's been done to it over the last 2 weeks.

    Finished the installation of the temp sensor wiring. It came with enough lead to install the sensors in the back of a school bus and I didn't want two big wads of wire stuffed up inside the front cowl, so I had to carefully cut all of that down to retain the special plugs on each end. The instructions said not to modify anything, but I'm a guy, so yeah, I didn't follow their instructions. It is super fiddly, as the wires are prolly 28 gauge and very tiny. There is also bare copper wire filaments that wrap the main two wires. I cut them down and hand soldered the wiring and shrink wrapped each one...it took about an hour and a half a piece. I'll see if I fooked it all up, when I power it up tomorrow.

    Installed the Eastern Beaver 3CS fused power solution. Made custom wiring harnesses for each gauge. It's relay controlled by the taillight hot wire, so it will only come on when keyed. It took a solid 5 hours to get it all done up correctly.

    2A fuses for each gauge. The third fused connector is just blanked off for now.

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    Fingers crossed it all works as I expect it to work....The AntiGravity bat is on the charger, so I'll stick that in tomorrow morning and power everything up. After that, it's fuel tank, seat, and fluids to finish it off. Borrowing a trailer tomorrow afternoon to take it to the tuner. At that point, I'll leave it the capable hands of Evan and Phil and let them work their magic. Thankfully MotoAmerica isn't racing right now, otherwise Evan wouldn't be available.
     
  19. lsc86

    lsc86 New Member

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    To borrow a phrase: "looks pretty decent". :thumbs:

    Of all the mind bending bits that stand out, I sure do like the LH dual normal exhaust cans, the white wheels, and those simple but correct white analog clocks.

    No under engine coffee cans or stumpy tuba looking exhaust that is on every sport bike for over a decade now, classic white wheels always seem correct on any VFR, and no jumbo flat screen TV display. Really captures the culmination of the greatest era of modern motorcycle racing IMO.
     
  20. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    NB... I've almost ran out of words for this build. Yeah, the wheels look amazing. I did really like the look of the black wheels too tho. But these just take it to another level, performance wise too, obviously. This is a dream bike. Good job man.
     
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