New but old

Discussion in '5th Generation 1998-2001' started by yellow99, May 2, 2014.

  1. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Looks like you will have a new bike soon..:smile:






    SkiMad
     
  2. JimGregory

    JimGregory New Member

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    Everything looks great! Nice job so far. I was lucky enough to find a low mile pretty cherry 98. I despise corrosion!
     
  3. Jack Bauer

    Jack Bauer New Member

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    Hell of a homecoming!!! Welcome back to Viffer World!!!
     
  4. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    IT'S Alive I tell ya ...IT'S Alive. Unbelievable work Dr. FRANKSTIEN.
    Must bring tears and a few scraped knuckles to bring your old girl a second chance in life...like beating doom and gloom front cancer. Cheers bro
     
  5. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    It is alive, but hibernating. Went into the garage yesterday to replace the fork springs with new ones and my hands nearly fell off it was so cold. Still waiting for the re-chromed forks, but possibly being delivered early next week. Got some new exhaust clamps, rubber grease and brake disc bolts coming too, so once it's all here.............
     
  6. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    Problem time

    Well I suppose that sooner or later I was expecting a few snags and they've come thick and fast.

    Firstly I decided to turn the engine over to make sure it still did and that all my work wouldn't be wasted at the last hurdle. To do that I wanted to re-attach the exhaust, which in the meantime had been polished. Looks nice. It was a bugger to get on and the front header studs seemed a little too tight going in so I backed them off and secured the rears instead. It was all in place, just not tightened up. But I began to smell a rat.

    Put the battery on charge overnight and it showed a not-unreasonable 12.7V at rest, so I gave the key a turn. Nothing. No fuel pump priming to be heard and the FI light stayed on. Checked kill switch inside and out because the assembly had been off the bars, checked ignition switch, bank sensor, routing of fuel lines, all fuses, voltage etc etc, and did some internet research aswell as using the workshop manual troubleshooting guide before I decided to swap the fuel relay and the ignition stop relay over incase one was faulty.. Took off the ignition stop relay and found a wire hanging out of the bottom of the connector block with a corroded end. Must have given up the ghost all by itself whilst just sat there!

    Meanwhile, back at the ranch I though it was time to re-install the front brake discs into my newly powder coated wheel, which had had a new tyre and bearings fitted that morning. I'd bought new disc bolts (OEM) so felt confident to go ahead. I carefully put them all in by hand, lined them up and made a cup of tea. Set the torque wrench to the correct setting and relaxed. Tightened the bolts on one side going opposite to opposite. Not too tight, just methodically going round them. Slowly. Next was the final few turns and you know what's coming next. PING. Bolt head snapped clean off. Backed out the others gingerly. PING. Snap went another one on the way out. Got the others out to find tow snapped bolts with nothing to grab on to and one badly threaded hole. Absolutely no idea why.

    Shit, shit shit and few other expletives later I was in the car with the wheel to a local motorcycle engineering place to see what he could do. Good news was he could fix it, and he offered to put the discs on aswell. Bad news was yet another bill. Not done yet and expecting it all back on Friday.

    Some tiny good news though. I got my new mono shock fitted with the refurbished and clean shock link and plates. New tyres front and rear (looking v nice) and a bit of open heart surgery on the wiring loom and connector block made a temporary fix of the relay, which when done allowed the bike to try and splutter into life. I turned it off before it properly started though as the exhaust is still not fully on, but at least I heard the fuel pump priming.

    I've been reading up on my exhaust stud problem. I have two that are a bit dodgy and I now remember that when I took the exhaust off, they were a little 'stubborn' and not at the right angle and on closer inspection the holes are a bit threaded at the open end. So. should I take a chance and put them back in as they were and risk cross threading the holes even more, or try using some sort of high temp epoxy and putting them in never to be released again? I don't have the tools or skills to drill the holes out, re-tap and install new thread liners (forgot the name of them).

    What do you think?
     
  7. adeyren

    adeyren New Member

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    Take them out and replace with stainless ones. Had the same prob as you.Bummer about the disc bolts, took my discs off yesterday prior to powder coating the wheels and they were well Loctited in,very tight to get out. Reckon you had some dodgy bolts. Take them back? Thread liners are Helicoils, bitch to put in.
     
  8. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    Thanks for the comment. The studs are already stainless steel and are actually in good condition. Still pondering whether to just give them a few turns and hope for the best.
     
  9. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    It's been a crap week. Got the wheel sorted and it involved having three new thread implants. Got the fork stanchions back from the re-chroming and they're looking nice. However, try as I might I couldn't get the damper rod bolt in. The usual problem - hex bolt spinning with the valve at the bottom and unable to tighten. After a bot of poking around, more internet searching and head scratching I've taken them to my local nice Honda dealer and they're doing the job with an air driven tool. It's only costing £6 so I'm not complaining. Once they're back I should be able to start putting the whole thing back together. I've got the exhaust header studs in nice and tight and they seem to be holding so drama averted on that score. One of the guys at the dealership is rebuilding a VF500F and it looks amazing.

    Barring any other hiccups I might even get this project finished on schedule and on budget!
     
  10. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    Forks now rebuilt with the new springs and 10w oil (I'm not as skinny as I was!). Got one in OK then tried to fix the bars on before coming up against a problem. The bolt got stuck halfway and didn't want to come out without a lot of gnashing of teeth and looks towards some heavenly being. The disc bolt fiasco spooked me, so it was very steady as she goes on the wrench. Anyway, a quick bit of dismantling later I was on my way back to the powder coaters (after a quick call) to have all the bolt holes tapped to clean them out. Last night with all parts nicely lined up it was time to get the front wheel back on and callipers fixed in place before getting it started. Thankfully the bike started )with jump cables) although to did reveal the exhaust blowing all over the place because I obviously hadn't secured them tight enough. Fan came on at 100 degrees or so while it was running. Tightened up the exhaust bolts today and tried again and it's blowing a bit, but I'm sure its from the end can.

    Giving the end can (OEM from new)a shake there were some rusty bits falling out the end. Are the baffles and internals done for I wonder? It's making a throatier rumble than before.

    I'll get the latest photos on here tomorrow, but next job is bodywork back on and then pretty much done. Fingers crossed! Thanks for reading.
     
  11. Pliskin

    Pliskin New Member

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    Way to hang in there and stick with it, Yellow, despite the setbacks. Looking forward to seeing the end result based on the teaser pics you've provided so far.
     
  12. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    OK well I've managed to bolt it all back together. Two questions for the technical folk.
    1. Only the right hand side indicators are working. I've tried swapping bulbs, but no joy
    2. How far down onto the steering stem should the top yoke sit? There is slight movement in the yoke when I roll it off the main stand. I didn't have the head race bearings out or undo the nut that holds them, but the pice with the tabs on it did come off and is a loose fit. Should this be tighter perhaps?

    Anyway, all updated photos are here:
    http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/Yellow99/library/?sort=3&page=1
     
  13. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    Today was the big day. I'd done everything I possibly could within my knowledge to the bike to get it roadworthy. Turns out that the head race baring tightening nut was dented and wouldn't sit straight. Worse than that, it was loose, so everything above it was moving about, hence the knocking. Fitted a new one, torqued it up and bingo! The flashers started to work as soon as the new battery was installed, so that was another issue cleared up.

    This morning, on the wettest day of the week with brand new tyres that hadn't turned I set off to the dealer for the bike's MoT. For those of you abroad, an MoT is a statutory safety check conducted every year on bikes and cars from their third anniversary of first registration. Without a valid MoT you can't get a bike taxed to use on the public road, so it's not legal.

    It was a nerve-racking 40 minutes, but I got the thumbs up, the bike passed and is now road legal! There was an advisory note (tester's discretionary advice) that the throttle return cable had snapped, so not a fail, and he re-adjusted the front axle position to stop the left caliper dragging.

    So it's done. Much heartache, emotional energy and of course money, has been spent on this project. It's now sitting in the garage dripping wet and covered in muck, waiting for a clean and a dry day to stretch its legs.

    I'm available for any advice on stripping and re-fitting!!
     
  14. Iowa VFR

    Iowa VFR New Member

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    Great write up...You seem to have some skill!!! Good luck and thanks for posting so much info!
     
  15. Pliskin

    Pliskin New Member

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    Well done, yellow! I'm sure it'll bring you many miles and years of riding! Enjoy it.
     
  16. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Well done for seeing it through to the end. Now find a beer and start planning summer trips..

    Take care



    SkiMad
     
  17. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Awesome work Yellow.....another happy VFR on the road again, oh and owner
     
  18. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    I thought I'd do a quick update on work done since last time. I had some nice rides on the bike and found the new suspension setup a revelation. So much taughter than I remember it, but I have noticed it does seem a tad sluggish on the road.

    Since I last posted I decided to fix the throttle return cable which was a massive pain in the rear end! The tiny bracket that holds both cables to the throttle body assembly was a menace for my fingers to do up with the new cable attached! Future son-in-law with smaller digits ended up doing it for me! I bought a replacement airbox from fleabay to replace the original which had one broken screw on the front right hand side. This one came with the trumpets and all the sensors and was cheap so a nice bargain was had. Replacement was a bit tricky here and there, but not difficult.

    I decided to clean and repaint my corroded cooling fan and so dismantled the cooling system. All the rubber hoses were cleaned and the jubilee clips either cleaned of rust or replaced as needed. Rubbed it down, undercoated and sprayed with satin black and some lacquer so hopefully will have a few more years left in it.

    The water pump cover was very furry so that came off and was also cleaned, undercoated and re-painted silver. I bought all new bolts and gasket and it looks good as new now it's re-done.

    Crank case cover was manky so I removed it and cleaned it up before undercoating and spraying black before lacquering. It looks clean and OK, but it's glossy rather than a satin finish so my intention will be to re-do it in the future. It's fine for now though and I want a bit of use out of the oil and the gasket, both of which will need to be replaced if it comes off again.

    I didn't get round to doing the brake lines and banjos and have put that off until the bike is off the road in the winter I think. Re-doing the brake fluid is a bit scary though, so if anyone can give me any words of reassurance or encouragement before I start I'd appreciate it!

    That's it for now.

    Keep safe on your VFRs.
     
  19. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Good to hear how you've been doing. yea I'm working it over to do the de link, I have all the parts, just a matter of finding time later. agree these linked brakes are the pits to bleed, I've read a lot of horror stories here. but sounds like other than a couple minor set backs you're on track to having some fun.
     
  20. yellow99

    yellow99 New Member

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    Well the work continues. I've had a slight change of plan over the last year or so and I'll be doing what I can to return the bike to an 'as new' condition - or as best I can. That means using as many original parts as possible to replace rusty ones. I've bought a set of OEM used front brake lines from fleabay and they will replace mine which have corroded banjos. The replacements are pretty much mint. I also got hold of a used OEM silencer to replace mine which had rusty internals. Again, looks as good as new. I've also managed to get hold of a used set of oil cooler pipes from the USA which aren't corroded to replace my very rusty ones. The starter motor works but is rusty so that's going to have to be either thoroughly cleaned up or replaced as well.

    I also decided to have a go at the fairing bolts which were a bit sad and tired. Each one was taken off, cleaned, sanded, polished and lacquered and they now look like new. It remains to be seen whether the new finish will hold up, but this is not a winter ride and it's garaged so they should be OK.
    This winter I'll be removing the footpeg hangers and brackets (hopefully, but my track history with corroded bolts on this bike isn't good!) and getting them powder coated for spring time.

    I'm still a bit nervous about bleeding the brakes, but I'll just have to breathe in and get on with it.

    There's no intention of getting rid of this bike - ever - so each winter I'll do the little tidy up jobs as and when.
     
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