It's in bits again...

[Kurt999]

Back again!

Lock bolts out after a bit of gnashing of teeth...I drilled into the centre of the head and thought I'd be clever by knocking a torx bit into the hole and then unwinding the bolt..the tork bit promptly sheared off. So, having thought about it for a bit I drilled a hole off centre and at a 45* angle and used a hammer and punch to knock the bolts round.

I've got the lower race off the steering stem but I marked the bearing mating surface on the stem with a chisel. I've dressed it with a fine file and it will probably be fine, but I hate stuff like that. It messes with my OCD. However I do have about 8 weeks before the chromers return my fork stanchions, plus maybe another 2 once they're back for Roger D to 'do' them.

Just need to get the bar end bits out of the end of the clipons and I'm ready to take stuff to the powder coaters.

However, I've still not decided whether to pull the frame for powder coating or not. I've got boxes of bike bits stashed in the flat and SHE is losing her sense of humour with it.

@AMCQ46, thanks for the tips...


On a non VTR note...WTF is up with Microsoft?? I bought a new laptop without an OS from Novatech, and put on my genuine Win7 from disc with no problems. I have an upgrade license for Win8and it's taken 3 (!!!) days to get Win8 installed, updated, and upgraded to Win8.1. The Win8 install is a complete mess and repeatedly fails while running it's updates, then gets caught in a loop trying to undo them. I still don't really know how I got it running apart from perseverence. Fortunately the aforementioned hammer and punch were well out of reach...

[Big_Jim59]

. . .a rider misjudgement of speed to rev ratio causing a “whiplash effect” that snaps the con rod.

Oh yes I remembering reading something about this over on the Superhawk site. I wonder if Big_Jim's bike has been down that road.

No, I am pretty sure, from the look of the crank, that my bike had a low oil event. Since i don't have the rod bearing I will never know but it looks like it failed for the right to the left with the right side main bearing taking the brunt of the damage.

By the way, Kurt999 mentioned track days and hill climbs. Track days we have but hill climbs no. I think i have wasted hours watching hill climb YouTube videos and wishing i could try that. We do have the Pikes Peak hill climb but that's serious racing and brings in the big teams and the big money. It's also incredibly dangerous.

Windows 8 is the worst product ever. It will go down as one of the major busts in history right up there with "New Coke." What's worse, we have Windows 2012 servers. Who thought it was a good idea to transfer a touch screen type interface to a server product!! Windows 7 is great. It works. Microsoft decided that they had a big enough market share to force people into their vision of computing. My IT guy says that MS is skipping version 9 and going right to 10 which is more Windows 7 like.

[VTRDark]

No, I am pretty sure, from the look of the crank....

Yeh I gathered that. I posted the link to this ages ago. See that's what I do, all the time I'm reading through one members thread I'm still thinking about other members issues and way to resolve it or help. Well, the interesting ones anyway. And there link-backs so future members have a path to follow if they want.

As for Windblows 8 isn't that one that Bill Gates could not work out and had to call the tech guys in to help

Kurt.....with the clipon weights there is a little round nodule bit on either side of the tube that needs pressure applied to which then releases the weight so you can pull it out. It's a little fiddley. I take it you have seen the little round tabbed clips on the end of the tube that need pulling out first.

I posted the Honda instruction for removing the inner weight removal somewhere but cant find the link.

Here you go
http://www.manicsalamander.com/media/51 ... emoval.pdf

(:-})

[Kurt999]

Thanks for the tip re the bar end weights.

I figure while it's this far apart, and I have time, I may as well get the frame done. Everytime I walk past the bike i'm spraying the nuts and bolts with WD40. Im hoping that as everything else has come apart fairly easily that these bolts will be ok too.

To anyone thats had their frame powder coated, what have you done about the VIN plate?

Thanks

Kurt

[VTRDark]

I masked it over and painted around it. I guess with powder coating something smiler could be done. Maybe a temporary plate over the plate.

It's not the nuts and bolts so much, but if you look where the front mounting bar goes through the engine just below the carb's. That what you want to be spraying.

(:-})

[Kurt999]

Parts now at powdercoaters...Rye Metal Finishers. I went down there and spoke to one of the guys there. They do lots of bike stuff and have samples of their work for inspection. All looks really good and he knew exactly what to mask up too. I got to see the workshop and areas behind the counter and everything is really tidy and clean. Don't know if it's the cheapest place, he said 25 each per fork lower, 20 each for the top yoke and clock subframe and 40 for the rear subframe including zinc primer first. So that's 130 all in, presumably plus VAT...I forgot to ask. Turnaround is about 7 days or so.

Still procrastinating about the frame though. Main thing that's stopping me now is that the tool I bought off ebay isn't deep enough to properly sit over the castle nut on the middle engine bolt and I don't want to f-it up. I may be able to borrow the proper Honda tools so I'm waiting until later next week to find out.

Talking of engine bolts, am I right in thinking that the front and rear bolts go right through from one side to the other, and the centre mounting is a seperate bolt from each side? If this is the case, can I not just remove the nut and washer from the front and rear bolts and knock them through without loosening the castle nut and adjusting collar, or am I missing something?

Thanks as ever

Kurt

[VTRDark]

With the castle nut tool it's the design of the nut iteslf which is flawed. You will have the same issue with the Honda one. You juts have to make sure it's held square on and don't slip off.

Your correct about the mounting bolt arrangement and no you can't just knock it straight through to remove the engine. The castle nut locks the threaded bit through the frame in place that buts up against the engine. This will need unwinding slightly to be able to lift the frame off.

(:-})

[Kurt999]

OK so you mean that the bolt would come out but the engine would still be effectively be an interference fit in the frame because of the adjuster being wound in against the engine?

Is it the adjuster that people normally have trouble with or the bolts or both?

Thanks

Kurt

[VTRDark]

Both but in different ways. It common for one of (usually the front) mounting bolts that slide through the engine to seize. In which case heat and a big hammer is your friend. And once you have that removed there is two thin tabs attached to the threaded bit through the frame. These can snap so be careful how you unscrew it and don't put any force on those tabs. This should not be a problem unless the thread through the frame is seized. A bit of lube and they normally undo easily enough.

(:-})

[Kurt999]

Today, I managed to find a couple of hours to continue with the stripdown. I pulled the exhaust and rear wheel, and dropped out the shock and shock linkage. Thankfully all the linkage bearings and seals seem ok so they recieved a thorough degreasing and rinse through with water to flush the degreaser out, followed by a liberal dowsing in WD40 after i thought it through and mentally kicked myself for running water through the bearings (what an idiot!!!). They're now all greased up and wrapped in cling film, ready to go back on.

I also removed the header tank, rads and thermostat and flushed the cooling system. I have an HRC header tank to go back on instead of the original. I've bypassed the carb heater/coolant lines by joining the inlet and outlet pipes together. I can't see this causing any problems unless riding in cold and damp conditions where carb icing may be an issue.

So...unless I decide to get the frame done in black, I'm at the stage where I can degrease and clean the engine, frame and swinging arm and start bolting her back together!!

[Big_Jim59]

I got lucky with my tear down. None of the shock linkage or the frame mounting bolts were seized or corroded. I guess that comes from being a a bike from a dry, low humidity place with zero salts on the road. On my bikes the linkage bits will get regressed and the frame bolts and threaded spacers will get a bit of anti-seize. I am still waiting on my bearing order and it is maddening.

One thing I must remember to do is to install the rear exhaust header while the engine is out of the frame. It will just make things a lot easier.

[lloydie]

very lucky with the boits there .
the rear header is easy to fit later on and it will help line it up when you fit the collector .

[Kurt999]

When fitting a non standard cooling system expansion tank, presumably one pipe sits below the level of the coolant and goes to the neck of the radiator just under the cap, and a second pipe just vents to atmosphere and sits above the coolant level. Is there any need to bleed air out of the pipe that runs from the rad to the tank?

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[VTRDark]

You don't need to bleed air out the expansion bottle but you do have to bleed the cooling system of any trapped air bubbles in general.

1)Fill the cooling system up, leave the rad cap off

2) Bring it up to temp (it will take a while with no pressure build up) and give the bike a rev, you will see the fluid circulate, and top up as needs be. It helps to give the lower hoses a bit of a squeeze too in case there is a bad airlock and you don't see the fluid circulate.

3) Switch off, top up fluid, put the rad cap back on and top up the expansion bottle to the max level which half full on the standard bottle.

4) Run the engine once more and bring up to temp and double check the fan kicks in.

Done

(:-})

[Kurt999]

You don't need to bleed air out the expansion bottle but you do have to bleed the cooling system of any trapped air bubbles in general.

1)Fill the cooling system up, leave the rad cap off

2) Bring it up to temp (it will take a while with no pressure build up) and give the bike a rev, you will see the fluid circulate, and top up as needs be. It helps to give the lower hoses a bit of a squeeze too in case there is a bad airlock and you don't see the fluid circulate.

3) Switch off, top up fluid, put the rad cap back on and top up the expansion bottle to the max level which half full on the standard bottle.

4) Run the engine once more and bring up to temp and double check the fan kicks in.

Done

(:-})

Got it, thanks!!