engine Guard thing

[motojohn]

just fitting a new motor in my project VTR ,and am having the worlds hardest job refitting the black plastic guard that goes on top of the engine between the engine and carbs .
the engine I took out was a 2001 and the new one is a 2003 im sure they are the same size but its doing my head in .
the question is Do I need it or can I junk it ?
thanks for any help

[AMCQ46]

Yes you need it , the airflow into the airbox gets all messed up if you don't have it fitted

[MacV2]

Try warming it up a bit to make it more flexible... Bucket of hot water rather than the oven...

Also are the carbs in place ?

If yes pop the front out of the stub...

IIRC get the front of the sheild in first, it clips to the frame & theres a seperate little bit on the right that you need to feed the the TPS cable & the throttle tubes through...

See you all take the piss but when you have another bike to look at these things are so much easier...

[motojohn]

thanks I only took it out the day before and now it does not want to go back the same as the choke cable that's being a pain as well ,I will have to see if I can find a cable routing diagram as I can not remember if it went above or below the thermostat ,im pretty sure it was below

[tony.mon]

Below, it tucks alongside the coolant bottle.
I take off the little extra sections of the shield and fit the main part first, then the extra bits after.
You can be quite brutal twisting and forcing it into position as it won't snap or break.
But be careful of the plastic elbows where the choke cable goes into the carbs, they're easy to snap.

[Kev L]

The workshop manual, available on here, has a couple of cable routing diagrams in it for reference.

[sirch345]

Below, it tucks alongside the coolant bottle.
I take off the little extra sections of the shield and fit the main part first, then the extra bits after.
You can be quite brutal twisting and forcing it into position as it won't snap or break.
But be careful of the plastic elbows where the choke cable goes into the carbs, they're easy to snap.

Do what Tony says above for fitting it. Here are some photo's that you obviously didn't take before pulling it apart I hope they help,









I agree with Al (AMcQ46) you need it,

Chris.

[motojohn]

so this is why it would not fit
this is the 2001 motor
and this is the 2003 motor it has a moulding just above the cam chain adjuster

[Wicky]

Odd - the plastic heat guard is the same across the years 97-05 early & late models https://www.bike-parts-honda.com/honda- ... 9125MBB010

[tony.mon]

I've never noticed that before- wonder if there's anything different inside?

[Commando77]

Mines an 03 and have had this off plenty of times the last 4 wks. There is a bulge on the plastic over that boss, you can just see it here....if you magnify the pic.

[motojohn]

yes i can see it in your picture , i took a dremel to mine so it now fits

[tony.mon]

The boss looks like a casting sprue, you can see from inside if it's hollow but I suspect solid.
If so you can simply cut it off flush and lose some weight as well.