Refurbishing my '99 5th Gen

I finally bought myself a 5th gen, a '99 "49 state" bike.

It's in good overall condition, never been wrecked or dropped and not too much garage-rash either. Relatively low miles for an 18 year old motorcycle (it has a September of 1989 built date on the VIN sticker). The prior owner was good about oil changes so I'm hoping the engine is "VFR-young".

But it comes to me with a lot of deferred maintenance and in a state of general dirtiness. I don't mind a bit of work to bring the bike up to my standards.

















































That was a long day. Now I'll work on the various tasks for the next month or so.

 

Ooooo let the fun began, you did good with the photos too. Nice.

 

So....

What's the plan?

Dual snorkels?

Ciao,

 

Good job Greg.
I like your thorough approach.
I also like the way you suspended the bike, simple but elegant.
Most of us here will also like to be involved in your refurb, so keep us informed and ask questions.
Most of the advice from here might not be acurate, but it will be well intended.

 

My 01 was a lot dirtier, when i got it. The old boy mine came from, wasn't very picky. I think, maybe he wiped down the bodywork before I got there. But other than that,I doubt it'd had ever been washed. How do those inner fairings get so grimey? My swing arm was covered in grime. But underneath it all, was Hond quality. It cleaned up nicely.

One of the things that didn't age well, was the exhaust. Boy, did they ever save a bunch of money there! The chain rusted, as well. Even the chrome oil lines managed to rust!

The thermostst was stuck open. The PO managed to jam a Scorpion can onto a 2Bro mid pipe. It sort of works.

He also put a set of bars from a 650 Hawk on. That was a total slip shod job. One grip was even on backwards! How is that even possible? I had to straighten out that mess. The stock levers were changed out for some cheezy Red (I'm sure, chineese) levers. I left the levers..... theyve grown on me.

So I changed tires, thermostat, chain, exhaust, oil lines, oil, rectifier, battery, did a bunch of cleaning and polishing.

I have a really nice old motorcycle now.

 

Thanks for the comments and the welcome.

What's the plan, you ask? I bought this '99 to experience the Honda V-4, fuel injection, gear-driven-camshafts. I'm a bit of an engine-nerd and this thing really makes some sweet music.

My way of thinking tells me that to get a quality experience out of this bike it's mechanical condition has to be brought up to nearly as nice and sweet as it was when it was new (I'm not as concerned about cosmetics/appearance as long as the bike isn't just plain ugly).

When your brake lines and thermostat are old enough to vote it's time for some refurb work.


So I'm going to be doing lots and lots of cleaning, a good bit of refurbishment and a few little upgrades:

Definitely gonna get some new tires. The bike came to me with an old, worn set of "Dunrocks" installed (A Dunlop Sportmax D220 ST on the rear, and a Dunlop D205F Sportmax Touring on the front). These tires are very scary. I looked at their U.S. DOT marking date-codes and they show production dates of late 2012 for the rear tire (coded: 4812) and early 2006 for the front tire (coded: 1606). Holy crap!

I ordered in the Daugherty Motorsports suspension upgrades: his fork cartridge kit for the front and for the bike's rear suspension his rebuilt/customized SHOWA MCJ-831 shock (Honda 929 Fireblade?).

Spiegler brake lines (plus clutch line). Refurbishing the brakes with all new seals, EBC pads and fresh brake fluid.

I'm going to rebuild the clutch (it doesn't feel "positive" enough and there's more judder during release than I like). I've chosen to do the rebuild with Honda OEM Friction Disks and Plates and a set of Barnett VFR800 springs. Also replacing the Judder Spring and Judder Spring Seat.

Refurbish the cooling system: install a new OEM thermostat (because the original one is now 18 years old and liable to seize up/give up/just plain quit at any time now), replace some of the old hoses and O-rings (there's evidence of some very slow leaking on the really short hose that connects the front cylinder head to the thermostat housing).

Check and adjust the valves.

Replace the spark plugs (they appear to be original to the bike).

Clean the throttle body assembly and clean/flush the fuel injectors.

Replacing the high pressure fuel filter.

Replacing the air filter (the current filter is very old and dirty).

The prior owner installed a Wire My Bike VFRness so that's one thing I won't have to do.

I'll be installing a Kisan Pathblazer headlight modulator.

 

Now that's a list. ever thought about a de-leink on the brakes?

 

That is a plan.

Check the clutch pushrod and seals. Flipping it end for end can give you a new un-worn section, if that's an issue.

Fuel filter is in the tank, so most people don't replace it. Ever.

Ciao,

 

Good advice on the clutch pushrod.

Yes, I know it's an in-tank pump assembly (I've got a new filter and a new fuel pump assembly base gasket on hand).

And I agree, it's funny how some people are unwilling to replace "consumable" items on their cars and motorcycles, even when the OEM specifically directs "R" for replacement or "I" for inspect and clean, adjust, lubricate or replace if necessary. Especially amazing is the apparent assumption that rubber items like O-rings and the various hoses will last forever.

 

Also, I'm narrowing the decision on replacement tires. What do you, the forum, think of Bridgestone Battlax T30 EVO tires?

I stay out of the rain whenever possible so I'm not attracted by the great wet performance of the Michelin Pilot Road 4.

 

Wow incredible job with the disassembly, good to be on the OCD side, loved the step by step pics.
Good luck with the cleaning and upgrades.
Goin to be a very sweet 5 gen when finished.
Talk to RVFR about the delink if that's a mod your thinkin about


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Talk to me LOL Tires are a personal thing here, all the tires available to a point will work well, so pick your poison. Price point is a question. Me, I prefer the Pirelli Diablos

 

Be careful of what you use to clean the throttle bodies with. They have a special coating on them from the factory. You may want to investigate on the cleaner to use. It should be made for throttle bodies only.

 

It's made out of cheap lumber from Home Depot, screws and nails from my leftover screw and nail collection and two really cheap Harbor Freight furniture dollies. No plans on paper, just an idea in my head, knocked it together as I was disassembling the bike.

I don't have room in my current garage for a project that stays in one place. I had to have the ablility to quickly move the carcass of the bike out into the middle of the garage to work on it while my car is parked on the street, then when I'm done with the day's work, easily move the project into a very tight space in the back of the garage so the car can return to the garage. The car appears to appreciate this.

 

Did some cleaning today. The cleaning is going to be a big task.

I also took the thermostat housing off the bike today, I'm replacing the thermostat itself and all the associated O-rings and all the tubes that link to the thermostat housing.

Just look at the state of these O-rings (the old ones sitting next to the new replacements):



I was pretty shocked by this, the bike is a '99 with only 19,000 miles. I guess 18 years is a long time for an O-ring.



Here's an attempt at a close-up, taken before I pried out the old O-ring. You can see how flattened and crusty it is.

 

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning...

When I removed the thermostat housing and its associated plumbing I cleaned up the valley between the heads.

 

Hey Greg

What did you use to clean the valley? It looks VERY clean in there for just a quick clean with a soapy type product.

 

Gets me thinkin-- looks real clean-- good job there


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I vacuumed out all the dirt and sand and dead insects, then I went at it with good old 409 kitchen cleaner and a toothbrush. On the dirtier spots I allowed the 409 cleaner to sit for about 5 minutes before scrubbing it off.