New but old

Its an awesome feeling knowing that your Yellow one is faster on the center stand than any red one currently on the road.

 

Yet way slower than anything RWB!

Kudo's Yellow99!

 

Hey thanks for all your kind words guys.

 

I've had some useful quotes from a local powder coat firm and they seem like good value. To remove tyre, strip and powder coat wheel is £55, smaller parts, including fork lower sections £25. At these prices the headstock, lower yoke and handlebars are also going to be done.

There was a seized bolt on the cowling that refused to budge. It was one of the two that fix the front edge to the frame. Anyway, slow drilling with successively larger bits sorted it out and a good squirt of WD40 into the thread made short work of that with a good pair of grips grabbing onto it! Quite pleased since no no damage was caused. Off with the cowling.

Despite having it on a trickle charger the battery died, so that's another thing for the shopping list, but I won't being doing much with it until early next year when the money I need will be available. I'll probably dismantle the front end - forks, bars, headstock and yoke - ready for repairs over the remainder of the summer and autumn. Hopefully things will move on swiftly after that and it'll be ready for the spring riding season.

 

Well the bike has been sitting in the garage waiting for winter to arrive so that I can get on with the main work. I've now got all the bodywork and headlamp unit off (a few seized fixings had to be drilled out) and got both wheels off with the forks at the weekend.

I've encountered a teeny weeny problem with one of the forks though. The Damper rod fixing bolt (at the bottom of the slider) spins round and round, presumably taking the collar inside the damper rod with it as it goes. I've swamped it with WD40 to no avail.

Any suggestions for how this can be undone? I'd rather not drill it out - not because I'm worried about doing it, but because it's a pain to do it. I've thought about trying to get some heat on it which may tighten up the collar it fits into and I might then be able to free it off from there.

 

I suspect you'll find that there is a bit of threadlock that is stopping the bolt coming out easily, but it won't take much force to overcome that.

The first thing I would suggest is refitting the spring, spacer and fork cap then winding in maximum preload. That will put some load on the damper cartridge and might be enough to stop it spinning.

Next suggestion with springs etc removed is to pull up on the damper shaft while you turn the bolt (this worked for me recently)

Last suggestion is to use a hollow item eg like a painters extension pole for a roller to reach into the fork to stop the cartridge spinning. Hollow needs to be big enough to fit over the damper shaft, then just push down on the top of the cartridge to stop it spinning while you undo the bolt. Helps to have three hands at this point...There are special tools available for this job but DIY is more satisfying. http://racetech.com/page/id/70

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try them one by one!

 

And the winner was…….. heat applied to the bottom of the fork slider. This may sound odd since the parts would obviously expand, but what I was after was the allen bolt to expand within the damper rod inner collar, which was spinning, then giving it a clout to shock it into turning. Which it did. All now dismantled and tomorrow they're off for powder coating. Local firm only a few miles way.

 

Don't forget to post up some pics to appease us simple minded folk.

 

Latest photos are here:
http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/Yellow99/library/?sort=3&page=1

I'm having a week off from work this week so it's about time I did some of the cheap jobs. Wheels and forks are off, and the forks are now dismantled. The damper tubes are at Classic Coatings in Grantham for refurb. I'll be upgrading the springs and after some consideration will replace the OEMs with some new progressive springs, possibly from Hagon. The mono shock is original so after 15 years and 30K+ miles its only fit for the bin. I considered a refurb, but for a little extra I can get a new one of better quality so that's on the shopping list too. Nothing too fancy - I'm not a track rider!

The mono shock is proving a little tricky to get off as the pivot arm upper bolt is stuck. Plenty of WD40 and maybe a little heat should budge it, but in the meantime I decided to clean the swing arm (well the bits I could reach with the shock still in the way) with a liberal application of Gunk and a spray of water. The chain has had a clean and although it looks a little rusty it hasn't done many miles and should respond well to a coating of chain lube. The rear sprocket looks like it may have 46 teeth.

The photos show up some of the more corroded fasteners and in time they'll be replaced.

I've also given the front subframe a coat of black Hammerite to cover the slight surface corrosion, likewise the lower yoke. Side stand and centre stand have also had a clean with an abrasive wheel and I'll Hammerite them next.

The plan is still to have the wheels, top yoke and handlebars stripped and powder coated in the new year then get new fairing fasteners. Fork stanchions are going for re-chroming and after the new springs are delivered they'll be put back together. New bushes (the old ones were VERY worn), oil seals, dust covers and fork oil followed by a replacement mono shock will be done then I'll put the bike back together.

Next will be its MoT test, road tax then insure before taking it on the road. The brake lines and all the other little jobs will be done when the bike is a rolling project.

 

Update. Photos here: http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/Yellow99/library/?sort=3&page=1

It was a long struggle, but after much perseverance and a variety of methods the mono shock is out and the shock link bolt removed allowing me to get the shock link itself off. In the end, a mashed up nut on the bolt meant it was never going to respond to a spanner or socket and even attaching my molegrips then giving them a hefty whack with a bloody big hammer saw no result. Limited space under there meant that the exhaust had to come off. Unfortunately one of the clamps was also very rusty (there's a theme here folks!) and snapped, so will need to be replaced. The header bolts came out ok and obviously I'll need new port seals, but it was worth the effort because it gave me enough room to go for the Final Solution.

Out came the angle grinder and it was a case of Last Chance Saloon for that pesky seized shock link bolt. Even after removing the nut the thing still didn't want to come out until it had a little persuading with a tap from the hammer. Once out, the problems were evident. Lack of maintenance, build up of crud and god knows what else had contributed to a rusty bolt that didn't want to budge.

So it's been a long struggle, but me and the bike are re-bonding like the old days. My list of replacement parts is growing, but thankfully nothing serious has been broken - just a few nuts and bolts. It gives me a chance to make sure everything that moves, rotates or slides does so properly and all the surfaces I can see can be given a clean.

Next steps will be in a little while I think because these are the ones that cost proper money:
New fork springs
New mono shock
Powder coat both wheels, headstock and handlebars
Screw it all back together!

 

That looks quite a shopping list. Certainly a lot of the components you removed seem well beyond recovery. If funds are tight you may be better off looking for a written off parts bike. If you are lucky you may find something which had been better looked after before it took a slide down the road at speed. Provided it has not hit anything hard you may be able to source most of the bits you need to swap out. Obviously if you want to uprate stuff whilst you are at it then maybe an email or two to Jamie Daugherty will give you some ideas. - http://www.daughertymotorsports.com/

Its great to see that despite past mistreatment it has not put you off getting it back on the road.

Keep the updates coming.:thumb:




SkiMad

 

Thanks for the comments and the JD link.

The rear shock is pretty much the only major part that's fit for the bin - and in any event it's well past its sell by date so an upgrade would have been in order anyway. Other parts such as the forks are going to benefit from some professional help (powder coating/re-chroming etc) and new springs, while there's a ton of other bits that are responding well to a bit of DIY fettling. For example I've polished all the fairing bolts and they've come up good enough to avoid replacing them altogether and the shock link is also looking good now, so there's a bit of money saving there. Hose clips and other bolts that have rusted beyond salvage will be replaced. A liberal coating of Gunk has seen the swing arm come up nicely and now the exhaust is off I can give that a spruce with some metal polish.

I've thought about buying another one as a donor, but there's not many I've seen that are salvageable enough at the right price. If one comes along I'll have it and strip it for spares.

There isn't a bottomless pit of money, but I've got a decent enough budget to replace the bits that can't be saved, have a few upgrades and return the bike back to the condition it was when I bought it first time round in 2001. Each time I look at it I rue the day I sold it on!

 

Each time I look at it I rue the day I sold it on!

You won't be the first to reach that conclusion. Hopefully you can get the worse stuff sorted before the weather gets too cold to be messing in a garage.



SkiMad

 

Got my sliders back yesterday. Newly powder coated. Photos:

http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/Yellow99/library/?sort=3&page=1

 

Well I'm quite sure there's nobody hanging on my every word and pining for updates, but I'll continue my VFR rebuild 'blog' anyway!
I got the sliders back but the needle bearing in the left hand fork (caliper pivots on it) was as stubborn as some of the other parts and refused point blank to come out. It needed replacing because the slider had been in the shot blaster, heated up, powder coated and lacquered. I could feel it grinding as it tried to spin round. After a good deal of effort with two sockets and a long bolt the bearings popped out and two new ones have now been ordered. I'm not paying £27 each for the Honda ones though. Ouch!

Having seen off Christmas and New Year and picking up my shiny new Pan European it was time to re-jig my man cave and tidy things up a bit. I'm very very lucky to have a triple garage so I'm not short of space, but it soon gets cluttered. Job done and onto the next weary task - removing the headstock for powder coating. NO CHANCE! The two bolts that hold the ignition barrel and switch into the housing (which are upside down) were mysteriously stripped and aren't going anywhere. To get the part coated they need to come out so it looks like more drilling is in order. Bugger!

On a positive note though I've sent my stanchions off for re-chroming. Including p&p they still come out cheaper than non-original replacements and should be back in 7-10 days. The wheels and handlebars were dropped off at Classic Coatings for powder coating and again, should be back in about a week. Fork seals, new mono shock (Hagon), new fork springs (Hagon) and a couple of other minor parts are on order and it's feeling like I'm making some progress after the long lay up over the summer (despite some of these pesky stuck bolts etc).

I'll have some progress photos in a few weeks and am still on target to get the bike back on the road by the beginning of spring.

Ride safe.

 

Wish i had have seen that bike in Malvern, i can see Malvern from my lounge window!!! Been looking for a project for my son.Always liked the yellow ones. But not as fast as red ones HAHA.I had the same problem removing that shock link bolt on mine. Despite loads of WD40 etc still wouldnt budge. Answer was a big rattle gun to get it spinning and it just popped out. Also just changed my exhaust header bolts. Replaced with s/s ones from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless-Steel-Exhaust-Stud-Set-for-Honda-VFR800Fi-models-98-01-/331422662980?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item4d2a548144 real fast delivery.
Have also had my forks done, i used http://www.revsracing.co.uk/road.htm as they are fairly local. Cost me £180. 00 all in, well worth it. Somewhere localish to you is http://www.mctsuspension.co.uk/Home.html. Have heard good stuff about them. Also changed my rear shock to a Wilbers 641. Picked it up on ebay for £250 only 14 months old and mint. Bargain. If you fancy changing your brake lines have a look at this http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/...galfer-brake-line-group-buy/?hl=+brake++lines. Bought mine before i spotted them. Damn.

 

Thanks for that. Interesting that we have had similar issues. Mine are all due to a lack of proper maintenance by the previous owner. She did have a s/s Motad system fitted though and the header bolts are in good condition and came out easily. Brake lines.....well I was going to swap them during the refurb but I'll leave it until it's put away next winter because I want to get it through an MoT and back on the road ASAP. I'm concentrating on suspension parts which would all have contributed to a major MoT failure. My fork stanchions are currently on way to Dynasurf in Cheshire. They'll re-chrome for £75 each and even with postage there and back it's cheaper than new aftermarkets ones. While they're in bits I'm swapping the springs and putting a heavier oil down the tubes. The rebuilding of the components I'll do since I also took them to bits! I suppose in total with new bushes, springs and seals I'm over the £180 you've paid, but I'm sure I'll be happy.

The bit I'm really waiting for is all the metalwork being powder coated - (wheels, top yoke, handlebars) because the fork sliders I had done came back beautifully. Local firm, just a drive away so no postage and a quickish turnaround.

 

Got some parts back from the powder coaters this week. They look even better in the flesh than in photos and there's a comparison between the yoke before and after. Very pleased. Just waiting for my re-chromed forks and other suspension parts and I'll be ready to start putting it all back together.....

 

Huge difference