1994 RVF400R Build Project

So you now understand why I bought my soda machine (Eastwood)... lol

Believe me that's pretty good condition - You can see they have been disembled recently as you have Viton gasket seals.

 

Oh yeah, Mac's. That's what I meant. They are in Ballard. When they first started years ago they were good and reasonable. We did quite a bit of business with them through the Honda shop and customer referrals. Now it's just stupid.

 

Spent the day on carb shit.

Started with this fine gem



After fetching another 50 pound bag of soda, went about the business of doing a little experimentation with figuring out a good pressure to clean the bodies up, without wrecking anything.

Ended up like this:



Unboxed the new ultrasonic cleaner and cycled it through for 30 minutes





Ran it through another cycle at a little higher concentration of cleaner, came out what the way I wanted







Worked on the brackets



Found a little trick to doing the small parts....I won't tell the beans fall through the grill joke. Normally for tea, but I figured, why not





Also retrieved a package....new brass was part of the bits. New emulsion tubes, pilot jets, and float needles. New mains and HRC replica stacks are on the way and I can wrap these carbs up.



The pieces I couldn't get, got a trip through the ultrasonic. Stuffed on some new washers and o-rings and the choke rod got a new seal, just need to screw them in when it's assembly time.



Also made a trip to Restocycle to pick up the vapor blasted swingarm, new bearings and seals



The engine is scheduled to be back in a couple days and I can get on with starting re-assembly now, just need to finish these carbs and get the forks and bodywork back. Really need that decal set to show up....

 

Really coming along now, very nice.

 

Just trying to get it to the point where things are being assembled, instead of disassembled. Just when I think I'm at that point, up pops another "oh crap, forgot about that" moment. I don't want to invite problems, but I'm getting closer every day.

 

Yeah I bet there are a lot of unforeseen things no matter how well prepared you are. Soon it will be the light at the end of the tunnel and not the train. lol

 

Continued working on the carbs today and made some decent progress

Finished cleaning up #1



Set the float height, installed all of the new brass that I had, still waiting on the mains from Jets R Us, but they are on the way, replaced all of the seals, o-rings, and washers, buttoned it up



Got cracking on #2. Got it all dialed in and assembled



Moved on to this beauty, #3. This is pretty much what they all have looked like so far, but this one was especially fooked. I'm wondering how the machine even ran at all, I'm also wondering how much better it's going to be after this is all said and done. I have pretty high hopes about the performance increase, especially after some dyno tweakage.



Got it to the point where it looked like this. Hard to believe it's the same carb



It's got one more trip to the spa in the morning, then it will be assembly time and I can get on with the last carb. It was odd...this carb is the only one out of the three so far, that had a needle shim. Not sure what that's all about...but I have shims coming for the rest of them and I will do some back to back tests, bone stock, 0.5mm needle shims, then 0.10 needle shims as part of the dyno effort. The float heights have been all over the map as well. Set them all to stock jetting, 35 on the pilots, and I am going with the stock 108 mains first, air screw 1 5/8 turns out, float heights at 12.5 mm's. I also have 110 mains coming, so those will get tested as well. Thankfully, so far, all of the diaphragms are in great shape, so no problems there.

I will wrap up #3 first thing tomorrow and crack into #4 and get that one done. I will then start thinking about making them whole again. The plastic thrust washers were all shot on the the throttle plate linkage, but I was able to source those in PTFE from McMaster Carr. They are just a smidge thicker, stock being 0.55 mm on the ones I measured, and the new ones being 0.7 mm. I think the old ones started out around 0.7 and are just rubbed down to 0.55, I believe they will be fine. Also ordered the 1 mm diameter cotter pins for the linkage from a watch repair parts place, Jules Borel. It was the only place I could find them.

Last, but not least, I managed to squeeze in getting the bearings and new seals installed in the suspension link arm. That was the last of the tasks for the rear suspension. Just need something to bolt it to now. My engine guys are swamped right now, getting their riders machines ready for a race at Arroyo Seco this weekend, so I might not see the engine until early next week. Gives me time to finish the carbs. I ordered an aux fuel tank from Bike Master to check the carbs for leaks, and the Carbtune 4 Pro to do the dynamic synch when the time comes, both should be here tomorrow. Bench synch is still ahead on the to do list, as well.

 

Instaead of using fuel to do the initial bench test if you can use air pressure - just a couple of psi. Saves getting fuel everywhere.

 

There won't be any fuel going everywhere

 

Finished up #3, except for the mains....which looks like Friday now....



Attacked #4...more of the same carnage





Got it all cleaned up good





Assembled and ready for main jet to complete it



Just need the mains and I can get on with making them whole again, at least the majority of the effort is now done. Soon very soon, will be nice to see this crossed off the to do list. Gonna work out pretty decent, I would have to believe...barring any unforeseen disasters



Just have a couple things on tap for tomorrow. The painter started spraying today, so he asked me if I wanted to come over tomorrow morning and check it out...hell yeah, I do! That will be job #1 and as soon as I'm done there, I have some stator wiring and turn signal connectors to finish up. That will get the electrical 100% ready for install. I'm hoping nothing else pops up, hahahahahaha. Hoping to finish carbs on Friday and be 100% ready to go when the engine gets done...the best part, just straight assembly.

 

Although I siad I was going to wait until the main jets arrived tomorrow to finish the carbs, my less than a month old, fancy dancy industrial soldering gun decided it wasn't going to heat up this morning...ugggh..that was after I realized that I didn't have enough terminals to finish what I was going to do anyway. Not a real great start to the day So I just decided, what the hell, and dove into the carbs. These things make a rubic's cube seem like tic tac toe, but I was prepared for battle and thought I had a decent plan in place.

Worked to try and do it in one smooth flow, not having to take anything apart and reassemble because I forgot something. I don't have a service manual for these carbs, but I was armed with quite a few photos and it hasn't been that long since I pulled them apart.

Step 1, completed



Step 2 completed



Step 3 completed



Step 4 completed



Step 5 completed - done and dusted, except for the main jets





Tomorrow I can bench synch the throttle plates and do a test for leaks. I was very deliberate with the assembly and I'm pretty confident everything is going to go OK. Pretty happy with the results, condsidering I hadn't touched a carb in about 2 decades. Hoping tomorrow will be the last day of carbs, until the dyno tuning...fingers crossed my settings will be relatively close. Don't need any trouble, next week should be busy.

 

Hey man good job. That bike is strange regarding gaskets. Not o rings on the plenum or oil sump.

Looking great. There's really only one way to go back together, but if enough time goes by it can be a head scratcher.

 

Thanks, Cap. The plenum is o-ring, they are just shaped kinda funky, lol. If I can just make it past the leak test without any problems, I will quit worrying about it. All I can tell at this point is that everything is soooo smooth now. The mains were actually here...just didn't know it. Those will go in first thing in the morning, then I will load up the aux fuel cell and give it a go. I replaced all of the fuel tubes and the o-rings, not really anticipating a problem, but there is always a chance. I don't have the manual so I will do a little checking around to confirm the bench synch procedure. at this point, all I know is #1 is the reference. I'm sure the info is out there somewhere, just haven't looked for it. My Hayne's manual is with the the engine.

 

Got right down to business this morning.

Installed the final pieces of brass, stock setting, 108 main jets.



Bench synched the carbs and got them all playing nicely with each other. Used an old piece piece of superlight guitar E string for the feeler gauge. didn't require too much effort to get them as close to perfect as I could, then it was time for the moment of truth. I hadn't really worried about it, but there is always that lingering thought that you might have a leak somewhere. I tried to be uber meticulous with the assembly to ensure nothing was bound up, all the o-rings were lubed up with Krytox, and that you could install all of the airbox base screws in by hand when done. If you could do that, and nothing else was bound up, that is about the best alignment you can get. This set of carbs is so smooth now. With new throttle and choke cables, and a new throttle tube, it should be about as perfect as I can get it.

Crossed my fingers and connected the assembly to my new aux fuel tank setup. I was more than a little pleased when the only weep I had was a very slow, small, drip from one of the hoses at the tee fitting in front of the carbs, an easy fix. It was due to an old hose that was a tad stiff, so I cut 8-10 mm off the end of it, to get back to some good hose, used a different type of clamp, and connected her back up...that solved that. I then proceeded to verify that I had fuel in all four float bowls, check. Sanity check completed.

Installing the dry break fitting on the inlet hose really made this easy, so glad I decided to do that, they aren't cheap at about $35, but man did it make that easy. Being able to quickly remove the tank is going to be nice in the future. The true test will come when it's time for them to actually feed the engine some fuel during initial start up.



That was one of the last big jobs left, just have to install the new stator, oil pan gasket, and the Factory Pro shift kit, and the rest is just building a moto out of previously assembled components. If I can manage to build the whole thing in 8-10 weeks, I will be stoked.

 

great job on the carbs !! But you'll need to oil the throttle shafts to keep them from seizing after awhile. the ultrasonic water-based cleaners can get in and corrode under the throttle shaft seals at each side.

 

I have it under control Squirrelman. Thanks. BTW.....I appreciate the kind words.

 

Not much to post about today, but I did want to give a shout out to Mr. and Mrs. Diving Pete. they took time out of their lives to source and ship the 4 mm rivets I needed to complete the rear fender refurbishing. Not a common size in the USA and very expensive here. They worked perfectly, because that is what the fine folks from wherever the fender was manufactured had used as OEM

Reproduction fender flap and de-crapped hose clip Installed



De-corroded battery hold down strap mount



It's all in the little details. Turned out decent overall and made everything look new again. Thanks again Mr. Diving Pete and Family.

After a long week of learning the in's and out's of the carb setup, I didn't plan on doing too much this weeked. It was nice to get the fender done and I took some time to lube up the swingarm bearings with moly disulfide grease, install the seals, and get the chain sliders mounted. Only have a few small electrical things left to do with the new turn indicators and stator plug, and I need to un-fuck the subfilter housing on the airbox that was "modified" by the monkeys prior to delivery, before the actual re-assembly gets underway. Fingers crossed, it will be this week sometime.

I was also relieved that the full re-paint decal set arrived from the UK today. I'm not a fan of the EBay, because you never really know when the stuff is going to show up, thankfully, they showed up on the front end of the expected delivery time frame. Gonna drop these off to the painter on Monday, so at least I won't be holding up the completion of that process. Hoping to get a call from Pancho about the seat this week, everything else will be here by Tuesday afternoon. I know I'm getting close, as it's become a lot easier to manage everything needed, or coming in. Can't wait for the good part to start, it's been a long time coming.

 

Looks like you are all prepared for the build. That carb assembly looks like new.
Can’t wait to see the pics and write up of it going back together.

 

Got the engine back Tuesday afternoon. Clean bill of health, leak down test was good, all of the internals that were checked were good, valves were set and it was ready to have the frame attached.

That was when everything seemed to start unraveling...the first thing on the list was to install the Factory Pro shift star, detent arm, and spring, while also replacing all of the OEM pieces for the mechanism...started removing all of the bits for the install. During the disassembly process, one of the very small springs for the shift pawl decided to do a walkabout. I crawled around on my hands and knees for a good three hours looking for it, frustrating, but it was located. Went about the business of installing the shift kit, ignoring the three hours of my life that I lost.

New shift star installed



New OEM bits with the wayward shift pawl spring installed with stainless race spec bolts for the guide plate



Shift shaft installed and operation checked. All functioning nicely



Got the cover on to button it up, ti race spec bolts, new seal and new shift shaft bearing installed.



Only had enough time left in the day to extract the rotor and the stator for the new stator install



Wednesday morning came along, and with it came, new things to fix. I ordered the stator from the UK and when I opened the box, one of the wires had been damaged from being crushed in the box by the stator..... Proceeded to do a quick repair and to start getting it set up for the install, it only went south from there, hahahahahahahaha

Crushed wire





As the wire itself was still intact, I peeled back the covering and soldered it up, then covered it will shrink wrap. Proceeded to get it all dolled up and ready for the installation of the terminals and connector to mount it to the stock connector on the harness. Got the terminals all completed and went to install them into the connector....and they were too big to fit the connector - FAIL. I just had to laugh, not much else I could do. So, I just decided to install the water pump and get that finished and install the inside hose, so I could hang the frame and keep moving forward.



Hit cock block numero tres....the tool I bought for installing the "interesting" adjuster bolt, main bolt, and lock nut wasn't going to work, long story, won't bore you with it. Packed it in and started looking for the Honda tool, 07HMA-MR7-0200, online...wasn't gonna happen without it. The price of this tool is cringe worthy...saw prices as high as $131 + shipping, went and pulled out the Preparation H and continued looking. Found it at Partzilla for $85. Bought it, wasn't going to get any better than that and time was a wastin'.

This morning my resolve was iron clad, I was going to fix that stator wiring once and for all. Went and bought a Delphi waterproof connector set and went to work, no more stock white connector, I'd had enough. I redid all three wires, cut the thin stuff back as far as I could and used close barrel butt connectors and solder to attach, new, higher quality wiring, with adhesive shrink wrap. Attached new Heat Shield Products wire sheathing and started working on the terminals.

Terminals and seals installed and soldered, ready to stick them in the connector



Finished it up and it came out like this. Now I'm feeling a LOT better about this....



Got it installed on the engine and ready for the rotor install, once the frame is set and finalized. The rotor is torqued to 61 ft-lbs, so I would like to have it stable. Holding the rotor and torquing the bolt is going to be interesting.....



Sometimes, you just have to knuckle down and spend the time to do it the right way, the only way.

Finished up the wiring harness side



Feeling good, solved all three problems, the spring, the stator wiring and connector, and the tool....moving forward again.

Moved on to fixing the damage that was done by the monkeys on the airbox sub filter housing for the carbs. When I got the machine, the hoses weren't connected to it, they were just hanging under the airbox, and the sub filter housing had been glued together with silicone, nope, not gonna work. They had apparently hacked on it to get the Tyga high volume carbon airbox lid on. I came up with a solution to attach the cover and to be able to use the sub filter, as it was intended, albeit with some small modifications.

This is how it looked initially, pretty nice, NOT



Some mighty fine handy work right there...add it to their list. I got out my rotary tool and went about cleaning it up. It cleaned up pretty decent. My solution should solve the problem and make it usable again....and not look like some hacker worked on it. I will have some pictures of it tomorrow when it's finalized.