'98 Refresh after a hard life

Discussion in '5th Generation 1998-2001' started by comradeQuestion, Sep 17, 2019.

  1. comradeQuestion

    comradeQuestion New Member

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    I finally finished doing a quick (ha) refresh of my '98 that I bought last year. I started this project because the thermostat was stuck open and I could see that the bike was badly in need of some attention. The bike had 57,200 miles on it when I started tearing into it and it really showed.

    Items replaced:
    - Spark Plugs
    - Cooling hoses (AS3 blue silicone) and hose clamps
    - Cylinder head/block cooling elbow o-rings
    - Thermostat and housing o-ring
    - Throttle body vacuum tubes
    - Air filter
    - Throttle body insulator boots
    - Coolant (obviously)
    - Radiator cap

    Other work done:
    - Removed PAIR system (Thanks Mello Dude for the block off plates).
    - Disabled flapper and removed all its vacuum components.
    - Injectors cleaned and reinstalled with new seals and filters (Thanks RC Fuel Injection!).
    - Cleaned and flushed radiators.
    - Pressure tested cooling system using a rubber stopper and bike pump attached to overflow.
    - LOTS AND LOTS OF SCRUBBING!!

    Notes:
    - minimum screwdriver length for insulator bands is 9.5" (shaft length, not including handle) for the far side insulator bands.
    - GET A SET OF JIS SCREWDRIVERS!!!! I nearly stripped so many of them, especially ones on the throttle body insulator bands.
    - Prying off throttle bodies from old boots was a huge pain in the ass. The rubber seemed like it was bonded to the throttle bodies and intakes so much so that I heard a cracking sound when they finally broke free.
    - Removed all flapper tubes and solenoid. I didn't see anything about this on here, but did it anyway after checking the manual. I removed the vacuum chamber as well and just capped the one way valve. Much easier airbox installation. I would highly recommend it to everyone that removes the airbox.
    - Not sure how to route the coolant overflow tube. I either didn't route it correctly or the one in the AS3 kit was not long enough. The manual doesn't have a good diagram showing exactly where you're supposed to route it.
    - Had a few of those "NUT, COWL SETTING" (90111-KW3-003) things seize on me. Had to extract them. I think before I reinstall (just using zip ties right now) I will use anti-seize on them.
    - Haven't bought new trim clips as they are strangely expensive ($3 each, and there are 12 of them!), so I'm using zip ties at the moment. Any suggestions for more reasonable replacements?
    - Just like another rebuild thread here (GreginDenver maybe) I couldn't get the 8mm vacuum hose for the #3 and #4 starter air supply to bend correctly, so I just cleaned up the old ones and reinstalled.
    - Also I realized that the two starter air tubes from the airbox aren't 8mm, they are probably 10mm so I just reinstalled the stock ones after cleaning them up. They won't be too hard to replace in the future, just have to remove the airbox which is easy now that the flapper stuff is all gone.
    - All the electrical connectors looked great on the inside which made me feel very good. That could have been a mess if a bunch of them were starting to corrode.
    - Wow, oh my lord this thing has way more power than it did before! And it is so much smoother too. I haven't even synced the starter valves and off idle performance is significantly better already. Just need to adjust the idle now and do an oil change to finish off the refresh.

    Here's the most disassembled the bike was:
    bare_small.jpg

    Here's how bad it looked underneath the throttle bodes. It looks much better now, but the metal is stained or something so it doesn't look all that great still. The entire bike was really dusty, like a previous owner just kept riding through dust storms or something.
    vee_small.jpg

    Here's what the plugs looked like. Really not that bad. I was expecting to see significant signs of age, but was pleasantly surprised by how normal they looked (for older plugs).
    plug_small.jpg

    And here is the injector report from RC Fuel Injection. Look at those before numbers!!! This thing feels so much better now, and I think this is the main reason why.
    injector_report_small.jpg

    These plastics have seen a lot of sun and are starting to fade. You guys think I would be able to get them looking good again? I just got that new seat cowl from a member here and it is definitely a different color that what my bike is now.
    paint_match_small.jpg

    Here it is after I rode it for the first time (other than idling it to check for leaks). Rode it 21 miles on the freeway to get it from my rented garage to my house, and it was super solid the whole time!
    finished_small.jpg
     
    Samuel likes this.
  2. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    Fuel filter?
     
  3. comradeQuestion

    comradeQuestion New Member

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    Not yet. I wanted to get everything done underneath the throttle bodies at once so I didn't have to pull them off again. The bike has been non-functional since January this year, so I missed most of the summer riding weather. Also didn't want to do too many things at once so I'm not playing whack-a-mole when I mess stuff up. Here's my list of things to do in the near-ish future:

    - Replace fuel filter.
    - Fix paint on fairings and tank so that it actually looks "Italian Red" again.
    - Realign forks as they are a little cockeyed from one of the previous owners crashing. It rides straight, and tubes don't appear to be bent, but we'll see when I take them off.
    - Steering head bearing has a notch in the middle, so will want to replace that.
    - Valve clearance check/adjust. Still not sure if I want to tackle this one myself or just pay a shop to do it.


    Things to do later:
    - Pull the swingarm and replace bearings and clean it. This sounds like it will be a big job.
    - f4i fork conversion maybe? Some guy near me is selling a non-starting f4i stunt bike for cheap. Not sure if its worth the trouble to buy it for the front end and part out the rest.
    - Install a new rear shock from Jamie Daugherty.
    - Install a voltmeter to monitor the charging system.
    - Replace front wheel bearings.

    What other things do you suggest? You can assume that the bike just had oil and tires replaced until this point, so anything is fair game.
     

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