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6th Gen Refresh


Willy

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Thanks Urban! The LEDs arrived today. Two pin relay is ordered. But given how much I need to get done before applying any electricity it will be a while before I have running lights again. Still thank you for confirming! Have a great Thanksgiving!

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OK a little progress today and a question about the ignition switch......

 

I bought the long arse screwdriver at harbor freight and was able to remove the throttle body. I've removed the injectors and they will go in for service next week. I'll post the results of the service done to them. Other than two vacuum lines that are "anonymous" I think I survived that step. Seriously though I have two vacuum lines that I did not label for some reason that I'm puzzled as to where they will reconnect to. I'll wait on this issue as I think it will become apparent when I reassemble the unit. At least that's my hope at this time. I've been careful to take pictures as I go and hopefully with your help I'll figure it out. (it will be a miracle if this bike starts after this whole refresh). Here's a pic of the throttle body cleaned up. Injectors pulled out and getting sent in. Not pristine but serviceable. 

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Next up while waiting for injectors to be serviced will be to replace all the coolant lines and front CCT. Its a grimey mess in there right now....

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Now for the question.....  The triple clamp top bridge....  The two bolts that hold the ignition switch to the top clamp....  It appears to be an Allen head but the socket is very shallow and I'm not having luck getting these two bolts loosened. Is there a special tool for this?  Or do I just use an Allen key that fits? I have a key that seems tight but the socket is so shallow that it does not bite with a real secure feel. I don't want to strip the bolt for obvious reasons so I have been ginger with it so far - but no luck getting these loose. Here's a picture of the top triple clamp laying upside down with the fastener in question shown....

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ADVICE? I'm an old guy with bad eyes.. is this a torx? or some other strange fastener?

 

Well slow progress....  I hope to get some parts to the powder coat guy next week. Get my injectors sent out also. I think once those get back, I can start to reassemble the bike. And I'm already praying that it will start once reassembled.....

 

Cheers! Ernie

 

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Boozie, yes I just looked it up and that's the description. I guess next question is what the heck is a "one-way" screw? I'm sure its supposed to be a tamperproof fastener. I was hoping to separate that unit so I could powder coat the top bridge. I'll take a closer look at the fastener to see what my options are. Thank you!

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I'll have a look for the bit. Looking at the bolt more carefully it does look like it's designed to be driven in - while not allowing any "bite" to back it out. I'll se what I can find. Thanks guys! Ernie
 

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On 11/24/2017 at 6:06 PM, Willy said:

Other than two vacuum lines that are "anonymous" I think I survived that step. Seriously though I have two vacuum lines that I did not label for some reason that I'm puzzled as to where they will reconnect to. I'll wait on this issue as I think it will become apparent when I reassemble the unit. At least that's my hope at this time. I've been careful to take pictures as I go and hopefully with your help I'll figure it out. (it will be a miracle if this bike starts after this whole refresh).

 

hah! I had the same problem with vacuum lines at first, but sorted it it out.  Alas, mine's 5th gen, but you'll probably have to do the same process. I suggest you don't bother to tighten the boots until you make sure every hose can reach it's intended hole on the airbox.

 

First, I mis-aligned the hoses that go to the right-front to the left-front. Then I took the throttle body off and reset them to the correct place, but put the one that goes to the right rear up front. Then I realigned that and got them all together and had the grey connector going out the wrong side, but by then I had gotten smart and just let the throttlebody rest on the boots until I figured out what connected to what on the airbox and which hole it had to be routed through.

 

In the end, I figured it out through trial, error, and with a combination of both the manual AND the exploded diagrams from the parts fiche, which were much clearer showing hoses connecting to the airbox for some reason. Same with cooling hose routing.

 

When I put the thing back together the first time the fact that it turned over right away was a minor miracle. But, it did. And I've had the throttlebody off a couple of times since, due to that leak I told you about on the wax unit, and it started each time.

 

I wish you patience. That's going to be a cool bike when it's done - I love the RWB color schemes.

 

Keep us updated, too.

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Thanks Moose for the encouragement. And yes it will be a miracle. I'm shipping the injectors in on Monday. Should be back end of next week and then I can start the reassembly. I've decided to replace all the vacuum lines (one at a time) as well since they are 10 years old and a bit stiff. All the coolant lines are ordered. Hopefully will be here in time this week to get something done....  would be nice to parts available same or next day.....

 

Cheers!

 

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Was able to get a few parts in for powder coating. Fork lowers and heat shield will be done in black. Wheels, handle bars, top bridge, and rear sets, and foot controls to be done in metallic steel grey - sort of a dark metallic grey. Nothing flashy but should sharpen it up a bit as all these bits were pretty heavily worn, pitted, etc. Now have to wait 2-3 weeks for those to come back. 

 

Meanwhile I'm restringing all the vacuum lines in the throttle body, replacing the remainder of the cooling lines in the motor's "V". Also polishing body work for the day that this goes back together. 

 

Pre-powder coating..... Plus wheels.....DSCN1282.thumb.JPG.d9e30da00e5f4b4a71979a86623a4e13.JPG

 

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When I was diagnosing my runaway high idle problem, which later morphed into a simple high idle problem, which I just currently fixed (finally!), I had to remove my Throttle Body and synchronize my Starter Valves no less than 3x!  I had to replace every single Vacuum hose, air seal boots, and other minor adjustments to the idle mechanism.  I also had to drain the coolant 5x because right after all this my water pump started to leak.  So off with the fairings again and out went the coolant....again.  I can now pop the tank, remove fairings, remove air box, sycnhronize the SV's in no time!  I've also memorized where every single hose/wire goes.  Now it really isn't so daunting!  LOL!

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I can see how some repetitive disassembly/assembly helps to gain familiarity with all the plumbing. The more I sort through stuff the more confidence gained. Now with that said I'm still expecting some gotchas as I start the reassembly and eventually start it up. 

 

Waiting on powder coating, a few misc coolant lines, and injectors to be serviced. It's within a couple weeks I hope of starting to put it all back together. Today I spent a couple hours just cleaning up the front rotors. This poor bike had really been neglected. Polishing some of the body work too....  tick-tock....

 

Thanks! Cheers!

 

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Some slow but steady progress. I have the throttle body out and on the bench. Injectors are just completed at RC Engineering to be back middle of next week.

 

All the stuff I'm powder coating is in the shop 2-3 weeks wait for completion.

 

I have all the old cooling lines removed now and cleaned the mess out of the V between the heads. Cleaned as well as I was able. It was real cruddy; leaves and road grit.

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I have the stator out and waiting for a Ricks unit purchased from Tightwad. New R/R on its way too.

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In taking the coolant lines off I discovered several O-Rings that now need to be ordered before I can rethread the hoses. Also new thermostat done.

 

I have a new CCT for the front cam chain to go in. Maybe tomorrow if time allows. I don't plan to replace the rear CCT as it appears it has much better longevity. Hopefully not a mistake leaving it alone. I need to read up on the CCT thread. One of our VFRD brothers recently had some issues with the timing chain apparently slipping a tooth while he was replacing the CCT. So I want to read up and be careful. 

 

Thanks for all the support thus far! Cheers!

 

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More progress; New Rick's stator and R/R installed. Front CCT replaced. (ordering another CCT to do the rear). Water pump removed and replaced O-rings. New thermostat installed in housing. Fuel injectors back from RC Engineering (great service btw). All vacuum lines on throttle body replaced. Refurbished injectors installed. All new injector seats and O-rings throughout. Throttle body ready to back on once I get a few more O-rings for coolant fittings. The block is still pretty grimy in places and despite cleaning with solvent and a toothbrush it's not spit polished. It's as clean as I can get it for now though. 

 

Next up - finish routing cooling lines, then install throttle body, Waiting on powder coating form there. Hopefully in a week or two I'll have the wheels back under it......

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

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Big improvement after RC Engineering serviced the injectors. 

 

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Refurbed throttle body.

 

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Old stator. It may have been good but with 48,000 miles I thought it would be good to replace it along with a new R/R. A new battery will go in too when I do a start up.

 

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New Ricks Motorsports units purchased at Wire My Bike.com (Thank you Tightwad!)

 

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Left side case buttoned up.

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It's all looking really good.   Looks like the injectors needed the service.   If you can post a video of first start up,  it would be great.  That's one lucky VFR to be getting all the TLC!  

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Thanks Cogswell. Slowly getting there. Video? Lets just get it started first. If it runs I'll post a video...   :-)

 

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Looks great! And this thread is quite interesting. Keep at it, this is very instructive for mechanical idiots like me. 

BTW, given that VFRs are somewhat ... electrically challenged, do you intend on soldering any of those wirings instead os using those plugs which sometimes create heat and eventually melt? I know yours is a better 6th gen than my '03, but I'm just saying... 

 

Best of luck! 

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Please don’t do that, just put dielectric grease on the connectors and call it a day. Not sure of the logic behind soldering together connectors. 

 

Your VFR looks much nicer than mine, it’s jealous. I kinda wish I would’ve just waited out buying one until $500 more meant nicer paint and running condition... well this one just needs a repaint I guess.  

 

Yours is going to run great for quite a bit. 

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Dielectric grease is essentially silicone grease and is an insulator.  It's fine for sealing moisture out of connectors or using on spark plug boots or otherwise to prevent arcing.   Oxgard is preferred for improving conductivity and eliminating oxidation from connectors which is the main problem with the 3 yellow wires from the stator to the R/R.  Keeping the connectors free of oxidation reduces resistance,  which keeps them cooler and avoids the downward spiral of heat causing even more oxidation leading to the meltdowns we see all too often.   

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_grease

 

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Oh yeah, turns out they make an even better product. Nice. 

 

Ulitmately a protected connector is the best connector.

 

I use dielectric because it’s around, but I’ve considered something new once this one runs out. It’s on my amazon wish list now. 

 

Ultimately metal to metal connection will always prevent issues of insulation between the wires. 

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I've purchased a grounding kit from Wire My Bike (Tightwad here on VFRD). I installed one of these on my last VFR and in my opinion it solves the issue. So once I get the bike running I'll add that tidbit. It's an inexpensive way to improve the grounding system. 

 

I've opened and cleaned all the connectors. They were all encrusted with road grime but not discolored from heat. Some of the vinyl boots that Honda places over the connectors showed signs of heat though so I know it's experiencing some heat. I have not used any dielectric grease. Even though the box that the new R/R came in was labeled with a note recommending it's use. My experience with this stuff is that it collects debris over time and creates a less conductive connector - which in the end will create heat. Just my opinion as I know a lot of folks swear by it. So I just cleaned them all up, will add the grounding kit, and just keep an eye on them from there as regular maintenance. 

 

Urban, don't get too jealous on the paint. It looks good in the pictures but it has some form of tiny corrosion all over the paint surface. You can't see it unless the light is just right and you  are inches away inspecting it. But you can feel it and it's clearly some kind of surface corrosion. I've been trying different cleaners and glazes to polish it off. Starting with the front fender and I'm having some success but not perfect yet. When it comes to the gas tank I'm not sure how to attack that with the yellow Honda wings decals as I don't want to damage those with some aggressive polishing compound. We'll see!

 

Thanks for all the support - never been this deep into a bike. Kinda fun. Definitely a learning experience. And hope it works out....

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Beautiful work.  I drool in envy of your ability, patience, time, work space, willingness and results.

Looking forward to seeing the completed project.

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