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MBD Strikes Again!


Skids

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Only my 3rd, but for me that's a lot!

 

Agreed a purchase this afternoon and planning to collect Sat 12 Feb.

 

2001 model with 8900 miles from new! It's in beautiful condition, considering it's British 🌧️

 

Poor guy, bought it as 2nd owner in 06 but struggled to ride it due to a hip condition. The only mileage he managed was the annual ride to get it MoT'd (annual safety/roadworthiness check for any vehicle 3+ years old) and back. He's only been able to ride 400 miles in 15 years. 😞 He fitted a new Honda battery yesterday and it fired up first time from cold. He's kept it really well, there's no sign of corrosion anywhere I could find

 

Clearly a lot of things to check and I'll be stripping her down to take a look see. Full engine service, brake overhaul including caliper strip and I already have a set of HEL braided brake hoses to fit. New R/R too and I'll probably fit a voltmeter. I suspect the forks will need a service and I may fit a Nitron rear shock. Check the fuel tank for rust, check all the hoses and seals etc etc. Plenty of info on here but I reserve the right to ask dumb questions along the way. ☺️

 

My plan is to keep this in as good condition as I can, low mileage, only ride in the dry and hold onto her in the post-petrol days to come as a tribute to Honda's fabulous engineering.

 

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Looks like a beauty Skids. I can vouch for the Nitron shock, the 5G that I just bought has one and the ride is superb. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Got her home today, but too late to do anything (6-Nations rugby on today......priorities!!!) so will have to wait until tomorrow/next weekend.

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I've started to remove all the plastics so I can give her a deep clean before starting work. I don't think the fairings etc have been removed since it was in the factory.

 

She's is pretty clean underneath, considering she's been ridden in the weather English but I did notice what looks like a small oil leak and I wondered if the expert eyes on here could determine if the leak is from the bolt holding the sump or is the gasket leaking?

 

Bear in mind, the oil was last changed 5 1/2 years ago, it is still clear and has done zero miles since then. The only thing is she's been started up on the odd occasion so I wondered if that could have exacerbated a leak???

 

The oil & filter will be changed anyway at a later date so there is an option to drop the sump and replace the gasket but if I could identify exactly what is leaking, that would help.

 

Thanks. :beer:

 

 

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Other than that, she's pretty clean. No birds or rats nests (I have to remove the fuel tank yet) and so far I'm really pleased. Even has a complete and unused Honda toolkit. 😁

 

 

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1 hour ago, Cogswell said:

She's lookin' really good! 

She is. I was expecting deteriorated hoses and rubber etc but it all looks almost new still.

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Looks like just from the oil filter removal/install work done on it to me from the pics. 

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8 hours ago, bmart said:

Looks like just from the oil filter removal/install work done on it to me from the pics. 

Yeah I was thinking the same.

Wonder if there is a chance the oil filter seal from previous filter didn't come away with the filter. The old double seal effect, worth checking!

Wipe the area clean, run the engine see if the leak comes back.

 

Great bike you have Skids hope it serves you well.

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As a self taught mechanic that has made the "he didn't check the boss or filter to see if the old gasket was still in place" mistake :blush:  , I can say from experience that if that were the case, oil would be everywhere!  It makes a gigantic mess . . . LOL!  Somehow it seems that it wouldn't, but when it comes to pressurized oil and gaskets, less is more.  As to the mechanical blunders on my learning curve, it was probably just a notch below the "he didn't replace the drain plug before refilling with oil" goof.  Thank god with the latter the drain pan was still in place - the only damage was to my ego and wallet.   I'm going to guess in this case it was from a filter that needed just a tich more clockwise muscle and seeped a bit over time.  YMMV

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Not been able to do much these last 2 weeks and Mrs Skids & I are off on holiday for a week this Sunday so any further plans will have to wait. Fortunately, this is a slow burn project, though it would be nice to ride her in the warmer weather before next winter takes hold again.

 

The only thing I have been able to do was remove the caked-on grease from the chain and clean out the front sprocket area and the bit above the sidestand where all the crud seems to accumulate. Took a whole tin of chain cleaner, but I got it clean. Caliper servicing kit arrived this week too and speed bleeders should arrive whilst we're away. 

 

Need to source a R/R from the UK if possible as I've just experienced one of the major drawbacks of Brexit.....Thurn Motorsports (German) parts cost a lot more thanks to import duty.

 

Despite their lack of wear, I shall be replacing the Bridgestone 020 tyres as well. Never got on with 020's and modern tyres are soooo much better.

 

Forks & rear shock will be removed and sent for servicing as that is definitely beyond my limited abilities - 21 year-old fork oil does not fill me with confidence.

 

Quick question: would anyone recommend fitting Iridium spark plugs vs standard ones?

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Scotland was a nice break and we even had some lovely weather too but now I know I have to crack on as I really need to get the suspension over to MCT before he gets too busy with the approaching season. So I've removed the forks ready to deliver but the rear shock has to wait until I can get a helper (Mrs Skids) to aid with removing and emptying a half-filled fuel tank so I can access the upper shock mount. Linkage plates came out easily enough though I'm wondering how to torque them back up as there is such little space in there the torque wrench and socket wont fit. I hope it doesn't involve removing the downpipes.

 

 

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That nice man, Gerhard at Thurn Motorsports delivered the replacement smoked front indicator lenses today so I've fitted those to check them out. In Germany it's illegal to sell LED replacement bulbs so I will have to source some from over here. Can anyone confirm that these would work? Bought the indicators without having to pay import duty (thanks Brexit) because the total cost was under £135. I had to research that to check if the final price would be significantly higher with import tax. Oh for the days when we didn't have to worry about that!

 

If you look carefully, you can also see the replacement LED headlamp bulbs which arrived whilst we were away. Straight replacement fit, no extra wiring or large fans or anything. Not been able to try them out yet as I've removed the battery from the bike but I will try them before putting the original incandescent bulbs back in for the MoT test. No intention of riding this bike at night, they are for safety as the VFR headlights, being so close together, are a unique sight and LED will only make that more obvious.

 

 

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Also, anyone got an opinion on Iridium spark plugs? Worthwhile?

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Met Gerhard years ago in person, he's a good guy.

 

Can't help you on the bulbs.

 

I fitted Irriudium sparkies on my Honda's, because they last longer and because I could 🙂

My Italians use regular BERU's

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They seem to have settled on ~3X the price of traditional units. I just buy regular copper for everything. They work fine and give me a chance to have a look at how they're burning when I replace them. 

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On 2/25/2022 at 10:54 PM, Skids said:

Quick question: would anyone recommend fitting Iridium spark plugs vs standard ones?

Hi Skids.

Interesting question. The standard NGK CR9EH-9's have a specified life of 30,000miles. Yet the Iridium replacement CR9EHIX-9 have a life of 50,000miles! Nothing great when you compare that to the 8gen plug a IMR9D-9H having a 100,000mile life.

Maybe not worth it to upgrade the 5th gen! But I guess that depends on how much you enjoy changing plugs!

Cheers.

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5 hours ago, Grum said:

Hi Skids.

Interesting question. The standard NGK CR9EH-9's have a specified life of 30,000miles. Yet the Iridium replacement CR9EHIX-9 have a life of 50,000miles! Nothing great when you compare that to the 8gen plug a IMR9D-9H having a 100,000mile life.

Maybe not worth it to upgrade the 5th gen! But I guess that depends on how much you enjoy changing plugs!

Cheers.

Good point! But then I'm going to have the tops exposed anyway, I need to check the rubber hoses beneath the injectors for any signs of deterioration and I may well delete the PAIR as well.

 

Not sure I'm going to be putting that many miles on her though.

 

Do they provide anything else other than a longer service life and bigger hole in yr wallet?

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I fitted Iridiums, but only have about 7k miles on the, so can’t say if they’re worth the extra. Difference in UK seems to be about £14 extra (sportsbikeshop)?

 

FWIW I got my reg/rect from Electrex. They list more than one (and in stock) for our bikes. The ones they have now appear to be different (better?) than what I got (which has been great). Just noticed that they say they can’t be used with lithium batteries so may not be suitable if that mattered to you.

 

The bike’s a terrific find. I didn’t think there were any like that left around. Have fun.
 

 

 

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On 3/11/2022 at 4:04 PM, Skids said:

That nice man, Gerhard at Thurn Motorsports delivered the replacement smoked front indicator lenses today so I've fitted those to check them out.

How are the Thurn indicators? I bought some smoked ones off ebay a couple of years back but only realised recently that the bulb holders don't fit them properly.  The cut outs are in the wrong position (which can be worked around), but it's not possible to turn the bulb holder into the locked position.  They're very tight so they don't seem to move but I doubt the sealing O ring is doing anything.  Are the Thurn ones better?  

 

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1 hour ago, stuartb3502 said:

How are the Thurn indicators? I bought some smoked ones off ebay a couple of years back but only realised recently that the bulb holders don't fit them properly.  The cut outs are in the wrong position (which can be worked around), but it's not possible to turn the bulb holder into the locked position.  They're very tight so they don't seem to move but I doubt the sealing O ring is doing anything.  Are the Thurn ones better?  

 

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I've not tried the bulbs yet, I'll have to let you know when I do. 

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2 hours ago, voodoo said:

Nice "new" bike mister Skids. Alltough not as nice as a crossrunner. Obviously. 😉

Luckily, I have both! :beer:

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