1999 Vfr800 Project

[Ranger77]

For that much work, I would have paid a lot less. Good to see the bike not rotting away though.

[mk2davis]

If your paint doesn't hold up to brake cleaner or fluid, I've had good experience with wheel paint. Still in rattle can form, but it seems to hold up to nasty cleaners and solvents.

[Rovari]

Thanks for the heads up mk2davis, I have now considered to strip the paint as these brackets are not painted stock. I have recently purchased a sandblasting cabinet and may blast the paint off and go raw aluminum.

[Rovari]

I managed to get a few things done last night.

Removing the rear 46mm nut on the swing arm proved to be difficult. Used a 2 foot 1/2" bar with a 2 foot pipe extension and the nut wouldn't budge. I bent a pry bar and pushed the bike forward enough to fold the center stand and drop the bike onto it's belly...doh!!! I had an impact gun but it was a cheap one (only 250lbs torque) it too wouldn't budge the nut. I went and purchased a HD impact gun with 500lbs torque, tried again and the nut was off in 10 seconds. So for those of you who are going to remove the rear axle, pick up a good quality impact gun with 500lbs torque and you will have no problem.

The rear axle was in great shape, the sealed bearings are in good condition and the needle bearings also looked good with the exception of old grease. I ordered up some new seals and started to clean up the axle and brake rotor. I used 2 scotch brite pads and a lot of elbow grease and the rotor came out nice and clean.

I reassembled the brake calipers, prepped them for paint and threw 3 coats of satin black VHT on them. I will include some pics later today.

[Veefer800Canuck]

Geez, that was a tough nut. Glad I didn't have that much trouble with mine.

On reinstallation, I used blue locktite in addition to staking the nut, just in case.

[Cogswell]

It's amazing how these kinds of projects can transform a bike. Removing the crud, a little touch up paint here and there and she looks new again!

[Rovari]

Another quick update and a question...

I cleaned up the gauges using a head light restore plastic polish..came out pretty good, the plastic was very cloudy from sitting for so long. Also took some time to clean up the back axle assembly, paint the sprocket and polish up the aluminum brackets. I also leaned up the seal surfaces and now just waiting for the seals to come in..

Now here's the question...I have looked for posts but havent found one on swing arm removal. I have gotten myself so deep into this I would like to remove the swing arm to check the bearings and give it a good scrub down. Has anyone removed the swing arm? Is it a big job? Anything I should be aware of?

Appreciate any feedback.

[Veefer800Canuck]

If you've dismantled the rear hub, the swingarm is a piece of cake.

Undo the shock linkage on the bottom, jack the swingarm up, and drop the shock out the hole in the bottom.

Undo the long swingarm pivot bolt and she comes out. Watch your spacer locations.

When I put mine in again, I put the pivot bolt in from the RH side, and had the nut on the LH side, which makes future chain and sprocket installations easier.

Oh and if your rear cush drive rubbers are shot, and there is play in the cush drive, replace 'em now while it's apart.

Makes a big difference at low speeds, and on/off throttle transitions.

[Rovari]

If you've dismantled the rear hub, the swingarm is a piece of cake.

Undo the shock linkage on the bottom, jack the swingarm up, and drop the shock out the hole in the bottom.

Undo the long swingarm pivot bolt and she comes out. Watch your spacer locations.

When I put mine in again, I put the pivot bolt in from the RH side, and had the nut on the LH side, which makes future chain and sprocket installations easier.

Oh and if your rear cush drive rubbers are shot, and there is play in the cush drive, replace 'em now while it's apart.

Makes a big difference at low speeds, and on/off throttle transitions.

Thank you Veefer, appreciate the confidence and tips. I wasn't sure about the rubbers, they feel quite hard, I guessed they are supposed to be hard. They have them for $25 at Partzilla so I may as well replace them. They feel very tight when I join the two halves. thanks

[Veefer800Canuck]

It works better when the bike is all together, you can put it in gear while both wheels are on the ground, have a friend sit on the bike, ad rock it back and forth, while you compare the movement between the sprocket drive side and the inner driven hub.

[Rovari]

Thanks again Veefer. They are only $19.00 at Partzilla so I ordered a set.

The swing arm was a piece of cake to remove...it was a lot more work to clean than it was to remove.....oh but it is nice to see a clean swing arm Now I'm wondering if i should remove the engine...lol

[Veefer800Canuck]

Yeah, I've had my front and rear suspension fully removed probably 7 times in 15 years.

It's nice to clean and check/grease/torque everything. Easy to find stuff that needs attention while you've got it apart already.

And also, nothing gets seized together from neglect.

[zupatun]

with that swingarm off...put a nice clean Penske on that SSSA...

[Rovari]

Great suggestion but I am already over budget on this project. It may have to be something I add in the future.

[B4V4]

For that much work, I would have paid a lot less. Good to see the bike not rotting away though.

I love armchair critics! $600.00 for the bike, $700.00 in parts, $100.00 in taxes. Please let me know where I can get a running 5th with 10kms on the odometer for $600.00.

That swing-arm is a thing of beauty!

[Rovari]

For that much work, I would have paid a lot less. Good to see the bike not rotting away though.

I love armchair critics! $600.00 for the bike, $700.00 in parts, $100.00 in taxes. Please let me know where I can get a running 5th with 10kms on the odometer for $600.00.

That swing-arm is a thing of beauty!

Considering this bike can fetch $3000.00 with 50k on it, I agree, the price was very reasonable. This was purchased as a project, I didn't want a bike that didn't need work. I was very happy to see that the swingarm cleaned up so well ..I just sandblasted the steering head and threw on 3 coats of silver...

[Ranger77]

For that much work, I would have paid a lot less. Good to see the bike not rotting away though.

I love armchair critics! $600.00 for the bike, $700.00 in parts, $100.00 in taxes. Please let me know where I can get a running 5th with 10kms on the odometer for $600.00.

That swing-arm is a thing of beauty!

Post wasnt for you smart ass.

[Rovari]

A little more progress..

I included a couple of pics of the steering head after blasting and then after being painted. I didn't like a couple of chips out of the coil for the shock so I taped er up and painted with 3 coats of red to clean it up. Got the rest of the suspension hardware cleaned up and removed the rear frame / seat bar...will paint that tomorrow. I also included a pic of one of the calipers painted with satin black (VHT), I will polish the NISSIN logo before re-installing.

[Cogswell]

I'm really loving the attention to detail on this project. It's going to look like a new bike when it's finished!

[Ranger77]

Hey Rovari, do you plan on doing anything with the engine? I ask because with it been sitting for so long, I'm sure the rings have a high chance of being stuck. My last vehicle sat for less time and it burned a good amount of oil for a good while before the rings finally moved, but it never had great compression. Same thing with the engine I pulled from a wreck to do a swap. Every singe ring was stuck. Even the real thins ones around the oil ring.

If you're not wanting to crack the engine open (wouldn't blame you), you could pour some ATF fluid or mystery oil/sea foam down the spark holes and let it soak for the time you're doing all this.

[Rovari]

It is running, B4V4 (the previous owner) spent some time getting the bike going.The injectors have been cleaned and I heard it running before I put it on the trailer. Hesitant to start although once running it was responsive to throttle. To your point it may have weak compression although I do have a compression tester and 6 months before the cold weather goes away... With vehicles the compression should be 120 - 150psi...do you or anyone know the expected compression for this bike?

[Cogswell]

5th gen FSM sez 142-199 psi with engine at operating temp.

[Rovari]

5th gen FSM sez 142-199 psi with engine at operating temp.

Thank you, I will check it once I get a few more things reassembled..I was hoping with the cylinder liners that they would be less prone to rusting...fingers crossed.

[Ranger77]

It is running, B4V4 (the previous owner) spent some time getting the bike going.The injectors have been cleaned and I heard it running before I put it on the trailer. Hesitant to start although once running it was responsive to throttle. To your point it may have weak compression although I do have a compression tester and 6 months before the cold weather goes away... With vehicles the compression should be 120 - 150psi...do you or anyone know the expected compression for this bike?

Maybe american vehicles, but most japs I've dealt with are 199psi new.

150 or lower in a japanese engine and it's an oil burner. Dealt with enough of those.

[Rovari]

I'm really hung up on this compression test now. Still waiting for parts to come in so I'm just cleaning up all the wiring harnesses and hoses....also planning to sand down the back frame and paint tonight.

Has anyone done a "dry or cold" compression test? I would like to hook up a battery this weekend and check the compression but the expected compression levels above (thanks to cogswell and rangerscott ) are based on "operating temperature".

Appreciate any input