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adkfinn's 5th gen 20yr refresh


adkfinn

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I replaced some bearings on a friend's bike and IMO that slide hammer/puller kit from Amazon won't do the trick. You need a

dedicated blind bearing puller for motorcycle wheel bearings most times. There usually isn't enough space between the inner

race of the bearing, and the spacer to get those hooks to work well. In all honesty I've not had the best of luck with blind bearing

puller either. I have made my own which works better than any others I've tried, even though a bit unwieldy.

 

I used a shaft that will fit through the inner race of the bearing, and cut a slot in the end perpendicular to the shaft length, about

2 inches deep. Insert the shaft nearly to the inner race of the bearing you want to remove, use a wedge to expand the shaft by

driving it into the slot, I usually use a small chisel. Then you just drive the bearing out.

 

And don't disparage the socket to drive in a bearing. I worked as a mechanic at a can manufacturing plant for about 40 years, and

we used sockets sometimes because they were the best fit for the bearing. And I've found that I'm more likely to get a bearing

started crookedly using a bearing tool, rather than a simple hammer and drift to get the bearing started. Once started a bearing

driver is good to use, although I like the fact you can easily tell when a drift driven bearing is seated.

 

This all JMO of course, and fell free to ignore part or even all of it. No harm, no foul.

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Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. I have a few days to figure out tools, new bearings won't be in hand until the end of the week at the earliest. 

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I just changed the rear hub bearing in mine a couple of weeks back. It can be done with a drift quite easily. This is my process.

 

1. Remove hub.

2. Remove left side bearing spacer.

3. Remove outer dust seals from both sides. I just use a large flat blade screw driver to lever around the seal & lift it out, they are just soft pressed in place.

4. Remove the split rings locating each bearing in place.

5. Clean any grease away & add some thin oil or release agent to the outer groove between bearing & hub, allow to soak for a while, go get a coffee !

6. Repeat 5 for the other side & let gravity do the rest.

7. Mount hub on/in a soft jawed vice left side down, do NOT clamp with the vice, there is a raised lip around the bearing holder, mount so that this is just clear of vice jaws.

8. Warm the hub with a hot air gun, while release agent soaks in, go get a beer 🙂

9. Use a drift (or your chosen tool) & drift out the left side double ball bearing.

10. Fully clean & inspect the needle bearing it may not need replacing, but its hard to tell !

11. Turn hub over & repeat drift, the lip on the needle bearing is tiny, so you may do better to pry out the rollers & the cage & use the inner lip of the bearing shell to drift on. YMMV.  I used the inner seal as a drift point until the outer had moved enough to get a good purchase.

12. Clean the bearing pockets thoroughly, get rid of any corrosion, or scrapes from the drifting process.

13. Remove inner seal from the needle roller shell & reduce the outer of the shell diameter by enough that it slips into the bearing pocket just past the spring clip groove.

Note - Honda did NOT use a larger diameter dust seal, so if you use the old bearing to fully seat the new one it will be stuck in the hub too ! So it must lose a little diameter to do this. I just turned half the bearing outer down with my mini lathe by 0.5mm.

14. Grease the bearing pockets & the outer shells of the replacement bearings.  You can put bearings in a freezer over night & heat the hub before installation. This does work to some degree, YMMV.

15. Tap in the new bearings using the turned down old bearing shell as the tapping point. I find gentle taps in a circular motion work for this with a 1lb lump hammer. You need the mass to stop it bouncing. If you have a very large vice or a bearing seater, these are even simpler to use.

16. Replace both spring clips in groove to stop bearings moving outwards.

17. Fully grease the needle roller bearing with appropriate grease, these are supplied dry !  Add extra grease to the shoulder of the inner & outer seals. You want to pack the needles & cage with grease, roll it round. You will never get it full, hence the extra grease in the shoulders, this will act as a reservoir & as the bearing cools after use it will be drawn into the rollers.

18. Clean/inspect &/or Replace, then reinsert the outer dust seals & the left side bearing spacer.

 

Rebuild into swingarm.  Hope this helps.

 

Job jobbed.

 

Have fun

 

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39 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

I just changed the rear hub bearing in mine a couple of weeks back. It can be done with a drift quite easily. This is my process.

 

'

Thanks Mohawk! Bearings and tools arrive today/tomorrow. I am going to try to tackle it this weekend and your instructions will be a handy guide. 

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Finally have an update... current status - rear is complete and reassembled and front brakes are in process. 

 

20180703_084701.jpg?dl=0

 

I pulled the sprocket carrier in order to replace the drive bushings. The area wasn't too dirty, but the bushings were looking and feeling pretty hard and brittle. I cleaned these parts up and in doing so discovered that the carrier bearing was feeling stiff and also quite notchy. I pulled one of the side seals, flushed the old grease and shot a bunch of new grease to see if that would help, but no dice. This put things on pause while I ordered and waited for new bearings to be delivered. 

 

20180623_143245.jpg?dl=0

 

Old rubbers:

20180623_143239.jpg?dl=0

 

Once the bearings came in I could get back to work. I used a hand sledge and a drift to knock the old bearing out. I ended up using a big socket and my neighbor's hydraulic press to install the new bearing. The tools I ordered were the following:

 

motorcycle bearing removal tool: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MAPN42/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This was of no use on the rear bearing as the included removers are too small for the ID of carrier bearing. Other/larger sizes are available from the manufacturer, and I may order one in the future, but didn't need it this time around. 

 

motorcycle bearing driver set: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CU8ZSLQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Again, the supplied sizes are too small for the carrier bearing install. I was able to use this tool to remove the bearing as one of the included sizes worked. Overall I like Motion Pro, I have some of their other tools and they are useful, well designed and work well, but this kit was still kind of a miss for this part of the project. 

 

I also inspected/felt/assessed the other bearings in the rear. From what I can tell the second roller bearing and needle bearing on the axle are in good condition. This was a bit of a nice surprise, but they are rolling freely and smoothly. So, for now at least, I did not replace them even though I have new parts on hand. 

 

Everything all cleaned up with a new bearing installed ready to go back together:

20180701_113318.jpg?dl=0

 

With the new 520 chain and sprockets (+2 teeth on the rear) on:

20180701_154352.jpg?dl=0

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Also, I had been waiting on the larger seal for the clutch master cylinder. That came in with some other parts so I was able to complete the slave cylinder refresh and reinstall it along with the front sprocket cover:

20180701_154407.jpg?dl=0

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Weekend update - Front calipers flushed/inspected/reassembled, all brake lines replaced, master cylinders cleaned and replaced, clutch refilled and bled. I refilled the cooling system and ran the air out (no leaks so far with the AS3 hoses installed). Nothing very pic worthy here, the master cylinders all looked ok, no major build up or debris. Installing the master cylinder rebuild kits seems to have amounted to a 'piece of mind' only job, which isn't the worst thing in the world I guess. 

 

Last night I knocked out a few little details that I had been wanting to tackle before taking my wife for some parking lot practice on the '88 Shadow I fixed up for her last year. I had installed LED's in my gauge cluster late last fall and last night I completed the job by reversing the appearance of my LCD display. I also wired up a cheap USB outlet/voltmeter:20180709_192609.jpg?dl=0:

 

Then I decided it was a good night to give my fairings some love before reinstalling them. A light compounding, lots of polish, and a few coats of wax later:

20180709_192452.jpg?dl=0

 

20180709_192425.jpg?dl=0

 

 

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That Bearing Removal tool is exactly like what I made, works the same. I think you'll be a lot happier with that than the

one with fingers.

 

I would have replaced the needle bearing in the rear hub myself, since you had the new parts and had it apart. JMO.

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1 hour ago, FJ12Ryder said:

That Bearing Removal tool is exactly like what I made, works the same. I think you'll be a lot happier with that than the

one with fingers.

 

I would have replaced the needle bearing in the rear hub myself, since you had the new parts and had it apart. JMO.

 

You are probably right, but for now I just re-greased it and am going to run it. I'll have another chance to do it soon(ish) when I do the suspension. I'll be taking a hard look at all the bearings and linkage during shock replacement so I can always tackle it then. I was hoping Jamie would have his new 'in-house' rear shock ready before I completed this round of maintenance, but at this point I will probably ride the rest of this year and plan on tackling the suspension as a part of next year's spring maintenance. 

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Finally have a progress update - 

 

She's all wrapped up for now. Goodridge brake kit fully installed and bled, Sargent seat and quick release pins installed, light smoke dumbo signals with switchback bulbs and a matching taillight to finish things off. The bike is now fully reassembled and ready to roll. I've ridden a few hundred miles since completing my work, mostly short local 'shake down' rides and everything feels great. My thoughts so far (in no particular order):

 

Good:

- The cheapy adjustable levers are great, I have been able to pull the levers in quite a bit (pos. 3 of 6, 1 being closest to the bars), they seem like a great bang for the buck mod. 

- +2 teeth on the rear sprocket is a noticeable change, a bit more grunt down low. This change seems like a no-brainer, you are still no where near running out of gear on these bikes on the street. 

- I find the Sargent very comfortable (I haven't taken any long rides with it yet, admittedly). The foam is nice and the shape/profile change keeps you planted pretty well. The biggest improvement is that it doesn't push/slide me into the tank as much. I've got an 8hr round trip planned for this weekend, I will find out how it feels on a longer ride in a couple of days and will update.

- Brakes are much improved. Lever feel is very good, linear and precise and they feel like they have more power.

- PAIR removal has completely resolved the pop/backfire on decel that I was present with the TBR can that was previously installed. The music of decel is now just the healthy burble of the engine, thanks again @mello dude!

- The high mount Black Widow end can is exactly the look I wanted and it seems to be a nice quality, well-made piece. It sounds pretty good, definitely different than the low mount TBR can it replaced. Like others, I wish BW had opted for a higher quality logo on these, as opposed to a sticker. A nice stamped plate would really finish it off better IMO. 

- The stompgrip pads work exactly as advertised. I slid forward a lot when braking with the stock seat and no pads/grip aid. Stompgrip certainly gives you more grip, sliding forward is no longer an issue and I feel a bit more connected to the bike. 

- All the less visible work (vacuum lines, coolant lines, thermostat, COP mod) all seem to be working perfectly, no issues or leaks. The bike certainly feels hotter (the old thermo was frozen most of the way open) but it is now running within normal operating temps. I see the same quick climbs in temp at stops, but it cools quickly and settles into 172-175 deg F while cruising (which is 50-70 on B roads here in VT, ambient air temps 75-85 deg F). 

 

Not as Good:

- The VM I installed is showing 14V around 4k rpm, it climbs a bit from there but I haven't seen higher than 14.4V. While I think this is fine/functional I don't think it is optimal. I am going to double check my grounds at some point to see if I can improve these figures. When I did 'the drill', the stator tested fine both hot and cold so I haven't touched it, the factory upgraded RR failed, so the new RR is the FH unit from Jack at roadstercycle, so I'm not sure what else to check. I have cleaned all the connections I've touched so far (spray cleaner, a little wire brushing if necessary (none have really needed it), and either oxgard or dielectric silicone paste). The VM is a cheapy and is just piggy backed into one of the headlights at present with posi-taps, I will wire it with a relay from the battery some point soon. I will double check the voltage figures with a multi-meter at the battery to confirm the readings. Any thoughts or suggestions on this would be appreciated.

- The suspension (still stock) really needs to be replaced. I am not a small human and even after adjusting the stock parts, it is only adequate. I am looking forward to DMR's in-house rear shock becoming available, but at this point I will ride it for the rest of this season as is and hopefully tackle the suspension in the spring. 

 

Thanks everyone for the help along the way and for the people who documented their work as a reference for others, esp @GreginDenver for the excellent VFRW refurb thread. 

 

Here's a few photos, all cleaned up and ready to ride:

20180826_153844.jpg?dl=0

 

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20180826_154008.jpg?dl=0

 

20180826_153948.jpg?dl=0

20180826_154029.jpg?dl=0

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Looks excellent, very nice job.

 

My voltmeter shows between 13.5-13.9 volts while running, and has every since I installed the new battery, VFRness,

and updated regulator/rectifier. Doesn't matter if high beams are on, voltage stays the same. The more unnecessary

voltage you generate, the more voltage has to be dumped by the R/R. Personally I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. 

I did all that about 20,000 miles ago.

But that's JMO.

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10 hours ago, adkfinn said:

Finally have a progress update - 

Not as Good:

- The VM I installed is showing 14V around 4k rpm, it climbs a bit from there but I haven't seen higher than 14.4V. While I think this is fine/functional I don't think it is optimal. I am going to double check my grounds at some point to see if I can improve these figures.

 

@adkfinn.....  you cant get much more optimum on the volts at 14.0v to 14.4v...  

 

BTW - Great job! :fing02:

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Thanks for the info and kind words FJ and Mello. I thought the peak voltage the RR would allow was 14.6? 

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10 hours ago, adkfinn said:

Thanks for the info and kind words FJ and Mello. I thought the peak voltage the RR would allow was 14.6? 

I wouldn't be concerned with getting to 14.6v....So 14.0v to 14.4v is excellent, great, outstanding, whoo hoo good :cheerleader:

So go ride that beautiful machine :beer:

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16 hours ago, mello dude said:

I wouldn't be concerned with getting to 14.6v....So 14.0v to 14.4v is excellent, great, outstanding, whoo hoo good :cheerleader:

So go ride that beautiful machine :beer:

 

Thanks Mello. Not to worry, I've had the bike out everyday this week. A few people at my office asked if I bought a new bike, and they were surprised when I told them it was 20yrs old. I took that as a nice compliment. I am in love with this machine. My wife has begun calling it 'the mistress'. Like so many others here, I find the VFR800 to be an amazing machine. The V4 with gear driven cams... simply put, it sings the song of my people. 

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For info my Gen5 battery voltage sits between 14.0 to 14.4 too. It will drop to 13.0v at low rpm after a long ride when the r/r is hot.

 

Great job (great thread) btw I look forward to reading about your suspension mods in time.

 

Z

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1k mi update - 

 

Everything is working great. No leaks from the new coolant hoses, the bike heats and cools well. I am getting better gas mileage for sure. I haven't calculated it yet but consumption is noticeably less at 100mi. 

 

Long ride report: The Sargent seat is a keeper, very comfortable, no monkey butt, and the profile helps mitigate the 'slide into the tank' that I experienced when braking hard. I can fit my rain layers and a spare visor under the rear cowl now as well, which is great. 

 

One thing I need to undo : the LED high beam indicator. It is way too bright and I find it quite bothersome, like a little blue flashlight in your face. I am not a fan of bright dash lights at night (I turn them all way down in my vehicles as well). It will be swapped back to the incandescent bulb during the off season. Other than that the LED gauge cluster swap and reverse LCD mod is perfect at night.

 

In it's natural habitat in NH last week:

20180906_192118.jpg?dl=0

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On 9/3/2018 at 7:44 AM, gig said:

Looks Great! and thanks for the detailed picture thread along the way.    

 

Thanks for the kind words Gig, but the work I've done is nothing compared to what you've accomplished with your 5th Gen. How did the rear wheel conversion fare so far?

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On September 11, 2018 at 9:54 AM, adkfinn said:

 

Thanks for the kind words Gig, but the work I've done is nothing compared to what you've accomplished with your 5th Gen. How did the rear wheel conversion fare so far?

 

Its great! The 19lbs lost of rotational and unsprung weight is great, the brakes i like better, and the aesthetics are outstanding, Thx for asking

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Hi adkfinn,

I have removed the throttle bodis to replace the thermostat and like yourself replace all the water hoses thoguh now i seem to be stuffed.

There are are four small hoses two each side whioch plug into air filter housing. On the left hand side of mind the right hand hose has a very small plactic t-junction connector with nothing connect to the t. Any ideas what should be attached here?

 

P1040798.JPG

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13 minutes ago, kentguy55 said:

Hi adkfinn,

I have removed the throttle bodis to replace the thermostat and like yourself replace all the water hoses thoguh now i seem to be stuffed.

There are are four small hoses two each side whioch plug into air filter housing. On the left hand side of mind the right hand hose has a very small plactic t-junction connector with nothing connect to the t. Any ideas what should be attached here?

 

Kentguy, 

That does not look familiar to me. What year is your VFR? I used the diagrams on Partizlla for reference. The air box ( https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/motorcycle/1998/vfr800fi-a-interceptor/air-cleaner ) and the TB tubing diagram ( https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/motorcycle/1998/vfr800fi-a-interceptor/throttle-body-tubing ). Are you saying that hose #14 (#2 cylinder throttle body) in the second link is T'ed off with one line running somewhere else and one end of the T open? I don' think that the cylinder numbered hoses on my TB were connected to anything, but I will double check. If you check the air box diagram in the first link above, there don't appear to be any either?  This is the closest pic I have showing mine just after take-off:

 

20180520_113211.jpg?dl=0

 

 

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