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1984 Miniceptor Refresh


SEBSPEED

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6 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Seb, how does the rear shock perform? Chances are that by now it is well past use by date...

 

And the s/s lines, are they HEL?

 

I didn't ride the bike before taking it down, but I imagine it's not doing so well. I'm bypassing any performance goodies at this time, keeping a simple goal of bringing it back to service first. 

 

4 hours ago, superfunkomatic said:

Wow! Looks great. Very thorough going-over of the bike. 

I'd like to rebuild mine at some point. Looks like a lot of little bits that haven't aged well. Mine has been sitting since 2004, so I guess I'd have my work cut out for me.

I'm enjoying seeing how all the parts are removed and the rebuild.

 

The rubber bits really add up to the most work. Unfortunately (and I know this may sound wrong), it is easier to take the bike totally apart and do it all at once. Well, maybe not totally apart, but at least do the cooling system parts at the same time as taking the carbs off. 

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Rebuilt rear master cylinder &  replaced brake line

 

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Got the side covers coated too, then stripped the lettering to get the stock look back. I cleaned up the lettering by hand with a file before getting them coated, so the letter edges were nice and crisp again.

 

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I did have to cut & buff the stator cover as it had more orange peel than I would have liked. 

 

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I knocked all the bigger stuff down with 2000 grit wet, then buffed. 

 

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New gasket

 

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Cover on

 

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Valve check time... I was generously gifted a Motion Pro tappet tool set (Thanks again Yoshi!). I tried to use it for this job, but it didn't quite work out as intended

 

The square adjuster is about 1/2" too short, the knurled end interferes with the engine parts.

 

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Likewise the locknut wrench is short, but also too large in diameter to line up correctly

 

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So, what to do... well, this is why I have machine tools 😄 Start with the stock pieces

 

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Grind the knurled head off, then chuck the shaft in the lathe and spin off about 1/2" of material... cut half to fit perfectly in the end of a seldom used 1/4 drive socket, the other half cut .002" larger to create a press fit...

 

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Press together...

 

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And say hello to your dad's long lost brother Bob...

 

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Nice to have options!

 

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I ended up liking the finger ratchet option the best. I have 2 and rarely use them, so I'm going to fill 1 with epoxy to use for this sort of work.

 

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I used that and a 12 point wrench to complete the valve adjustments. #1 was in spec, #4 & #3 were tight on the exhaust side, #2 was tight on both In and Ex. Didn't check to see how tight, just noted that I couldn't fit .003" shims in there. 

 

Then installed the stator cover and got ready to hang the frame

 

20181114_190545_zps5fcakp6j.jpg

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On 11/16/2018 at 11:13 AM, SEBSPEED said:

Grind the knurled head off, then chuck the shaft in the lathe and spin off about 1/2" of material... cut half to fit perfectly in the end of a seldom used 1/4 drive socket, the other half cut .002" larger to create a press fit...

 

C'mon, man! The gap between the surgical artwork that takes place in your shop and the half-assed monkey wrenching that happens in my garage is comical. That's why I never let my 6th gen read your posts. She would just be so hurt and angry to learn after all these years that there exists maintenance techniques beyond adjustable pliers, a screwdriver, and copious amounts of electrical tape.

 

I have very much enjoyed reading this and your other recent thread: https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/88146-pardon-the-nudity

 

I know guys who have an engineer's facility with wiring schematics and I know guys who have an artist's eye, but I know very few guys who have both, as you clearly do. There is an impressive range of talent and craftsmanship on display in these threads, including the  documentary narrative and photographs themselves. So much, beautiful work that is inspiring, educational, and envy-making all at once. I hope you will forgive that I hate you a little for it. It's really only a little bit of hate, and it usually goes away a couple hours after I stop looking at the photos. Usually.

 

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12 hours ago, RobF said:

 

C'mon, man! The gap between the surgical artwork that takes place in your shop and the half-assed monkey wrenching that happens in my garage is comical. That's why I never let my 6th gen read your posts. She would just be so hurt and angry to learn after all these years that there exists maintenance techniques beyond adjustable pliers, a screwdriver, and copious amounts of electrical tape.

 

I have very much enjoyed reading this and your other recent thread: https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/88146-pardon-the-nudity

 

I know guys who have an engineer's facility with wiring schematics and I know guys who have an artist's eye, but I know very few guys who have both, as you clearly do. There is an impressive range of talent and craftsmanship on display in these threads, including the  documentary narrative and photographs themselves. So much, beautiful work that is inspiring, educational, and envy-making all at once. I hope you will forgive that I hate you a little for it. It's really only a little bit of hate, and it usually goes away a couple hours after I stop looking at the photos. Usually.

 

 

LOL! 

 

Thank you for the kind words! I'm happy to share & welcome all the hate, love, and questions you can muster 😄

 

(ps, black friday is coming, treat yourself and the bike to some new tools!!)

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"Dutchy" is not the only person from The Netherlands following this thread.
I enjoy reading your story and watching the pictures. I wish you all the luck and am looking forward to the rest.

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:1:  

 

 

Unless they want to put her in the living room and just look at her that is....

(and there is nothing wrong with that either)

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  • 1 month later...

Been slacking on updates here, sorry.

 

Those of you like me who have sausages for fingers like me may appreciate this tip... I use my little grabber tool to insert & start the threads on spark plugs. Easy & precise. 

 

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An insight to the less glamorous side of bike work... 

 

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All worth it though, as clean parts make for a much nicer assembly

 

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Always a good idea to chase threads after refinishing parts to clean debris 

 

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Then start hanging more parts

 

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Refinished hose joint tube

 

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Hung more parts on, some plastic bits like the rear fender, radiator end covers, fuse panel cover, switch pods, and chainguard treated with vaseline to renew the finish

 

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I prepped the header with some DEI high temp spray and hung some more parts here, you can also see the vaseline application to the rear fender and taillight

 

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Header and pipes went back on just as easy as they came off, with new gaskets of course

 

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I let the vaseline soak in for about 18hrs which turned my partially sun bleached part back into something that looks nice!

 

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Same application worked wonders for the switch gear

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Routing the middle of the harness and cooling overflow tubes was "FUN", had a good study of the drawings in the manual for that

 

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I had to remove the VIN tag from the frame prior to coating, luckily it didn't break, it was a bit bent out of shape though and took a few minutes to straighten out. I reinstalled it with contact cement and superglued a couple pop rivet stems to duplicate the original hammer drive rivets. 

 

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This is will serve as the "before" pic for the final motor detailing:

 

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Airbox before:

 

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Airbox after, with new filter:

 

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Airbox installed:

 

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At this point I installed the battery and did a function check. I found the signals not working and 1 taillight bulb out & brake lights not working... hmm... checked harness ground bolt, sure enough I hadn't tightened it, now everything worked except that 1 taillight bulb... hmm... Pulled the underseat toolbox and found a couple of the bullet connectors had pulled out when I installed the box so corrected that, reinstalled box, rechecked, bingo everything works. 

 

Oh yeah, except for the new AGM battery being taller than oem, which forced me to make a little adapter for the ground cable

 

20190103_184901_zpssmo9aw9a.jpg

 

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Seems I glazed over the carb installation up there ^^... word of advice, do it opposite of the book. Leave all the boot clamps very loose but properly oriented, set the boots on the intakes so their tops are close to horizontal, then install the carb rack by pushing the rears in first (book says fronts first).  Pushing the rears in first allows you to very easily wrap the frame cross bar with a rag and push the fronts into place by levering a pry bar between the frame cross and the plenum. Don't be a gorilla - if you meet resistance, check the position of the boots and clamps. The carbs will pop right on if you have the boots just right. I like to put a little smear of grease on the insides of the boots to help too. 

 

All that's left now is a clean up of the bodywork, making up new fuel lines, and tuning the carbs. 

 

Bodywork first... there is some light damage here which makes the bike a "10-15 footer", but a little buffing compound goes a long way sometimes. 

 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a before pic of the tail... so here it is halfway done. You can see how the top part is clean and the rest... isn't. 

 

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A better look at the grime, years of dust and oxidation

 

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Right side panel before buffing, against the tail after buffing

 

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Right side (left in pic) before, Left side after

 

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After

 

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Tank before, then after:

 

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Is it perfect? Nope. Is it better than it was? Oh yeah. A coat of wax will help even more. 

 

Last but not least, a quick polish of the button screws and then installed the chin spoiler. 

 

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Close to the finish line, some of the fuel lines were in need of replacement as they were splitting at the ends. I grabbed a couple length of 5/16" and 1/4" low pressure hose from Napa and planned to buy fittings there too. I needed a 1/4 to 1/4 splice, a 1/4 to 1/4 barbed elbow, and a 5/16 to 1/4 adapter. All they had was the splice, so, I ordered the elbows from Amazon and made the step down adapter from brass stock I keep on hand for turning pilots for other tools. 

 

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1/4 side done

 

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The new piece is now a lifetime item, unlike the OEM plastic which disentigrated when I pulled the hose off

 

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The sharp eye will pick up on something odd in this pic, hint, not hose related...

 

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Here's the new 5/16" hose which runs between the carb rack and the pump, along with a fresh length of fiberglass braided sleeve insulation, looks a little nicer, eh

 

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And tied in to the pump line with the special adapter 

 

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I added the elbow later; the bike ran without it, but I didn't want to chance the hose collapsing on itself at the bend in warmer temperatures. 

 

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With that done, I pumped the old gas out of the tank and then stuck it on the bike along with most of the body 

 

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I filled the crankcase with Rotella T6 and the cooling system with Prestone 50/50, then popped the front fairing on.

 

Ready for test ride!

 

20190109_154513_zpstqlaiavf.jpg

 

 

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Looking good, I miss my old 500. Enjoy it :)  Bad timeing weather wise is it not ? New rebuild, in the depth of winter, test ride with care.

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31 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

Looking good, I miss my old 500. Enjoy it :)  Bad timeing weather wise is it not ? New rebuild, in the depth of winter, test ride with care.

 

I got lucky with that, had a long period of rain and 1 partly cloudy day in the mid 30s before it dropped back down below freezing. So all the road salt was temporarily washed away and I got out long enough to find that it runs well, there is a headlight issue, and to take these pics:

 

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The headlight was cutting in and out, no relay on this bike, so basically a check of the wiring with the first stop being the switch gear. Wiring diagram leads us to the right switch assembly as the first possible culprit, and heres's what I found... 

 

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Contacts were quite dirty, and an ear missing off the start button itself led to the button sticking between the contacts, meaning it would feel almost normal as the button was depressed to engage the starter, and it would spring back enough to disengage the starter, but it was not returning fully to the first set of contacts to re-engage the headlights. 

 

I fixed this by cleaning the switch and replacing the button with a spare. 

 

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That's fixed that issue perfectly and after applying grease to the handlebar, we're good to go again. 

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