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Working on my gen 4


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Do you know, I think I will do exactly that. Thank you!

 

On Sunday I bought a used one on eBay as Dazed & Confused suggested. It arrived this morning and I'm just stripping the black paint off it. Don't think I will bother with the VB treatment this time unless they offer to do it for free.

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3 hours ago, Bowf said:

Do you know, I think I will do exactly that. Thank you!

 

On Sunday I bought a used one on eBay as Dazed & Confused suggested. It arrived this morning and I'm just stripping the black paint off it. Don't think I will bother with the VB treatment this time unless they offer to do it for free.


Have you asked the vapour blasters WTF they thought they were doing with the defective one?

 

You could point out the error of their ways and offer them a chance to redeem themselves …. Or not 

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2 hours ago, Thumbs said:


Have you asked the vapour blasters WTF they thought they were doing with the defective one?

 

You could point out the error of their ways and offer them a chance to redeem themselves …. Or not 

Yes, I saw them this afternoon when they dropped my centre stand off. They agreed to do the replacement for free. 🙂

The centre stand looks lovely by the way, will post photos in a few days.

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Yesterday I got the centre stand back on the bike. I got it powder-coated a dark graphite colour. Only slight problem was they also coated the rod which holds it all together. This made the rod too wide, so I had to remove the coating from the rod which took almost an hour.

 

1655768345_stand5small.jpg.00b991ee511edbc54b2014d2848d53c3.jpg

 

On reassembly, I noticed there was no 19 mm washer 90403-PE0-000 to go on the end of the rod. I don't remember it ever being there. The part seems unobtainable nowadays so I just used an o-ring in its place. You can just make it out on the right of the next photo.

 

1788855894_stand7small.jpg.3880a5c0189998d47fead00cdd708bf6.jpg

 

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Today I removed the swingarm bearings, potentially a difficult job. The manual suggests using a slide hammer. I've tried this several times with other bikes, and I have never been strong enough to do the job. But luckily there's another way:

 

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Instead of "pulling" the bearings out with the slide hammer, you can bash them out from the other side using the grabbers and a long enough drift.

I have used this socket extension as a drift for years.

 

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The grabbers give you a large surface to strike.

 

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Open cage bearings on one side.

 

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The only way I could do the job properly was on the lawn, with me kneeling on the swingarm, and the emerging grabber digs its own hole!

 

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Regarding the fault in the hub, I went on Honda customer service. I  sent them a polite message, and they still have not contacted me 48 hours later.

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at only 23k miles the swingarm bearings should be fine. you're only  making more unnecessary work for yourself and more expense and time.  another case of OCD ?

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6 hours ago, squirrelman said:

at only 23k miles the swingarm bearings should be fine. you're only  making more unnecessary work for yourself and more expense and time.  another case of OCD ?

They felt and sounded gritty. I am also replacing the left side bearings in the rear hub. Not because I like wasting time and money, but because they did not feel good. The right side roller bearing was okay, I just cleaned and re-greased it.

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By the way I don't have OCD, I have CDO. It's similar, but the letters are in alphabetical order 🙂.

 

I got a good deal on a new YSS rear shock.

 

1618000106_newshock1small.jpg.ae23b5ffbc02ff418574e744e8eaebfd.jpg

 

Then I thought about protecting it. R&G sell these "shock tubes" but they are pricey and come in a confusing variety of sizes. In the end I made my own, starting with a square of double-lined neoprene.

 

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The material was too thick for our sewing machine, so I stitched it by hand using waxed whipping twine (which wasn't easy). Turn it inside-out, insert cable ties through the hems and voila.

 

1579114581_newshock4small.jpg.70c74912d6b241181adb3c7242517368.jpg

 

This photo shows the real colour better. Agreed it's a little ugly, but not as ugly as a manky rusting shock.

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Oh, I forgot to say I blocked off the grit intakes in the swingarm. Somewhere else online a guy used silver foil tape, so I just copied that idea.

 

1587596804_swingarm01small.jpg.3796815cde171dba7978fa8fafcb2695.jpg

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Someone on another forum once gave me a full strip of that clear PVC loading dock plastic (hangs vertically, to keep out bugs and cold, but you can drive a forklift through it, etc.).  Quite thick and wide enough to wrap around a shock spring.  Plus, you can see your lovely shock spring through it!  

 

Another option.

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am pleased to say my VFR is finally back together, and it passed its MOT (UK roadworthiness test) last week. ☺️

 

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Before it I owned a Triumph Sprint 1050 GT, which was a real stunner and worth far more, but I just didn't feel comfortable handling it. I downsized to this VFR, and am delighted I did. The ride to the MOT was an absolute joy. This is a "keeper"!

 

Since last time, I have sprayed the chain guard using Autotek bumper paint. Not a professional job, but a huge improvement.

 

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Also I have fitted a Healtech Thunderbox and used it to wire in heated grips and satnav.

 

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I made a little clamp to hold the satnav cable in place.

 

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The heated grips are cheap Chinese ones. I've used them before on a previous bike with no issues. One thing I like about them is the switch is integrated into the left-hand grip. Also the throttle mechanism is clever in that the cable stays put relative to the bars. Main fitting issue was that they are longer than the OEMs, so I had to drill new holes for the switchgear and shove everything up about 9 mm.

 

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There probably won't be much else to add to this thread. I have in mind to overhaul the front forks (new oil, seals and bushes) at some stage but right now I just want to ride the bike.

 

I've put a wee luggage thing in a separate thread.

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