bdouvill

I separated gently the bearing from its axle. It is a pretty standard Koyo 16003 (35x17x8), only 9€ at a bearing specialist (I still have other to sources). @Dutchy Thanks for the offer anyway ;-) For the clutch plates, they are within tolerances according to Haynes manual (around 3mm when service limit is 2.5mm). Spring are within the tolerance as well (all are around 4.32mm long when service limit is 4.12mm). EBC clutch plate kit (CK1206) can be found at 55€ on the net and clutch spring kit (CSK028) at around 10€ only. On the other side, Barnett clutch kit seems attractive b

A few pics from yesterday, I know you guys enjoy a lot 😉 This is exactly where I can not insert my 1/2 12mm sockets to untighten the cylinder head 😞 I removed the clutch plates to clean them. I am not experts but all friction plates look like the pictures below and seemed pretty toasted to me... Also, the bearing in the middle does not rotate freely and is probably dead as well... I need to figure out how to separate it from its axle.

Sounds like you sleep on it and you find the answer ;-) My Facom ratchet uses a 1/2 square (which is pretty standard, at least in my mind). It comes from my grandpa who was a mechanic ;-) I also have 1/4 which is too weak for that. I just realized that I probably need a solid 3/8 extender and 3/8 square sockets (both in 10 and 12mm).

Back to business ? PMP exam was last Saturday, results will come later this month or early next month. So I took the opportunity of our National Day here in France to try to open this engine that has been sitting on my balcony since at least last Christmas. This has been bothering me for too long now... So I removed the cylinder head covers and the cams but got stuck when I tried to remove the cylinder head bolts... My 12 mm (pretty standard Facom) socket is too thick to reach any of the bolts. Same story for the 2 10 mm bolts. Anyone has an idea of what kind of socket I would need

I searched all over the forum and I didn't find the answer so I ask here: Can VTR/Firestorm/Friehawk fork legs be mounted on 3rd gen fork? I would say yes since the manual states fork is the same from 93 (last year for 3rd Gen) to 97 (4th Gen). Mine is from 1993. I believe for my restoration, I'll go this route with revalved/properly set internals and a better rear shock. I like Racetech but Maxton has good reviews here and from France, I will be easier (and also cheaper) to get something from UK than from the US (I'm thinking Jamie Daugherty here). I like USD fork

Guess what, I am not dead :-) I just keep on working to prepare my exam in June. Since my last post, I sourced some rear bearings and let my mechanic handle those I would never be able to handle myself (without an hydraulic press). I meant especially the rear hub (2 bearings), the rear sprocket (1 bearing). Also, I was not able to remove myself the needle bearing from the swingarm and I asked him if he could put an insert for the frame thread I broke when I removed the side stand. For the rear hub, I went for the original needle bearing (with integrated inn

So I spent 2 hours this Saturday in the garage. First, I was able to remove pretty easily the old lower inner bearing race from the steering stem (to install tapered roller bearing instead). Then I tried my bearing removal set. I was able to remove the 2 roller bearings off the front wheel and guess what... there was still some water inside the wheel 😞 Both bearings were dead, one was barely able to rotate (from let say 10 degrees max), the other was completely blocked. I also removed the 2 ball bearings from the right side of the swingarm, also both were dead, not able to turn at all (bu

Sure ;-) It means more money at some point in the future (just don't know when exactly yet). And when I'm done (mid July this year), then definitely more time to spend in the garage!!!

Hi, A little bit of an update for those who are following this thread 😉 Since the last post, I did not do much on the VFR, mainly cleaning some stuff like swingarm, chain cover and slider chain (damn those slider chain bolts were hard to remove) and evaluating the list of bearing references I need to order (thanks to JZH for sharing his information). I also spent some time searching on the Internet the technique(s) to remove the old steering bearings (and their cage) and put in place the new ones (without damaging the lower one). Sounds like I'm gonna have some fun. In the meant

I am considering buying tools to change the bearings by myself. I am thinking about a Motion Pro bearing remover set and also the driver set. This is good investment I think. So I could do the front wheel and the swingarm pivot. But I am worried about the bearings that need an hydraulic press (rear hub and sprocket carrier). We can find cheap hydraulic presses here via Amazon but they are from China (what a surprise!) and quality does not seems to be always there (according to reviews). I had this or that in mind. Also I did not have in mind to start a repair shop (and I live in an appart

First of all, happy new year to all of you that spend some time reading this thread and helping me. I wish you had quality time with your family and friends during that period of the year. 2015 has been a tough year for us Froggies, but I guess other people had their share of bad things too... Anyway, let's go back to your topic ;-) In no specific order: When having a look at the swingarm, I noticed that all bearing from the swingarm and rear wheel need to be replaced as well. I had a look at Honda prices and they are freakin'... Some rear wheel bearing cost 132€, fu%$... So I started

For front wheel and steering bearing, I found that All Balls Bearings make some replacement kits that seem widely available in Europe thanks to Bihr dealers. Any comment to prevent me from ordering and rather go for Honda parts?

I know. I had a GSXR 750 Showa shock on my Bandit 400 and you could easily adjust the screw position. But here, nothing happens. Can it be linked to the marks at the back that prevents the screw from turning?

More pictures: Shock before and atfer my wife stroke, I guess you'll find which one come before/after 😉 Preload adjuster works fine. But the screw at the bottom does not turn at all: I guess this is not normal. I would say it is the compression setting, can anyone confirm? Also on the opposite side, you can see this: I am not sure whether this is the same screw as the marks suggest the screw can not be turned/moved. On page 1-13 of the service manual, it is written that shock has both a compression and a rebound adjuster. Until now, I can not figure where is

Thanks for your answers about the front axle, this was pretty straightforward indeed 😉 And now, some pics as promised. 1st: frame arrived on my balcony, engine felt a little bit lonely 😉 As you can see, still some mud on it but mainly grease from the chain and I suspect still a little bit of water inside. My plan is to remove most of the grease/dirt then probably "carwash" it, then let all water get out... Also, I kill a thread when removing the side stand. Not sure the 2 remaining bolt are enough with the weight of this beast... The swingarm needs some

Hi, I'm currently working on the bike. I continued dismantling the bike for sanity checks (like bearings) and durt / mud / chain grease clean-up. I separated the frame, swingarm, rear wheel, shock, suspension linkage and fork. I also have apart front and rear brake systems, clutch command, dashboard and harness. Pictures will come soon. But when I say fork, I mean front wheel, fork tubes and lower triple clamp. I did not succeed in removing the front axle shaft after I removed the bolt. On my Bandit; you need a 12 mm allen bolt to unscrew it but here I did not understand how you remove it. I

A little bit of news. Spent some time last week in the garage but mainly on the Bandit. Back to the VFR, I ordered the special sockets (as I did not feel like making my own) because I fell like it's easier to have a proper look at the engine now. I am still not sure how far I'll check: I will check valve clearance but I am not sure I'll remove both heads (= 2 new head gaskets...) but this is the only way to ensure that the cylinders are ok. Also, I'd like to check that there are no missing teeth in the gearbox and that the bearing near the sprocket is in good condition. I see what I can d

Got the answer from the seller: You are correct you do need the the 2 tools one for the engine and one for the swinging arm. I do offer 2 engine sockets, the only difference is the set contains the small socket to set the adjusting screw.

Spent some time in the garage this week-end but rather on the Bandit (scratched my head with LED turn signal, LED relay and unexpected current outage when riding, quite scary). But I decided I should remove the VFR engine from the frame for better inspection (on my terrasse, my wife is super happy). Also, it will ease swingarm removal for bearings inspection. So I understood I need a special socket to remove the nuts for the engine and the swingarm (and apparently, it's 2 sockets in fact). With a little help from Google, I found this: For the engine nut: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-VFR

Is that different from manual gearbox oil? I have some in my garage.

All in all, if I disengage the chain from the sprocket, I'm only 4 screws away from removing the motor from the frame and that will be then easier to remove the rear wheel and swingarm to check for bearing states. Then it will be easy to remove the rest (front wheel and fork). But I still did not decide if I just clean the inside of the chambers with your method or if I dismantle the whole motor, at least to get an idea of the gearbox state. I am not really thrilled by the idea of dismantling both heads and needing to buy new gaskets. Btw, what does ATF stands for? Thanks for the support ;

How much oil should I put inside the cylinder through the spark oil? One glass (like 20ml) per cylinder? I believe I should then wait before I rotate the engine manually (if mud has dried). Exhaust is removed, so I believed I should expect oil + whatever will come out to come out via exhaust holes, right?

What Seb said. If you have water in cylinders and crank with the starter, that will be the end of the motor. If there is no water, you most probably have some rust. You want to soak that with oil before cranking. Understood, and thanks for the tip. In which direction should I rotate the crankshaft when I'm facing right side of the motor? Clockwise or counterclockwise?

A little bit of news 😉 and lots of questions too... I am trying to launch the starter to rotate the motor and eject some water eventually. I started by removing the commands on both handlebars because I was not sure if contact were going well, especially when launching the starter. Without surprise, they were both full of mud that dried out: I dismantled everything: And again with my wife help, we cleaned everything. I tested all contacts with my multimeter, everything seems fine on this side. So I tried to launch the starter and... no

Thank you all for your comments and support 😉 I already started last week to make the inventory of all parts the previous owner removed for cleaning that I have to figure how to mount back on the bike. I also removed the dashboard cluster, opened it and cleaned everything. Not a lot of pictures but there was a very thin layer of dry mud everywhere. Thanks to my wife who patiently cleaned the different parts, we got this: And back on the bike with the battery connected and contact cleaner inside almost all connectors: