SEBSPEED

My 96 "identifies" as a 2015... I don't dare ask its gender... we just leave it at "sexy b!tch"... lol

I would not buy this system before receiving visual evidence of the fab work on the joint indicated here. At the price point I can't see these being fitted very well, and it wasn't that long ago that the Sandy Bike Spares headers were found to have a huge issue in this area. It appears removal of the O2 sensor block offs would allow inspection of the workmanship in the joint.

Reminds me of a 90's Katana

I currently only have the FB and IG pages, I did buy a domain name and started building a site but it's taken a back burner to paying work. I don't get "vacation days" anymore lol Thank you Ed! It was a commissioned build, with a nice mix of guidelines and artistic freedom.

I will try but just getting it back in service is a sizable investment, as you can see. Plan is to get it back on the road and see how it goes from there.

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!!)

That was perfect, thank you!

Bought this 15yrs ago, it will last my lifetime and then some I think If anyone has pics of the cable routing pages from the factory service manual, I could use them

Rebuilt rear master cylinder & replaced brake line 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. I did have to cut & buff the stator cover as it had more orange peel than I would have liked. I knocked all the bigger stuff down with 2000 grit wet, then buffed. New gasket Cover on 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. Likewise the locknut wrench is short, but also too large in diameter to line up correctly So, what to do... well, this is why I have machine tools 😄 Start with the stock pieces 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... Press together... And say hello to your dad's long lost brother Bob... Nice to have options! 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. 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

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. 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.

Haha wouldn't that be something! Sadly no. I've done dozens of fork jobs for myself and others, and went into this with 1000% confidence. These damper rod forks are about as simple as they get, (TRAC system aside).Yes, the snap rings were out. I have a pair of long handle 90º needlenose pliers that I bought and ground tips on just for taking those out, as they are sometimes rusty and hard to get to because of how far down in the lower they seat. I inspected the inside of the lower where the backing washer seats and found very minimal evidence of corrosion, so had to be the tube bushing binding in the lower bushing, basically created its own forcing cone.

Next up, forks. This was the worst set I've ever done. I've read other people's stories about bushings getting stuck, but never "had the pleasure" myself till this pair came along. Started out normal, fluid had actually been changed at some point as it was blue/green rather than the original ATF red. And, that's where the fun ended. Normally you just pull the fork halves apart with a slide hammer motion, and they come apart with a few tugs. I ended up having to get medieval on these by heating the bushing area of the lower to piping hot with my heat gun, then striking the lower with heavy hammer blows while supporting the other side with a gloved hand to eventually pull the fork tube bushing up through the slider bushing AND THE BACKING WASHER. As you can see, the bushings are ruined, I had to order replacements. I was able to flatten and dress the washers so they could be reused. Yes, that washer was flat before... Other than being dirty, the lands of the fork lower didn't look bad. After a thorough flush with brake cleaner I reassembled with the new bushings & filled with Honda fork oil. No pics, oily hands... Originally hadn't planned to changed steering bearings, but found some rust so swapped them out for a set of All Balls tapered rollers. My bearing drivers... simply an old set of races sliced with a cut off wheel & deburred. Makes for a cheap & quick way to seat new races. If the driver gets stuck, insert a flat head screwdriver and twist to expand & remove.

Just a little plaque buildup on the old thermostat... Discard and replace with new tstat & o ring In case you were wondering, or in denial, about your vintage bike needing rubber even though it has low miles - here's your evidence that yes, it does need replacing!

Make sure the air filter goes in for the stock run first, to avoid muddying the results with multiple variables.

On the left side, it can enter through the open top of the removable frame tube section. On the left AND right, water can enter a joint at the end of the upright tube under the seat/rear of tank which has a straight path to the lower tube due to the frame being comprised of a 3d stamping welded in halves vs tubing with closed joints. In this image, it is the "T" joint seen in the middle, top of pic: From the outside it appears the frame and subframe tubes are separate, but they are in fact stamped inner and outer halves, welded together vertically on the fore and aft edge joints. The frame is hollow from the top of the "T" joint, all the way down and back up around to the headstock.