This year's project bike

[Gixxus Christ!]

Ok, she is hitting on all 4, and once I adjusted the throttle cable to actually have free play it idles at 1200 instead of 5000. Gas tank is uuberfucked. I can hear the rust and denatured gas sloshing around inside. Gonna cork it up and fill with vinegar and let it sit a while, then seal with phosphoric acid. The charging system is another issue.....typical Honda v4....guessing the regulator/ rectifier is shot by the looks of this plug and the fact that the headlight plug is also burnt and melted. I thought the right side muffler had been unclampedand taken off, nah, it rusted off so now I get to buy new pipes too... but it idles and revs really nice....

[mello dude]

Good luck on your project.. you have more patience than I do.  V4s rock!

[Whelan]

Keep an eye on your starter solenoid as well. If you don't mind straying from stock options, el-cheapo shorty exhausts sound pretty decent and you shouldn't need to retune, since that exhaust collector pretty much does all the hard work. While you're fixing the fuel system, don't forget about the reserve tank under the seat.

[hiro]

If this were on TV I'd watch it!

[Tpoppa]

18 hours ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

 The charging system is another issue.....typical Honda v4....guessing the regulator/ rectifier is shot by the looks of this plug and the fact that the headlight plug is also burnt and melted.

If you need an RR, I have a nice mosfet one in my tool box.  IIRC, it's from an 07 CBR1000RR.

[Gixxus Christ!]

17 hours ago, mello dude said:

Good luck on your project.. you have more patience than I do.  V4s rock!

Not so much patience as not having enough sense to stop.

12 hours ago, Whelan said:

Keep an eye on your starter solenoid as well. If you don't mind straying from stock options, el-cheapo shorty exhausts sound pretty decent and you shouldn't need to retune, since that exhaust collector pretty much does all the hard work. While you're fixing the fuel system, don't forget about the reserve tank under the seat.

Yeah, I'm probably gonna go the shorty route if I can't get the stock muffler back on somehow. Haven't even looked inside the lower tank (can't, really) to see if it's rusted. Probably just cork it and fill with vinegar then phosphate to make sure.

 

10 hours ago, hiro said:

If this were on TV I'd watch it!

Its really mostly my fat ass sweating onto my glasses, cussing loudly and then drinking beer. The magic happens in the precious moments between those things. 

[Gixxus Christ!]

2 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

If you need an RR, I have a nice mosfet one in my tool box.  IIRC, it's from an 07 CBR1000RR.

Might take you up on that if it will bolt up, but I doubt it. You can still rude the gentleman's express down here so I can take it for a spin tho....

[Tpoppa]

1 minute ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

Might take you up on that if it will bolt up, but I doubt it. You can still rude the gentleman's express down here so I can take it for a spin tho....

It's the type that has the plugs on short leads, rather than attached to the body.  It's a bit more flexible for different applications.  This type:

[jporter12]

Check the cams now, before you get too far down the worm-hole.  I don't think the V45 was as bad, but the early Honda V4's loved to grind them down to nothing.  

I love everything about the V4's, the sound, the torque, but I hated that mine kept breaking!  Mine was a Interceptor 500.

[Gixxus Christ!]

1 hour ago, jporter12 said:

Check the cams now, before you get too far down the worm-hole.  I don't think the V45 was as bad, but the early Honda V4's loved to grind them down to nothing.  

I love everything about the V4's, the sound, the torque, but I hated that mine kept breaking!  Mine was a Interceptor 500.

Its on the list along with valve clearances. 

 

1 hour ago, Tpoppa said:

It's the type that has the plugs on short leads, rather than attached to the body.  It's a bit more flexible for different applications.  This type:

I'll look at mine when I get home, see if the plugs are the same. Can you get me a center to center measurement on the mounting holes?

[Qman]

1 hour ago, jporter12 said:

Check the cams now, before you get too far down the worm-hole.  I don't think the V45 was as bad, but the early Honda V4's loved to grind them down to nothing.  

I love everything about the V4's, the sound, the torque, but I hated that mine kept breaking!  Mine was a Interceptor 500.

Put 80k trouble-free miles on my 2000 VFR800.  I miss her!

[Gixxus Christ!]

Filled the radiator up and ran the motor some more. Now I have coolant all over my garage. 2 big leaks. They look super fun to fix too...

[mello dude]

5 hours ago, jporter12 said:

Check the cams now, before you get too far down the worm-hole.  I don't think the V45 was as bad, but the early Honda V4's loved to grind them down to nothing.  

I love everything about the V4's, the sound, the torque, but I hated that mine kept breaking!  Mine was a Interceptor 500.

I had an early 700 Sabre, it was nice but the cams did eat themselves along with a cam chain. That bike seem to always need something done to it. I sold it and swore off any of the 1st gen Honda v4, along with any Honda with a cam chain - and I am a VCR geek.

[mello dude]

7 minutes ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

Filled the radiator up and ran the motor some more. Now I have coolant all over my garage. 2 big leaks. They look super fun to fix too...

Yup lots of fun...I like doing mods on a bike in OK condition, but restos ... not me...?

[Gixxus Christ!]

1 hour ago, mello dude said:

Yup lots of fun...I like doing mods on a bike in OK condition, but restos ... not me...?

I have a Lazarus complex I guess... I'm good at resurrecting old bikes. What good is a talent if you don't use it? Just won an eBay auction on a tank that's less beat up than the one I have and is claimed to not have rust inside. 30 fucking dollars plus shipping. Once I locate a right side cover I'll send them off to be painted some cool custom color....maybe color change? Maybe pearl blue, maybe ghost flames...maybe all 3....maybe plasti-dip the fucker.... 

[Ryan_c_F]

You going to be doing custom wiring for it? My V65 ate its entire harness up within the space of a week; whoever I sold it to ended up stripping the engine out for a different project.

[Gixxus Christ!]

4 hours ago, Ryan_c_F said:

You going to be doing custom wiring for it? My V65 ate its entire harness up within the space of a week; whoever I sold it to ended up stripping the engine out for a different project.

Looks like I'm gonna have to buy a used harness and solder in some pieces from it. This bike was not treated well, tho the motor runs great with the occasional sneeze and miss. Spent a few hours today putting the rear fender and plastic fender on, mounting the coolant bottle, trying to make sense of the wiring.... Got most of it ironed out. Once I get my new gas tank in the mail, sort out the headlight, get the clutch operational and go over the brakes I'm fairly confident I can ride it around the neighborhood. Fork seals are fucked, cooling system still not 100% trustworthy and a few more electronic gremlins to chase down but it's coming along...

[Gixxus Christ!]

Well it's coming along. Runs great. Need to source a bleeder for the clutch master cyl, and also replace and repair all the everystuff.  Played dress-up today.... 

[hiro]

Restoration skills: A gift and a cruse?

[Gixxus Christ!]

More of an affliction. My gas tank shipped today. Once I source a right side cover I can get them off to mud and paint. Had to order of all things a bleeder screw for the clutch slave cylinder because the one in it had been crushed with vice grips and also the fluid passages in it were rusted shut. Never seen that before. 

[hiro]

1 minute ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

also the fluid passages in it were rusted shut. Never seen that before. 

Original brake fluid maybe?!

[Whelan]

Man, seeing it with the panels and everything really make me miss mine. I just found some old pictures of it, I'll have to throw one up here when I get home. The early models were known for poor oil flow to the top end. There's a mod that adds oil lines off the filter to the jugs, right below the valve covers, but it sounds like that requires drilling into the engine. Not sure. My V65 had one installed by a previous owner, and the cams looked great on it. I think later models or maybe just the VFRs had hard oil lines added direct to the top end.

[Gixxus Christ!]

14 hours ago, Whelan said:

Man, seeing it with the panels and everything really make me miss mine. I just found some old pictures of it, I'll have to throw one up here when I get home. The early models were known for poor oil flow to the top end. There's a mod that adds oil lines off the filter to the jugs, right below the valve covers, but it sounds like that requires drilling into the engine. Not sure. My V65 had one installed by a previous owner, and the cams looked great on it. I think later models or maybe just the VFRs had hard oil lines added direct to the top end.

Yeah, that's a bolt on kit, costs about $160. My dad did it to his 700.

[Gixxus Christ!]

Got new bleeder screw in the mail. Bled the clutch down but still not getting any lever feel. Pretty sure the mc needs rebuilt. Also got my new old tank in the mail....packed in foam peanuts with no filler cap, so also full of foam peanuts. Can't believe how fucking stupid eBay sellers are. Shop vac eventually got them all. 

 

   Anyway, pretty sure the threads in the clutch slave cyl are fucked. New screw doesn't fit real tight until it's fully screwed in, lots of play, so probably need to replace the slave too...and gasket because idiot kid I bought it from used rtv sealant. 

 

Also I noticed the motor is marked 748cc, but all 84 bikes were 700's, marked 698cc. So it's had a motor swap I think. 

 

Fixed 2 coolant leaks and another one popped up. Temp gauge works. New wiring harness should arrive late this week so I can replace a lot of the burnt up and broken connectors. Need to order a full set of turn signals, get a headlight bulb and clean up some other minor wiring issues, rebuild the forks, inspect the brakes and should be somewhat road worthy. 

[hiro]

Is the coolant leaking from hoses or from metal parts?

Is it possible the bike isn't a 1984?

Wow, ebay seller coulda at least put masking tape over the opening in the tank!