I did it again... Bought a baby blade to rebuild...

Transmission breaker
Don
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Got these back, and they look great! No more leaks I am told :D

CBR400rr248.jpg


Dropped them back into here, started it up, and it ran on all 4, and seemed great!

CBR400rr249.jpg



Now, the left fork sprung a leak in the shed randomly, and I decided to redo the fork seals whilst it was in bits ago, so off came all the fairings, and I got myself a head stock stand:

CBR400rr250.jpg


Lets rip that front end apart, and get the forks off:

CBR400rr251.jpg


Yeah, made a little mess, but we got the job done!

The offending seal:
CBR400rr252.jpg


Ripped the guts out of it:

CBR400rr253.jpg


Not happy with the finish of this, so decided to have a go at re-painting them.

Ground down all the corrosion, and lifted parts:

CBR400rr254.jpg



Started off going for black:

CBR400rr255.jpg


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I also managed to break one of the mud guard mounts when I was removing it, and decided to try some 3d printed parts :D

CBR400rr257.jpg



Printer in action:
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Some of the test prints, just to get the settings/sizes dialled in:

CBR400rr260.jpg


Some more work to do here, but a good start :)

Now onto the other leg:

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The top cap was a little chewed on this side, looks like someone was a little hamfisted with this one before:

CBR400rr262.jpg


Seal retaining ring was a little rusty:

CBR400rr263.jpg


Mudguard holder retaining ring, not quite as bad:

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I had to use a blowtorch to get this seal out, it was REALLY wedged in there, and had to be quite violent about it! So it was looking a little messy in here:

CBR400rr265.jpg


All the varying parts were cleaned up, and checked:

CBR400rr267.jpg


You can see from the old seal here how well wedged in it was:

CBR400rr268.jpg


This really was not ok, so needed to be tidied up:

CBR400rr269.jpg



Quick dunk in the ultrasonic cleaner:

CBR400rr270.jpg



Little bit of light sanding, and polishing later:

CBR400rr271.jpg



Changed my mind, and decided to go to white.....

CBR400rr272.jpg


Best start getting this back together on leg 2:

CBR400rr273.jpg


More testing on 3d printer parts, pretty much spot on:

CBR400rr274.jpg


Back on the bike, managed to scratch up the paint on one leg, so i hid it in the photo :D Will sort it out properly another time!

CBR400rr275.jpg


I then found the carbs were leaking! I left them sat at a funny angle with fuel in there for a couple of weeks, so looks like a float got stuck. Tried to tap/whack them a a bit to release it, but figured out it was carb 2, and whipped it open to have a look, and it had some ethanol sludge build up:

CBR400rr276.jpg


So I took the bowls off all the carbs, cleaned them with carb cleaner, and have learnt my lesson! DO not leave modern fuel in old carbs for any length of time. Apparently you can get an ethanol killer additive, so will have to look into that!

Throwing it all back together. I did replace the front brake pads on both sides, then installed the new springs and clips (which were totally absent!) that I bought ages ago too:

CBR400rr277.jpg



Post shakedown:

CBR400rr278.jpg



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The clutch level was missing its spring, and worked itself a little loose, but managed to sort that out, and also the tank was holding a STRONG negative pressure, which I released by opening up the fuel cap. Looks like there is a blocked breather somewhere I need to clean out, but otherwise, I was grinning from ear to ear! need to work the idle down a little bit, but I think that down to the throttle cable adjustment being slightly too tight, as the idle adjust screw is not touching it.

Nothing major, but I am happier with the white forks look in general!
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2005
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17,615
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Bristol
I think the white looks really good on the forks, ties in with the plastics well and stops them looking a bit out of place (which they did in silver/grey). I think black would have worked but white does certainly work better imo.

Bike has come along nicely, I am envious of garage/shed space as I have none. :(
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
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11,088
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Bristol
Really enjoyed flicking through this. I'm not brave nor technical enough to even think about taking a challenge like this on!

So... what is the next project?

That fairing looks nice. Which place did you use?

A year late but on the off chance it's something of interest still, i used a site called Auctmarts to get replacement fairings for my R6. Fit perfectly and they're Injection moulded which was better than the alternative for one reason or another but I can't remember.

For aftermarket Chinese ones, they're actually really good
 
Transmission breaker
Don
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Joined
20 Oct 2002
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16,793
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In a house
So... what is the next project?



A year late but on the off chance it's something of interest still, i used a site called Auctmarts to get replacement fairings for my R6. Fit perfectly and they're Injection moulded which was better than the alternative for one reason or another but I can't remember.

For aftermarket Chinese ones, they're actually really good

Glad you enjoyed it :)

I wil check out the site, as more projects happen!

The CBR600F2 is the current project, almost done!

I have a few little updates to add once I am back home from hols, but essentially just working to improve reliability and robustness.

The fuel pump situation was very annoying, blew the old one, also killed a replacement OEM type, and finally settled on a non standard fuel pump from a reputable manufacturer.

I did try running it without a pump, but at anything below 3/4 of a tank, fuel starvation/hesitations at higher revs/motorway riding was a problem, as well as causing some annoying throttle response issues when cornering.
 
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Transmission breaker
Don
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Little bit of an update on this one :D
Wanted to clean up the fuel filler, cleaned it up, masked it, did a little bit of carefull spraying:

CBR400rr283.jpg


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Quick and easy, and has lasted great, and is still looking good today!

Then I blew the stator:
CBR400rr287.jpg


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Swapped it out from my spare motor, no issues since then!

Also managed to get my hands on the sidestand rubber:

CBR400rr290.jpg


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Then I re-tapped the holes on the frame that hold the cowling bracket:
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Next I sanded back the horn:

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Painted, cooked in the halogen oven
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Back in place - New connectors:
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As I mentioned before, I swapped out the dodgy fuel pump to a pattern part:
CBR400rr297.jpg


Stuck it in
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It worked for a bit:
CBR400rr300.jpg


But it also died.... So I ran without a pump, and that was not working for me, fuel starvation, and tank had to be well over half to run well.
So I bought a Facet motorsport low pressure pump, and retro-fitted it
CBR400rr303.jpg


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It totally changed the bike.. It runs so much more smoothly, starts better, smells less fuelly, and has been working great since!

Next, I swapped out the light brackets with new, as they were falling to bits:
CBR400rr307.jpg


Swapped out the dash bulbs to some nicer LEDs
CBR400rr308.jpg


Swapped out the discs to some EBC, and repainted the calipers. The chinese specials developed a horrible grabby patch, and they felt horrible braking at low speeds, giving a pulsing effect. They are perfectly true, but apparently they can get like this, so just got rid:
CBR400rr312.jpg


Also, the new headlights look ACE
CBR400rr310.jpg


I then designed and printed out some new foam holders for the dash:
CBR400rr311.jpg


Since then I have 3d printed a new fuse box holder, as it was annoying me and flapping about - Forgot to take pics also!
 
Transmission breaker
Don
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Joined
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The bike failed the MOT the other day on some very random little things, it seems the MOT garage near my new place has some stricter interpretation of the rules :D

They said that on full lock, the brake lever was being touched by the clocks. It just brushed it, at full left lock, which has never actually posed any problems when riding, but rules are rules!
They also wanted me to put a full sized rear plate on, and wrongly claimed a front wheel axle was missing a lock pin (which this bike never had from the factory!) but they agreed this was not a problem after I showed them the haynes and the official parts list for the bike.

Lastly, they did not like the light controls rotating slightly when pushed hard.

Anyway! Decided to address these with a new front brake lever and master cylinder, as I was never really happy with the Chinese one anyway. I also ordered a domino throttle to replace the Chinese one as the original cables are getting a little worn and damaged where they flex, so will also get the cable set to swap them out soon too.

So, new brake lever fitted:
CBR400rr313.jpg


I did have to twist the reservoir bracket to get it to sit nicely and not whack the fairings when being turned:
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Had to get the Honda reservoir cover back in place, clearly!

I also got fed up of trying little motorcycle specific digital clocks that broke, or lost time, so grabbed a period casio and 3d printed a little mount for the bars :D
CBR400rr315.jpg


I also knocked up a little cable guide (using an old pen) for the original top cable to help keep it from bending too much, just for the MOT for now. I am waiting for the new cable set to allow me to change out the thottle completely as said above :)
CBR400rr316.jpg


I also sorted out the rotating lighting controls, by adding a little duct tape around the bars in the right place to make them clamp in a little more solidly.

I bled the front brake, then had a little ride around the block, all ok, and should be good to go for the MOT :)
 
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Transmission breaker
Don
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In a house
Just a little update.... I MAY have slightly binned this earlier in the summer...

Nothing major, low speed, lowside. Just got a bent up nose/busted clocks/knackered the fairings. It still runs and rides, and just needs a little bit of work to put it straight!

However, I have decided to have a little upgrade in the process. I was never happy with the clocks, and stock dash-setup. So I have a little plan to go to a set of more modern clocks, and clean up the wiring and look/function of the cockpit. I am also going to whack in an updated throttle and a few other little bits and bobs as I go!

I am about to pull it all apart and will upload some pics of the progress as I go :)
 
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Transmission breaker
Don
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You silly billy. Looks like you drove into something?
Had a low speed low-side, and the nose slid into a stationary Ford Ranger's wheel. Popped the tyre on the Ranger, and not much else damaged.
Amazingly, no damage to the frame, or the forks, it just literally slide along and nosed into the tyre at about 5mph. I actually rode it home (after having to strip some wires with my teeth and winding them together) about 3 miles. I think the tyre did a great job of absorbing the impact.

I was actually just coming home from the MOT.
 
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Associate
Joined
9 Oct 2005
Posts
2,317
Location
Berkshire
Had a low speed low-side, and the nose slid into a stationary Ford Ranger's wheel. Popped the tyre on the Ranger, and not much else damaged.
Amazingly, no damage to the frame, or the forks, it just literally slide along and nosed into the tyre at about 5mph. I actually rode it home (after having to strip some wires with my teeth and winding them together) about 3 miles. I think the tyre did a great job of absorbing the impact.

I was actually just coming home from the MOT.
What do you think caused it?
 
Transmission breaker
Don
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Joined
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In a house
What do you think caused it?
Rider error :D
I was just pootling along coming back from the MOT, and it's a tight little couple of bends in a S shape, left then right, and just as I rounded the left, I saw a big Ford Ranger coming towards me and must have tapped the front brake, and that was enough to low side.
He did nothing wrong, it was just a big vehicle taking up a lot of road and I over-reacted.
 
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Associate
Joined
9 Oct 2005
Posts
2,317
Location
Berkshire
Rider error :D
I was just pootling along coming back from the MOT, and it's a tight little couple of bends in a S shape, left then right, and just as I rounded the left, I saw a big Ford Ranger coming towards me and must have tapped the front brake, and that was enough to low side.
He did nothing wrong, it was just a big vehicle taking up a lot of road and I over-reacted.
Ack, unlucky :(. It is difficult to rewire those kinds of reflexes. Glad no injuries!
 
Transmission breaker
Don
OP
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
16,793
Location
In a house
Lets get this thing cleaned up!!

This is what took most of the impact, the front support for the fairings/lights/clocks.

CBR400rr318.jpg


With a bit of fiddling we are back to this:

CBR400rr319.jpg


You can see my little bodges to get the wires reconnected to get me home, just to the left of the forks in the above pic. It would seem that quite a lot of the wiring was knocked about, but mostly still doing it's job. I suspect I will re-pin and replace the connectors with a lot of them to be sure they work reliably going forwards.

I grabbed a little digital dashboard from China. It's one of the few I could find with a rev counter that went up to 15k, and a physical speedo cable, that had the same ratio (I hope!) as the original.
CBR400rr320.jpg


Mocked up roughly, looks like I need to move that brake fluid reservoir. Not a major issue :)
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Some of the stripped off parts :)
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Sticking in the new light bracket
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More mocking up
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Checking out that the wiring is as per the "documentation" provided!!

CBR400rr327.jpg
 
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