- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
Those troublesome bolts are usually sorted by a) leaving the spring in to start as noted by Keith and b) I find a drift the same diameter as the bolt head and give it one or two sharp hits to break the seal if you like. Carefully select the drift so it won’t damage the socket head , making it difficult to get the key in.
Brian, Keith. Thanks for the responses. Yeh, tricky little devils these. Not one of Hondas greatest designs for the home mechanic. I suppose they thought that most would have been replaced by a dealer when the bikes were in their glory days. I started off with the spring in place and the left hand fork bolt came out no problem. The right hand bolt was more problematic as it just kept on rotating but not loosening any. Obviously the bottom cartridge assembly was just spinning. Next I tried the old broom handle trick down the fork tube to try and hold it but again no success just continually turning the cartridge.
Looking more closely at the cartridge I had managed to recover from the other leg, made me think that maybe a bolt or nut if lightly tapped into the top recess of the cartridge could provide a more positive grip on the cartridge and stop it turning. I found a 19mm nylock nut lying around and this seemed to be an ideal fit into the recess. I fitted the nylock nut and another 19mm nut as a lock nut onto some 10mm threaded rod and then inserted this into the leg again and gently tapped the end of the rod to secure it into the cartridge recess. This worked a treat and ten seconds later the retaining bolt was out and the lower slider could be separated from the stanchion. A good result from a home made tool.Inspecting the stubborn bolt I could see why it didn’t free off as easily as the other leg. It had some type of thread locking agent on it that the first bolt removed didn’t have. Not sure why it was only on one side and not the other but hey ho, there you go. Before I put it all back together I will give the thread a good clean up and debate as to whether I put thread lock on the retaining bolt for the rebuild. Any thoughts on this gents?
Couple of photos will hopefully make my ramblings clearer.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1786[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1787[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1788[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1789[/ATTACH]
Hi Andy, there is no reason to use a thread locking agent on the bolt, as long as you use new copper washers on the bolt
Keith
OK, no thread lock it is, and some more parts to be ordered.
Front brakes next on the hit list and initial examination of undersides of callipers isn’t promising. Visible parts of pistons look to have a fair bit of corrosion on them and a few rubber seals are split or perished. Both sliding pins are also pretty devoid of good lubrication and what grease was on them is now pretty hard. No quick clean up for these babies though, full refurb is the order of the day. Pistons, seals, rubbers, pads will all be renewed. I think I have most of what is required as NOS parts already and I picked up some EBC FA69HH pads on FleaBay for a good price from a guy who had ordered the wrong items for his own bike.
Pumped pistons out most of the way before separating callipers from hoses and then onto the bench for strip down. With pistons removed old fluid behind them is pretty grotty and in the case of one piston almost grease like in viscosity, urgh! The piston seals were in good condition but the dust seals were starting to disintegrate. All in the bin now though, ready for the new items. No signs of any scouring on the piston chambers so a good job should be achievable without too much pain.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1790[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1791[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1792[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1793[/ATTACH]
Genuine Honda seals are more expensive than many after market items but they usually come complete with dust seals so as Keith has said they are the way to go.
So the front brake pistons need renewing. I usually if I can, use genuine Honda parts but in this instance I am considering using aftermarket stainless pistons. Wemoto sell these and I cannot really see any real downside in this instance of not using genuine Honda steel pistons. Unless the machining tolerances are way out on the stainless pistons, they would seem a sensible buy. Any thoughts from any of you who may have gone down this route previously?
Andy i recently bought some Stainless steel ones from ebay, they were £25.99 for a pair and were 30 dia x 35 long, the seller has none listed at present, his ebay id is ”n.chambers53”
I used them in the front calipers of my friends CB900F2C with the twin piston calipers and i believe the RB uses the same pistonsKeith
I have Stainless pistons in my RB, front and rear. Found a guy advertised in VJMC who manufactured them, just send him the old ones and he makes a copy. Mine were fitted just before the International TT meeting 2004 and I’ve had no problems. I also fitted stainless lines with black sleeves, try to keep standard look. They are a great improvement over the now 35+ year old rubber.
Okay gents, forks now rebuilt with new bushes, seals and dust covers all round and set up with a 150mm air gap that equates to approx 350ml of fluid in each leg. I will not be running any air pressure. Once I have the bike on the road I will assess the suitability of the original springs and decide then whether to upgrade them or not.
Have got four new stainless pistons for the front brakes. They came with seals included and look good quality items. I have still to rebuild the callipers yet as I have just started overhauling the master cylinder. All the brake lines were removed for flushing through. I will get the brakes sorted out with these original hoses for now and then look at new stainless items once on the road. Initial checks on the brake master cylinder showed that the plastic reservoir was toast. It had swelled and discoloured badly and looked very fragile. A new reservoir and seal have therefor been purchased. Removing the reservoir from the cylinder body revealed a horrible sight of white solids and filthy fluid. These brakes have not been used in years. I had the normal battle to remove the circlip from the piston assembly but eventually overcame the little blighter and was pleasantly surprised to find the actual piston assembly to be in great condition. However, a new set will be fitted.
I had one little extra battle during the clean up of the master cylinder due to snapping off the tip of a needle in the smaller fluid return hole of the cylinder. Again, more patience was required before I was able to get the tiny fragment out without causing further issues.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1794[/ATTACH]
Found a bit of time to look at the wiring behind the headlight last night. If you recall I picked up a complete GL500 box and clamps. With a little bit of filling to elongate the bolt holes for mounting the brackets on the fork legs the unit seems to sit ok and all wiring has fitted nicely inside it by the looks of it. Not had any power to the looms yet so a bit of rejigging may be required when I come to that point. At the moment though it looks a lot better than no box and a messy tangle of wires.
Can any of you RB guys confirm if this is sitting like the original box? I also would appreciate any photos you could get of this area of your bikes and moving along the frame spine with particular regard to the running of throttle, clutch and choke cables.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1796[/ATTACH]
Right then, update time. Front brakes rebuilt now. New caliper pistons & seals. New MC piston assembly, new plastic reservoir, new rubber cover for over hose fitting at the MC and new fluid. Bit of a chew on initially as one brake line would not allow any fluid through it. Eventually took the hose off again and found a blockage in it. Bit strange as I thought I had proven the lines clear before the refitting. Anyhow, a thin piece of wire down the inside and problem sorted. So now the bike is back on its wheels and can be moved about again. As it was a nice day yesterday I moved outside for a bit. Very pleasant.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1798[/ATTACH]
So, up to now, I have not focused on the motor, preferring to get the running gear and brakes sorted first. Well now I am moving onto the motor. First thing was to remove the exhaust headers. These came of surprisingly easy as I had been expecting a battle with the nuts and the thinner RB studs.
Next, drain the oil. A black mess came out but of sufficient quantity to at least dispel any worries that the motor may have been run dry. Dropping the oil sump next showed up a few forensic clues for me. Some soft debris was sitting in the bottom of the pan that looked like possibly, excess sealant that had been over enthusiastically distributed at some time in the old girls lost past. The oil pump suction strainer also displayed similar evidence to the sump but nothing too worrying at this stage I hope.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1799[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]1800[/ATTACH]
Right then, I’m back again. Brakes now rebuilt and the old girl is back on her wheels and can be moved around again. Took her outside for a bit of sun yesterday and started to focus on the engine. I think I will be removing the engine to work on her further but in the meantime I thought I had better see how things looked for starters in the sump. Dirty black oil greeted me as the sump plug was removed but in sufficient quantity to dispel any initial dry running worries.
Dropping the sump revealed some soft debris likely to be from over enthusiastic use of sealant in the old girls past. At least no metallic bits that I could see. The oil pump strainer also showed traces of the same detritus.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1801[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]1802[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1804[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]1805[/ATTACH]
As I expect most of you reading this will already know, there is a tried and proven upgrade that can be carried out on the oil pump suction strainer that involves widening the stub on the strainer and also the size of the hole in the strainer at the same time so that it fits over the spigot on the oil plate rather than inside it. This allows for an increase in the volume of oil that can be taken into the pump. Modified strainers can be purchased from a good guy in the States at a cost of about £65, plus whatever our dear old customs and excise and post office officials deem fit to add for non EEC goods. If someone has a small lathe and suitable soldering equipment the job should not be too difficult I wouldn’t think. Is anyone in the UK offering this service already?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1806[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]1807[/ATTACH]
As I expect most of you reading this will already know, there is a tried and proven upgrade that can be carried out on the oil pump suction strainer that involves widening the stub on the strainer and also the size of the hole in the strainer at the same time so that it fits over the spigot on the oil plate rather than inside it. This allows for an increase in the volume of oil that can be taken into the pump. Modified strainers can be purchased from a good guy in the States at a cost of about £65, plus whatever our dear old customs and excise and post office officials deem fit to add for non EEC goods. If someone has a small lathe and suitable soldering equipment the job should not be too difficult I wouldn’t think. Is anyone in the UK offering this service already?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.