Painting and Finishing parts

I have been working feverishly the last month or so to find time to do some metal finishing. There are just a few parts that really need a polish and new coat of paint, so I am working on those. I am currently in the process of rebuilding the rear peg mounts and here is a picture of them in black paint. Once these dry I will remove the paint from the polished section and then clearcoat the parts so they look new. This process has gone well on other parts and it should work well here as well.

Another item I can check off as complete is the complete rebuild of the master cylinders for the front brake and clutch. The master cylinders were two of the parts I sent out to be powder coated, and they look fantastic. One minor issue though is that the heat from powder coating required I remove the sight glass before that process, and unfortunately they both broke upon removal. They were in bad shape any an needed to be replaced, so I figured that would be easy, but I found out different. I have yet to find anybody who makes just the sight glass but I did find several sites talking about using watch crystal glass for this, so that is what I did.

I used an inside micrometer and measured the hole, and then went to a supplier to order what I needed. I ordered from Otto Frei www.ofrei.com and the product I ordered was Mineral Glass and I ordered 2mm Thick glass. The size of the opening is about 18mm so I ordered 17.9mm round glass that would easily fit. Once I had the hole cleaned up and ready for glass I used a clear epoxy to secure the crystal in place, and it fit very well and tight. The epoxy set up in 4 minutes and is oil proof, so hopefully this is a fix that will last. Several websites and blogs recommended this fix so we'll see. You can see the glass just before installation below.

Once I had the glass in place, I proceeded to rebuild both master cylinders. I used genuine honda parts for this and also added a new clutch and brake lever and pivot bolts/screws. For the Clutch I installed a new bush and rod as well. The end result is basically a rebuilt piece that is as good or better than factory new. I will pair these master cylinders with rebuilt brake calipers and clutch slave cylinder and also stainless steel lines from Galfer to complete the package. That along with new pads and a rebuilt clutch should give this bike the ability to go fast and stop fast - both of which are important.

Lastly just a couple of pictures of the finished parts I did for the engine covers. These were in bad shape to start. All of them were scratched up and scuffed and dirty and essentially unusable in their current condition. I decided to refinish them as i had tried to buy new but these are just unavailable. I began by stripping the finish off all of these parts using an Aircraft stripper - serious stuff. I then began the process of removing the scratches and gouges.

You may not believe this looking at the pictures below, but the clutch cover had a deep gash from the rear brake pedal - the same one you see in almost all of those covers. With the help of a random orbit sander I was able to grind down the face of the cover to remove those scratches. I began with a 120grit paper and then to 220 and then to 400. Once I had it back to fairly smooth I used hand sanding to get all of the nooks and crannies and then finished by using buffing wheels and compound. I purchased an aluminum polishing kit at Harbor Freight and it had three types of compound and several wheels. I basically did this same technique for all of the engine covers.

Once I had them stripped and repolished I needed to seal them. The clutch and pulse generator cover both have a black inset Honda on them so I had to paint that first. To accomplish this I first masked off and painted the Honda inset in black. Once that was dry I used steel wool to clean off the excess paint and reveal the logo - I used 0000 steel wool for this. I then did another quick polish and clean up and then sealed with high-temp clear. This worked great and as you can see from the parts they turned out great. One difficult part was the black outside of the clutch cover. I accomplished this by masking off the flat part and then running a very new razor blade along the edge of the circle using it as a guide. I then painted the high-temp black used on the engine, and that was it. A great match.

The Valve Cover was very challenging as well. There are many curved areas and I spend a few hours sanding and polishing on that part, but overall the result was very good. There were several deep gouges in the top of the cover as the engines were stored upside down by the prevoious owner. As you can see they are nowhere to be found now, so very successful.

Engine Installation and Head Installation

With the engine assembly mostly done, I wanted to get it installed into the frame. The frame was a rolling chassis and was ready for the engine to be installed. I decided to not install the head as without it the engine was a managable weight I could handle alone and wouldn't need assistance to install the engine.

I began by masking the entire right side of the frame of the bike around the engine area. I didn't want to scuff up the powder coating and althought it is tough I wasn't going to take chances. I also dug into my bag of powder coated parts and found all of the newly coated engine mounts and all of the bolts. I cleaned up the chrome bolts and prepared to install.

The most difficult thing about installing the engine besides the akward weight, is to get the shaft drive to mate up with the engine. I prepared for this by liberally greasing the u-joint and ensuring it would go onto the drive, and also by placing a jack under the bottom of the engine to be able to adjust the height. I then moved the engine into the frame and set it on the jack below, and began to maneuver it into proper position. Once the drive shaft is mated up properly, the mounts can be installed. I did the front two first and then the rear upper and then both loweres. This process took about 45 minutes start to finish, and in no time I had the engine installed. Here is a photo of the finished process. Notice the head gasket partially installed.


Next I needed to install the head. I first cleaned the mating surfaces of the cylinders and head and then placed the head gasket in place. I then put the cam chain guide into position and finally lowered the head into place. It took some doing as the cam chain guide is tricky, but once it dropped into place the head mated up and I was all set. The picture below is of the head in place just before bolting it down.

There is still work to do on the head such as adding the lifters and camshafts and all of the other small parts. That is my next task when I find time in the garage.

Clutch Rebuild

Since I was rebuilding the engine I wanted to ensure that all assembleys are refreshed. This includes rebuilding the clutch and installing new friction plates and springs. The steel plates were in great shape and did not need to be replaced. I purchased a set of EBC clutch plates and Vesrah high-performance springs for the job. Pictures of the parts are below. Notice the difference in length between the stock springs on the right and the new springs on the left.

This was a very simple upgrade to perform and the only difficulty I had was installing the new springs. As they were longer, the bolts holding them in place didn't want to catch on the threads. A little downward pressure was all it took to get them to catch, and the overall job took me about 30 minutes to complete. There is an ongoing argument about whether to wet the friction plates with oil or not. I decided to wet them as this is considered a wet clutch and most posts from actualy certified Mechanics seemed to favor that approach.

Engine Paint and Assembly

It has been quite a long time since I have had much time to work on my project, but I wanted to summarize up the past several months efforts. Having a child will definitely put a damper on project time.

During this time I have been working to get the Engine sorted out and ready for installation. This effort includes disassembly of the entire engine, cleaning stripping and repainting the engine cases, and reassembly of the engine. During this effort I would be replacing the bottom case of the engine as the original one had a leak. I would also be replacing the head with one that has all of it's fins as the original one had several broken ones. Here is a photo of the engine before I started:

Notice the broken fins and dirty corroded and scuffed valve and side covers. When I disassembled the engine I planned to also replace the valve cover and side covers, or polish and refinish them. Disassembly went quickly and honestly was done in about 2 hours. I had done an rebuild before and it goes quickly when you have some experience. I bagged up and labeled all the parts and prepared to clean up and refinish the engine cases.

The next big step was to get a new head and bottom case. I bought a head off Ebay that had all fins and was from a running bike. I also bought a complete case locally from another enthusiast and was ready for my rebuild. Sometime during the spring I did the massive cleanup of the cases. I took the top and bottom case and used a serious degreaser to remove all of the outside crud. This involved a few hours of scrubbing and elbow grease, but in the end I had parts ready for paint. I then masked them up and painted them over the summer with VHT high-temp satin finish barrel paint. I also purchased an Athena gasket kit that includes all gaskets, seals, and washers you need for a complete rebuild.

The head I purchased was very dirty and would be very difficult to clean, so I found a local shop that was willing to use their sandblaster to clean it up, and they also stripped off much of the outside coating as well. This was a very worthwile step as I don't think I could have possibly cleaned it sufficiently without doing this. The final head before paint can be seen in the picture below as I am reinstalling the valves and installing new valve seals. I polished up the valves and removed all carbon deposits, and also refaced the valve faces with laping compound. I then masked the head and painted it.

Once repainted I began reassembly. There are a few photos below that show some of the stages, but mostly this was a fairly simple process if you follow the manual. Notice the nice new finish on the outer cases and cylinder. Also notice the new copper gaskets on the bolts that hold together the top and bottom cases.

Next I will install the engine into the frame and rebuild the clutch.

Installation Marathon - Final Drive, Wheels, Stand.

I had purchased new bearings for the entire bike, and that includes the front and rear wheel. I also wanted to get the rear final drive mounted and the rear wheel installed, so that is the subject of this posting.

I began by cleaning up the front and rear wheels and then taking that and the tires to the dealer to mount. They did a mount and balance for about $90, and then it was up to me for the rest.

I decided to work on the front wheel first, so I began by cleaning up and re-installing the disc brake rotors as I had removed them to clean them up. They were in great shape, but had some surface rust and needed to be cleaned up. Once I had those installed I needed to drive in the bearings and seals for the front wheel. I had purchased the All Balls bearing kit for the bike, and it includes the seals as well as sealed bearings for the front, so it was a complete kit.



I drove in the first bearing using a bearing driver and then a socket of applicable size. I then needed to properly place the center collar and then install the second bearing and seal. The pictures below show only one side of the bearings and also the seal for the Speedometer side of the wheel. This side has a larger seal to accommodate the speedometer drive. Once I had the seals installed and the speedometer drive ready to mount, it was a simple task of preparing the front axle for installation. I also needed to find the axle holders as I had powder coated them. Once found I installed the wheel and axle and then torqued the axle holder bolts to the proper torque, and the wheel is installed. All that remains for the front are the brakes and fender, etc.

For the rear end, this would require I install the final drive, build and install the rear brakes, and also install bearings in the rear wheel. I also wanted to install the center stand so I could take the bike down from the stand I had it resting on. The first thing I did was to mount the center stand. I had this powder coated and it looked great with no rust on it at all. I had also purchased a new spring as the old one was rusty and not in good shape. The installation went very well and I even mounted the down-tube holder for the breather tube. The spring was a bit of a hassle to install, but once in the entire bottom end looked great as you can see from the photo's.





Next I did the rear wheel - the tire was already installed and I had just done the front, so I had some readily available knowledge about driving bearings. That went very well and there aren't seals to drive so it goes well. One thing to note here is that I had purchased the All Balls kit for the rear as well. It comes with three bearings but you only end up using two of them. I had sent them an e-mail asking why they send it out with three bearings, and they told me they send it that way so that the one kit can accommodate more bikes. Whatever. I also installed the rear drive gear to the rear wheel as I had removed that for cleaning. It was also very greasy and the bolts were showing a bit of corrosion from sitting, so I was able to clean them up and they looked great.


Next I grabbed up the Final Drive to clean up and install. I hadn't wanted to tear this apart as it had very few miles on it and upon inspecting the gears and the other mechanisms it looked to be in great shape. This was a bit greasy and dirty, but it cleaned up very well. I also drained the gear lube from the case and it looked to be in fairly good shape and not dirty at all. I flushed this out with new lube so that it was coming out clean. I will refill it once I have the bike sitting properly on the ground. I then installed the drive. There are only three bolts holding that to the swingarm and they install and torque easily. I also connected the left side rear shock to the final drive.




Next I pulled out the rear brake panel to install pads and get that ready for installation. I had powder coated the rear panel and it looked great. I installed a new set of Vesrah brake shoes and also new Honda springs, retainer, and cotter pins. With that together I only needed to clean up the rear axle and I was ready to install the rear wheel.

The rear wheel is very easy to install and remove. Simply loosening and removing the axle is very easy, and then the wheel pulls from the final drive and it is off. Installation is the reverse. I began by placing the rear brake panel and brakes into the rear wheel, and then pushed the rear wheel into place on the final drive. I installed the space between the brake panel and the swingarm, and then installed the rear axle. This involves driving this from the right to the left side of the wheel and then installing the axle nut on the left hand side. Then you must torque this nut and the pinch bolt on the right side and voila, the wheel is on. I haven't hooked up the brakes or anything yet, but as you can see from the photo below it is looking good.

Next I will begin to work on the airbox and rear fender, as I need to remove the wheel to install those. I'll post more pic's as work progresses. Thanks for looking.

Rebuilt rear shocks and installed swingarm

I finally got more work done on the bike this weekend, and have the rear shocks cleaned up and the swingarm mounted. Next I will mount the tires and handlebars so I have a rolling chassis.

First the shocks. The shocks were in great shape, but were very dirty from sitting and also had some surface rust inside of the spring that was impossible to get to assembled. I purchased an automotive spring compressor from Harbor Freight for under $15, and was able to get them apart using some luck and trial and error. I used a piece of 1/2 inch bar through the bottom end, and then used a ratchet to compress the shock spring to get them apart.

Once apart I used steel wool to clean up the surface rust, and also did some very minor painting on a couple of parts that needed a touch up. I used soap and water to clean up the remainder of the parts as they were just dirty, and then assembled the shocks. Here are a couple of pictures of that process including the contraption I used to compress the shocks:

I then went to work on the swingarm. The swingarm had been powder coated and looked great. I needed to install new bearings as the old ones had been removed. This is all part of the plan to have 100% new bearings in this bike once the build is done. I purchased the required bearings from a dealer so they are 100% Honda parts. It was more expensive than I would have thought, and I definitely recommend not doing this unless necessary as for the price it is a small amount you are gaining by having new bearings. The ones I removed were in decent shape and I saved them in case I needed a replacement set down the road.

I drove in the bearings using a driver and also installed the other parts and the seals, and then mounted the swingarm. The mounting takes some work as you need to torque the mounts that hold the swingarm in place, and you need to also torque a locking not. It took some work to pull off and I used a hammer and punch to set the locking nut, but it worked OK. Here are some pic's of that process:

With the swingarm mounted I then installed the rear shocks so the swingarm could be held in place. Only the right shock connects directly to the swingarm. The left shock connects to the drive gearbox portion of the swingarm when that is installed. That is the next thing on my list to do, and then mount the front and rear tires. Here is what the swingarm looks like installed:

That is all for now. I plan more work tomorrow and hope to have a rolling chassis by the end of the day - I guess we'll see. Talk to you then.

CJ.

Installed the forks and head bearing

It has been a few months since I did anything, and so I finally got off my behind and got the forks installed. I started out by getting out the bearings and ensuring everything was there. I decided to use All Balls bearings as they are a taper bearing and not a ball bearing. Picture of the bearings is below. Notice they come complete with the top and bottom seals. They are a great kit and a great product and I highly recommend them.















Next was to get the bottom seal and bearing race on the bearing. It was very easy to get the seal onto the pipe, but the bearing is a press fit and I didn't have a driver. I had purchased a piece of pipe for the job, but didn't want to damage the bearing so I didn't use it. Instead I did a very patient tap on one side-tap on the other side approach. It took quite a while and a couple of rest breaks for my hammering hand, but eventually the bearing was seated - see the photo's below.

Next was to drive the seat into the top and bottom of the head on the frame. I had purchased a driver set for this and it went very easy. The final step was grease and then putting it all together. I have the Nighthawk manual of course, so I read that section and used the exploded drawing to get the order of parts correct for the installation. I first greased the bottom bearing and race, and then did the top bearing and race and put the pipe into the tube in the frame. I then added the seal and other parts, and screwed on the top nut for a finished install - sort of.

Once the top nut is installed then you install the lock nut and the sealing nut, and then you put on the top of the triple tree, and then the final locking nut. All of this needs to be setup properly as well. Once you have it all installed and mostly tightened down you need to get the book and read the final steps. This involves installing the forks and then setting the lock nut so that the proper pull on the front of the forks makes them move. This means you need to tighten the top bridge nuts so that they are putting enough pressure on the bearings to keep the forks in place until met with a set force. This force was 2.5 to 4 lb, so I used a fishing scale and hammer/punch, and slowly tightened the nut until the reading was right. It is at just over 3 pounds at the finish of this exercise.

The last step is to tighten the top nut to a torque of 70 to 90 foot-pounds. The top nut is a 32mm nut, but I happened to have a 1-1/4 socket that did the trick. And the job is done. Now to complete the install of the forks and get a front wheel on and I'll be darn close to a rolling chassis. Photo of the forks installed below. More coming soon I promise.

Cheers. CJ