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

Forks Rebuilt

I have two Honda CB700SC's, one I am rebuilding and one I pieced together and is my daily driver. Since I had rebuilt that bike I have had leaks in the front forks, and they are getting worse. I decided over the past weekend that I would rebuild the forks and replace not only the fork seals but the springs as well. I completed the job and it was worth the effort as my front end is now very firm and not loose at all, and it really responds well to a quick stop.

I started by getting together the tools I would need for the job. The main tools were the tool to hold the fork innards when removing the base nut. Also I would need a seal driver. I would also need all of the parts required, which luckily I had acquired after many months of scrounging and a last-minute spree at Dennis Kirk.

I started with the right fork and had that apart in no time. The seal came out and the fork came apart easily, but I needed to use the special tool to hold the innards to remove the base nut. I made this tool out of a piece of 5/8 inch threaded bar and then the nuts at the hardware store that would fit on it. I bough three feet of rod, two nuts, and a lock washer. On one end of the bar I attached the two nuts with the lock washer between them, and then tightened them as much as possible. This being done I inserted the tool into the fork and it found a connection on the inner damping rod. A picture of the tool in the damping rod is below. I also needed to drive the fork seal on, and for that I used a 1-1/2 piece of PVC to do the job. It fits right over the 39mm forks and drives the seal well. I used a 2 foot piece.

So much for buying tools you will only need once. Lastly in the tool dept. I needed to have something to measure the fluid level in the forks, so I devised a syringe and rod with a tube to do that. I measured the desired height and marked it on the rod, and then held the tool at that height until I was sucking air out of the forks.

I purchased a set of Progressive front fork springs and also bought Leak-Proof Moly Seals for the fronts. There are pic's below. Notice how much longer the Progressive springs are compared to the stock. They are a thicker spring and provide for a firmer ride.

Once I got the right forks back together I did the left forks. As you can see there are alot of parts to the left fork on this bike. And this is without the small piston that is still in the lower part of the fork. It was a small miracle when that finally came out.

Once I got the forks back together I installed them and then took the bike for a test ride. I have put about 200 miles on the upgrade and I must say I am very very happy. The old springs gave you no sense of comfort during an aggressive stop. The new forks are great and much more firm. I didn't drain much fluid out of the forks, so I am guessing they were fairly low compared to the spec's for the forks.

I also replaced the fork fluid with Mobile 1 ATF instead of standard ATF. I have read it has similar viscosity properties to a 10-weight fork oil, but is much more stable being a full synthetic. I am glad anyway as the ride is more firm and since I am a heavier rider it makes a big difference. I think the next mod will be the Progressive Suspension series rear springs and shocks.

On a final note I have received my parts back from the powder coater, and they look amazing. I will post some pic's when I get a chance. You have to see the brake calipers - unbelievable.

Thanks, Y'all

Craig