Cosmetic Mayham, Mechanical Bliss
07-26-2008 | 08:55 AM
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Joined: Jul 2008
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From: Kentucky
Cosmetic Mayham, Mechanical Bliss
This is a rebuild thread of the F3 I purchased last winter. Fun project that's not done. I've got plans for this winter after riding season shortens up. When I can't ride the Superhawk I like to wrench. Hope you enjoy.
I'm the new owner of this ugly puppy. Picture is after loading it on the trailer at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky Saturday.
It's a 1996 CBR600. Except for a blown right front fork seal the bike is in great mechanical shape. Cosmetic mess.
After stripdown, two rounds of engine degreaser, three rounds of simple green, and one wash job it now looks like this:
The bike has to weigh at least 15 pounds less with the loss of all the dirt, bugs and grease. I think it was last washed in 1997.
The side fairings, engine covers and front fender are in the trash. It did get a fresh oil filter and oil change after the pic.
Called Monday and asked what I needed to transfer an out of state title. Although I had already done my homework as far as title signed and a Ky Transfer form filled out and stamped by a notary, I mainly wanted to know about the inspection. "No problem, they will check the VIN and the odo reading to make sure they match." Okay, all that's good to go.
Fast forward to this morning. I'd already taken the battery out, hung the key on the workbench, pulled the nosepiece which contains the light and turn signals. Anyway, at 9:30 AM it goes like this:
Hi, I want to get a title transferred.
"Okay, go over to the other office. They transfer there."
shuffle...shuffle... Hi, I want to get a title transferred.
"You need to have them inspect it first at the office you just came from."
shuffle...shuffle....The lady over there said you need to inspect it first.
"Oh, that's right. Yesterday was election day and I'm real tired. Now just ride the bike around to inspection parking."
It's on a trailer.
"Then it has to be able to start. Will it start?"
No, the lady Monday said all you need to do is check VIN and odo.
"No, it has to be just as it is intended to ride on the street."
I've got no battery, no key, no light or signals.
"Let me get the sheriff's deputy."
Dep - "What you need?"
I go through the whole story again. He says let's take a look. We walk out to the truck and he's real quiet. Then he says "I used to have one of these. Blah, blah, blah."
15 minutes pass. I hear about every bike he's ever owned, where he's ridden, how he just bought a new GoldWing, etc.
The title is transferred. He never even looked at the VIN or the odo.
Some progress. Down to frame, motor, dash and clipons:
Full Micron system came off pretty easy. Needs some serious cleaining.
Not much has changed from the picture. The valves checked out within spec. One exhaust valve was .001" tight, but within spec. Had something that has never happened before, and probably never will again. I pulled the plug on the side of the motor to rotate the crank, and low and behold the "T" mark and cam index marks were lined up perfectly for the first set of valves to be checked.
Changed the plugs. I don't think Autolite plugs were original equipment.
Got some nice NGKs in there now.
Most everything is stripped down and has been cleaned. I've thrown away one pair of clothes, and the second will stand up on their own. Still have to strip the wheels, tank and disassemble the forks. I'm starting to seperate stuff into piles of paint order. Pictures don't do justice as to how filthy this thing was. There are pieces I thought were painted black, only to discover they just hadn't been cleaned since leaving Japan.
$392 parts order picked up at the dealer yesterday. FYI, $392 worth of parts can be carried out to your truck in one plastic bag.
Bike is stripped. Gauges and triples removed. Solo seat now.
Fork tubes and steering head bearings torn down.
Some parts already painted.
Had a bad rear wheel bearing. Removed and a new one on order.
Wheels stripped and ready for paint.
I'm going to build this thing once and ride it, probably all next season, and figure out some stuff. Then next year it will probably come down again for a final frame grind/powder, and a final powder/paint on some parts. I've got to figure out what spots of the frame I want to keep and which ones I want to get rid of, and a final paint scheme.
Still have to build it up to a point, strip the tank, and then figure out some front/rear stuff.
Some assembly should begin soon.
Wheels painted:
I had an exhaust hanger bracket broken, so I grabbed a welder from work:
I've been busy with some other things lately, but have managed to get some time in on the bike.
Tore down the shock linkage and relubed all the bearings. Oh look, beer and a latex glove!
Front and rear rubber mounted and rotors on:
Off to the races. Put them in the freezer and heat the neck before installation:
I changed it over to tapered bearings for the steering stem. HondaJim likes:
Again, heat the bearing race with a heat gun and put the stem in the freezer. Makes installation much easier.
The rear end is coming along:
The chain is now cut to lengh and installed. I also got the new air filters installed and most of the airbox installed. Next up is fork rebuild.
Stripper!
Took a couple of shots. The dude had primed over the top of the decals and factory paint.
Stripped down:
Primed, then sanded.
Tank painted. Two shots primer with sanding, three shots black, three shots clear. I need to let it set for about a week then put the gas cap and decals on it.
Right side of bike.
Pretty much back together. Steering head bearings went in fine. Painted the valve cover and got it back on.
Brakes on and both systems bled. New brake pads all around. Cables lubed. Electronics on the subframe (ECU and relay) moved to the tool area of the battery box. Clamps for those are ground off the frame and painted over. Radiator and all hosing back on. I filled the system with what I had, but I'm about a half quart low. Need to pick some more up Wednesday.
Exhaust on, and I ground the passenger footpeg off of the exhaust hanger bracket. Put spiral duct wrap over some of the wiring on the right side. Have more to do but I want to get the front end sorted a little more.
Removed the weights from the clip ons and filled with lead shot. Installed bar end mirrors.
The fairing stay bracket and the gauges are temporarily mounted. I'm about ready to start sorting out the front and rear end. Not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I wanted the bike at this point so I could focus on those.
Backed the F3 out and checked tire pressure, fed it some fuel, put the battery in and checked the lights. Cranked for about 10 seconds and lit off. Did a walk around and noticed the low beam is out. It was working before, so I guess all the handling took it out. Added that to the list.
Put 81 miles on the thing. It's loud and a blast. Handled and ran great. Took a little time to get comfortable on a new rear tire at 50 degrees outside. Filled it up before I brought it back home and put some Stabil in.
The copper crush washer on the antifreeze drain bolt on the water pump has a drip leak. I noticed it when I got home. This is the bolt I removed to drain the antifreeze, so I guess I need to do a washer swap. I'll try to get that ordered this coming week.
It was a pretty uneventful shakedown fun. I think I'm going to love this thing. This is just phase I. I need to ride it and see where I go from here. I really think handlebars may be in the distant future for this thing.
Here's a pic halfway thru my ride to Frankfort and back.
I've put a few thousand miles on the bike since this writeup. It's a real nice backroad ripper. I had a leak on the cam chain tensioner gasket and a small leak on the washer for the antifreeze drain plug. Got those taken care of. About time to start lining up the winter list of things to do soon so I can start gathering parts.
I'm the new owner of this ugly puppy. Picture is after loading it on the trailer at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky Saturday.
It's a 1996 CBR600. Except for a blown right front fork seal the bike is in great mechanical shape. Cosmetic mess.
After stripdown, two rounds of engine degreaser, three rounds of simple green, and one wash job it now looks like this:
The bike has to weigh at least 15 pounds less with the loss of all the dirt, bugs and grease. I think it was last washed in 1997.
The side fairings, engine covers and front fender are in the trash. It did get a fresh oil filter and oil change after the pic.
Called Monday and asked what I needed to transfer an out of state title. Although I had already done my homework as far as title signed and a Ky Transfer form filled out and stamped by a notary, I mainly wanted to know about the inspection. "No problem, they will check the VIN and the odo reading to make sure they match." Okay, all that's good to go.
Fast forward to this morning. I'd already taken the battery out, hung the key on the workbench, pulled the nosepiece which contains the light and turn signals. Anyway, at 9:30 AM it goes like this:
Hi, I want to get a title transferred.
"Okay, go over to the other office. They transfer there."
shuffle...shuffle... Hi, I want to get a title transferred.
"You need to have them inspect it first at the office you just came from."
shuffle...shuffle....The lady over there said you need to inspect it first.
"Oh, that's right. Yesterday was election day and I'm real tired. Now just ride the bike around to inspection parking."
It's on a trailer.
"Then it has to be able to start. Will it start?"
No, the lady Monday said all you need to do is check VIN and odo.
"No, it has to be just as it is intended to ride on the street."
I've got no battery, no key, no light or signals.
"Let me get the sheriff's deputy."
Dep - "What you need?"
I go through the whole story again. He says let's take a look. We walk out to the truck and he's real quiet. Then he says "I used to have one of these. Blah, blah, blah."
15 minutes pass. I hear about every bike he's ever owned, where he's ridden, how he just bought a new GoldWing, etc.
The title is transferred. He never even looked at the VIN or the odo.
Some progress. Down to frame, motor, dash and clipons:
Full Micron system came off pretty easy. Needs some serious cleaining.
Not much has changed from the picture. The valves checked out within spec. One exhaust valve was .001" tight, but within spec. Had something that has never happened before, and probably never will again. I pulled the plug on the side of the motor to rotate the crank, and low and behold the "T" mark and cam index marks were lined up perfectly for the first set of valves to be checked.
Changed the plugs. I don't think Autolite plugs were original equipment.
Got some nice NGKs in there now.Most everything is stripped down and has been cleaned. I've thrown away one pair of clothes, and the second will stand up on their own. Still have to strip the wheels, tank and disassemble the forks. I'm starting to seperate stuff into piles of paint order. Pictures don't do justice as to how filthy this thing was. There are pieces I thought were painted black, only to discover they just hadn't been cleaned since leaving Japan.
$392 parts order picked up at the dealer yesterday. FYI, $392 worth of parts can be carried out to your truck in one plastic bag.
Bike is stripped. Gauges and triples removed. Solo seat now.
Fork tubes and steering head bearings torn down.
Some parts already painted.
Had a bad rear wheel bearing. Removed and a new one on order.
Wheels stripped and ready for paint.
I'm going to build this thing once and ride it, probably all next season, and figure out some stuff. Then next year it will probably come down again for a final frame grind/powder, and a final powder/paint on some parts. I've got to figure out what spots of the frame I want to keep and which ones I want to get rid of, and a final paint scheme.
Still have to build it up to a point, strip the tank, and then figure out some front/rear stuff.
Some assembly should begin soon.
Wheels painted:
I had an exhaust hanger bracket broken, so I grabbed a welder from work:
I've been busy with some other things lately, but have managed to get some time in on the bike.
Tore down the shock linkage and relubed all the bearings. Oh look, beer and a latex glove!
Front and rear rubber mounted and rotors on:
Off to the races. Put them in the freezer and heat the neck before installation:
I changed it over to tapered bearings for the steering stem. HondaJim likes:
Again, heat the bearing race with a heat gun and put the stem in the freezer. Makes installation much easier.
The rear end is coming along:
The chain is now cut to lengh and installed. I also got the new air filters installed and most of the airbox installed. Next up is fork rebuild.
Stripper!
Took a couple of shots. The dude had primed over the top of the decals and factory paint.
Stripped down:
Primed, then sanded.
Tank painted. Two shots primer with sanding, three shots black, three shots clear. I need to let it set for about a week then put the gas cap and decals on it.
Right side of bike.
Pretty much back together. Steering head bearings went in fine. Painted the valve cover and got it back on.
Brakes on and both systems bled. New brake pads all around. Cables lubed. Electronics on the subframe (ECU and relay) moved to the tool area of the battery box. Clamps for those are ground off the frame and painted over. Radiator and all hosing back on. I filled the system with what I had, but I'm about a half quart low. Need to pick some more up Wednesday.
Exhaust on, and I ground the passenger footpeg off of the exhaust hanger bracket. Put spiral duct wrap over some of the wiring on the right side. Have more to do but I want to get the front end sorted a little more.
Removed the weights from the clip ons and filled with lead shot. Installed bar end mirrors.
The fairing stay bracket and the gauges are temporarily mounted. I'm about ready to start sorting out the front and rear end. Not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I wanted the bike at this point so I could focus on those.
Backed the F3 out and checked tire pressure, fed it some fuel, put the battery in and checked the lights. Cranked for about 10 seconds and lit off. Did a walk around and noticed the low beam is out. It was working before, so I guess all the handling took it out. Added that to the list.
Put 81 miles on the thing. It's loud and a blast. Handled and ran great. Took a little time to get comfortable on a new rear tire at 50 degrees outside. Filled it up before I brought it back home and put some Stabil in.
The copper crush washer on the antifreeze drain bolt on the water pump has a drip leak. I noticed it when I got home. This is the bolt I removed to drain the antifreeze, so I guess I need to do a washer swap. I'll try to get that ordered this coming week.
It was a pretty uneventful shakedown fun. I think I'm going to love this thing. This is just phase I. I need to ride it and see where I go from here. I really think handlebars may be in the distant future for this thing.
Here's a pic halfway thru my ride to Frankfort and back.
I've put a few thousand miles on the bike since this writeup. It's a real nice backroad ripper. I had a leak on the cam chain tensioner gasket and a small leak on the washer for the antifreeze drain plug. Got those taken care of. About time to start lining up the winter list of things to do soon so I can start gathering parts.
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