Full Service - advice needed

[Elbad]

Hi there,

I bought my NC30 a few months ago, and its in great condition, but as I'm not sure on its history, and I'm not convinced its been serviced too recently (It is after all 20 years old), I've decided to service it. And service it myself.

My experience thus far in mechanics has been limited to changing brake disks on a car, and... well, thats about it.

So with manuals in hand (Honda manuals incl. Common Service Manual) I decided to give it a go. Lets start with current symtpoms:

• Speedo started jumping around recently, and then packed up altogether.

• I'm noticing a bit of a vibration while driving I never noticed before.

• The bike doesnt feel as fast as when I bought it. Or I may have just gotten used to its speed...

So far, I've stripped the bike of all panels and gas tank, and I've bought :

• 4 x New Spark Plugs

• 3l 10w40 Motorbike Oil (Semi-synthetic)

• 1 x Feul Filter

• 1 x Oil Filter

• 400ml DOT4 Brake Fluid

My plan is to drain all the current oil and brake fluid, and replace. I'm still getting a new Air Filter to replace, as well as replace the other filters.

Right now I'm only focusing on the engine area - brake pads can be done anytime (i.e. dont need to strip the bike for them, though if they're worn, they will be replaced too).

As far as the speedo, the top side of the cable seems fine (still square). The inner cable doesn't seem broken. I cant get the bottom part out. There are 3 screws there - 1 where the cable seems to connect (This screw I've managed to strip, so its not coming out without a fight), and 2 connecting the 'unit' (Not sure what it is that connects the cable to the bike at the bottom) to the bike. Can I just unscrew this 'unit' to get at the speedo cable bottom end? Or should I leave this alone entirely?

My thinking at the moment is, I only feel confident doing the above. However, I feel like now is also the perfect time to do things such as valve clearance, carbs synching, but I have no idea even where to start. Is this something I should attempt (I only have normal tools - nothing special), or should I rather leave it?

I noticed the stickies about 'valve clearance' and 'carbs jetting'. Is jetting the same as synching? Or are they different things altogether?

I've taken pics of everything I've done so far, and everything I will do still, so should anyone be as novice as me, they can use it to their advantage. Let me know your thoughts guys.

Cheers.

[Drunkn Munky]

Well done mate your on the right lines already, i say that because you havent given in and taken in to a mechanics shop which would most likely lead to more grief and a empty wallet.

And top marks for already spoting the stickys relating to valve clearences and carb setup, read them and digest them fully and and your be a V4 god in no time. Also worth doing are the electrical and charging system checks, all covered here and in the haynes manual.

The valve clearances are a little tricky first time you do them but if your mechanically minded you should be fine. Carb syncing is not the same as carb setup although syncing is part of the setup it shouldnt be confussed. Grab your self some new carb rubbers before you start to make life easier.

Get some pics up of what youve done so far and were have it sorted in no time, and remember when starting the bike, full choke and NO throttle. Follow that to the letter or your be going through plugs like hot dinners.

[mattUKNC]

^^ what he said. ^^

+ depending on what's been done before, it's never a bad idea to service those forks.

[Elbad]

So if I follow the carb jetting sticky, my carbs should be synch'd aswell?

Ideally, I'd like to run through all the steps in the Honda Service manual for the VFR. (I dont have the Hanynes 1 yet - I was told the free Honda manual(s) should more more than sufficient.

[Drunkn Munky]

You can roughly set the vacume(syncing) by eye with the carbs off but to get them spot on your need a carb balancer (not expensive) and again im sure theres a guide on here which covers carb balancing, it may not be a sticky tho but it'll be in the V4 workshop section.

With regard to your clocks ive never had that problem but id check the plastic speedo drive on the front sprocket to see if thats broken first. As it was an intermitant problem at first and then got worse suggests to me something has worn then broke and my moneys on the plastic drive.

[Elbad]

...id check the plastic speedo drive on the front sprocket...

I've read that in some posts here before. Unfortunately though, lets pretend, for arguments, sake I didn't know where or what the front sprocket was, and what the plastic speedo drive was? Is that the inside of the speedo guage where the speedo cable connects to?

[Elbad]

Nevermind...I'm being an idiot. Took a step back and realised immediately what you meant lol. I was thinking there was a small plastic sprocket somewhere for the speedo...

[Elbad]

Oh, and should I attempt the carb jets / balancing / valve clearance with my current knowledge and experience?

Can any monkey do it with the guides above? Also I dont have a carb balancer, so should I try it by eye, or just leave it?

[Elbad]

Sorry if I'm asking too much, but these questions pop up as I read through the manuals and take apart more and more of the bike...

Do I need any special tool to get the oil filter off? The manual talks about an Oil Filter Wrench?

Does the air filter have a paper element, or a viscous paper? I havent been able to find a replacement filter at any shop thus far, and the manual says I cant clean the viscous paper element.

Also, the fuel filter - is that attached to the tap under the petrol tank? I have the tank off, but couldnt see where the fuel filter was - then again I didnt look properly as I thought it would still be on the bike.

Coming by these things is not so easy here in South Africa. No-one has stock of these parts (tank rubbers, fan switch, air filter...). One of the bike shop places even looked at me a a bit funny when I asked about a carb balancer (Manometer I think its called), telling me I should leave that to the professionals. And buying online, takes some time, with my bike standing naked outside...

[hardnutdvd]

you can use a special tool but if you dont have one you can use a screwdriver...
drain all the oil from the sump and puncture the oil filter with the screwdriver....stabbing it once. if possible get one long enough to come out the other side, then use this to undo the filter by turning slowly... it is a bit messy but has work on cars for me in the past

not sure about the fuel filter but you can check this parts guide for info
http://akhara.com/nc30/nc30parts/index.htm

http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-vfr400_model1258/

i believe balancing the carbs is a lot less work than the valve clearances. you can google Morgan Carbtune for details on buying a balancer.
spares are available from wemoto or davidsilver websites