Tanto's New Redhead

[tanto]

While waiting for the big parts to arrive from the UK, this week has been mostly one or two hours each evening, and half an hour in the morning, spent getting small things done on the bike:

- Took the passenger footrests to Ricoh, the local powder-coater. They came back looking new with a semi-gloss black finish. Perfect. Took off the rear shock reservoir hanger and the can hanger, to be powder-coated to match. While purists might disagree, by turning the can hanger black, the silencer will look like it's self-supported which, I think, will improve the lines of the bike.

- Note to self, powder-coat the Al. rear sub-frame the same semi-gloss black, after it's fabricated.

- While at Ricoh, noticed some after-market adjustable clutch & brake levers. Choice of silver or black. Silver wasn't finished as well, and the Ricoh guy said the black had a better, harder finish. New levers were way down on the priority list, but seeing as they only had one pair, at just 400 baht each (GBP8ea. compared to GBP25 + del. from HK) I bought them. If, like me, you like to ride with two fingers on the clutch and brake at all times, you need adjustable levers unless your fingers are longer than Edward Sissorhands.

The clutch lever fitted, no problem.

Honda brake levers, it turns out, have two fittings. On the NC30, the adjustable brake lever requires an adapter to maintain it's position within the brake perch. No problem, a couple of washers would do as a temp. solution, and Ricoh supplied an Al. adapter when I picked up the passenger foot rests. The trouble was, there's a discrepancy between the shape of the lever adapter where it should touch, and therefore turn-off, the rear brake light switch. And here we come to a further difference. Most Honda brake perches include some level of adjustment so that the brake light switch had be swivelled forward or back on it's mounting bolt. Not so with the NC30. In this case, the brake lever fitting requires an additional 2.57mm to activate the brake switch reliably. Note to self, how much will it cost to machine a new brake lever fitting, 2.5mm longer? (Thinks, if I go down this route, perhaps it could include a channel for a tiny bearing race... )



Note to others: DANGER! Be very careful if you fit after-market levers which require an adapter or washers to attain the correct height on the brake pivot screw. The design is not fail-safe. Should your adapter wear with use, it's soft aluminum after all, it is possible the height of the brake lever could fall 1mm+ whereupon it may come into contact with the brake perch itself, rather than push the brake piston in the master cylinder. If this happens, you would have NO FRONT BRAKES. Of course, this sort of thing only happens at those high-G moments when you need the brakes most... Be careful out there.

- Polished the Al. silencer bracket with Wenol while watching TV. Shiny, but not mirror finish. It really needs a coat of lacquer to hold back oxidation. Note to self, find a local polisher.

- Measured the front brake discs; 3.4mm. They are marked 3.5mm min., while the service manual gives a limit of 3.3mm. Emailed UK supplier for discs. Researched braided lines, like the Venhill's rotating bolt design. The caliper piston seals are expensive! Should I wait to disassemble the calipers before ordering new seals? Noted the master cylinder could do with an overhaul (cost c.GBP30).

- Measured the rear brake disc; 4.8mm. Service limit 5mm. A new disc is around GBP120. Found a second hand NC30 rear disc in town for 1500 baht (asking price!) (GBP30). Need to measure it in the shop before purchase. Brakes are next month's job.

- Removed the scruffy old chain-guard for access to the chain slider. Created a new chain slider out of an old bicycle tyre. Cost 0 baht. Time 30 mins.

- Replaced yet more old bolts and nuts with SS fittings.

[karl BKK]

[quote="tanto"]...and bolts, too.

[img]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3676 ... edbolt.jpg[/img]

The humidity in Thailand, usually 65-85%, concentrates one's mind when it comes to corrosion issues. So far, I must have replaced about forty original bolts and nuts with A2 stainless steel bolts, nuts, & spring washers. Good OCD therapy!

(For the observant, the background is the inside of a Forcefield hip protector. For the OCD crowd, Canon 5D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, exposure f/4.5 & 1/30s at ISO800 with no flash.)[/quote]

I'm guessing the need for 800iso was down to the camera being handheld
I'm well into my cameras too Tanto, what else do with have in common apart from both living in Thailand, both having VFRs of which have similar fairings, both having tasty cameras and i bet gf's too :D

[karl BKK]

I have also seen many bikes here in Thailand wearing just an adjustable clutch lever and sporting a standard front brake lever, i too would be skeptical about the quality / precision of such generic parts. :S
Great read and if you order any more performance parts from over seas do let me know as i might just keep the VFR a while longer :)

[tanto]

tasty cameras and i bet gf's too :D

My wife said, "No mia noi's!", so I bought an NC30 instead... (sorry, Thai joke).

And, yeah, no tripod. Who would bother with a tripod to photograph a bolt? You saying I have OCD?

if you order any more performance parts from over seas do let me know as i might just keep the VFR a while longer :)

Too late! 6kg of parts on it's way... But I'm still trying to track down some bearings.

Karl, you wouldn't happen to have come across the SKF bearing shop in BKK, would you?

Just light jobs completed today; zip-tied the leading edge of the "new" chain slider, which will have to do until such time as the screw in the swingarm closest to the rear shock spring decides to loosen. Or, I get the swingarm off.

Cleaned said swingarm; soldered connectors on the mirror LED wires (forgotten item); wet'n'dry'd the red'n'dried, caked-on silca that had coated the exhaust pipes behind the right-foot heat-shield; tracked down and retrieved the source of smoke that rose from the rear of the engine while the bike was warming up - the other end of the original plastic coolant pipe; and polished the Honda badge on the upper yoke. I hope the badge can be masked off when it comes to powder-coating.

A quiet Sunday.

[karl BKK]

I haven't personally been to any bearing shops but i had, wheel bearings, headstock bearings, rear caliper bushes / sliders and swing arm bearings replaced by my favorite shop in BKK (near Seacon Square) I'll ask them what the name of the company is they use.
What bearings are you after??

As for OCD, ummmm maybe i have it worse than i though i did. I once used my carbon Sherpa Pro tripod to photograph water drops from the kitchen tap and to photograph all my Snap-On tools before moving to Thailand...... The tools needed the tripod as there were 100's of things to sell, so i just used the remote release to photograph each item i placed under the 50mm prime lens :D.................... Ok back on Topic........ lol

[tanto]

One week on, and child care has eaten this week's bike time. Not to worry, as most tasks are "in process", if not under the spanner.

• The first batch of parts is due to arrive tomorrow. Thanks, DHL.
• The second batch of parts, inc. the chain adjuster/rear hub unit, is due to arrive next week. Thanks, Mum!
• The third batch of small parts, inc. brake seals, are due to be ordered from DS tomorrow. I just need to check if there's anything else to add to the order.

Found a good bearing shop in Chiang Mai who have plenty of stock, and who will order any bearings they don't have from Bangkok within 24 hours. Boxes of Nachi, NSK, & NTN bearings sit on my desk. Oil seals, too. Dust seals are harder to find.

Snagged a complete set of Goodridge stainless steel brake lines for the front and rear calipers at half price thanks to a promo deal at BikeHPS.com. Not only were the lines a steal, Giles Harwood at BikeHPS was a pleasure to deal with, and he's happy to post to Thailand.

Once the parts have arrived, the order of battle is:

• Head bearings: Remove old headstock bearings, fit new ones. Quicker said, than done. On stand-by with the freezer, 2000 wet'n'dry, gas blow torch, & a length of rigid PVC tube.
• Forks: Overhaul forks & fit Rick Oliver spring kit.
• Rear Shock: Remove original 1992 Showa shock, post to specialist in BKK to service, and re-fit. Service rear shock linkage w. new bearings. Assess the most feasible way of raising rear suspension 15mm (NC35 linkage, or weld length to shock, or weld & drill lower shock linkage).
• Swing-arm: While the shock's out, remove the swingarm, fit new bearings, and re-fit. Kinda worried it's going to be a b*stard to do without removing the exhaust system. Fit the new (secondhand) chain-adjuster into the rear of the swingarm, together with new rear axle bearings.
• Brakes. Fit new front discs, new brake lines, new brake pads, new brake fluid reservoir to front, and swap out rear reservoir to race style clear tube, substituting HRC clear hose with Tygon 2075/2375 Ultra Chemical Resistant Tubing.

While the front fairing is off there are a few jobs to do; clean the lower rad., powder-coat upper and lower yokes, powder-coat the front fairing support (or substitute with an Al. one), and powder-coat the bar fittings. Swap the steel bars (640g. each!) with alloy bars.

As aluminum fabrication is relatively inexpensive in Thailand there are a number of good uses it can be put to; the front fairing support frame, a better brake lever adapter, and a light, fitted version of the under-seat mudguard/cover, extended to cover the CBR600 regulator that's bolted to the battery box. A made-to-measure aluminum rear sub-frame would be good, too. Perhaps later, when the important jobs have been done.

Bought a Taurus 3000 immobilizer off 'Evil bay for a tenner. The idea is to remove the ignition key assembly & use the kill switch for ignition, and to add the immobilizer with transponder key. Then add a GPS tracker so if the bike is nicked, there's a reasonable chance of getting it back. In Thailand, bikes are either ridden away, or thrown in the back of the ubiquitous pick-up (Thailand is the world's second biggest market for pick-up trucks, after the USofA). Better security, less weight.

[tanto]

[*]Rear Shock: Remove original 1992 Showa shock, post to specialist in BKK to service, and re-fit. Service rear shock linkage w. new bearings. Assess the most feasible way of raising rear suspension 15mm (NC35 linkage, or weld length to shock, or weld & drill lower shock linkage).

While liberally applying WD40 to the rear shock linkage bolts, I looked up and noticed the rear shock didn't look entirely standard. Compared it to some photos on eBay. Good news. The top bolt fitting has been cut and re-welded to add circa 10mm. Accounting for the rear suspension geometry, I believe that should add 35mm height to the rear. That saves a job.



And, DHL delivered the first package of goodies mid-afternoon.

[Josh312]

where did you get ure mirrors from i like the look of them apart from the carbon fiber

[tanto]

where did you get ure mirrors from i like the look of them apart from the carbon fiber

"HONDA CBR600RR CBR600 RR CARBON FIBER LED MIRRORS" from the eBay.co.uk seller 3bbbmotors. You'll find quite a selection of parts in their eBay "shop". They do the mirrors in plain black, too.

BTW, double-check you get the right fitting for your bike. If you have an NC30 fairing, you will need mirrors that fit the 30mm (c. to c.) NC30 mirror bracket hole spacing. My mirrors fit my CBR600RR fairing, not a standard NC30 fairing.

[karl BKK]

Impressive delivery, but WD40????
That can be bought at most shops here in Thailand mate :)
Loctite, i haven't seen that any where, rather worrying really when you considering how many shops build / repair bikes with out it :S