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Well its back and I have spent more than a few hours doing the bits and pieces that needed doing that were irritating me.
First things first. When I got her, she was rough. She ran rough, the clutch was slipping ( which I knew ) and the brakes……………mmm what brakes. She also liked to spew fuel all over the garage floor when no one was looking.
We had a run , did some 50 gentle miles with half a tank of fresh 99 ron to see if anything would improve. For 35 miles she coughed and spluttered. Everytime we stoped she would spew fuel out of the overflow. The brakes, well they were still non existent. This wont do. So I booked her in to slipstream who are very familiar with these bikes to have the clutch done and see if we could get the running right.
3 weeks later and this is what she has required so far. New clutch. No dramas found there. The fuel leaking stopped just as quickly as it started. I think it was a sticking float in one of the carbs and a few weeks soaked in fresh 99 ron did the trick. There was a bolt missing on the generator cover, the lower one. I was hoping it would have just fallen out , but it was not the case. Turns out someone has broken the original bolt in there, then tried to drill it out and snapped the drill bit. They then left it. Fortune smiled on us, it took 3 and a half hours to get it out but out it came with the threads intact. One new bolt from Honda back in its rightfull place and it looks better.
The exhaust was removed, all joints cleaned and re-assembled using ratchet straps to pull the joints together. It now has the correct gap between the exhaust and the fairing which should stop any more damage.
Now the fun began with the brakes. The reason the brakes were non existent was because they were seized. I have to be honest, her last owner sold her because he said he was getting a bit old and it was hard work riding her. I am not surprised. I bent the lever trying to get her to stop. So new pistons , seals & HH sintered pads were ordered and all 3 calipers were rebuilt. Then the issues started. I don’t think the brake fluid had been changed for 29 years. Trying to bleed the front brake was a mission and a half and the front master cylinder was blown. New ones are not available, so a rebuild kit was ordered along with a new lever. After a day cursing and swearing we have brakes. The back brake is good and locking up the rear isn’t difficult now. The fronts leave a little to be desired still . Is it me used to modern brakes ? Who knows. The lever is better and I will do a few more miles then bleed them again in the hope that any air trapped has finally been disloged.
So that was that. Yesterday I did some 100 miles. We started gently for the first 50, after all she is of a certain vintage. At some 23 K on the clock, she should be well run in and the next 50 miles were spend riding in a spirited fashion. I am not sure I am ready to enter the TT, but have to say I have been pleasantly surprised how easy it is to ride at pace. Everything got a good clear out and the you can almost hear her laughing at me as the needle touches 10,000 Rpm before the next gear is called upon. All in all it was a very enjoyable way to spend a saturday afternoon.
Next on the agenda is the bodywork. The 3 ” eyes ” that hold the lower fairing to the top fairing have stretched a little over the years and so the lower fairing sags just a tad at the front which just irritates me. Most people would leave it but I would like to get it fixed , so if anyone can give a good recomendation to me, where to send the bodywork for repairs and a repaint I am all ears. After that, the gold covers will need a repaint and that will be it. She is in great shape and the rest of it is unbelievably good for a 29 year old bike and will be left alone.I spent 4 hours todat cleaning………………think its all come out rather well.
I am trying to post some pictures for you to see how i’ve got on so far.
Regards,
Nat.
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All clean and tidy.
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Looks good from a distance.
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Black chrome still looking good.
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New reservoir. All the internals are new as is the lever.
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All new reservoir and fluid. 100 % better now.
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Indicators are now straight.
The old girl looks superb Nat. Keep up the good work with her.
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