Is It Worth 500 Bucks?

As I was browsing the c-list today, I have stumbled upon a 92 in a "project" or "take over payments" state.

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According to the seller:

No major crashes

Plastics are all there

Headlight is missing

Engine turns over but does not start due to an "electrical issue". He bought it as a project and never saw the engine running...

Clear title

The bike seat for a year under a tarp

It's just over an hour's drive for me each way

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So,

What y'all think?

Is it worth 500 bucks?

The rear wheel alone sells for $250-$300 most of the time.

$400.00

wera803

The rear wheel alone sells for $250-$300 most of the time.

Yeah. I know. That's what I told the guy. I only really need the rear wheel, but am willing to overpay for a potential project down the road, when I get bored.

If the plastics are good (not cracked, tabs intact), there's probably a 3rd gen owner that would give their right arm for them. The V&H slipon should also be an easy sell. You could probably sell them and maybe a few other bits and have the 8 spoke for free.

What Cogswell said!

How large is your garage/back garden

and

How blind/forgiving is your wife?

:goofy:

man, that thing has been for sale for 6 months!

Buy it, sally

Did ya buy it yet?

I would only buy it If I thought I could make a profit on the wheel, exhaust, and plastics. That way if worse comes to worse and the repairs become too much, I could recoup my investment.

Cogswell

If the plastics are good (not cracked, tabs intact), there's probably a 3rd gen owner that would give their right arm for them. The V&H slipon should also be an easy sell. You could probably sell them and maybe a few other bits and have the 8 spoke for free.

Don't know about condition of plastics, but by the looks of it, it's nothing that can't be repaired with some Plastifix if push comes to shove.

This is a good story though, which I can use to justify the purchase :wink:

In reality though, I will prolly want to see it restored if not too much work is involved.

Dutchy

How large is your garage/back garden

and

How blind/forgiving is your wife?

:goofy:

I do have room for it in my garage.

The wife though is neither of those things :unsure:

timmythecop

Buy it, sally

I will, but only because YOU told me so. This makes it YOUR fault. :goofy:

Expect a visit from my wife. She wields a mean guilt trip.

BRad704

Did ya buy it yet?

Exchanged texts with the owner. Going to pick it up on Sunday.

To be continued...

Original asking price was 1000. The owner told me that he's been receiving a bunch of offers the highest of which was 600, but most - 500.

I told him that that's because it's not worth more than 500, which is what I honestly believe based on all the info I got.

P.S. I don't expect to make a profit on it. The only reason I am going for it is to have a potential project and because I always loved how these bikes look in white. Don't think that it will do much riding under me, since the 6th gen I have now is a better handler.

Just remember, your friendly Motorcycle Rescue Shelter is only a phone call away.

YoshiHNS

Just remember, your friendly Motorcycle Rescue Shelter is only a phone call away.

and we have room.............

Hey!

I haven't even bought it yet.

Quit circling :mad:

I am beginning to feel like a kid before Christmas :bliss:

Haven't spent a dime yet and the bike is already paying dividends

gll465 Has been providing lots of great tips, which I greatly appreciate - Keep'em coming!

Love this community :wub:

"Don't do drugs"

"If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably not and you should go for it immediately"

Brought it home yesterday.

As always, every adventure is... An adventure :wacko:

It's been an hour and a half drive to the seller's place, mostly highway. Right as I got off the highway, I got stuck at the traffic light and noticed that my A/C is blowing hot air. Quick glance at the temp gauge confirmed that I was about to overheat. I turn onto a residential street that headed towards a gas station, but got stuck in a standstill traffic due to an accident ahead. Great. Just what I need.

Since the gas station was 1/2 a block ahead, I jumped onto the oncoming lane and made it in just in time to notice the PO at the scene giving me a dirty look.

Opened the hood and discovered that my trusty Flex-a-lite e-fan controller, which I've had for 4 years has given up ghost.

With the help of some wire cutters, I bypassed the controller and hooked up the fans directly to the battery.

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Back in business.

After finalizing the deal with the seller, he helped me load the bike and all the extras. We got to talking and as it turns out, someone I know locally has been trying to buy this same bike a few month ago, but the deal fell through.

Here are some of my back home pictures.

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The inventory of plastics. Looots of work there, but it can be done.

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I couldn't resist doing the initial vital checks.

After hooking up my battery, the dash came to life

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Now, is the engine turning? The oil was pristinely clean, as was the antifreeze. Still, I decided to turn it by hand firs, just in case.

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The first attempt resulted in a very unpleasant scratching noise coming from what I thing was the forward cylinder bank (I could be wrong here). Almost felt like the piston was trying to overcome rust.

I then removed plugs, which were all in good order showing just the right amount of soot and sprayed some wd40 in all cylinders. After a few minutes, the motor turned over w/o any(much) drama. I am hoping here for this particular problem to just heal itself once I get it running.

Next came the air box and what I was almost sure, a mouse house.

But, a pleasant surprise awaited. Not only was the mouse not in residence, but there was a very serviceable K&N filter.

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The venturi's (?) were perfectly clean w/o any signs of dirt or rust.

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All good news so far. :cheerleader:

Then it was time to check out electrics.

All fuses are intact.

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One is missing (either turn signal or headlight), couple are incorrect, but it's a start.

The rectum fryer is fried as expected.

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The starter relay and its plugs are toast as well. Probably.

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I was able to turn the motor with the starter bypassing this minor disaster.

Below is something that was a blessing in disguise.

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Someone had cut the fuel line to the pump as part of long-term storage maintenance.

You wana know how to prep your bike for the winter? That's how it's done, kids.

And I sure was thankful to whomever done it, 'coz the tank was perfectly clean inside. This was an unexpected bonus. I was honestly preparing myself for dealing with muriatic acid and POR15. Not something I'd choose to do for fun.

But before I could make that discovery, I had to get the tank opened first.

The key that works in the ignition does not fit the tank or the helmet lock - Seat lock is missing.

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The next picture portrays violence and mutilation.

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But the tank is open

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Right now, I am drying the tank after the wash down.

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My next steps will be to get the beastie running and rolling under its own power.

Cosmetics will have to wait until winter. I tend to have more patience to tinker with sanding and painting when I got nothing better to do.

I assume it was completely empty of petrol ..

I cannot wait to see the progress on this bike. I love seeing neglected bikes resurrected!

Great find after all.

Switchblade

I assume it was completely empty of petrol ..

Yes. I washed it out with water, dried it and sprayed some WD40 inside.

There's still some aluminum shavings from the lock removal, but they're big enough to get filtered out by the petcock screen and then by the fuel filter if they ever get that far.

Rice

Switchblade

I assume it was completely empty of petrol ..

Yes. I washed it out with water, dried it and sprayed some WD40 inside.

There's still some aluminum shavings from the lock removal, but they're big enough to get filtered out by the petcock screen and then by the fuel filter if they ever get that far.

10-4

It's alive!

After some tinkering with the electrical system, I managed to start the beast.

It huffed and it puffed and produced a bunch of smoke, but it started and ran.

That sound of GDCs is indeed something sweet.

No knocking - Just smooth as can be and pretty quiet with the silencer off.

But then it started to piss fuel something fierce and I shut it off.

Now, I need to find where it comes from.

One guess is that the bowl drains are open from the storage prep. At least I hope so. Nothing like an easy solution. Oh, and I'm an optimist.

Off I go to test that theory.

3rd gens are soooo quiet even without a can. It is the strangest thing. Must be that gigantic collector box underneath.

glad to hear you got her up and going.

Congrats. Look forward to watching progress. As an aside, you have some really dodgy wiring connections going on under the hood of your truck. But you know that.

Rice

It's alive!

But then it started to piss fuel something fierce and I shut it off.

Now, I need to find where it comes from.

One guess is that the bowl drains are open from the storage prep. At least I hope so. Nothing like an easy solution. Oh, and I'm an optimist.

Off I go to test that theory.

Thanks to all for the comments.

dalesvfr

Congrats. Look forward to watching progress. As an aside, you have some really dodgy wiring connections going on under the hood of your truck. But you know that.

Yeah.. I know.

The wiring was aesthetically offensive, but technically sound.

I did have to hack an on-the-fly solution bypassing the controller to get me through the day. No tools or electric tape. Thankfully was able to borrow wire cutters and a razor blade.

Marsman99

Rice

It's alive!

But then it started to piss fuel something fierce and I shut it off.

Now, I need to find where it comes from.
One guess is that the bowl drains are open from the storage prep. At least I hope so. Nothing like an easy solution. Oh, and I'm an optimist.
Off I go to test that theory.

My Gen4 had a bout with fuel incontinence at around 115K miles. Similar scenario. I assumed it was stuck floats or some other carb issue, but it turned out to be the seals in the fuel manifold. PITA to get to, replace and reinstall. Needed to balance the carbs afterwards.

I sure hope that this is not the case.

Carbs and I are not the best of friends.

I had a chafed wire once that I had to cut and reconnect. All I had was a plastic wire nut for a lamp. It did the job for years.

Update.

While looking for the source of gas leak under the carbs, I have decided to remove them (might as well) and here is what I saw:

Right front cylinder (#4 I believe) is "rusty" in the valve area. Actually, I think it's old gas solids, since it's on the aluminum.

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The rest are clean.

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Corresponding carb bowl is also full of crud

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Guess I'll be "dipping" the entire assembly.

gll429 has provided excellent tips on what to do and what what not to do - Thanks for that!

Also, I get this weird sound when I push the starter. It sounds like something is spinning but I don't hear compression pops out of the exhaust. Just a constant whine of starter spinning the motor w/o actuating the pistons, if that makes sense. Occasionally, I'll hear the proper compression pops, but then they would be replaced by this constant whine...

I'll try to record it and post here as well.

AS for the source of the gas leak, I didn't see any obvious culprits.

Carb bowl gaskets look very compressed and gunked up with stale gas powder in spots. Maybe that's it.

Not that bad really ...

Doesn't look like it needs a complete dipping. Just hammer away at that one bowl, and do a basic cleaning and check on the rest. The one float bowl might have been stuck and flooded, sending the fuel out the overflow.

Really enjoying this topic. Please keep it coming!

Must have been why he parked it the leaking and stuck float .

Start looking for floats and needles now. They are becoming more rare and expensive each day

Starter sounds like mine did when the starter clutch was failing

Mine was stored for 15 years before I resurrected it, the carbs were in a worse state than your's... all 4 were gummed up.

A few things to do:

Take the fuel tap off and clean the pre-filter. Acetone is good for removing the crud.

I replaced the fuel hoses...and the fuel pump. See how your's is first, I guess?

I used acetone, a small pot (to soak stuff in acetone) cotton buds, a jet wash (Clamp the parts well onto a wooden post first!) and compressed air.

One of my carbs leaked so I replaced the float bowl gasket.

When re-assembling, first make sure the screws on the clamps are well lubed, then spray plenty of penetrating oil onto the rubber tubes before pushing the carbs back on.

I found by making both ends loose, I could get them on more easily. Some people buy new rubber, mine are 70,000 miles old but I still used them. No problem.

Be careful not to assemble the diaphragms wrongly... I did on one carb and it wouldn't rev past 6,000.

There will be other work to do too. Stuff like rebuilding calipers (dremmel & brass brush is great to clean behind seals), master cylinders, check wheel bearings, etc.

Enjoy the project! :)

timmythecop

Start looking for floats and needles now. They are becoming more rare and expensive each day

Floats were not flooded and were moving freely. The one gunked up carb needle wasn't moving well due to the crud. I am hoping to get the needles and jets cleaned up - See no real reason to replace them unless absolutely necessary.

WIN6

Starter sounds like mine did when the starter clutch was failing

Starter clutch, huh? Add one to the list :comp13:

Wasn't there something about cracked clutch basket being one of the possible culprits? I wasn't paying attention since I didn't own an earlier gen.

TheStig

Mine was stored for 15 years before I resurrected it, the carbs were in a worse state than your's... all 4 were gummed up.

A few things to do:

Take the fuel tap off and clean the pre-filter. Acetone is good for removing the crud.

I replaced the fuel hoses...and the fuel pump. See how your's is first, I guess?

I used acetone, a small pot (to soak stuff in acetone) cotton buds, a jet wash (Clamp the parts well onto a wooden post first!) and compressed air.

One of my carbs leaked so I replaced the float bowl gasket.

When re-assembling, first make sure the screws on the clamps are well lubed, then spray plenty of penetrating oil onto the rubber tubes before pushing the carbs back on.

I found by making both ends loose, I could get them on more easily. Some people buy new rubber, mine are 70,000 miles old but I still used them. No problem.

Be careful not to assemble the diaphragms wrongly... I did on one carb and it wouldn't rev past 6,000.

There will be other work to do too. Stuff like rebuilding calipers (dremmel & brass brush is great to clean behind seals), master cylinders, check wheel bearings, etc.

Enjoy the project! :)

How do you assemble it wrongly? If there is a way to screw something up, I have a good chance of discovering it :wacko:

I actually looked at how they're put together and there is one dimple on the outer ridge of the housing that corresponds to the hole on the diaphragm itself. The only thing that concerned me was getting the seal part of the rubber seat correctly upon reassembly The spring creates tension and I am a bit worried that the seal will get shifted and pinched.

I dipped the carbs in Gunk last night. Well, I dipped half the carbs :comp13: . Gunk says not to dip plastic or rubber and I'm a bit worried there, but hopefully the business part got a good bath overnight. I'll wash it out with water, then with carb spray, Will also poke all the holes with a wire and blow out with air. [boy, if I were to change/remove a few words here, could be a description of some good times :goofy: ]

Carb soak:

I was trying to figure out how to keep track of jets for each carb. You can even see my feeble attempts to mark the venturies. Ended up just dumping the loose bits in the corresponding throttle opening. There's just enough soak to cover them there.

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Did you pull out all of the jets (pilot, needle and main) and soak them and spray carb cleaner in every orfice on the bodies and let it soak, then blow out every jet and orfice w/ compressed air before reassembly .

Does anyone know where to buy carb bowl gaskets?

Mine are hard and probably are the cause of the fuel leaks.

Can I supplement the existing ones by some gasket maker for the time being?

trjerm

Did you pull out all of the jets (pilot, needle and main) and soak them and spray carb cleaner in every orfice on the bodies and let it soak, then blow out every jet and orfice w/ compressed air before reassembly .

Pulled all there was to pull from the inside of bowls.

It appears that I have neglected needle jets (not in the bowls) I think. Will look at that as well.

You can only buy a gasket (o'ring) kit. Search schematics on www.ronayers.com - you can order online there, or from www.partzilla.com

I only bought one, to fit a leaking float bowl seal.... You can re-use the originals that weren't leaking before, just make sure they're sitting in their grooves when re-assembling. I think I used a mini screwdriver, but a toothpick will do just as well.
Or just buy 4 gasket kits...

Another tip for you: I use a dab of vasoline (petroleum jelly) in several spots on the float bowl to hold the o-rings in the groves. Normally works really well.

Thanks for the tips.

For now, I'm going to reuse all the gaskets.

I soaked and cleaned them as best I could. Also used some RTV gasket maker gray stuff to seat them and give them more girth.

If that doesn't work, Ill have to cough up 200 clams for the 4 kits which is not in the budget for now.

Used to be able to buy cork gasket material in different thicknesses at auto parts store to make your own. That and a little bottle of gasket shellac. Put the bowl on the material and hit around it with spray paint for a pattern. Also use a hole punch for leather to make the bolt holes. I haven't looked for that sort of thing in ages, but a NAPA type place probably still has it. Probably better than reusing torn stuff.

You might use a little hondabond on the bowl seals. Blow air through each hole and make sure they all have some flow to them. If you pull the jets and needles, you might consider the Yamaha carb soak, works really well to clean them up. The fact it run is a very good sign, you should be pretty close

Careful with silicone.... It won't work well in carburettors when mixed with fuel and can lead to blocked fuel jets... Best to just assemble.

You cannot judge the condition of floats by sight. They get saturated and become heavy, and allow the float bowl level to get too high. Your bike is possibly one of the lucky ones, but 90% of the old bikes I have worked on needed floats and needles.

I'm going to divulge a bit of a secret I found a bit ago with regards to floats and needles.

You will need,

1. a toothbrush

2. mother's or another metal polish

3. q tips

4. micro fibre towel

Take your q tip, tip it in your polish, and use that polish to clean up each and every side of the needle. Polish it until it shines. Principle here is that the corrosion on the needle that on occasion hangs it up in the seat, is removed. Take a new q tip and polish it off and then wipe clean with micro fibre. Finally, clean off with carb cleaner to get any film left behind off.

Do the same with the inside of the seat

Take your tooth brush with a little bit of polish on it and scrub on to the floats. You will be amazed at what it does to the discoloration on the float. Again, wipe clean with the micro fibre. Wait for it to dry and take a different, clean toothbrush, and remove any dried polish from the cracks

This may not be for everyone, but I've had very good success with it. Obviously, it will take a bit of practice. One final note; DON'T LEAVE ANY POLISH ON ANY PART

mcrwt644

I'm going to divulge a bit of a secret I found a bit ago with regards to floats and needles.

You will need,

1. a toothbrush

2. mother's or another metal polish

3. q tips

4. micro fibre towel

Take your q tip, tip it in your polish, and use that polish to clean up each and every side of the needle. Polish it until it shines. Principle here is that the corrosion on the needle that on occasion hangs it up in the seat, is removed. Take a new q tip and polish it off and then wipe clean with micro fibre. Finally, clean off with carb cleaner to get any film left behind off.

Do the same with the inside of the seat

Take your tooth brush with a little bit of polish on it and scrub on to the floats. You will be amazed at what it does to the discoloration on the float. Again, wipe clean with the micro fibre. Wait for it to dry and take a different, clean toothbrush, and remove any dried polish from the cracks

This may not be for everyone, but I've had very good success with it. Obviously, it will take a bit of practice. One final note; DON'T LEAVE ANY POLISH ON ANY PART

I use to also take a small bowl of gas and sink the float in it by putting a heavy nut on it. Then check for gas inside the float .

TheStig

Careful with silicone.... It won't work well in carburettors when mixed with fuel and can lead to blocked fuel jets... Best to just assemble.

I sorta figured that it's not the best of ideas. What I did, was put a bead of gasket maker (still silicone, but hopefully not as prone to gas) in the grooves under the gaskets. The thinking is that once tightened down, gaskets will stick out a bit more and will seal. I also pressed the gaskets in and removed access from the inside. Still no guarantee that I won't h ave a problem, but I can deal with potential problems later. For now, I just want to see it run.

timmythecop

You cannot judge the condition of floats by sight. They get saturated and become heavy, and allow the float bowl level to get too high. Your bike is possibly one of the lucky ones, but 90% of the old bikes I have worked on needed floats and needles.

Taking my chances here. Floats are plastic. What can possibly go wrong :wacko: :goofy:

mcrwt644

I'm going to divulge a bit of a secret I found a bit ago with regards to floats and needles.

You will need,

1. a toothbrush

2. mother's or another metal polish

3. q tips

4. micro fibre towel

Take your q tip, tip it in your polish, and use that polish to clean up each and every side of the needle. Polish it until it shines. Principle here is that the corrosion on the needle that on occasion hangs it up in the seat, is removed. Take a new q tip and polish it off and then wipe clean with micro fibre. Finally, clean off with carb cleaner to get any film left behind off.

Do the same with the inside of the seat

Take your tooth brush with a little bit of polish on it and scrub on to the floats. You will be amazed at what it does to the discoloration on the float. Again, wipe clean with the micro fibre. Wait for it to dry and take a different, clean toothbrush, and remove any dried polish from the cracks

This may not be for everyone, but I've had very good success with it. Obviously, it will take a bit of practice. One final note; DON'T LEAVE ANY POLISH ON ANY PART

Great tips here. Thanks!

I have already closed things up, but I'm sure it's not the first time I'll be doing carbs. I checked all the needles and their sides are smooth. Made of aluminum. They appear to slide pretty easily. Fingers crossed.

Update.

So, after soaking overnight, I checked all the orifices to make sure that all were open and one was completely blocked. Some wire poking took care of that. I sprayed, washed and blew everything out clean and installed the carbs back on the bike.

This is the stuff that was left in the bath:

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And this is the video of the "finished" product.

W/O the pipe:

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How does one post a video????

Now, to rebuild the front calipers.

Nice! Good job Rice. Sounds great.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

A small update.

Front calipers disassembled and cleaned in and out.

Brake pads are like new with plenty of meat left.

All went back on and blead.

One minor issue is that the front wheel which spun easily with calipers off now encounters more resistance than I expect from freshly rebuilt brakes. I'm thinking that I might have stuffed too much grease into the slide pin openings. Hopefully it will work itself out.

I am planning the first ride around the block today :).

Nex on the list are starter slippage and the RR.

Does oil come out if I remove the starter?

Also I have a bunch of parts from my previously failed honda VLX600 project.

I am hoping to reuse its RR but it has 7 wires. The VFR RR has 5.

If anyone knows how to adopt 7 to 5 please let me know.

On the not so good side, I've just noticed that the title states " rebuilt salvage".

I still would have bought it, but just a minor bummer.

I don't see any major damage. The tank and plastics probably did this bike in.

Went out for the first ride.

But, of course, I simply cannot do anything without drama...

Ran down the battery trying to start the bike. It started at first pretty easily, but then just died after running for 15-20 seconds.

WTF? All was well yesterday.

The pictures of gasket maker dissolved away by gas and now hardening in all passages are going through my mind.

Finally, it dawned on me to check if I have closed the petcock yesterday.

Yep. Of course I did.

Petcock open, battery recharged, the bike started and almost warmed up - that's another story. I think it needs a thermostat.

I took it out for the first time and the engine behaved beautifully.

Power is smooth and plentiful. No apparent fueling issues or snatchiness.

The suspenders OTOH, are utter disaster.

Forks act like there is no damping what so ever - wouldn't be surprised if there is no oil inside.

Rear does have damping, but just not anywhere close to the current setup of my 6th gen.

This brings me to another question.

Is there an easy (no lathe or CNC involved) conversion to a more robust front end? R1/GSXR/CBR, etc...

Go to all balls web site and click on fork conversion. It will show all compatible front ends.

No linked brakes, so almost any modern Honda front end is a direct swap. Steering stops can be changed with hand tools.

Wheel style and clip on height may need consideration, but not too difficult to overcome.

A friend of mine has a set of right side up 04 CBR600RR forks and triples that will bolt in, I can ask what he wants for them if you're interested. I know they are for sale.

timmythecop

Go to all balls web site and click on fork conversion. It will show all compatible front ends.

Wow! That list sure is long. I think that they may be listing bearings interchangeability only.

Good resource all the same. Appreciate the info.

SEBSPEED

No linked brakes, so almost any modern Honda front end is a direct swap. Steering stops can be changed with hand tools.

Wheel style and clip on height may need consideration, but not too difficult to overcome.

A friend of mine has a set of right side up 04 CBR600RR forks and triples that will bolt in, I can ask what he wants for them if you're interested. I know they are for sale.

I am thinking more along the lines of 04-06 R1 with 954/929 triples.

not cheap on ebay,but i got time.

sorry, have to poke fun....I had the same issue with my 3rd gen just last week when I went to start her..tried for five mins, then thought, 'is the petcock on?'...nope, sure wasn't. Ah, if it was all that simple huh?

Wow Rice...this is a cool read for those of us that marvel at you mechanical types ability to resurrect an old, neglected bike. Must be a great feeling when she fires up and purrs...

Apparently an RC51 front end fits straight on, which would mean a CBR1000RR front would fit too, I believe. I have an RC51 SP1 triple set & SP2 front end (from RC51) waiting to go onto mine. Will use riser bars, etc.

Hoping to find the time to do the conversion in July.... Will cost more than $500 for a decent front end though!

I have a set of 929/954 triples with fresh black paint and new tapered bearing installed. Was for a project, got a billet lower instead. They ate for sale, pm me if interested. Austin just passed on them today.

Also, I can make the spacers you'll need to fit the r1 wheel and rotors.

2thdr

Wow Rice...this is a cool read for those of us that marvel at you mechanical types ability to resurrect an old, neglected bike. Must be a great feeling when she fires up and purrs...

Thanks. But please don't confuse me with a mechanical type. I'm just poking around with the help of the folks who actually know this stuff and are willing to provide advice :)

SEBSPEED

I have a set of 929/954 triples with fresh black paint and new tapered bearing installed. Was for a project, got a billet lower instead. They ate for sale, pm me if interested. Austin just passed on them today.

Also, I can make the spacers you'll need to fit the r1 wheel and rotors.

Cool.

Hold on to them. I'd like to see if I can score R1 forks and other bits first, since these are more expensive.

Another update.

The good.

Installed the RR I had lying around from VLX600. It charges the battery and gets pretty hot. Not sure if it's made to handle VFR output, but if it burns out, I'll buy the proper RR.

[image: 1CDAFB66-87AF-437D-849A-4B9ADC7532DF_zps]

The not-so-good.

The engine smokes. It's not the white water vapor, but the grey/brown gas (or oil?) smoke. I first was hoping that it would burn off, but it is persistent. Possible causes that I am aware of are stuck rings, scored cylinder walls and valve seals.

None of these possibilities make me jump for joy.

One other thing that has been mentioned online is proper adjustment of the choke cable. If the choke isn't closed all the way, you'll run rich and get smoke.

I have adjusted choke and tried again. The smoke is gone or almost gone. I will have to monitor this situation.

While I was playing with choke and smoke, I measured the temp. of the front header pipes. Left one gets really hot, 500F+, while the other is barely half of that.

Another discovery made on the rear bank - If I pull out the left rear spark boot, the bike dies. If I do the same to the right rear, the bike keeps running as if nothing happened. I know it's not the coil, since I can hear spark jumping.

All of the above leads me to hypothesize that the bike is running on two left cylinders only. This in itself is interesting, considering how relatively smooth it idles and revs.

Further investigation to follow. This time I'll actually dig in deeper.

How long did she sit vs how much time has she run in the past x months? I wouldn't fret about the smoking just yet. How many miles on her?

mcrwt644

How long did she sit vs how much time has she run in the past x months? I wouldn't fret about the smoking just yet. How many miles on her?

She seat for at least a year and maybe more. No idea really, but not too much longer judging by the state of the gas tank innards.

32K on the clock.

Sounds like carb issues, if you have spark and no change when you pull the plug, then either low compression or no/little fuel (or too much fuel). Watch the engine temp and run about 3-4k rpms then pull the plugs and check the color. Wet/black plug is too much fuel or possible weak spark, white plug is too little fuel, cream/tan is just right.

Have you tried to sync the carbs?

Give it a chance to clear and kept eye on the oil level, you did change oil ?

Rather than looking for guesses, you need to first do a compression test (Better still a leak-down test), then if the engine is OK test for spark, then if there's ignition, take the carbs off again, -reclean and refit, test again and know where the problem lies.

Seafoam.

SamW

Sounds like carb issues, if you have spark and no change when you pull the plug, then either low compression or no/little fuel (or too much fuel). Watch the engine temp and run about 3-4k rpms then pull the plugs and check the color. Wet/black plug is too much fuel or possible weak spark, white plug is too little fuel, cream/tan is just right.

Have you tried to sync the carbs?

Carb sync is on the list once(if) I get it to run on all cylinders.

Is it the same tool/procedure as syncing the throttle bodies?

Switchblade

Give it a chance to clear and kept eye on the oil level, you did change oil ?

:blush: I most certainly did not! :blush:

But in my defense, the oil looked like it was changed yesterday. And so did the coolant.

TheStig

Rather than looking for guesses, you need to first do a compression test (Better still a leak-down test), then if the engine is OK test for spark, then if there's ignition, take the carbs off again, -reclean and refit, test again and know where the problem lies.

I don't like you. :wink:

But I'm afraid you're right.

BTW, what's the difference between Leak-down and compression testing? I know compression is supposed to test whether there is enough.. compression. But why leak-down?

dalesvfr

Seafoam.

YOU, I like :cheerleader:

Wouldn't it be nice if it was all that's needed.

So, where do I put it? In the gas?

Rice

BTW, what's the difference between Leak-down and compression testing? I know compression is supposed to test whether there is enough.. compression. But why leak-down?

To do a leak-down, you have to put compressed air in the cylinders. It tells you the amount of leakage the cylinder has which can be past the rings, the intake or exhaust valve, or a head gasket. It just gives you more specifics about where the problem is in the cylinder.

Compression test:

Front Left: 150

Rear Left: 150

Front Right: 110

Rear Right: 120

All seem to hold pressure for several minutes w/o drop. Didn't hold to see for how long they would hold.

Right bank is the one not working all too well.

Is 110/120 really bad enough to cause no fire?

Also, what can I try to do w/o taking the engine apart?

Seafoam goes in gas. I've used in small engines and my bikes for the last few years because of ethanol. Had a pressure washer that sat with old gas for about three years. No hope of starting. Before I pulled the carb off I put a 1/4 can of Seafoam in it and let it sit for a couple of days and the engine started. A bit of smoke at first but it cleared up. You can put Marvel Mystery Oil in gas as well, helps keep top end lubed and rings free. Yeah, yeah, a lot of people think additives are smoke and mirrors, all I know is my experience.

110/120 should be enough to run, if you had the other two running, maybe that has the compression up in them. How did the plugs look when you pulled them out?

Not sure about throttle body sync, but I would think it is the same, just a matter of having the vacuum level the same across all cylinders. I don't think being out of sync would keep it from running, but it would make for a bad idle.

Rice

Compression test:

Front Left: 150

Rear Left: 150

Front Right: 110

Rear Right: 120

All seem to hold pressure for several minutes w/o drop. Didn't hold to see for how long they would hold.

Right bank is the one not working all too well.

Is 110/120 really bad enough to cause no fire?

Also, what can I try to do w/o taking the engine apart?

You'll have to check the manual, but I think pressure should be 150-200. So 110 is very much on the low end. I remember another little quibit about having to have the throttle wide open to get correct results.

When you do a compression test, the gauge does not release the pressure created on the compression stroke, so you will not see the pressure drop. That is in a leak down tester. As WERA said, a leak down will tell you if you are leaking around the valves, pistons, or head gasket.

What can you do about low pressure without touching the engine? Not sure. I've heard one person prescribe AutoRX to loosen piston rings, which might cause issues. Maybe doing a valve check/adjustment would help. Nothing is a guarantee.

You can get the throttle bodies close enough on the bench. Use a pin or a shim to make sure they are open the same amount. You can use the idle screw to move them all in and out as needed to get your pin or shim to fit. This won't be a perfect sync, just get's them to where they aren't completely out of whack.

Didn't crack the throttle to test compression. I guess will have to retest.

So far, poured some mystery oil in the cylinders to let it loosen up the rings.

Also added some seafoam to gas and oil.

Will leave it running for a while.

Hope this helps.

Will retest compression after that.

BTW, manual calls for 199 PSI at 400 RPM. Not sure how one tests it at 400 RPM.

150 is plenty. 200 is too high, yes, it can be too high

when doing a test, ensure the throttle is all the way open while holding the starter button. If the carbs are off, that point is moot

OK.

I have restarted the bike with all the seafoam and mystery oil on it.

It ran for a few minutes, blew a bunch of smoke out, which is expected due to the oil in the cylinders and then settled into semi-smooth idle with just two periodic lumps.

After about 6-7 minutes of running it just died and wouldn't restart.

I rolled it back in and removed two rear plugs, which were wet b/c of all the cranking.

Then I re-checked the compression with throttle open this time.

Both rear cylinders now have 160PSI, which I think is within spec.

So, it's not compression...

I am going to let it cool down and try to restart it.

I want it to run for a while with seafoam in the gas.

You mean both right cylinders have 160psi? Did your other cylinders go up as well?

Not a huge fan of seafoam in the oil on a bike that doesn't run yet. Great if you do it on a bike you can ride for 10-50 miles and dump it out.

Could be as simple as something working it's way into the carbs. Or maybe all your plugs fouled. I'd check for spark and look at fueling.

Are the rear coils grounded?

Did you pull plugs individually and crank bike with plug sitting on motor to check for spark?

Sounds like you are making progress, although I am sure it does not feel that way right now.

Were the plugs both wet and black?

It really sounds like you are going through the same issue I had. My carbs were blocked and the main jets and needles were the easy part since they could be removed and soaked. I had a lot of issues trying to get the "Starting jets" (not sure if that is the correct term) cleaned out. I really had a time poking a wire in them time and time again until it finaly went through, it was about an hour of poking, then spray carb cleaner and then poke some more.

Another update.

Left bank of cylinders, e.g. ## 1 and 2 are running. ##3 and 4 are not.

Spark is solid on all 4

Compression is within or almost within spec on all cylinders

So, spark - Check. Compression - Check.

Must be no gas.

Removed the carbs again. Something tells me that it won't be the first time :wacko:

Gas is present in all 4 carb bowls.

I opened a bowl of the non-working carb.

[image: D47BCD53-2715-4D4B-9F6F-AE2DFEE8D43C_zps]

Everything is as clean as can be. Wire goes through all openings w/o effort.

All jets are clean - can see light through every hole.

Sprayed carb cleaner and blew everything out with air - Cleaner came out form somewhere else.

I am completely stumped.

I see no reason what so ever why this particular carb wouldn't provide fuel to the cylinder. The spark plug, BTW was clean and dry after I ran the bike earlier today.

Have you checked your pilot/enrichment screws? How do the filters below the float needle look? Float heights set right?

Not really sure what else to tell you.

That pilot jet looks like it's been removed a handful of times.

Sounds as if there's no fuel coming from the Did fuel leak out when you opened this carb? Are you able to blow through each fuel inlet nipple when the carb is assembled? In other words, check the float valve is working properly. Have you checked the fuel pipes for crud inside?

What do the cams look like ? Is not the period of cams not oiling right ?

I second pulling the base of the float valve out and having a look. It could be a case when the carb is upside down the blockage rolls back and lets air through, but when right side up it blocks it, but if you have fuel in the bowl, maybe it is just slowed down. What about float height? Did as much gas come out of that bowl as the others?

Make sure the needle is moving free, also the carb boot is tight and leak free and the nipple for the vacuum gauge is closed off so you are not allowing air and vacuum out.

Here is one that I just had on a 3rd gen I just sold.

Bike sat for weeks before I had time to get back to it. Ran fine before I 'parked' it. Started it up and number 3 just wouldn't fire. I could rev it and hear #3 come on, but at idle or on choke it was horrific and if I hit the pipe with water, I got nothing. (#4 may have been the same, but I'm not 100% on it)

As silly as it sounds, and I've checked with my trusted local shop, when a bike sits on a side stand for a time, it can have issues firing that sides carb/cylinders.

What I did in my case was just let her warm up, gently bumping up the throttle a little at a time until it finally fired and stayed firing. It wasn't a one shot process and I think it took the better part of a half hour to get it to work properly over several days. I wasn't pulling those carbs again though as I had done so already 4x.

Pull the valve covers ..

YoshiHNS

Have you checked your pilot/enrichment screws? How do the filters below the float needle look? Float heights set right?

Not really sure what else to tell you.

That pilot jet looks like it's been removed a handful of times.

I have removed and poked/sprayed/blew through every screw and orifice there is.

Pilot jet looks this way b/c I tried and failed to pull it with a wise grip. No structural damage.

The floats are non-adjustable.

TheStig

Sounds as if there's no fuel coming from the Did fuel leak out when you opened this carb? Are you able to blow through each fuel inlet nipple when the carb is assembled? In other words, check the float valve is working properly. Have you checked the fuel pipes for crud inside?

The bowl had plenty of fuel in it.

Can you clarify about fuel inlet nipple? Not sure which one that is.

No crud to be seen anywhere...

Switchblade

What do the cams look like ? Is not the period of cams not oiling right ?

Cams are pristine. Not a scratch on'em.

I even had a crazy thought that both cam shafts split off in half and that only the left ones are turning.

But, as I said, that was crazy. Everything is turning as it should.

I'll post a pic/vid later.

SamW

I second pulling the base of the float valve out and having a look. It could be a case when the carb is upside down the blockage rolls back and lets air through, but when right side up it blocks it, but if you have fuel in the bowl, maybe it is just slowed down. What about float height? Did as much gas come out of that bowl as the others?

Make sure the needle is moving free, also the carb boot is tight and leak free and the nipple for the vacuum gauge is closed off so you are not allowing air and vacuum out.

The strainer at the base of the float valve is tuck in there pretty good.

I have removed it during the first dip and it came out and was clean then.

I also poked and blew air through there and the passage was clear.

Just don't want to damage it trying to remove now.

mcrwt644

Here is one that I just had on a 3rd gen I just sold.

Bike sat for weeks before I had time to get back to it. Ran fine before I 'parked' it. Started it up and number 3 just wouldn't fire. I could rev it and hear #3 come on, but at idle or on choke it was horrific and if I hit the pipe with water, I got nothing. (#4 may have been the same, but I'm not 100% on it)

As silly as it sounds, and I've checked with my trusted local shop, when a bike sits on a side stand for a time, it can have issues firing that sides carb/cylinders.

What I did in my case was just let her warm up, gently bumping up the throttle a little at a time until it finally fired and stayed firing. It wasn't a one shot process and I think it took the better part of a half hour to get it to work properly over several days. I wasn't pulling those carbs again though as I had done so already 4x.

3 and 4 - The ones that don't fire on mine are on the right side.

I tried your method, hoping that things would cure themselves.

I had the bike running for about an hour yesterday on 1&2. It smoked some, mostly due to seafoam and marvel mystery oil in gas and oil, but otherwise I would never tell that it only runs on 2 cylinders.

I can just imagine how smooth it will run once all 4 are working.

On the bright side, I figured out why my fan didn't kick in.

I did not plug it into the harness. :comp13:

Switchblade

Pull the valve covers ..

Yep.

Hmmm, you got a good mystery going. Sounds like you have been through everything on the carb. When it was running, did you check the if the cylinder was firing (running) at idle or at a certain RPM or both?

The idle circut should work at idle, won't help much above. If you are not getting fuel at rpm, it could be something to do with the needle not behaving correctly. If it does not run at idle or rpm, but the float bowl has fuel, then I go back to a vacuum issue, either a bad intake boot or some other vacuum leak causing the needle to to rise.

Does it run better if you dump fuel into one or both of those carb throats when running on the other two cylinders. In other words, can you confirm that it is indeed the carb responsible for those cylinders not getting fuel, not some other issue? Also, does it seem to fire on all four if you crack the throttle, thus possibly just a starter valve sync issue?

SamW

Hmmm, you got a good mystery going. Sounds like you have been through everything on the carb. When it was running, did you check the if the cylinder was firing (running) at idle or at a certain RPM or both?

The idle circut should work at idle, won't help much above. If you are not getting fuel at rpm, it could be something to do with the needle not behaving correctly. If it does not run at idle or rpm, but the float bowl has fuel, then I go back to a vacuum issue, either a bad intake boot or some other vacuum leak causing the needle to to rise.

The non-working cylinders don't work at all RPMs.

I will make sure that the boots are on secure.

BCmcrider

Does it run better if you dump fuel into one or both of those carb throats when running on the other two cylinders. In other words, can you confirm that it is indeed the carb responsible for those cylinders not getting fuel, not some other issue? Also, does it seem to fire on all four if you crack the throttle, thus possibly just a starter valve sync issue?

Will try dumping some fuel to the non-working cylinders.

Should have thought of this myself :unsure:

Can we "mist" or "spray" some fuel into the cylinders? "Dumping" makes me think of hydro lock and bent connecting rods... I do like the idea, it will be a good test.

SamW

Can we "mist" or "spray" some fuel into the cylinders? "Dumping" makes me think of hydro lock and bent connecting rods... I do like the idea, it will be a good test.

Yep. That's what I meant :491:

SamW

Can we "mist" or "spray" some fuel into the cylinders? "Dumping" makes me think of hydro lock and bent connecting rods... I do like the idea, it will be a good test.

A friend and I ran a bombardier 6 wheel (or was it track) vehicle around for an afternoon with a non functional carb. One person's job was to sit in the driver position, steer and work the throttle, the second persons job was to control the fuel air ratio by how much fuel he let slip past his thumb aimed into the carb intake from the siphon we'd started from the 1 gallon fuel jug bungy corded to the roll bar. Worked like a charm. It would take a hell of a lot of fuel to hydro lock a running engine. Another thing I have done is run a powersaw engine directly on WD40 sprayed into the carb throat. You wouldn't get much useful work out of it but it proved the carb was the problem not ie intake mechanics or ignition etc.

Switchblade, on 19 Jun 2014 - 05:30 AM, said:[image: snapback.png]

Switchblade

What do the cams look like ? Is not the period of cams not oiling right ?

Cams are pristine. Not a scratch on'em.

I even had a crazy thought that both cam shafts split off in half and that only the left ones are turning.

But, as I said, that was crazy. Everything is turning as it should.

I'll post a pic/vid later.

10-4

BCmcrider

A friend and I ran a bombardier 6 wheel (or was it track) vehicle around for an afternoon with a non functional carb. One person's job was to sit in the driver position, steer and work the throttle, the second persons job was to control the fuel air ratio by how much fuel he let slip past his thumb aimed into the carb intake from the siphon we'd started from the 1 gallon fuel jug bungy corded to the roll bar. Worked like a charm. It would take a hell of a lot of fuel to hydro lock a running engine. Another thing I have done is run a powersaw engine directly on WD40 sprayed into the carb throat. You wouldn't get much useful work out of it but it proved the carb was the problem not ie intake mechanics or ignition etc.

You crazy neighbors to the North :laughing6-hehe: , that is a great story about carb free running!! I have had a mower engine with a leaking carb keep the engine from turning over with the key. I rebuilt the starter and much other work before i pulled the spark plug, turned it over and shot a stream of fuel half way across the yard.

I can't remember if you said if rechecked the diaphragms for cracks /holes. Or if they were seated correctly.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

jayV

I can't remember if you said if rechecked the diaphragms for cracks /holes. Or if they were seated correctly.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

All diaphragms were removed and put back the same way.

Judging by the two working cylinders, I would assume that the non-working ones are OK.

No rips or cracks either.

Another update.

Put everything back together and started it.

Still runs on two cylinders.

Adding fuel to the working ones reduces RPM to almost stall and then all goes back to "normal" after excess fuel burns off.

Adding fuel to the non-working ones makes no difference what so ever, no matter how much I add.

Only thing that happens is popping in the exhaust from the unburned fuel.

Again, spark and compression are there.

You said spark was solid, but how did you check it? Did you leave the spark plug in the wire and ground it to the block to check spark or use a screwdriver in the wire and ground it? With good compression and dumping fuel in the carbs, it is hard to believe it wouldn't fire that cylinder.

don't let me anywhere near your bottom triple tree during the fork swap

[image: 10995921_10205930966813022_6461804686608]

http://s279.photobuc...papzr3.mp4.html

Not  bad  just a big exhaust  leak .

Always nice to hear a motor rumble to life!!!

Needs a bigger battery...  :goofy:

I'm not an expert but I think you need to align your wheels to each other than align everything else to the wheels...

otherwise, I have it on good authority... the bike will ride like it has a bent frame if the wheels are not aligned.

I'm not an expert but I think you need to align your wheels to each other than align everything else to the wheels...

otherwise, I have it on good authority... the bike will ride like it has a bent frame if the wheels are not aligned.

Dang!

That didn't even occur to me!  That shows how much I know :wacko:

Thank you!

The R1 uses 210mm spacing vs Honda's 214mm... You need new spacers that are 2mm bigger each. And the same goes for the calipers. 2mm spacers per side.

I can make spacers for you.

By the way, those "front stay attach points", are actually the upper radiator mounts. Don't cut those off...

SebSpeed Customs to the rescue!

Work has been kicking my a$$ lately, but I did manage to make a tiny progress.

The wheel spacers from SebSpeed Customs are HERE!

Little pieces of jewelry.  Thanks Seb!

[image: 3E0A0497-F278-4ECB-8C27-27E9E51F0CAE_zps]

Here are the original Yamaha ones

[image: B0480BDB-06A1-4285-90EB-D8885F64B6D3_zps]

The new spacers installed:

[image: DFC609BC-D440-454A-932E-FD3E8707FB78_zps]

About 6MM added on each.  Perfect fit. Quick service.

And now, to align the calipers over the rotors.

Now, I do realize that the calipers must be shimmed in order to compensate for the increased distance between the forks.

Looks like 1.25MM shims will be required to bring the rotor (the first one I measured) to exactly the middle inside the caliper.  And this raises two questions:

1 - If I moved the fork out by 6MM, how come only 1.25mm is required to shim the caliper back into position?  This makes no sense to me at all.  Here is what the spacing looks like now, w/o any shims:

[image: 59dc9deb-3743-4574-a0ca-d4a58b132d39_zps]

And another question.  R1 calipers have 4 pots - 2 on each side.

How important is it to center the caliper over the rotor.  What should the tolerance be?  Will I bend the rotor if I don't get within 1/10th of a mm? Or will the hydraulics take up the slack and just extend a little more on one side and a little less on the other?

If I understand anything about how hydraulics work, I'd say that the latter would be the case and I don't need to obsess over fractions of mm.  But it never hurts to ask.

I would think that once the caliper pistons have extended to their new position the application of lever pressure would produce equal force to all the pistons... although, if one side is extended farther out from the bore would that create instability or cocking of the piston?

 I have that same question. I added a f4i front wheel to my 5th gen, the width of the rotors is 1.5mm different then on the vfr wheel, so made sure my spacers set the rotors the same offset in each caliper, which would center the wheel though unable to center calipers over the rotors. assuming that would be ok?

I would think that once the caliper pistons have extended to their new position the application of lever pressure would produce equal force to all the pistons... although, if one side is extended farther out from the bore would that create instability or cocking of the piston?

Yes  I  know  for a fact.  Did   a front rotor and  wheel change out  and  did NOT  get  the  rotor in  the center and it  caused  all  kinds  of  problems .

The  biggest  problem  was  when  you  released  the   brake  lever  the  caliber  did NOT  return to center  and  one  side  of  the brake  pads  draged  all of  the  time  and  the rotor  would  over  heat.  

By  the time I  realized  what  was wrong I  cooked  two  rotors. Installed  spacers  and  two  new rotors  problem  solved .

I would think that once the caliper pistons have extended to their new position the application of lever pressure would produce equal force to all the pistons... although, if one side is extended farther out from the bore would that create instability or cocking of the piston?

Yes  I  know  for a fact.  Did   a front rotor and  wheel change out  and  did NOT  get  the  rotor in  the center and it  caused  all  kinds  of  problems .

The  biggest  problem  was  when  you  released  the   brake  lever  the  caliber  did NOT  return to center  and  one  side  of  the brake  pads  draged  all of  the  time  and  the rotor  would  over  heat.  

By  the time I  realized  what  was wrong I  cooked  two  rotors. Installed  spacers  and  two  new rotors  problem  solved .

.

I thought about using a spacer/thin washer as a spacer for the calipers initially, but the left side with the SMC cannot be moved.

I felt like since the caliper was applying pressure from one side, the lateral movement in the caliper would allow the pads to find center it be ok?

I would think that once the caliper pistons have extended to their new position the application of lever pressure would produce equal force to all the pistons... although, if one side is extended farther out from the bore would that create instability or cocking of the piston?

Yes  I  know  for a fact.  Did   a front rotor and  wheel change out  and  did NOT  get  the  rotor in  the center and it  caused  all  kinds  of  problems .

The  biggest  problem  was  when  you  released  the   brake  lever  the  caliber  did NOT  return to center  and  one  side  of  the brake  pads  draged  all of  the  time  and  the rotor  would  over  heat.  

By  the time I  realized  what  was wrong I  cooked  two  rotors. Installed  spacers  and  two  new rotors  problem  solved .

Well, thanks a lot... :angry:   for confirming the worst :wink:

I have two washers which are 1.6mm thick.

I got one down to 1.48 using fine sandpaper and my fingers - couldn't come up with a better way.

A few more hours of sanding and I'll get the 1st one down to 1.25 :wacko:

On the bright side, I can now get away with murder and have something positive to report to my wife.

Wow.  Has it been 5 month already?

Not much has happened over the summer - Been working, and having regular summer fun.

Now, that the beach season is over, this project has called out to me from under the moving blankets.

A quick mental inventory of the next steps:

1 - Get it running. 

Herein lies my biggest failure to date - I was never able to get it firing on all 4.  So, with a clear mind and a somewhat clear continence, I have sent the carb out for a rebuild to someone who knows what he's doing.  A man has got to know his limitations, right? The feedback so far was that there was a lot of rust flakes and other dirt and that emulsion tubes were overtightened so much, that they were deformed.  I guess the filter that I have on is not the right kind.  And the tubes, well, it was like that when I got it.  I swear, officer :blush: .  Apparently, there is one place in the known world, which still sells the tubes for the 3rd gen and it happens to be somewhere in the land of beer, windmills and wooden shoes.  Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

2 - Get it stopping.

I was looking for black SS brake lines.  I figured that it would be easy enough to buy some bulk line and banjos and fab up my own to length.  I was planning to update the clutch line to the same while I am at it and route the rear line through the swing arm.  No such luck.  Either it is just me, or it really is not a simple endeavor to find the bulk DIY stuff for a reasonable price.  There are BYO lines, which cost a small fortune, and Goodrige and Spiegler are too confusing with the choice of available banjos that will work in a road application.  Still looking.

Your  not  quitter !

CMSNLto the rescue I guess :-)

If it ain't Dutch it ain't much no? :unsure: :goofy:

Correct.

And we are not biased :sleep:

A little update.

The good:  Front end is done!  Custom brake lines are in and the lever is solid.  These puppies will stop the VFR on a dime.

[image: 092A7532-EDD5-4D28-BF38-21AD763F18F9_zps]

This brings me to the not-so-good:  While I am waiting for the carb rebuild, I bought another carb.  For under 100 bucks, I just had to.  Seller says that it is from a running bike, and it does look clean and functional.

So, I installed it and gave it a whirl.

Here is what's happening:

[video: https://youtube.com/embed/6mEXV_CQTT8?html5=1&fs=1]

It is popping back through the carbs and not even attempting to start.

Does anyone have any idea why this could be happening and how to fix it?

Another update - All good news this time  :cheerleader:

My good friend has donated a clean titled frame and a running motor to the cause.  I tested it with one of the carbs I have and it started with half a turn.

Of course, the starter clutch is also cracked.  Damn - these things get more expensive every time I look at them.  Maybe gold wasn't such a hot investment after all... :goofy:

I now have a bike, which will have parts from 3 donors.

[image: CAE07A14-0A69-46D7-96D4-F8E1BAF33A49_zps]

[image: 5DD8AD4C-34A9-4B08-807D-5DB0C2875DCA_zps]

Now, come the finishing touches. :comp13:

• Swap over a bunch of parts from the old bike onto the new one (Front end, swing arm, exhaust, painted valve and side covers)
• Starter clutch :wacko:   
• Chain and sprockets
• Tires
• Longer throttle and choke cables - Question:  Does anyone know which ones to get?
• Oil change
• Paint.  I am going to go with the original pearl white from either PPG or Colorrite - Depending on the price and on whether PPG can match the color.
• Powdercoat wheels white.
• Stickers - Another question:  Where to get original ones or good reproductions?
• Restore original faded windscreen and other plastic bits.  Planning to wet send the screen down and then polish it to new.  Hope it works.  With faded sun beaten black plastic bits, I'll try vaseline as Seb has done before.
• JD rear shock
• Forks respring/revalve - I'll leave it for last, since I won't know for sure whether it is needed until I ride it and try to set sag.  I probably will need it though.
•  

Another update - All good news this time :cheerleader: