Another day, another set of pictures Here is the engine as it sits stripped down (valve cover installed). The plan now is to put the engine covers back on, install starter motor, thermostat, speedo and neutral sensors and drop the frame onto the engine.
So, valve cover installed with block-off plates. Clutch cover in place, new seal on the clutch shaft/arm. Starter motor, knock sensor, speedo sensor, neutral sensor and intake boots - all in place. Notice the Rizoma timing cap on the clutch cover. It has a plastic slider that bolts on top. Alternator cover will be left off for now, as the alternator wires need some attention. At this point the online parts fiche catalogues come invaluable when selecting the proper bolts. Honda lists the bolts type, size AND length, so it is easy to source through my not-so-organized lot and choose the correct ones.
Very interesting looking at these. The last motor I saw physically out of a bike was my 1970 CB 750 K1. Whilst all the essentials are just about the same, the refinements are considerable. Good range of pics, Martin. As a appreciater of art, I especially enjoy the contrast between fresh paint and rusted drive sprocket.
I was sure someone would notice and comment on that. I would have cleaned it, had I not forgotten to loosen it prior to removing the rear wheel and chain. Since I don't feel like hammering it with an impact wrench while in gear it will have to wait until I put the rear back on and take it off the proper way. I am not really concerned about the sprocket, it will clean right off the first couple of miles, but more about the shaft which I need to clean properly.
And yes, you are right. Looking at the bare engine and comparing to my old 97 blade (which can be seen in the back in some photos) the refinements are huge indeed.
Thanks Hitch, it is indeed. Swingarm, shock and linkage installed. All bolts are loosely in place for the moment, just test fitting everything. Will be tightened down and dropped onto front and rear stands as soon as I have the lower triple in place. As you can see, since I am doing all the work by myself, I had to get creative with supporting the engine / frame It is now starting to resemble a motorcycle again
I was going to say something about the wooden support struts earlier And yes, it now resembles a bike. Great work so far
Water pump in place. Thermostat mounted and its hoses plugged in. I have put one of the silicone hoses for now, but will probably replace it with a clean OEM hose. I have a complete set coming in. It is perfectly usable, but I don't like the blue, especially being discoloured from the fire.
Head bearings will obviously be replaced. New races in place in the frame. Also there was a bit of crap down in the spark plug holes... obviously cannot leave it like that. Holes were blown out with compressed air, plugs removed and each opening was cleaned with a special tool I made (a screwdriver with a rag on the end ). Sparkplugs back in place and coils installed. Thinking about it, I should have probably done all this while I had the engine out of the frame as access was fairly obstructed. Anyways all done. Time to tackle the wiring harness.
First test fit of the wiring harness and first major problem I ran into. If you recall, my main donor bike was a 2011 ABS model. The ABS is a completely independent system from the engine management / speedo / controls and starter circuits. So it is not a problem to disconnect the ABS ECU, pump units, sensors etc. and connect the brakes directly to the master cylinders, thus eliminating the whole system. Therefore the wiring harness can be connected to a non-abs bike, leaving all unused plugs disconnected and it will work. Problem 1 - the ABS sub loom is substantial (maybe 50% compared to the main loom) and integrates the power connector to the starter solenoid, thus it cannot be completely disconnected. There are 4 (or 3, dont remember) very large connectors for the ABS ECU with a lot of wires, so it is a pretty thick harness. So I either will have to live with a bunch of unused wires or chop it down to the essential wiring and cut the rest off. I didn't like it either way. Problem 2 - While the engine / front side of the loom is identical in shape to the non-abs bike, with the exception of a couple extra connectors for the ABS sensors, the tail section arrangement is COMPLETELY different. I ended up buying a mint subframe tray (non-abs) off Ebay and there was no way to arrange the ABS loom, battery, starters solenoid, rectifier and fuse box in a non-abs undertray. Probably could make it fit with a lot of chopping of both the tray and the harness, but this is again something I didn't want to do. So I had to either source an ABS tray (which in fact is a lot deeper/bigger to house the extra ABS pumps, etc.) or source a non-abs loom. Guess which one is cheaper and more readily available in good condition?
As I was saying Left is the ABS, right is the non-ABS, which was sold to me as an 08, but turned out to be a 15 loom. More on that later. Other parts came in as well - frame sliders, front master (gold cap is going away, as I have another reservoir), brake lever, right clip-on, front sub-loom (for the speedo and headlight), Renthal grips and some other small bits.
