ActionStarCBRxx

Greetings! I am humbly requesting help with my steering head/bearing replacement. I have a 1997 Blackbird. Recently about four/five months ago, I pulled the forks and replaced the springs and changed out the fork oil to a 5 weight oil. While I had the forks off, I pulled the steering/head bearings and replaced them with the All Balls roller bearings. When I installed the new bearings, I used the old bearing and tapped on that to push the new bearings in placed. I put everything back together using the torque supplied by the book (I don’t recall the torque off the top of my head now). It worked beautifully for a few weeks, until I ran over a speed bump in the parking lot. (the speed bumps are used in our work lot to slow traffic) After that, I noticed that if I applied the brakes real hard, or went over another speed bump while braking that the front end would feel like it was shifting forward. It was a subtle movement… nothing dramatic… just a subtle shift forward. My thought at the time was that the bearings shifted a little bit and I just need to re-tighten them again. So I did exactly that, I pulled the bars, the center clamp, undid the big nut and re-tightened it again, then put everything back together. Same thing… it held for a week or two, then I noticed it going over a speed bump again at work while braking hard, that the front end was shifting forward a little. Other than the shifting forward under hard brake, the bike would steer correctly, and lay down easily in the corners. This time I thought maybe I didn’t tighten it enough, as the last time I did it by feel, and not by the “book” so I took everything back off again, backed the nut off, then tightened it again. I used the right torque settings this time on the nut. I tightened the nut on the trip clamp before I tightened the fork clamps. I know I over tightened the bolt on the triple clamp… but I wanted to see what would happen. .. I was hoping that it would settle down in a week or so, and it would be a perfect fit. But alas… its doing it again when I hard brake or brake over the speed bumps, and now its too tight to turn correctly. When you let go of the bars, it wants to veer a little to the side. Does anyone have any suggestions? Did I toast the bearings putting them in and I need to replace them again? Is there anyone if the DFW area that I could take the bike to verify what’s going on? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks! Kelly

I am looking for a new bike to add a small CC bike the stable... I sold all my extras and now I miss the change up of the routine!! I am looking for an Honda F3/F4. Price and quality need to match. I dont want a cheap arse POS, and I dont want to pay top money for an average bike. I enjoy performing maintence and fixing what needs to be fixed, so something in good to average condition would be ideal. I really like the Smokin Joe's theme. I also like the purple/yellow/black colors. I think my threshold is around $1500-$3000... more if the bike is a great deal. Ideally I dont want to travel further than Texas or bordering states. Thanks, and as always you all rock! K

When I replaced my OEM shock with the 900RR shock I needed to loosen all 3 to get the shock in between the plates :icon_think: I think I had to pull all three on mine as well... +1 on just lifting the tank vs removing it. The shock can only go on one way as the side reservoir gets in the way if you put it in wrong (not the remote). Dont forget with this shock you can set the ride height as well. I believe by default its set as low as it can go. Not a good thing on the bird if like corners. I think I raised mine up to about 7mm and the bike now falls in the corners (most folks used to shim their old stock shocks 4mm). Way different feeling from stock. You'll love the wheelies you can pull now with the new rear shock. I did the front springs and rear at the same time... the old front would extend and the old rear would squat so I had to clutch to get the wheel off the ground. Now give it some gas, roll off and on and it lifts... or just flat let it loose and it starts lifting. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to do (2 to 4 hours depending on how well you clean around the swing arm and triangles).

I did a butt load of fixes/rebuilds on the ole 97. Needless to say... after three months of being down, she is finally back together. I took her for a test drive, and less than a few houses away (After a several mile trip) the rear brakes locked. Smokin hot! No really... SMOKIN HOT! :icon_shocked: I replaced the lines with Spiegel's front and rear. I bleed the brakes over and over and over. The back was still a bit mushy, but I figured with a good ride, it would force all the air up through the master cylinder. ( I wish I would have used the thread on bleeding brakes... as I did not raise the master cylinder and bleed again) Anyway... the last stop light, I thought... there that feels much better as I was able to stop the bike just using the rear. About a half mile later the rear tire started locking up (due to the brake) I pulled into my driveway and had to really rev it to get the bike to move into the garage. When I parked it... the brakes were smoking at the bleeder valves. So I haven't pulled anything yet or gone to look... do you think I am going to need to replace the rubber seals in the pistons? I would think the temp would be hot enough to brittle them up. Ironically with the Spiegel's lines, I pulled the front two calipers and replaced all the rubber the seals. The back brakes I totally left alone! Your input would be much appreciated. After I pull them, I will post up with pictures and an update.

3rd to POST! Dave, if you come across a simple watch like this with a compass... can you give me a heads up. You seem to come across the most unusual stuff at a great deal! Thanks! K

Greetings, I am replacing the piston seals in the front brake calipers. I started with the left caliper... I unloosened the bolts and pulled the caliper free and removed everything from the caliper except the fluid draining nipples. I then used an air hose to push the pistons out by spraying the air in the inlet hoses. The center piston, and one of the outer ones have come free from the caliper, but there is one there that I can't seem to get out. The inlet hoses only seem to affect one center and one of the outers. I was "expecting" the center inlet to control the center piston, and the outer inlet to push out the two outer pistons... but alas it did not work that way. The book states that using air down the inlet holes is supposed to work. Any ideas or solutions?

What's ERC? I practice as well... one thing to keep in mind... don't practice on tires that don't have good tread and a suspension that has too much travel! (needed fork rebuild) Also, be mindful of how tight you a grabbing/holding the handle bars. If/When the bike goes into a skid, or the front drops really rapidly, when you put alot of pressure on your bars, you add to the proabability that the bike is going to tuck under you because you are not giving the chance for the bike to correct itself. I did this last year and got a busted mirror and fairing to show for it. It really showed me how much pressure I was putting on the bars when I was in panick stopping and how much I was not using my knees to hold the tank. The point... keep the hands/arms loose!

Its red and looks very stock... I would take it in a heart beat if I was looking for another. I think the price is a little high. I would offer $4500. If he wont budge then walk away for a week and come back and ask if he is ready to sell it.... but again its RED and how bad do you want it?

double that +1 on the PP. Tried Dunlup's (D207/209) before the PP and I went through those really fast! ** forgot to add... good traction on the street for the PP's as well. Its mostly flat in Texas, so we dont get any real mountains... but on the corners when I push it... they stick!

I noticed that when I would turn the bars (read push one bar or the other to turn) that I would feel a slowness or heavyness in the bars. Its like it was dragging a little bit. When you go to replace the bearings you will see a noticable improvement in how smooth and easy the bars are to turn. The bike is still in the air as I am replacing the tires... but just the simple physical turning of the bars with out the wheel on, you can feel how easy it is to turn.

Wow thats one mean sprited woman!! Gotta love her!! Bird wrecked... forget the hubby!! LOL

Awesome write up Hobie! I finally pulled my forks yesterday. I have the oil drained and I will be putting in new springs from Race Tech. I bought fork seals and the tool from Racetech to press the seals back in place... but I am tempted to not replace them... as I dont have a leak in either seal. Whats the general consenses on replacing fork seals? Changing as part of maintenance or what till they leak and then replace them? Also... the little allen bolt at the bottom... I can't get that bolt out. Should I just ignore it? I pumped the forks several times to get the oil out and I left the forks turned upside down over night to let the rest of the oil drain out. Is there more goob thats at the bottom that wont be sucked through when pumping the cartridge? Let me know your thoughts! Thanks! K

Can someone put the jacket on... and take a front and back shot? Looking at it on the floor doesn't help me much. Maybe I got distracted in all the booby comments... I am interested but would like to see it on. Also, in the last thread there were so many logo ideas thrown out I got lost on the final decision. Can you post some pictures of that as well? Many thanks... and man did you go way above the call of duty on this one! K3

If you come into town... give me a call I would love to hook up with you for dinner. 817-595-3990. If its close to Hurst or possibly Fort Worth... I can take a look at it this week in the evening. If its in Dallas it will have to wait till the weekend. Let me if you need help! Kelly

Software included in the deal?

Pics... color... details?

Where did you get the chemical to to coat the tank... or where did you have it done at? This would be a good time to do it while I have the tank off and apart. I would need to get a picture of the float sending unit and upload it. I scrapped the tank that had the ball in it (with the ball left in it). The tank was damaged on the lines/creases and I know I would not take the time to fix it.

I have a 1993 FJ1200 made by Yamaha (no comments please :icon_silenced: ) I am replacing the fuel tank and I pulled the wires to the "fuel sending unit" not sure of the technical name... its the wires that go to the tank the monitors the height of the fuel and sends that lift/drop in fuel height to the fuel gauge. This "fuel sending unit" has a block off plate that keeps the fuel from spilling out. Attached to the block off plate is a long arm that was attached to a ball that floats. The ball is too big to pull out through the hole sending unit blocks off and I am having problems getting it out through the gas tank hole... I already pulled the "sending unit and arm" off and the ball is still stuck in side. My thought was to just replace it with another floating object that would be small enough to actually fit through the sending unit. My concern is that this is immersed in gas so I cant just use a cork or anything that will shred particles through time. Any suggestions? When the sending unit was loose but not removed, and was attached to the black ball thingy that raises with the gas... It likee it stabbed through the black ball. It took some prying to actually pull the lever out from the ball. It was in there pretty good! Any help would be apprecaited. Thanks!

Thanks all for the input! I put them in yesterday. I feel so manly now... you know how in the Role playing games like Everquest or such...that you get skill points for completing certian things? Well baby my score just rocketed!! (well went up a little!) For this project... I actually went out and bought a real POS china 12k press from Norther Tool. I cleaned everything real good like suggested (polished would be the better word), pressed the bearings in without mis-aligning the bearings, and re-installed the linkage again... without destroying a bearing... scratching the heck out of a newly powder coated part... and did not have any left over parts!! HOW COOL IS THAT!! :icon_eyebrows: Anyway's as always thanks for the help and a great forum! K

Sent a note to Zanotti's... the place where I buy all my Honda parts... They did not have an answer either... my thought was since it was the last three numbers that were different it may be just a color difference from the black of the 97 bird. From email: Hi, I looked through Honda and through their electronic parts manual and couldn't find anything. I checked with our service manager to see if he could see something and he didn't know. I do know that the drain plugs & lines are the same part numbers. Could it be a different color....I don't know. Thanks, Tim Zanotti’s 724-283-5419

Its not even the wheel bearing in question... its the needle/roller bearings in the suspension linkages. How do you know which grease for the right application? I would think that head bearings, suspension, and swing arm bearings would all be the same type of application? And the wheel bearings would be something a little better? More input on the bearings would be cool if you would!! Thanks again gentlemen!

I am replacing the needle roller bearings in my suspension since had I had the parts powder coated. It looks like from the factory (Honda) the bearings I recieved already have a clear grease packed in them. Do I need to re-pack/add more grease inside the bearings or is it fine the way it came from the factory? If I do repack them I am assuming I need to use a waterproof moly grease? Thanks!

Found this regarding the Engine Armor. Bad news its sold in the UK... so about double that price when converting the dollar to the pound. This was for all three pieces. Manufactor: Road Armor CBR1100 XX (SUPERBLACKBIRD) available Sold by: Johnybike Link Carbon Clutch Cover Carbon Generator Cover Carbon Pulse Cover Fitting Kit & Instructions £ 192.00

Beautiful bike!! I like the red rims! Those pipes fit nicely under that tail! When you go to a full aftermarket system... you lose the EXUP feature which means you lose mid range? (question??) Maybe with the pipes being longer and Y'd you get back some of that mid range torque back? Anyone do any dyno runs with these pipes? Be curious how seat of the pants feels when you get another ride.

Thanks all for the replies! I hadn’t considered just a flat out replacement from a junkyard... but that is a viable option in the near future if this doesn’t work out. I like the idea of using the Deep Creep. And he will do that to the tops of the pistons. I went over last night to see the progress and there is carbon build up everywhere on everything. The backs of the valves are thick and chunky nasty!! The top of the pistons have build up as well... not nearly as bad as the valves but they are big flakes. He is soaking the valves in kerosene and will use a wire wheel on a bench grinder to clean those up. I bought him a angle die grinder and we were only able to find some stones and sand paper drums. We took one of the heads and did a clean up port on one of the chambers... mainly to smooth out radius and clean out the build up. I gave him a decent one to look at as an example. I emphasized over and over to stay away from where the valve seats and little is way better than too much when porting. We smoothed out the lip in the intake chamber where it turns down the runner passage and on the exhaust we just lightly cleaned/polished around the bowl. Re- emphasizing over and over to stay away from/becareful of where the stem the valve moves through the head. (Cant recall what that’s called) We smoothed the radius hump by where the spark plug sets as well. Again stressing not to worry about taking metal away but just smooth out the roughness and the bumps. I suggested he not use the stones but use hardened steel bits. I gave him a few articles on porting so he can read and get the jest of what I was doing and why. I might have gone a bit overboard on recommending the polishing... but when I was his age that was one of the things I remembered most about the rebuilds I did. (man twenty years ago!!) I screwed up a few heads and had to have the valve seats re-done because I scratched them with a bit!! There is something to be said for experience in doing. Its funny that none of his friends are around helping him. This type of work is becoming a lost art it seems. There is also something to be said for good engineering. Taking out some of those bolts was a real pain. And having to use T (8 star) sockets to pull an AC connected to a bracket seems real dumb. And using off sized bolts. 19/32 and 17/32 I think were two we had to use on some other brackets? You don’t see that kind of crap on a Honda.