30-day Countdown to Road Trip

[superhawk996]

On 8/4/2026 at 9:44 AM, RXX said:

Now I will just obsess about all the shit left behind in the threads.

Now I will just obsess about the torque being incorrect.

Oh, never mind. There is no fucking way I can torque the plugs in those cramped quarters.

I think it's safe to ignore the stuff left in there, but also not terribly hard to clean out.  There's lots of ways to get it out, there's also so many ways that it could go wrong.  A Q tip would be safe as long as it has a paper stick, the wooden ones could break and drop in.  A rag wrapped around a thin screwdriver should work well.  Before inserting the plugs crank it with the throttle wide open to blow out any small debris.

 

My basic rule with gasket seat plugs- as you start to tighten it you'll feel the resistance rise as the gasket compresses.  Go till it bottoms out, then a nudge to lock it in place.

[RXX]

Got as far as filling with anti freeze and let it run up to temp a few times only to find a weeping water pump gasket. Not from the weep hole. Ordered new gaskets. This will set me back a few days. I hate having to drain a gallon of brand-new no boil but it is what it is.

I have not done a R/R on one of these before. Looks fairly straightforward by the shop manual. Any tricks or pitfalls?

BTW, Mike……. The plugs I replaced were NGK. Not the exact model.

[poida]

years ago when replacing the waterpump on my 99 (leaking from the weep hole)one of the bolts snapped when i went to undo it.

talking to a mechanic years later ,he told me i should have given it a tap with a hammer first to break the hold corrosion had on it.

when i replaced the waterpump on my 06 a few years ago for the same problem, 1 bolt had a bit of corrosion on it but not enough to lock it in place and thankfully came out in 1 piece.

im sure the more knowledgeable on the site will have more experience working on these and have tips on doing it.

thats just my experience with them.

[fizzy]

1 hour ago, RXX said:

 

I have not done a R/R on one of these before. Looks fairly straightforward by the shop manual. Any tricks or pitfalls?

 

It just plugs in, you may want to verify it has the exact same plugs as the one on there now incase it needs a workaround.

 

Edit: I would reuse the rad fluid after running it thru a paint strainer. 

Edited August 12 by fizzy

[RXX]

7 minutes ago, fizzy said:

It just plugs in, you may want to verify it has the exact same plugs as the one on there now incase it needs a workaround.

 

Edit: I would reuse the rad fluid after running it thru a paint strainer. 

You mean like this??

 

Yeah, I had already planned on it.

 

What a PITA, but that shit’s like $50 a gallon.

[SwampNut]

18 minutes ago, RXX said:

You mean like this??

 

Yeah, I had already planned on it.

 

What a PITA, but that shit’s like $50 a gallon.

 

 

Fuck, the coolant in the silver unicorn is 5-10 years old.

 

[RXX]

27 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

 

 

Fuck, the coolant in the silver unicorn is 5-10 years old.

 

The stuff I drained out was from September 2024 so practically NIB. I put it back in the jug with some of the original. It looked clear enough.  I am sure I can find a use for it. Well, I actually didn’t totally drain the system so there is going to be some legacy coolant in the bike next week. 
I had been adding the stuff a liter at a time, and some of it was exposed to ambient moisture while in a pitcher, covered with a shop towel. I am certain there was some moisture pulled from our very, very humid air, but way less than any 3% threshold. The drained coolant is very slightly opaque, not as crystal clear as unopened but after running it through a couple of coffee filters looks perfectly acceptable.

[Zero Knievel]

4 hours ago, RXX said:

I have not done a R/R on one of these before. Looks fairly straightforward by the shop manual. Any tricks or pitfalls?

 

The R/R has been replaced already and is not a Honda part.  It should be solid.  The wires running to the stator are direct wired as the plug was a source of trouble.  Replacement means clipping, soldering, and heat shrink.  Not a hard task, but not just plug and play.

 

Quote

Your connectors don't look that bad. The OEM connections are shit and lend to charring (what was Honda thinking). If you have enough miles, you might want to just replace the stator AND R/R as a precaution, but some charring on the connectors doesn't prove anything conclusive. Mine had charring LONG before anything failed.

I replaced my R/R (as a precaution) then had the stator go out...forcing me to replace BOTH. I think the stator was the larger culprit, but if it's not failing enough to be obvious, you might not catch it by testing. By best 2 cents is that if the voltage is near the upper range of what it should be at max output, maybe the R/R is failing. Since putting in the new R/R and stator, my volts don't go over 14.2.

Both my stator and R/R came from Ricks. The R/R is MOFSET (sp?), which is an improvement.

I don't know if you can really find better connections for the stator. I went ahead and hard-wired/solder/shrinkwrap the wiring so there wouldn't be the "open air" nonsense of the OEM connection.

 

 

Edited August 12 by Zero Knievel

[SwampNut]

Don't use anti-seize since it needs to be grounded.

 

[RXX]

9 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

The R/R has been replaced already and is not a Honda part.  It should be solid.  The wires running to the stator are direct wired as the plug was a source of trouble.  Replacement means clipping, soldering, and heat shrink.  Not a hard task, but not just plug and play.

 

 

 

 

To a mechanic or on a repair estimate, R&R stands for Remove and Replace. It means the shop will take out an old, broken, or worn-out part and put a brand-new or rebuilt part in its place. [1, 2]

 

What R&R Involves

• Taking apart the area around the broken part

• Disconnecting wires, bolts, or fluid lines

• Taking out the old part

• Putting in a new part

• Testing it to make sure it works [1, 2, 3]

 

R&R vs. R&I

Mechanics and insurance adjusters use another similar code called R&I, which means Remove and Install.[1, 2]

• R&R (Remove and Replace): The old part goes in the trash, and a new part is bought and installed. You pay for labor and the part.

• R&I (Remove and Install): The mechanic takes a good part off just to get it out of the way, and then puts that exact same part back on. You usually only pay for the labor time. [1]

 

If you are looking at a repair bill, tell me the name of the part next to the R&R code, and I can tell you what kind of job it is.

[Zero Knievel]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[fizzy]

35 minutes ago, RXX said:

 

 

To a mechanic or on a repair estimate, R&R stands for Remove and Replace. It means the shop will take out an old, broken, or worn-out part and put a brand-new or rebuilt part in its place. [1, 2]

 

What R&R Involves

• Taking apart the area around the broken part

• Disconnecting wires, bolts, or fluid lines

• Taking out the old part

• Putting in a new part

• Testing it to make sure it works [1, 2, 3]

 

R&R vs. R&I

Mechanics and insurance adjusters use another similar code called R&I, which means Remove and Install.[1, 2]

• R&R (Remove and Replace): The old part goes in the trash, and a new part is bought and installed. You pay for labor and the part.

• R&I (Remove and Install): The mechanic takes a good part off just to get it out of the way, and then puts that exact same part back on. You usually only pay for the labor time. [1]

 

If you are looking at a repair bill, tell me the name of the part next to the R&R code, and I can tell you what kind of job it is.

So you plan to R/R the R/R?  Say that 4 times quickly and you may be Hispanic. 

[RXX]

42 minutes ago, fizzy said:

So you plan to R/R the R/R?  Say that 4 times quickly and you may be Hispanic. 

No. The water pump gasket(s)

[RXX]

1 hour ago, Zero Knievel said:

Thanks for clearing that up.

For you, no problem. I assumed contextually it was obvious.

[fizzy]

55 minutes ago, fizzy said:

So you plan to R/R the R/R?  Say that 4 times quickly and you may be Hispanic. 

Sorry, I got you mixed up with Zero.  Whoops. 😨  

[SwampNut]

2 hours ago, fizzy said:

So you plan to R/R the R/R?  Say that 4 times quickly and you may be Hispanic. 

 

[fizzy]

11 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

 

RRRRRobar

[RXX]

So I ordered gaskets & seals to be expedited and got a back ordered - no ETA on the gasket. Fuck me. Started thinking about taking the street triple but that is such an unsatisfactory option I had to sleep on it. Then, during a drwam, I envisioned myself as a crusty old fart that hoards shit. This morning, I scrounged through the barn and found my “Rockmeupto125” starter kit and VOILA!!

Thanks, Joe. You are an inspiration. When (if) I grow up I want to be just like you!!

 

[Zero Knievel]

4 hours ago, RXX said:

Thanks, Joe. You are an inspiration. When (if) I grow up I want to be just like you!!

 

That's what...a couple of years?  

[RXX]

44 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

That's what...a couple of years?  

Man I don’t know. Come to think of it that gasket may have come with your bike. I just don’t remember.

130000 miles on a water pump ain’t too shabby.

[Zero Knievel]

18 hours ago, RXX said:

Man I don’t know. Come to think of it that gasket may have come with your bike. I just don’t remember.

130000 miles on a water pump ain’t too shabby.

 

Had to be Joe.  I replaced the thermostat and changed over to the water-free stuff, but I didn't touch the pump.

[RXX]

1 hour ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

Had to be Joe.  I replaced the thermostat and changed over to the water-free stuff, but I didn't touch the pump.

About the only thing you didn’t touch……..

 

 

 

Edited August 14 by RXX

[CALCXX]

Two weeks to go.

One hour work per day.

You'll be fine.  

 

Then came Bronson.{RXX) 

"Going down that long lonesome highway"

"Bound for the mountains and the plains" 

 

 

Edited August 14 by CALCXX

[The Krypt Keeper]

On 8/13/2026 at 10:51 AM, RXX said:

So I ordered gaskets & seals to be expedited and got a back ordered - no ETA on the gasket. Fuck me. Started thinking about taking the street triple but that is such an unsatisfactory option I had to sleep on it. Then, during a drwam, I envisioned myself as a crusty old fart that hoards shit. This morning, I scrounged through the barn and found my “Rockmeupto125” starter kit and VOILA!!

Thanks, Joe. You are an inspiration. When (if) I grow up I want to be just like you!!

 

going to be doing a a bunch of crap this winter on my XX and finding a lot of stuff on back order with no date in sight. 

[poida]

i know you have one now but i have been buying parts from webike japan.have had a good exchange rate so stocked up on consumables and other parts i needed.delivery usually within 2 weeks to australia.

 

https://japan.webike.net/ps/19226-mat-000/9000/#!search&p.k=19226-mat-000&p.c=9000&p.m=312