Where to put the wiring loom and stuff!

Working out where to fix the electrics, cdi box, regulator, fuel pump, cabling for remote reservioir, using aluminum plate, will probably drill out some holes to save weight....even if its aluminum. Rear brake reservoir temporarily fixed. The seat unit pivots on the end so Ive got have it fixed at the front but easy to undo and flip up. Will clean it all up later.

re-assembling part 2

My way of building the bike up is to fix the frame to the engine, straightforward if one has the necessary locking nut tool, so easy to drop the frame over, and put the bolts in. refitted the swingarm and suspension linkages. Before I put it in Id thought i could put the chain in, thinking it was an endless one, but no the one I got with a sprocket kit came with a rivet link, annoying as I have to by another tool now. First fitting of my nice Nitron shock, working out where the ride height adjuster(yellow knob) and the reservoir (annodised blue knob top right)should go. Want to try and get it inboard as much as poss to avoid damage if the bike goes on its side.

building up the bike.

Generator cover and snapped bolt drilled and tapped again only to get stuck again when I stupidly used an old bolt which snapped when torqued up...these I will replace with a complete kit soon, probably fancy anodised items from Mr Fastener.
One thing annoyed me I bought a complete gasket set 6 months ago only now to find some of the components not quite lining up! generator cover and exhaust washers wrong size!

one mashed radiator

This sorry looking radiator even though it doesnt leak cant be trusted, its corroded to the point that bits have turned to powder, fixing points cracked. so luckily Kempton Park bike jumble was on again, excellent place that Ive mentioned before. this time there was a classic bike show on. just by chance I spotted a radiator which looked very similar. With my measuring tape I checked the length,breadth, height inlet,outlet. even though it said gpz600 on it it looked ok. Infact they were the same. So whether honda and Kawasaki use the same parts or it was marked up wrong.

final top end tasks

Cylinder heads finally on after a long time, the dodgy thread that I had trouble with was fine, cleaned through with a tap. It held under torqing up so I'm relieved.
setting the valve timing was quite straight forward, line the T1 mark on starter motor side, cam sprocket marks horizontal with cylinder head etc, Ive not touched these or tweaked anything here just the factory settings, I have previously used slotted sprockets on my cbr. May be look into this later. Valve clearances checked and all seemed within the limits from the workshop manual. Ill run the motor first before going back to it. I just want to get it back together and give it a shake down at a track day before the summer is up...with all this nice weather were having.
Next is the clutch plates, then thats about it.

Once the valves were lapped in each chamber was balanced using an old technique learnt from a friend, a small piece of 3 mm clear acrylic was placed over the head area sandwiched by some grease(thin layer), pressed down to for a temp seal. the acrylic has a small hole inwhich to drip a liquid through. using a pipette poor into hole until the liquid( say water) fills the chamber until it just attempts to push through the hole, surface tension just holding it back. Record the fluid level on the pipette, hopefully the valves being lapped in wont leak any through. Do the same for the next one and so one, This would be a good indicator on how accurate your chamber cleanng went and whether they need more material removed to match each chamber equally.


Inlet valves cleaned and ground into seats, only 2 so far. putting the collets in is tricky because of my home made compressor. dabbing a little grease on a screw driver and sticking the collets on is a good way of placing them on the valve stem, then carefully relaxing the compressor( home made tool + large g cramp shown in previous post

the trickiest job so far!......carb jetting!

sorting my cbr640's carbs were a doddle compared to these vfr blighters. The awkwardness of them linked together gives the DIY tinkerer nightmares, usually leaving the job to the end because one cant face the dread of touching them.
Well being a sunny day I just thought get on with it. First up give the carbs a good wash and brush getting muck off the sides with paraffin ( cheaper than engine degreaser) making sure not to get any inside any holes!......then the only option use an impact screw driver onto the crummy cheese screws....they are always stuck and you will chew them if you dont use an impact.
make sure you have 4 tubs to keep each carb part identified to its original carb. Take carb bottoms off, remove floats and float needles
Uncrew pilot jet and clean wit carb cleaner...good blast down its scre hole too. unscrew main jet assembly.....carefully use a large flat screw
driver, hold main jet nozzle in vice and undo main jet...
Standard main jets are 130. this kit is a stage 3 kit ledar jet kit probably impossible to get hold of these days as ledar died in some kind of road accident, it contained needles, specially cut out needle nozzles, large main jet. contains a beast of 150 main jet . Its down to the clever needle nozzle jet and needle in combination with the main jet, the pilot was left standard on the kit, guess for stage 3 tune the pilot wont be needed! ..(so it has standard 40 pilots, mains 150 and ledar needles and nozzles). To get the old nozzles out you have to be pretty brave, it can be done without separating each carb but its a good idea to take all the base carb covers off , get a long punch with a flat end rest on the end of the nozzle the brass sealed tube horizontal in the picture and give a short sharp tap. this should nudge it just so the rubber seal holding the other end gives way, should pop out, be careful as its easy to bend the nozzle tube if you hit it at a too low and angle. Then its just a question of popping the lead nozzles in. cant go wrong its easier to do this, make sure the nozzle cut out is facing inwards.2 spacers added to the needles as a starting point. drop in and drop the slides back into the carb. will be interesting to see how this goes. Ive changed all the crummy screws with hex's so will be easier to disassemble. According to advice 135 should be a good main jet but thats with standard needle nozzles, and this will also have little exhaust restriction.
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