CBR400 NC23 Project

[Aikman666]

Right well. Mayaswell get round to posting in here as my last project ended up entirely in the Scottish section. Anyhow, im going to copy a few posts ive made in the Scottish section for my new project that i bought last week!

I bought a fully working and MOT'ed CBR400 Triarm model for £700 off another member of the forum. She came in a roadworthy state as i said, but thats about it, she was quite considerably crash damaged on the left hand side, the right hand side had its share of scratches and cracks too, heres my initial post the day i got it:

I had the rear fairings off today to have a poke around, had a look at what was needed to put the fairings on (i think there is a bracket missing for the lower fittings!). All in all i spent the entire afternoon assessing damage, seeing what needed done etc. To be completely honest mechanicly and electronicly the bike is sound, but the fairings are bolloxed Tommorow, im gonna drain coolant, remove radiator, clean out the system and get that ready for paint Thumbs Up . Errmmmm, alot of repair work to be done to the fairings, the throttle is a little dodgey so that needs work, think i'll get the rear subframe stripped and powdercoated. Thats all i can see so far

https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=40486

Right now you have all been enlightened as to my first impressions, i moved on armed with my young entuisiasm and my first full day off work and school in weeks to come:

Yeah overall the fairings look good on first glance, but i basically fitted them all up after Simon left and theres alot of damage to mounting points, in some places entire bits have snapped off, but overall yeah the fairings arent bad. Today i done a shit load of stripping, photographed just about every wire i undone (bloody hate electronics). Had a few pleasant suprises aswell...but the thing seems to have been fookin submerged in sand at one point

Good points:
Engine will clean up nice
Wheels will clean up nice
No frame damage whatsoever
Electrics are in good order
Carbs are clean and in good order
And other stuff...

Bad points:
Radiator fan is absolutely bolloxed (fan is solid, parts of it disintegrating)
Just about snapped the braket for it getting it off the rad
The rad itself has seen better days (its acctually bent Shocked )
....Theres too many wires

Ehhh quite a successful day though. Ive got an 8 and a half hour shift tommorow starting at 12 so i might get out early in the morning, get her in the hanging frame, pop the wheels off and maybe get the engine out.

To do list:
Clean up swingarm
Clean wheels
Recondition Micron can (needs new baffle)
Strip subframe send off to powdercoat

Now this brings me to my next point, i want the subframe coated Gold, would this be done better with powdercoat or anodising? And can someone tell me where to get it done? - Cheers, Aikman

Pics are of what she looks like now!

https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=40546
https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=40545

Unfortunetly after this point progress got slower for a couple of reasons:
1. I returned to school
2. I returned to work
3. I ran out of money (DOOM!)
Also theres an important safety warning included in the original post i would like to share with you all (men especially!)

[craigs23]

Nice work, viva-la-400s and all.

Try Yell.com for local powder coaters, I had my wheels done by a local firm when I had my RVF, did a classy job - much cheaper than some automotive speciallists too.

Or give Triple S a bell.

[Aikman666]

Well today went pretty well i think!

Managed to get the shock out after jacking up the bike and with much persuiasion from a hammer! The shock is in not bad condition but could do with a good clean and some paint touch up, but im not sure as of the price of this/where to get it done or if its worth it! Next i managed to get the rear calliper seperated from the rearset, and stripped down, hopefully ready for chroming. The rest of the day was spent dismantleing the sidestand, degreasing it, wire brushing it, a bit of wet n' dry paper and then painted with the good ol' black hammerite! I also managed to clean up various things including the undertray (alot of shite and sand on it!). Had a look at the air filter, looks brand new. Also tried to clean the expansion chamber, however looks like its going to have to be flushed with deagreaser!

After doing all of this i moved onto the second stage of my plastic welding which basically meant tidying up the welds. I also started trying to replace an entire part of the nosecone fairing by welding a plastic plate into place and sort of melting it down flush with the original surroundings however i had to leave that to harden before doing any more work.

A few pictures of todays progress:
Sidestand before paint
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/22102006001.jpg

Sidestand after paint
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/22102006002.jpg

The aforementioned wooden axel rod pokie-pokie stick
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/22102006004.jpg

Rear fairing repair
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/22102006005.jpg

LHS fairing repair
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/22102006006.jpg

Not too sure when i'll have the time to work on her again, but stay tuned
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[dransy]

Great post, keep them coming
____________________
Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[DynaMight]

Looks good.

Is the exhuast system a 4-2-1 or a 4-1? the latter = bad and will zap any mid range.

Also I had a spare NC23 rad fan in pretty good condition if you need it, as for the rads, you can get NC29 ones to fit with a little bit of bodging but once the done the one on my girlfriends NC23 stayed there for about 15months without issue.

Get a CBR600 rear shock, it'll improve the handling no end.

I assume you've been on 400greybike.co.uk?
____________________
My bikes are at https://www.bikepics.com/members/dynamight/

[nickypoo31]

Hi mate, nice bike, i like what you have done with it.
I have recently restored a vt500e motorcycle from the grave and rode it for about a year before selling it. check it out at my web site at www.showoffyourwheels.com

Look under 1983 vt500e restoration
Tell me what you think
also have two video clips on youtube when i first started it open pipes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK4V-GrrTzI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9egT6l6GpM

LHave a look around and tell me what you think guys.
____________________
www.showoffyourwheels.com

[Aikman666]

Cheers for the advice Dynamight; i intend on sticking the CBR600 shock into it as the one i have looks a bit worse for wear and im quite a heavy lad (6ft3 at 13st! who says this bike is for small people?)
Havent been able to do much lately due to rain/school/work so ive been doing a bit of foot work around. Ive recently had an email back from the folks over at Quality Chrome who have quoted me £15 each plus VAT and postage to get the 3 callipers chromed! So once ive got a bit of money about me those will be getting sent off, i'll be looking at braided brake line hoses (the ones on as standard look a bit crap and worse for wear too!)

Ive also decided to get the fairings done out of house as apparently the 2-pack paint is extremely dangerous and it would cost me too much to hire any equipment i needed for the spraying. Anyone know the best place to order braided hoses?

- Cheers guys
Aikman
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[kat250]

looking good dude. but dont get new seals and pistons for the calipers as they are all brand spanking new. And the old girl is looking alot better than i ever seen her, keep up the good work .
____________________
in the famous word of jimmy pop "would you F*ck me for blow"
In the words of banditshigh "would you blow me to f*ck"

[DynaMight]

Best place would be: https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HEL-3-Line-Braided-Hose-Kits-for-Road-Bikes-POST-FREE_W0QQitemZ8056237311QQihZ019QQcategoryZ21669QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

HEL are good quailty too and give loads of choice with the colours etc.

As for the rest of the bike, Speak to a man called Graeme France on 07778628448. He's the man Honda come to when it comes to 400's He does all the trick bits and spares you'll ever need.
____________________
My bikes are at https://www.bikepics.com/members/dynamight/

[Aikman666]

Right time for an update!:

Not been up to much lately, been working around sort of smaller jobs that make an amount of difference in my head . Have been looking into the CBR600 shock, and it seems im going to need a new linkage from Graeme France to make it fit so i'll need to get a price on that before i decide what im doing! However ive priced the HEL brake lines at around ~£54 (have checked they do NC23 kit). As mentioned before the callipers are due chroming aswell.

As for the subframe ive decided that im going to strip the current paint off, give it a good rubbing down and spray it gold and laquer over it, see how that goes. Afterall if it doesnt go to plan i'll just take it off and do it again! Also got round to taking the cover off the pillion seat, will need to see about getting a new one made, im not too sure as to what i can do about the squashy filling stuff, its looking a bit worse for wear? Also the airbox has now been completely cleaned out and is ready to go back on the bike.

However its not all joy, when the bike arrived the cap off the expansion chamber was missing, this means that the inside of the bottle has become absolutely coated in shit and its impossible to tell the level, i've tried flushing it with degreaser followed by warm water which didnt have much affect, im at a loss.

Next steps will be:
1. Order new brake lines and get resoviour & pipes sorted
2. Send off callipers to the chromer
3. Spray subframe
4. Sort out new shock
5. Sort out new radiator
6. Inventory bolts to get new ones where needed (some stainless steel!)
7. Recover pillion seat
8. Poke around carbs & throttle to fix idle problem

And so on and so fourth....

Pictures for your viewing pleasure!
Pillion pegs; Before on right, after on Left!
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/01112006005.jpg

Various brackets & sidestand bits after a good Hammerite coating!
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/01112006006.jpg

The bike as she stands now:
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/02112006.jpg
https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/02112006002.jpg

Hope you enjoyed reading, tune in soon as i think this is the turnaround where things start getting done faster putting the bike back together!...At least i hope it is. Always looking for advice etc, and im also still looking for an estimate on a one tone sprayjob on the fairings if anyone wants to give me one?
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[Aikman666]

Roight well, there might be someone out there still reading

Basically on Friday i decided to take the plunge and paint the subframe on my todd. So armed with a container of Nitromors, i set about the poor unsuspecting metal structure.

The condition before it was chemically ravaged:

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/PA160003.jpg

I spent around 3 hours preparing this (what i thought) simple subframe. But ended up scrubbing with a wire brush and using a small screwdriver to get the shite out of all the gaps. Once i had managed to get all of the old paint off and the shite was all out of the gaps, the subframe got a quick wash with soapy water to remove any last traces of the Nitromors, and any shite that was dwelling on the surface. It was then dried with a towel, and left out to dry while i stuck random bolts in holes to protect threads. This is what it looked like stripped:

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/05112006001.jpg

Once i was confident it had dried enough it was time to apply the basecoat. For the basecoat i chose white primer (seemed like the best option when using gold as a finish). I decided to spray in the door of the garage to give a shield from the wind but still provide decent ventilation. I took the spraying in a hatchwork method and proverbially dropkicked it out the door, and just went for the 'spray it till its all the same colour and consistancy' method, which seemed to work. This is what the result was after the first coat:

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/05112006002.jpg

She received a second coating later on but there was no sort of major development! Tommorow i'll rub it down wherever its required and hopefully get it sprayed the finishing colour, beautiful. Im just about to go down and check it now (cant remember if i sprayed the underside!). If its ok i'll be bringing it inside for tonight to give it a better chance of curing properly

Stay tuned for more!
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[DaveH]

Was going to say that it looked ok before, but its looking way better now even in its underwear

[bigboss1966]

This is looking very intresting my man . Keep the posts coming . God i might have to pop down and see it in the flesh sometime .
____________________
Yzf R1

[Aikman666]

For those of you who have been looking over the thread i apologise. Had an accident involving a car pulling out infront of me last Thursday and have been concentrating working on the RX/school/work/insurance over the past few days. However i had done a bit and havent got round to posting about it:
Subframe basecoated/painted/laquered/touched up/relaquered (story to that!)
Left hand side main fairing was rubbed down and basecoated, looks very nice
Removed decals from all fairings, managed to melt a fairing with the heat gun while doing so

Will try to get details up after school tommorow, thanks for reading!
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[syris]

Sorry to hear about the accident dude, you alright?

The bike is looking well.

[ncrn]

I cant wait too see it finished, if I was allowed I would get another bike to do something like that too, its gonna look great.

hope you sort all the insurance etc things out soon
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[Aikman666]

Well here it is as promised:

With regards to the accident, yeah im ok thanks for asking, bit of back pain still left but ok otherwise. With regards to insurance, its not going that well; basically my insurance company turned round and said i cant claim off her because i never acctually hit her car (she pulled out on me from a junction, i emergency braked, front end washed, i went down the road). So thats that for now!

Right onwards with the bike

Subframe:
After making sure the basecoat was everywhere i could get it, and nice and dry i started applying the final colour (a pugeot gold) ontop, same as before trying not to overspray. Because of the shape of the subframe it acctually took two cans and many coats, but i was quite happy with the outcome. I shoved it under the Infra-red radiator to dry for a good half an hour a side then left it in a warm room to cure. Next a clear laquer coat was applied, oh dear. Basically i done the same procedure with this, but unfortunetly the towel i was using to lay the subframe on brushed against it while it was wet and "scratched" the surface. "Oh shitbuckets" i thought but no worries its in an inconspicuous area. However once i laid it out to dry (after a blast from the radiator and making sure it was touch dry) it still stuck to the towel, resulting in a bad finish and alot of swearing on my part. So i rubbed down the affected areas and sprayed again. It still needs another coat of laquer, however i think this is very close to the finishing product:

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/DSCF0216.jpg?t=1164300946

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/DSCF0213.jpg?t=1164300945

I moved focus to the fairings next (because i dont have any money for anything else now! ). Nearly all the fairings have a two tone paint job and decals on them. SO out came the heatgun and the blade from a stanley knife, got them all off pretty quickly and easily. However i got a bit overenthuisiastic with one of the fairings and ended up melting it (the whole thing bent down and cracked etc.) So i welded that lot up. It also took a shit load of petrol to remove the remaining adhesive, after that i degreased the fairings and started rubbing down. Obviously the places that had been plastic welded (3 on this particular fairing) needed to be made flush with the surrounding material. Ontop of that, because of the two tone paintjob, there was a fairly obvious line between the first and second layer, so this needed to be rubbed down until it was flush also. Next a general sand around the fairing, washed it all down, left it to dry and set about it with a can of basecoat. I however did employ the 'hatchwork' spray ethic with this one, heres the result:

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/12112006004.jpg?t=1164301372

There were a few minor repairs made to this fairing, only one major, if you can guess where any of them are i'll give you a shiny penny . The colour acctually looks quite sweet aswell, but its going to be finished in a nice metalic black.

Thats around it for this instalment. I should hopefully be out working on her again once the weather has calmed down and ive got all of this other shit sorted!

Thanks for reading, stay tuned!
- Aikman
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[TOM M]

Looking good mate, keep up the hard work
____________________
Now owner of a 1200 Bandit

[Aikman666]

Just a wee update.

The large fairing panel seen above has now been painted in its final colour (BMW Cosmos Black) Which is a rather nice metalic black. You can see where the repairs have been made if you look hard, but are otherwise un noticeable, i will get photos as soon as possible but out of the 4 cameras we had in the house all of them are gone!

As for the subframe it was re-laquered and is now looking awesome and will sit to cure inside until its ready to go back on the bike. I also began preparing the rear fairing, even basecoated it, then even went and fucking dropped it! Luckily it held together mostly but ive had to fill some cracks that appeared

On the mechanical side; the new suspension will be arriving soon, and with a bit of bodging it will be on, then i can get the rear wheel back on, subframe, and basically put the bike back together from there. Im still at a loss as what to do with the radiator as it looks to be expensive for a new one, however i might have to go with it because that one is relatively fucked, it still holds water, but the fan brackets are rusted to fuck and the radiator is bent.

Also at the weekend when i mentioned the bike had an engine change in the past, i was told that it needed an engineers report in order to change the V5 (which at the time i had been told hadent been changed), which would cost £300 and pump up the insurance on the bike. However i came home and checked the V5, and it tells me the frame number, but however it says "Not stated" at the engine number bit. Im not sure what that means on a legality standpoint but i might have dodged the bullet yes?
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[virus]

gold and black, very nice Id sugest streetfightering it or at least see what it is like before you put the fairings back on, I recon it would look beasty.
____________________
own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[T1z3R]

[Aikman666]

By popular demand i got a hold of one of the camera's! It shows off the colour quite well i think

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/Aikman666/DSCI0004.jpg?t=1164824003
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[virus]

Nice, cant wait to see the finished product
____________________
own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[Biker-Kev]

Bike is looking a fair bit better than it started, keep up the good work. cant wait to see a piccy of the finished product.
____________________
Zhongyu ZY50, Aprilia SR50, Motorhispania RX50, Aprilia RS125, Honda VFR400 nc24 and my corsa
https://www.bikepics.com/members/bikerkev/
Theory: Passed 8/11/2005 Practical: Passed 13/12/2005 Proud holder of A2 license

[SoND]