Cypher's VFR400 NC30 - Continued Project Thread 17/05/08

[cypher]

The Story so Far

After losing my ebay fight to get a repair project bike of this kind (and much swearing at losing the auction ) I found another NC30! While not in the HRC scheme I wanted (it was yellow) I set about raping and pillaging my bank account for the sum of 820 pounds-worth of queen papers . In my usual way I hadnt actually planned exactly how I would be moving a VFR400 from Swansea to the West Midlands area but I was damned if I was letting this one go, pestering my Dad the local bikeshop friend/owner I know came to nothing but thankfully my friends dad (whose place I was staying at for a couple days) was a trucker and was driving to Swansea the very next day!

Well for those who havent wandered off thinking, oh look another vfr... heres some body shots of her.
https://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6936/0c733bn5.th.jpghttps://img412.imageshack.us/img412/8025/0bfc3yv9.th.jpghttps://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5556/0d0f3je2.th.jpg

These are the ebay shots of her sadly, my good friends digital camera and camera phone failed on battery and space. The yellow is much richer and vibrant when you see her in flesh.

More photos to come

Picking her up at the truck yard, after finding the right way in.... I wandered into the workshop and there she was (cue euphoric feelings). Arse facing me (kinkay!), the one I feel in love with in so many pictures . After chats about how Swansea was I leap on her and MAN how weird! Have ridden uhmm a Scooter and a Enduro/Crosser (50 -> 125). Fire her up and what a noise! The ART can accentuated 400cc's worth of growl which as stupid as it sounds to all of you with Gixxers and ZX9's was quite intimidating . Scared move her the nearby biker brother of my friends dad offered to move her out onto the industrial estate to see how she went.

He knew what he was doing and spun up the back wheel as he shot off down the estate way faster than I felt I could go on her. It became time to disappear as the roads were deteriorating and local bacon would have had a field day stopping me as I was riding her home out of no choice of my own on less than legal terms .

Taking her back home was amazing! No other word for her. Since the carb was upjetted the bike has a lovely surge of power in its midrange

Wish I had kept the revs high though, the reg/rec is mullered on this one like many NC30's and having had the bike cut out and get bump-started when warm at the lorry park, she cut out about 1.5 miles from home . I didnt care! It was such an epic experience riding her I was un-phased by the need to push her - we tried several times to get her going again .

[TUBZ69]

lovely job matey, great bikes them nc's im tempted to buy another nc35 myself....
____________________
those who risk nothing, become nothing, achieve nothing....
c90 rvf 400, vfr 400, gpz 500, Gsxr 750, R1, Zx6r....

[Deano]

that bike will do you well. handle like a dream and enough power on tap to do 130-135mph.

take it easy and try and find a quite roundabout when the weather is good and practice kneedown to learn the limits of the bike.

[craigs23]

[MementoMori]

Nice write up on the new bike matey, you sound like I did when I first got mine!

You're gonna thank the gods you have black wheels though. Just cleaned mine and was cursing and spitting all over the place haha. Mind you, the only reason I was cleaning it so vigorously is because it's going up for sale now.

Here's mine (any opportunity to whore it!):
https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a312/ilikeforks/NZ1171-1.jpg

Best of luck with yours, hope you get the reg/rec sorted out pronto!
____________________
The tiger who came for a pint

[cypher]

Yes I shall be slowly gaining confidence on her once legal matters are sorted . Time for an update.

21/12/07 - An Evening in the Garage

No lazing about on BCF reading the Show and Tell section tonight, I had work to do!

Things I knew were wrong:

* Brake Lights not coming on (not even lighting with headlights on)
* Battery not charging
* Temp Gauge not working

I threw on my old bike jacket and ventured into the cold garage, where the VFR was sleeping

Managed to get the seat off after working out it was attached with velcro this might be normal but I couldnt say either way.

https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1892/dscf0009gl5.th.jpg

You are actually looking at her AFTER I had fought with her for about what felt like an hour to get the pillion seat off. The lock is missing so I had to piss about poking my finger in the hole where the lock would have been attempting to work out how the catch worked *BLIND*. This was actually a major victory since after getting her all naked.....

https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5521/dscf0011gm0.jpg

It looks like the ground wires for the brake lights werent even connected

https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7601/dscf0013wq7.jpg


This could go some way to explaining why when I pulled the front brake lever that the clocks lit up.

A quick pull on the brake lever and tail lights glowed! Woot . Thinking to myself, I wonder if the rear brake sensor works.... bugger. Time to deploy our secret weapon....

https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5458/dscf0024vz4.jpg

Spray...Spray....wiggle...wiggle...pulll....wiggle.....Spray...(continue for about 3mins)



https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1515/dscf0022js4.jpg

That more like it!

https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/760/dscf0027so3.jpg



I also discovered that a couple of lugs have been broken off and judging by the lack of finding any on my garage floor this apparently wasnt my fault . Also now that the ground for the taillights is connected the temp gauge seems more alive . More worrying though... looked at coolant expansion bottle thingy (right hand side of bike where the rear brake res is) and found it was COMPLETELY EMPTY . Im going out to buy some now, managed to get hold of a battery charger off my folks so the poor battery is gonna get some treatment while im out tonight. Oddly enough there was plenty of coolant in the radiator....

[craigs23]

The rider's seat is usually attached using two bolts on the underside of the tail section (which should come off in one piece, after the 6 mounting bolts/rear light wiring has been disconnected).

Don't hold back with the WD40 - it helped restore my CB1's underbelly quite nicely.

[Deano]

[craigs23]

I just meant it's a limitation of the bike, not "the limits of the bike".

[cypher]

Update - 23/12/07


What happened on the 22nd you ask?

Not alot got done due to me sleeping in after a stupid late night.

Coolant didnt get bought, although a visit down the bike shop answered the mystery of the empty coolant expansion tank. I am told, after telling them there was plenty of coolant in the rad when I collected her that that the tank only gets drawn from when the rad gets low. So a load off my mind on that one.

Managed to bag the battery charger so the poor VFR's battery got a bit of therapy.

https://img57.imageshack.us/img57/1185/dscf0002wm4.jpg

I had a poke at the rec/reg too. Looks like an original stock item since googled the part code stamped on it. Read a couple of threads on various forums talking about em.

https://img57.imageshack.us/img57/6974/dscf0014ph2.jpg

Looks like things got a little toasty at one point or another....

https://img70.imageshack.us/img70/9509/dscf0008oa8.jpg


Brake lights are working consistently now at least, the lowers are coming off to track down the temperature sensor itself. Which I shall be doing now, Wanna check out the throttle slider too since that is a bit sticky. Got her started again since the cut-out when I got her, im beginning to suspect the filter in the fuel tap has some crap in it.

[cypher]

Time for an update I reckon, im bored and not tired enough to be in bed so now is the time for it I reckon.

24/12/07

I found christmas eve to be no excuse for slacking off working on the VFR.

Due to being partly nocturnal I awoke from my slumber at about 1pm and after some cofffee and breakfast hopped on the Chinky 125 and set sail for Halfrauds.

I had made a list, I wont bore you lot with it. Basically I was after craigs23 inspired items (so make-stuff-shiny stuffs), electrical tape and scrubby stuff.

£31.70 later and this is what I had.
https://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4131/dscf0002vl2.jpg


I was going to shiny up the rearsets but ended up tangenting off and scrubbing up the front brakes.

https://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1559/dscf0004ka1.jpg


They were pretty grubby, but managed to get em to clean up pretty good. Even better had I been able to get to the rear of the pads (stopped by the lack of an impact driver).

https://img338.imageshack.us/img338/6006/dscf0005rd9.jpg


I wanted to get to the bottom of the electrical issues with the bike so the rest of the fairing was removed.

https://img409.imageshack.us/img409/831/dscf0035oj7.jpg


With the fairing removed I start digging about to see where the aftermarket wiring sheaths are all about and well its pretty bad. The quote "it came off in me 'and" came to mind when jiggling and moving around the connections that stood out the most when it just let itself go and I was left with 3 yellow wires. In HORRIBLE condition .

https://img177.imageshack.us/img177/153/dscf0029zo3.jpg

Using my closely positioned laptop and Honda service manual pdf , I pulled the connector off the temperature sender and ground it on the engine.... jackpot. The gauge jumps to a "OMG!!11one its gonna blow" position. Now I know, there isnt all that much more dubious wiring on there to be had.

https://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3192/dscf0032fl1.jpg

Christmas day came, much xmas money was aquired which should go nicely towards insuring the VFR and sorting out its mission towards roadworthiness. No work done on the bike just out of respect that family were over and stuff.

26/12/07

Bit cold but I pushed the bike out of the crap filled garage and armed with some 1500 W+D I rubbed some crap off the main frame doing a pretty poor craigs23 impression

https://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2082/dscf0001rl5.jpg

Rain forced me back inside the garage only to spot the rust eating the screenbrace. Fuck this I think! I covered the affected areas in Krust type gel and left it to chew on the rust for a bit.

My attention was grabbed by an out of place looking bit of taped up wiring near the wiring for the clocks. A stowaway is in our midst I think.... hang on.. BCFer's will surely know. Snappy Snappy....

https://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3869/dscf0006wd5.jpg

Meanwhile I poked at various area of the bike, air fiter looks like a birds nest that a bum slept on for a bit, some dubious looking creamy stuff on the pipes for the oil cooler.... im no expert so that goes on the stuff to ask on BCF list.

https://img233.imageshack.us/img233/4250/dscf0008no8.jpg

I was tired of those 3 yellow wires staring at me...laughing at me...damn I should get better sleep.... I was going to find out what they were for. armed with a stanley began chopping away some of the sheath on the loom the 3 wires lead into.... cue Moss from The IT Crowd's:

"Hang on a second..... haaanngg on a second...."

I looked at the wires (yellow with grey bits on them) and looked at the connector for the reg/rec. AHA! I had solved the mystery, they must have come off the alternator. This bike was going to France in May, Im glad I found this.

https://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1678/dscf0017aa4.jpg

I had another look at how the gel had done, reapplied some and headed off to bed.

27/12/07

Unsatisfied by the job the rust removal gel had done I march off upstairs to retrieve my wire wheels out of the pack and set upon the the rusty bugger.

I constructed a makeshift spraying rig using a big ass screwdriver and a nearby hanging saw . Much masking tape and newspaper later I had a spraying corner and hangy thing

https://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6203/dscf0018pl4.jpg

After much wheeling and a small maiming of my hands with said wheels the screen brace is engulfed with primer!

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9449/dscf0019rj0.jpg

03/01/2008

Thought I might have a poke at the NC30's wiring in the alternator sadly due to the lack of a puller and my dumb thought that I wouldnt need one this is as far as it got. I know good people at Readspeed Scooters who can help so I shall pass this job onto them.

https://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6899/dscf0001xu6.jpg

Turns out that little stowaway was a resistor board for the LED indi's. Thanks to all who responded to the threads I started. This place is what it is because of good people like yourselves.


Painting about half way there on my screen brace too!

https://img126.imageshack.us/img126/9417/dscf0004kr1.jpg

04/01/2008

Stuff left standing before I can rip up the streets

New Oil Filter, Air Filter, 4x Plugs, Sidelight + Temp Gauge Bulb, Temp Sender
Get Alternator work done
Tax
MOT
Couple of days till logbook gets to me

Stay tuned!
____________________
NC30 Pilot | NO2ID Worcester Coordinator

[Aikman666]

Loving the writeup, keep it going!
The things you can find when your rebuilding a bike thats this old will truely baffle you. Reminds me of my old project days
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[craigs23]

[Ichy]

Very interesting mate. Its surprising how much you learn with a bike like this.

[Dischord]

Awesome mate, I was messing about with an NC30 for sometime and this brings back memories! I didn't have a garage though so had to sell it on all shagged

Heavy little bikes but nice and torquey (compared to my 125 anyway ) gonna have to look into getting another hehe.
____________________
2012 KTM EXC 250

Check out my vids - https://www.youtube.com/user/KTMSparky/videos

[cypher]

The time for an update nears, however before that I shall answer all you people whom have posted and I have shamefully not bothered saying anything back to so here goes....
____________________
NC30 Pilot | NO2ID Worcester Coordinator

[binge]

VFRs are nice bikes. I had one for a few months but wheelies killed it.

So dont wheelie it because it starves the front cylinders of oil.

https://a688.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/65/l_e61aeb9c6148718fc8357c41fae71e1f.jpg

[cypher]

Posted in this thread? Look for your name in bold!

TUBZ69 Wrote:

[cypher]

Sorry I missed you Binge you must have posted when I was writing. Thats sad to hear. MURDERER!!!

Least I know that. There must be a way of working around that oil starvation somehow.... putting slightly more oil than normal in it maybe...

Kick ass picture. Was a bad influence on me in my early days of deciding what I wanted . Still remember it. Hmm actually... /me saves to HDD
____________________
NC30 Pilot | NO2ID Worcester Coordinator

[binge]

You can over fill them with oil. I had a habit of letting the revs get right up near the limiter while on the back wheel though so that did it no good either.

https://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v167/64/11/506045605/n506045605_252753_8207.jpg


Other than that, I cant really pin point any real bad points about the bike that hasn't already been said.
both of my honda`s have killed a rectifier each.

[cypher]

I shall apologise in advance for the lack of my usual amount of pictures, when taking pics of a engine removal from my friends 205GTI the flash decided to retire. Thus making it a pain in the ass to take useful pictures. So once again, sorry about that.

My small pile of parts..

https://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2663/dscf0003pa1.jpg

Well parts have been taking what seems like an ages but we are pretty much almost there now. Parts have almost finished trickling in with the only ones I am waiting for is the sidelight bulbs.

The list:
New Oil Filter [got]
Air Filter [got]
4x Plugs (ER9EH) [got]
Sidelight Bulbs [.... ]
Temp Gauge Bulb [got]
Temp Sender [got]
Battery
Rectifier

Get Alternator work done [booked in for 29/01/08]
Tax [depending on MOT outcome of course]
MOT [pending, depends on alternator work]
Couple of days till logbook gets to me [YES YES Fucking Hazaaa!! I have it ]



19/01/08

It was a grim day, the waiting was getting to me and I couldnt be arse with sitting at my Computer. I know! I think.. I shall do the airfilter and plugs on my bike! Humm I ponder, unboxing a single ER9... these are gonna need gapping. Crap. I dont have a gappy tool thing, bugger. To Halfrauds!

An hour later (I always wander round the place for a bit looking for decently priced shiny things) I returned with some feeler gauges.

Since I had tried to kill 2 birds with one stone and got something that I could later use to do the tappets on my 125. I nearly ended up gapping my plugs to 0.06 of a mm. Doh. After slowly realising this fact the plugs were installed using the silly little Honda special plug spanner. My cheeks clenched when I thought I had collapsed a thread as my socket suddenly let go . Turns it just slipped off the edge of the plug spanner. Phew. The front two plugs were a bit a of a bugger with the rads in the way, but after locating a bolt I didnt know was there they soon slumped and the front cylinders saw new plugs!

https://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1093/dscf0005ja0.jpg

Sparkies gapped and ready to invoke combusty goodness on hapless mixtures!

The new air filter annoyed me somewhat. Now I know I have been told the HifloFiltro are building to standards that make them get sold on as OE parts but this filter wasnt a glove fit. After whipping the air filter cover off and swapping the elements I had to force fit the cover. I didnt like hurting my baby, so wasnt pleased. That aside it was done.

Before I wandered back upstairs the new rectifier was bolted in place of the old one. Just so it was ready to be wired up by the local bike place.

Later that morning the battery was stuck on charge after leaving my mum a note about leaving me her battery charger. And as soon as I was up and about Charging commenced.

Wandering past the table my parts were laid up on the Oil Filter was sat there waiting but I figured no point fitting it until the alternator was dealt with. Least thats what I figured.

Things I have planned:

Rip apart old paper element and replace with filter foam
Research into re-engineering bulb fittings so Honda doesnt ass rape me too much.
Replace/re-adjust rock hard rear shock
Maybe RC30 torque arm mod
Fix/Get new Camera

Stay tuned, things are finally coming together now. It wont be long till she hits the blacktop! Least thats what I keep telling myself
____________________
NC30 Pilot | NO2ID Worcester Coordinator

[mr jamez]

To make fitting standard H4 bulbs easy, just do a search for 'H4 bulb adapter VFR' on ebay, the user selling them is in canada and they work out cheap. You just need to chop the tabs off the H4 bulb.

Bikes looking good
____________________
NSR 125F > BROS 400 > NC30 > BROS 400 > Trumpet S4 > '97 VFR 750

[cypher]

Microupdate!

Yesterday something very happy came through the letterbox.... a V5 document in my name

Oh and in the correct colour.

Today is filled with heartbreak For the little VFR is longer in the garage it was accustomed to for many happy days. It now lives in the Readspeed Scooters workshop undergoing surgery.

Specifically:
Alternator rewiring with correct gauge wire and no bodgey shitty repair and rejoining. Thus making it possibly the most reliable VFR400 out there.
Other fairly standard stuff - Oil, Valves, Rear Rubber, Coolant. Hell might as well get that sorted while its in there

Wasnt easy getting her there tho, she ripped my jeans in protest. Be brave little VFR, you'll see daddy again soon
____________________
NC30 Pilot | NO2ID Worcester Coordinator

[Jockey]

Nice to see that you are getting there with the bike, i just bought one last week and still need time to look behind the fairings. Once i get some lights in the new shed i`ll be sorted and i`ll also get another heater for the shed as i`m getting soft in my old age. Hope you get sorted soon.-Jockey.

[cypher]

Uberupdate!!!

01/02/07 - Viffer Hospital Visit

After dropping her off at Readspeed to get her surgery done I decide to wander down to check that some parts had come in. Peering into the workshop area I see my poor little VFR asleep on the workshop table. Her badly blackened stator laying beside her. A feeling of anger washes through me, wishing I could find the last charging system bodging owner and feed him the blackened stator . Still, I was pleased that with the charging system overhauled reliability issues were significantly reduced.

Hang in there Viffer, you'll be out soon

04/02/07 - Viffer ready to go home

At about 2pm the phone rings, to her the voice of Jerry (owner) saying your "Your chicken chasers is ready". Cant believe it. Woo Hoo! I made haste to the place as its only down the road. I wander in and after a quick chat about his artful work with the wiring and fuses that had blow that I knew nothing about, he fired her up. She ticked over like a swiss watch. Now now I tell myself, be contented dont grin like an idiot... [cue Jerry revving her up] ... cant... resist.... [cue me with a cheshire cat grin].

I made haste in pushing her home and (on private land by now of course ) rode her down into my estate. Spinning the back wheel because of the annoying tyre sticker that was still on my new BT090 . Its my friends bday celebration on Saturday and I wanted to be able to offer him a place on the back. I made a target to have her on the road by the end of the week at the very latest.

I went as far as reattaching the coolant expansion bottle and headed back inside to deal with other important stuff like job searching and stuff.

05/02/08 - Vfr... time to get dressed!


A largely under-productive day for work on the bike but the tail unit was reattached. The right headlight bulb I had removed in the past was finally reinstalled after I worked out how to put it back . Yay annoying piece of wire to hold it in place.

I spent some of the rest of the day rechecking my insurance options.

06/02/08 - Step to it!

A very sleepless night due to my inability to stop thinking about stuff. Mostly about how most of the insurance stuff should have been done the day before cus of how long it can take for a cert to come through.

Bikesure were contacted and the insurance arranged. Bless em for covering me for the mods that came with the bike. Thanks mum for the use of your credit card shall pay you on Sat . The princely sum of 677 quid was paid and within 15mins the insurance cert in pdf format was sat in my inbox . Sorted.

Cue a call to Readspeed to book me an MOT for the next day. Booked for 2pm. Another call back from them says there are problems with MOT computer, bloke coming round to fix in the morning give us a ring at 1pm. Dammit there be evil forces at work . Silly DVLA/VOSA/Whatever.

Right! Bodywork needed fitting as the MOT was booked. Cue struggles with front v-piece. In addition a worried - "hummm." as I see its only going to be attached to the bike from the headlight cowl and some plastic lugs. After working out how the fairing lowers link with the side pieces of the headlight cowl its all cooking on gas and by 8pm and the turning of some quick release fasteners later I stand back in satisfaction of her completeness. I was starving by then.

07/02/08 - MOT Day

Getting out of bed was really heard for some reason that day, after a bit of breakfast I busied myself until 1pm and received word that the MOT machine was working again. WOOT! Now being as good with my time management has ever I left it a little tight for time to get shit and go. A quick scramble for documents and an allen key to fit my tax disc holder bolt also grabbing my pin spanner along with a flat head and a size 8 and 10 spanner, I jumped on her and very placidly drove her to the Readspeed.

After spending some time outside with cuss words, some brakecleaner and my flathead I managed to get the rest of the bits of sticker off the tyre.

Into the MOT building we went and passed with only one advisory: Centre Rear Suspension Bush has slight free play.

I romped off into town and taxed her. The tour to my friends places was running dangerously behind schedule so I removed the tax disc holder from the bike until I had time to fit it . My heart all joyful I rode off toward my first destination, quickly realising a chain would be a good idea so I stopped at my place along the way and headed off.

Victory was mine!


She was on the road, taxed and MOT'd running brilliantly. My dream bike was real. I opened her up and the bikes midrange picked me up and threw me towards the horizon. HOLY CRAP! I laughed like a madman while carrying a smile like a cheshire cat. I chose to ride carefully across the newly camera'ed dual track. Too easy for me to end this all very quickly if I didnt.

Pictures to come. My camera = fail.

Thanks to:
DrLebowski (for keeping my spirits up)
All BCF'ers who read this and those who responded: Jockey, mr jamez, binge, TUBZ69, Deano, Craigs23, MementoMori, Aikman666, Dischord
Dr_Zugzwang (for taking an interest)
Chappy (for making me want to prove you wrong)
Spazzy (for asking about it even if you are more of car person)
Mum (for helping me deal with insurance)
Dad (for putting up with all the bits of bodywork laying about the garage)
Readspeed Scooters (thank you Jerome for doing such an ace job on the bike)
Laury (for supplying the VFR and eventually finding the logbook for me )
Anyone else I forgot.

Annnyway, if you'll excuse me. I have some riding to do!
____________________
NC30 Pilot | NO2ID Worcester Coordinator