Honda VRX400 1995 "barn find" restoration
Discussion
Video #9 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcRleno8d-E
Cock. Found these two spacers which should have gone on the rear footrests, so I'll have to take those apart again ...
Started cleaning up the rear brake calliper mounting, rear wheel adjusters and side stand. This is after an aggressive session with white spirit and a tooth brush. Next will come the parts washer. Then the rotary wire wheel in the drill.
Brake reservoir complete, with micro switch back in position and new lever. Not totally 100% happy with this, but it'll do (was kind of getting bored of working on it) and I may take it off again later and have another go at some of the nooks and crannies underneath it.
Attached the headlight mounting brackets.
Cock. Found these two spacers which should have gone on the rear footrests, so I'll have to take those apart again ...
Started cleaning up the rear brake calliper mounting, rear wheel adjusters and side stand. This is after an aggressive session with white spirit and a tooth brush. Next will come the parts washer. Then the rotary wire wheel in the drill.
Brake reservoir complete, with micro switch back in position and new lever. Not totally 100% happy with this, but it'll do (was kind of getting bored of working on it) and I may take it off again later and have another go at some of the nooks and crannies underneath it.
Attached the headlight mounting brackets.
Patience Padawan, patience !
The side stand after cleaning layers of gunk off and before painting and prep
Rear wheel adjusters, one done, one not for comparison ... photo doesn't show it, but lots of aluminium corrosion (white powder) which made wire brushing it pleasant.
And popped into position. Must give the swingarm a dust.
This is the rear brake calliper mount. Mrs EL and I spent a happy 15 minutes in Halfords trying to match up the paint with the 4,291 different shades of silver available on modern cars ... this is Toyota Lucerne. Very very pleased with how this turned out, this is like a brand new item.
Just as a reminder, this is what this area used to look like ("lets see what you could have won") ...
I bought a new rear brake disk (about £80) but the front is save-able ... good job really, as new they are about £300 ! All it needed to clear the welded-on, dried fork oil and 20 years of much was excessive amounts of brake cleaner, white spirit, thinners, numerous small copper brushes and excessive amounts of polishing wheel use.
Talking of excessive, same applies to the masking tape, which was applied in front of the TV and just so I could spray silver (Toyota again) a very small area.
The finished article, both sides. Just wants sticky left over from the masking tape removing (this was freshly unwrapped).
Sorry guys, no updates for a couple of weeks as we're off down to Dorset !
The side stand after cleaning layers of gunk off and before painting and prep
Rear wheel adjusters, one done, one not for comparison ... photo doesn't show it, but lots of aluminium corrosion (white powder) which made wire brushing it pleasant.
And popped into position. Must give the swingarm a dust.
This is the rear brake calliper mount. Mrs EL and I spent a happy 15 minutes in Halfords trying to match up the paint with the 4,291 different shades of silver available on modern cars ... this is Toyota Lucerne. Very very pleased with how this turned out, this is like a brand new item.
Just as a reminder, this is what this area used to look like ("lets see what you could have won") ...
I bought a new rear brake disk (about £80) but the front is save-able ... good job really, as new they are about £300 ! All it needed to clear the welded-on, dried fork oil and 20 years of much was excessive amounts of brake cleaner, white spirit, thinners, numerous small copper brushes and excessive amounts of polishing wheel use.
Talking of excessive, same applies to the masking tape, which was applied in front of the TV and just so I could spray silver (Toyota again) a very small area.
The finished article, both sides. Just wants sticky left over from the masking tape removing (this was freshly unwrapped).
Sorry guys, no updates for a couple of weeks as we're off down to Dorset !
No offers, and I wouldn't accept them anyway ... plan to keep the bike for a few years (at least) and get some enjoyment out of it after all this hard work, plus remember the registration number is (by chance) my initials !
We're going to Uplyme ... it was supposed to be a motorbike holiday, but Mrs EL (who rides a Triumph Tiger) slipped a disk in March and is only up to journeys of 3 or 4 hours or so, so we're taking the car.
We're going to Uplyme ... it was supposed to be a motorbike holiday, but Mrs EL (who rides a Triumph Tiger) slipped a disk in March and is only up to journeys of 3 or 4 hours or so, so we're taking the car.
Ooooh I just love it when you're all manly and demanding !
Yes, we're back from Dorset, which I never realised until recently had a monsoon season ...
Side stand and other rear wheel adjuster gently drying after de-gunking, de-rusting/de-oxidised and rubbing back. The side stand was, as you'd expect being in the firing line, quite on the rusty side.
Ah, lets tackle this blob of black grease then ... the rear sprocket and cush drive.
Old sprocket removed and put in the "bin" box (never throw anything away till the end of the restoration) the bolts holding this on were incredibly 'breaker-bar' tight. Then a happy hour spent with a big bowl of white spirit, paint brushes and tooth brushes (I'll put the wife's back in a bit, she'll never notice) and then a dip in the parts washer resulted in a cush drive looking like this.
Removing all the alloy oxidisation. The bearing seems fine, so I'll be keeping that.
And this is what it looked like after cleaning it all up. The "inside" of the cush drive is in good condition paint wise, so I'm not going to paint that.
Yes, I am cleaning its sensitive, delicate little areas with a cotton bud ...
And time for a spot of primer. I'll leave this (plus the above items) to dry overnight now ... never worth rushing paint work, I normally do it over a number of days for each coat to dry. Going too fast can result in a thick, amateurish looking finish or runs. Lots of thin coats = better than one or two thick coats.
Whenever I've been doing a dirty or repetitive job, I like to reward myself with a little, easy but pretty job. After cleaning up the mounting bolts on the buffer (which came up like new) I attached the new headlight bowl coz, well, you know, why not ... bit more chrome never hurt anyone. I've given up trying to not get myself in a reflection, with this bike it's impossible now. I might even turn it into a game of how many times I can get a reflection of myself in the same shot ...
Yes, we're back from Dorset, which I never realised until recently had a monsoon season ...
Side stand and other rear wheel adjuster gently drying after de-gunking, de-rusting/de-oxidised and rubbing back. The side stand was, as you'd expect being in the firing line, quite on the rusty side.
Ah, lets tackle this blob of black grease then ... the rear sprocket and cush drive.
Old sprocket removed and put in the "bin" box (never throw anything away till the end of the restoration) the bolts holding this on were incredibly 'breaker-bar' tight. Then a happy hour spent with a big bowl of white spirit, paint brushes and tooth brushes (I'll put the wife's back in a bit, she'll never notice) and then a dip in the parts washer resulted in a cush drive looking like this.
Removing all the alloy oxidisation. The bearing seems fine, so I'll be keeping that.
And this is what it looked like after cleaning it all up. The "inside" of the cush drive is in good condition paint wise, so I'm not going to paint that.
Yes, I am cleaning its sensitive, delicate little areas with a cotton bud ...
And time for a spot of primer. I'll leave this (plus the above items) to dry overnight now ... never worth rushing paint work, I normally do it over a number of days for each coat to dry. Going too fast can result in a thick, amateurish looking finish or runs. Lots of thin coats = better than one or two thick coats.
Whenever I've been doing a dirty or repetitive job, I like to reward myself with a little, easy but pretty job. After cleaning up the mounting bolts on the buffer (which came up like new) I attached the new headlight bowl coz, well, you know, why not ... bit more chrome never hurt anyone. I've given up trying to not get myself in a reflection, with this bike it's impossible now. I might even turn it into a game of how many times I can get a reflection of myself in the same shot ...
What do you mean ?!? That's REALLY the colour I'm painting it ! 
Always best to check that new parts are the same as the old parts before assembly ... rear sprocket is same size and number of teeth.
The cush drive carrier finished ...
... and the sprocket attached and torqued up to 64 nm. Painted the top of the studs with clear lacquer to stop them rusting.
Always best to check that new parts are the same as the old parts before assembly ... rear sprocket is same size and number of teeth.
The cush drive carrier finished ...
... and the sprocket attached and torqued up to 64 nm. Painted the top of the studs with clear lacquer to stop them rusting.
Here's an oddity that maybe someone can help me with. Remember these ? They are the rear axle carriers, including the adjusters to set the chain tension.
The plate with "up" on it sits at the rear of the swing arm, slightly recessed, as you can see on the photos below. Well, one plate is threaded inside so it screws on, but the other (otherwise identical) plate has no thread, so it slides up and down on the threaded bar.
Now the latter, no thread, seems the most logical to me ... as you tighten the nut on the outside, the threaded bar gets drawn through the outer plate, pulling the axle further away from the engine (and vice versa) hence there's your adjustment of the chain. But I don't get why one outer plate has a thread inside it ... to be able to adjust where the axle sits, you'd have to pull the plate (and thus the rest of the adjustment mech, incl the rear wheel) out of the end of the swing arm slightly to clear the recess, rotate it, and push it back in again ... probably quite hard once the chain is on.
So I'm thinking that ...
a) NEITHER should have a thread, and for some odd reason I've got an odd job of parts at the factory.
b) both should HAVE a thread, and for some odd reason I've got an odd job of parts at the factory or someone's stripped the thread off one side ... though that doesn't look to be the case, it's a smooth 'bore' and normally you'd see the remains of the stripped thread.
c) they SHOULD be odd like this, for some reason that escapes me ... maybe "no thread" on the chain side and "thread" on the off site ??? And why complicate adjusting the chain like that ?
I am tempted just to drill out the one with the thread so it slides up and down easily like its sister ... any thoughts oh Pistonheads Massive ?
The plate with "up" on it sits at the rear of the swing arm, slightly recessed, as you can see on the photos below. Well, one plate is threaded inside so it screws on, but the other (otherwise identical) plate has no thread, so it slides up and down on the threaded bar.
Now the latter, no thread, seems the most logical to me ... as you tighten the nut on the outside, the threaded bar gets drawn through the outer plate, pulling the axle further away from the engine (and vice versa) hence there's your adjustment of the chain. But I don't get why one outer plate has a thread inside it ... to be able to adjust where the axle sits, you'd have to pull the plate (and thus the rest of the adjustment mech, incl the rear wheel) out of the end of the swing arm slightly to clear the recess, rotate it, and push it back in again ... probably quite hard once the chain is on.
So I'm thinking that ...
a) NEITHER should have a thread, and for some odd reason I've got an odd job of parts at the factory.
b) both should HAVE a thread, and for some odd reason I've got an odd job of parts at the factory or someone's stripped the thread off one side ... though that doesn't look to be the case, it's a smooth 'bore' and normally you'd see the remains of the stripped thread.
c) they SHOULD be odd like this, for some reason that escapes me ... maybe "no thread" on the chain side and "thread" on the off site ??? And why complicate adjusting the chain like that ?
I am tempted just to drill out the one with the thread so it slides up and down easily like its sister ... any thoughts oh Pistonheads Massive ?
Bolts for the front brake disk (6) and rear brake disk (4) polished up. I need to clean a bit more of the old locktite off the threads.
Time to clean up the housing for the starter and cutout switches. A quick reference photo to remember what goes where, then a good session with the white spirit and brushes followed by contact cleaner in the switches. The aluminium trays that food comes in are great for this kind of thing, just fill the bottom with white spirit.
Both half of the housings buffed up on the wheel, ready to go back together.
Just plonked in place for now ... the throttle goes into the end of this housing, and I need to refinish and clean the two throttle cables first.
Time to clean up the housing for the starter and cutout switches. A quick reference photo to remember what goes where, then a good session with the white spirit and brushes followed by contact cleaner in the switches. The aluminium trays that food comes in are great for this kind of thing, just fill the bottom with white spirit.
Both half of the housings buffed up on the wheel, ready to go back together.
Just plonked in place for now ... the throttle goes into the end of this housing, and I need to refinish and clean the two throttle cables first.
Improvised tool time ... when you have to pull on a strong-ish spring like the one for the side stand, it's a heck of a lot easier to get some thick gauge wire, bend it in two to form a loop, and then clamp with mole grips. This makes pulling on / stretching the spring a doddle, to get it mounted into its groove (sorry for slightly fuzzy photo)
Now, where did I put the small loom and microswitch for the side stand ...
Now, where did I put the small loom and microswitch for the side stand ...
TackleburyUk said:
Another 45 mins of lost time to an employer Evil Len....
Read the whole shooting mate, was getting excited about the prospect of seeing her finished.
I'm now disappointing but slightly in love with you and this fine piece of machinery.
Another PH anxiously awaiting the next updates.
Great job so far
Er ... not entirely sure how to take some of that, but thanks ... I think Read the whole shooting mate, was getting excited about the prospect of seeing her finished.
I'm now disappointing but slightly in love with you and this fine piece of machinery.
Another PH anxiously awaiting the next updates.
Great job so far
Wheels are back from Central Wheels, Coleshill and superb they are !
If you recall I had to get a new rear wheel from Japan for the rim, and both anodised rims where pockmarked and chipped so needed refinishing. Re-anodising doesn't tend to work very well apparently, so my options (as you can't get new rims in this configuration, even custom made) were limited to powder coating. I toyed with the idea of a light grey colour powder coat to try and match the original anodisation, but decided to go with a chrome effect with a slight amount of dubiousness ... but I'm glad I did, turned out better than I was hoping for.
Old wheels disassembled, hubs polished, rims powder coated, built back up again with butted stainless spokes, balanced and trued, new tubes and rim tape fitted with (supplied) Metzeler ME880 tyres, and (supplied) new bearings and seals pressed in for me, all for £456. Bargain.
Superb job, happy bunny.
If you recall I had to get a new rear wheel from Japan for the rim, and both anodised rims where pockmarked and chipped so needed refinishing. Re-anodising doesn't tend to work very well apparently, so my options (as you can't get new rims in this configuration, even custom made) were limited to powder coating. I toyed with the idea of a light grey colour powder coat to try and match the original anodisation, but decided to go with a chrome effect with a slight amount of dubiousness ... but I'm glad I did, turned out better than I was hoping for.
Old wheels disassembled, hubs polished, rims powder coated, built back up again with butted stainless spokes, balanced and trued, new tubes and rim tape fitted with (supplied) Metzeler ME880 tyres, and (supplied) new bearings and seals pressed in for me, all for £456. Bargain.
Superb job, happy bunny.
Targarama said:
You're going to spend many happy hours polishing those after a ride!
Yeah Tref, it has crossed my mind that I am creating myself a monster here ! I think I'm going to be terrible when it comes to washing (then drying) the bloody thing ...p.s. must organise a meal out ?
SteelerSE said:
Like a number of others I don't think that the bike you chose would have been my choice for the build ...
It kind of wasn't for me either, but if you recall the reasons why I started this ...1. I wanted a "cheap" scrapper to play with over the winter, to transfer my car-mechanic skills to bike-mechanic skills. Originally I didn't intend to end up with a full blown resto (if you recall I considered just getting it back on the road and doing a rolling resto) but I guess that's my personality
2. The fact I bought the bike was pure chance, I was at the Triumph dealer picking up another bike when this came in. Maybe I felt sorry for it (knowing it was off to be scrapped) and maybe the fact the registration is my initials, but I got hooked ...
3. It was originally going to be a cheap restoration, as the bike only cost me £200. However I think that's gone to the wall now !
Total spend so far :
Bike £200
Parts £1209
Rechroming £792
Tools £211
Paint £600 (est)
Wheels and tyres £825
Services £430
Total Spend So Far : £4,287
Ouch
Aye, I need to get my posterior into gear and write to the previous owner ...
Front brake disk attached to the wheel. It's nice to have a supply of refurbished bits to start just bolting on. The spacer in the middle I cleaned up and painted about 6 months ago at least !
Speedo take off (front wheel) lightly refurbished and oiled.
And the front wheel fitted and torqued up to 22nm (seems a bit low that, so need to check that figure from the manual). It spins freely but with absolutely sod all movement in the bearings.
And she's on one of her "feet", first time in 10 months !
Front brake disk attached to the wheel. It's nice to have a supply of refurbished bits to start just bolting on. The spacer in the middle I cleaned up and painted about 6 months ago at least !
Speedo take off (front wheel) lightly refurbished and oiled.
And the front wheel fitted and torqued up to 22nm (seems a bit low that, so need to check that figure from the manual). It spins freely but with absolutely sod all movement in the bearings.
And she's on one of her "feet", first time in 10 months !
TA DA !
THE WAIT IS OVER !
I CAN FINALLY REVEAL THE COLOUR IS ... ... ...
Shots taken by the painter and MMS'd over to me. This is out of the gun today, and needs polishing. Hope to pick up Saturday.
For a more hi-res version, here's the sampler piece from a few weeks ago, and what it looks like from a better photo.
If you don't like it ... I don't care ! This is my bike, I'm the one spending all the hours and money on it, and I LOVE the colour !
THE WAIT IS OVER !
I CAN FINALLY REVEAL THE COLOUR IS ... ... ...
Shots taken by the painter and MMS'd over to me. This is out of the gun today, and needs polishing. Hope to pick up Saturday.
For a more hi-res version, here's the sampler piece from a few weeks ago, and what it looks like from a better photo.
If you don't like it ... I don't care ! This is my bike, I'm the one spending all the hours and money on it, and I LOVE the colour !
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