Bunch of work to do, suggestions appreciated as well

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insulinboy
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Gah, ordered my parts two weeks ago and I'm still waiting on fork springs, oil, and fork seals... not to mention carb parts and gaskets... Why does honda hate me :(
 

STurgisSTeele

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Gah, ordered my parts two weeks ago and I'm still waiting on fork springs, oil, and fork seals... not to mention carb parts and gaskets... Why does honda hate me :(
Have noticed the same thing from time to time. Some parts seem to take forever.


Those in the know use Tapatalk Pro.
 
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Based on the stuff it sounds like you ordered is seems like you are doing much of the same stuff I just did. While in there you may want to consider a couple other things....

Yeah the list can get long...

If the carbs are out to replace those coolant lines, did you also order the elbows and o-rings? I see they were mentioned above and I agree they should also be replaced. I guess the elbows have been known to develop leaks. Mine were showing signs of some leakage. Also as long as you are in there, consider removing the PAIR system. I just pulled mine and it will remove a few pounds of stuff that has lots of vacuum lines that are all sources of leaks. You don't need much for parts to do this. Just make some blocking plates for the PAIR system. I had some aluminum laying around I made some with. Others pick up a bit of gasket material from an Auto Parts Store and cut some from that. Stick it between the header and the chrome tubes where the exhaust leaves the engine. While at it, pick up some bulk vacuum line and replace the lines under there extending them to the sides of the fuel tank and cap them. If you deleted the PAIR system then pick up some caps for the vac lines as you will have a few to plug. This will make future carb syncs much easier and you will thank yourself later. I totally agree with replacing the Carb Boots (Isolators, whatever you want to call them). I replaced mine and it was still a PITA to seat the carbs.

While in there I also removed the fuel system's vac shutoff (petcock). My only local source of non-oxygenated fuel still claims to sell it but based on experience from it I feel they are full of BS and switched to E10. Personally I think a lot of the failures of the diaphragm is due to the ethanol in the fuel. Since I will be burning more of it, I just removed it rather than keep carrying the kit to bypass it on the road. Not hard to do and it just is one less thing to worry about.

Being you are from GA you probably don't have to worry about lengthy winters with lots of snow and no riding. In my case I also noted where the screws are for the bowl drains. I think that will be part of my winterization steps from now on.
 
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insulinboy
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Yes I got the elbows and gaskets. And I won't remove the pair system. It burns the unburnt fuel in the exhaust greatly reducing the amount of hydrocarbons the bike pumps out into the air. Is it a PITA system? yep, but it serves a good purpose and therefor I will leave it installed. a pound or two on a 600lb beast isn't going to be much, especially when you factor in my 235, the best weight loss program I could put the bike on is me :)

And yes, I ordered a bulk of Vac lines and Caps (I have spools of it in my garage anyway but not the size I needed unfortunately, plus its old and needed replacing anyway) and plan to make the carb sync lines much more accessible.

Still waiting on stuff.. last of the carb parts are due to show up today, and the rest of the fork parts are supposed to ship tomorrow
 
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insulinboy
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Looking at that LONG laundry list of work you've taken on. I have to ask...are you sure a month is enough time?
Clearly it wasn't :lol: last of my parts finally showed up the other day. It should only take me 2 or 3 days to get it all done.. and thats only because I don't want to be in my 100 degree garage for long enough to do it all in one shot. Its been humid and threatening to rain so I'm going to wait for a day when it does rain to get started.

Cant wait to get her back up and running though. I've missed her. SV and VTR just aren't as comfy, and the poor CB400 doesn't like hauling my fat *** around for long periods of time :lol:
 
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insulinboy
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Its saturday and it rained out all my other plans so I figure into the Garage I will go. Any advice on the steering head bearings before I dig into them? I'm figuring that I'm going to have to dremel the old ones off, but I'm open to other suggestions. Forks are already off, just have to pull the handlebars off and take the tripples off to get to them.


Then the tupperware comes off (sadly this is the part that really has been holding me back from working on it, I hate removing body work. Part of why I love working on my SV so much), and the airbox and carbs. Plan to soak the jets in the wash tank while I work on other stuff, all new hoses, thermostat, gaskets, and 90 degree pipes for the cooling system as well as the fuel system. New intake boots as well.
 

Mark

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Steering head bearings...
Did you get the 'kit' from John O?
It has everything you need to do the job quickly and easily...
 
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insulinboy
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I got the all balls tapered bearing kit. Good thing I decided that the front end felt funny and needed doing. Got the stem off and the old bearings had exploded recently. No damage to anything, but the balls had started coming out of the race... I've got BB's all over my garage floor now and have already face planted twice sweeping them up
 
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I got the all balls tapered bearing kit. Good thing I decided that the front end felt funny and needed doing. Got the stem off and the old bearings had exploded recently. No damage to anything, but the balls had started coming out of the race... I've got BB's all over my garage floor now and have already face planted twice sweeping them up
Swepted up, repurposed, make for good slingshot material;):D.
 
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insulinboy
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Old bearings came off easy.. it probably helped that they were so bad.. New bearings not going on so easy.. decided to stop at a machine shop today and have them properly pressed on.. Damn I wish I could just go buy a shop press.. its on the wish list for my shop. Along with a bench wire wheel and bench grinder... amungst other toys that I probably wouldn't use very often :lol:
 
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insulinboy
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I spoke too soon.. The old bearings fell out.. except for the outer races.. which are stuck in the steering neck :( and advice.. So far I've used up a diamond dremel bit, burnt up one dremel, broken 2 screwdrivers, and a pry bar.. I've gotten chuncks of the upper bearing outer race out, but thats about it :(
 
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I spoke too soon.. The old bearings fell out.. except for the outer races.. which are stuck in the steering neck :( and advice.. So far I've used up a diamond dremel bit, burnt up one dremel, broken 2 screwdrivers, and a pry bar.. I've gotten chuncks of the upper bearing outer race out, but thats about it :(
If you have, or access to a TIG or arc welder, run a bead on the ball bearing face of the race.........it'll fall out on its own;).
 
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Old bearings came off easy.. it probably helped that they were so bad.. New bearings not going on so easy.. decided to stop at a machine shop today and have them properly pressed on..
years ago made my own tool out of 1" PVC a little longer than the stem itself. Had to cut a groove in the side with my table saw about half the length so it could expand enough over the tapered end of the stem where the bearings rest. then just pounded the heck out of it with a hand sledge hammer.

I spoke too soon.. The old bearings fell out.. except for the outer races.. which are stuck in the steering neck :( and advice.. So far I've used up a diamond dremel bit, burnt up one dremel, broken 2 screwdrivers, and a pry bar.. I've gotten chuncks of the upper bearing outer race out, but thats about it :(
a long threaded rod up from the bottom can be used to pound the top one out. The bottom one is a bit trickier because there's a flare at the bottom of the neck where the diameter increases a bit. I bent the threaded rod end about 30 degrees or so in a vise and it curled around the bend well enough that I could pound the bottom one out too. My bike was only a year old at the time, an older bike may be a bit more work, if so then getting the Honda tool from John is probably the sane way to go. The fact that your top race is coming out in pieces would suggest its well aged.
 

Ron

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I doubt you'll need it but for your reading pleasure and in case you're over looking something. You'll have to join and get approval which may take a day or so.

www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=4073.0

Tool kit: www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=714.0 The tool kit is a loaner type thing. It includes tools and suggestions to help get the job done. I think a video also. It'll cost about $20 to ship it.

The sensor for water temp. does not read the temp of air in radiator. If the needle swings high and low, it is due to coolant at the sensor or no coolant at the sensor. Low coolant level could be a split overflow hose as mentioned, usually at the radiator cap location.
 
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ST1100Y

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...a long threaded rod up from the bottom can be used to pound the top one out...
+1... even a large screwdriver with well shaped tip can be used to carefully hammer those races out; just see that you don't score the bore or seat while doing so...
Peek inside the tube with a small flashlight and you'll see the spots where the races are exposed, allowing to place a rod or similar and then pound the other end/handle with a hammer... swap the placement of rod every two strokes (like front-rear-front-rear...), they'll pop out pretty quick...

The inner race of the lower bearing in the steering stem is a bugger though... trying to cut it with a Dr.Emel bears the risk of scoring the steering stem... so I'd only cut it 1/2~3/4 and then split it with a chisel and some firm blows with a hammer...
I skip that and hit the bottom edge of the race directly with a sharp chisel, 2~3 strokes with a hammer and the race is off... the bottom seal for them bearings is toast anyway...
I wipe all seats with brake cleaner and give them a smear of marine grease...

Ensure that the seal is on and properly orientated before placing the new race of the lower bearing on the steering stem... ;-)
To hammer it into place the old race comes handy, same for hammering the outer races into the steering stem.
Finally a good pack of marine lube (there is another thread on what lubes are good for this purpose), and assemble.
 
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