CBR600F 99- Quick rebuild thread...
Discussion
I'm sat waiting at work so thought I'd do a quick rebuild thread... This was my first bike, I crashed it twice, and then blew up the engine in 2013. All of this was due to acting the goat.
Turns out old bikes are harder to come by these days, and I'm short of transport and free cash, so I thought I'd get her back on the road.
After a mate persuaded me to spray in "Plastidip" she was looking a bit sorry for herself. Top tip: Never f
king use this st.
She wouldn't start, so I learned how to strip and clean the carbs last year after Steve Bass gave me a kick up the arse on here when I asked for advice. Ran great then the coolant hoses ruptured in three places and emptied their contents all over my shed floor.
I also had to move house. MTB can't have a picture taken under direct light, the image just blurs, we should probably get a better scientist to investigate. He very kindly picked up my bike however, NeelyP stored it (I think!), and then he dropped it back off for me once I made space, absolute legends. Thank you both.
At the new digs I start by fitting the new silicon hoses. I change all of them, flush the questionable coolant.
I buy a battery. Start her up and she runs like st. Turns out I didn't replace one of the rubber diaphragms properly on carb 1. Life is a learning curve. Access is good so I spend 30 minutes replacing it in situ. A spring flies across the garage several times and I panic every time as they're fragile as fk. Injection really is the way forward.
The new engine I fitted last year has a stud snapped in the generator cover. I like to think I know how to remove snapped bolts but this thing is a fking nightmare despite good access. I go through three drill bits, and end up using an SDS drill with a Cobalt-Adamantium tipped bits. No fking chance. After two hours, I get frustrated and snap another bit. My newly bought Helicoil kit sits there unused and another £20 lost to over optimism.
I try to run it with lots of instant gasket, but it coats the rear tyre in oil, not cool.
I concede defeat, and ring a local engineering company. £130. Sorted. Honda bolts used to be made from fking Mithril it seems.
I'm not convinced the MOT tester would pass a leaky exhaust, but I had a tt of time bending the metal bracket back in place from when it was last down the road, so we ended up here. A bodge of the highest calibre I'm sure you'll agree. For the un-initiated, before you "wrap" these leaks you have a small tin sheet you apply and I managed to cut rather a large blood vessel in my thumb whilst putting it on. The red is a combination of exhaust paste and blood. It held for the MOT. Sometimes blood sacrifices get results.
I did love these long time but they had to go.
Nice easy job. Finally changed the wky short arsed Chinese levers before they murdered me. Ask Jazoli.
A full set of badly painted, horribly stickered, 22 year old panels purchased from a nice chap from Uxbridge. £120 delivered so substantively less than a respray. Every single fking mount was broken, every rubber grommet missing, but we got there. If it keeps doing me right I will look at respraying it properly when funds allow.
She gets her MOT certificate, with an advisory on my exhaust wrap (you can't please some people) so I treat the old girl to fresh oil and filters.
So new engine fitted (2013), new radiator (2013), carbs stripped and cleaned (2020), then new coolant hoses, new battery, new headlamp (previously was EU/USA so terrible), new bodywork (all), quality refit of exhaust (snigger), and remedial work on alternator cover. Still needs a new rear tire and a front suspension rebuild which will wait until 2022. This being a Honda a camchain tensioner and new rectifier are never far away from failing either.
I took it out last night and I've convinced myself the new engine runs better than the old one. After three years of riding a behemoth of an Adventure bike, it's surprisingly fun to ride as well, although I'm not sure I can ever go back to "sportsbike" riding positions.
Turns out old bikes are harder to come by these days, and I'm short of transport and free cash, so I thought I'd get her back on the road.
After a mate persuaded me to spray in "Plastidip" she was looking a bit sorry for herself. Top tip: Never f
king use this st. She wouldn't start, so I learned how to strip and clean the carbs last year after Steve Bass gave me a kick up the arse on here when I asked for advice. Ran great then the coolant hoses ruptured in three places and emptied their contents all over my shed floor.
I also had to move house. MTB can't have a picture taken under direct light, the image just blurs, we should probably get a better scientist to investigate. He very kindly picked up my bike however, NeelyP stored it (I think!), and then he dropped it back off for me once I made space, absolute legends. Thank you both.
At the new digs I start by fitting the new silicon hoses. I change all of them, flush the questionable coolant.
I buy a battery. Start her up and she runs like s
t. Turns out I didn't replace one of the rubber diaphragms properly on carb 1. Life is a learning curve. Access is good so I spend 30 minutes replacing it in situ. A spring flies across the garage several times and I panic every time as they're fragile as fk. Injection really is the way forward.The new engine I fitted last year has a stud snapped in the generator cover. I like to think I know how to remove snapped bolts but this thing is a f
king nightmare despite good access. I go through three drill bits, and end up using an SDS drill with a Cobalt-Adamantium tipped bits. No fking chance. After two hours, I get frustrated and snap another bit. My newly bought Helicoil kit sits there unused and another £20 lost to over optimism.I try to run it with lots of instant gasket, but it coats the rear tyre in oil, not cool.
I concede defeat, and ring a local engineering company. £130. Sorted. Honda bolts used to be made from f
king Mithril it seems. I'm not convinced the MOT tester would pass a leaky exhaust, but I had a t
t of time bending the metal bracket back in place from when it was last down the road, so we ended up here. A bodge of the highest calibre I'm sure you'll agree. For the un-initiated, before you "wrap" these leaks you have a small tin sheet you apply and I managed to cut rather a large blood vessel in my thumb whilst putting it on. The red is a combination of exhaust paste and blood. It held for the MOT. Sometimes blood sacrifices get results.I did love these long time but they had to go.
Nice easy job. Finally changed the w
ky short arsed Chinese levers before they murdered me. Ask Jazoli.A full set of badly painted, horribly stickered, 22 year old panels purchased from a nice chap from Uxbridge. £120 delivered so substantively less than a respray. Every single f
king mount was broken, every rubber grommet missing, but we got there. If it keeps doing me right I will look at respraying it properly when funds allow.She gets her MOT certificate, with an advisory on my exhaust wrap (you can't please some people) so I treat the old girl to fresh oil and filters.
So new engine fitted (2013), new radiator (2013), carbs stripped and cleaned (2020), then new coolant hoses, new battery, new headlamp (previously was EU/USA so terrible), new bodywork (all), quality refit of exhaust (snigger), and remedial work on alternator cover. Still needs a new rear tire and a front suspension rebuild which will wait until 2022. This being a Honda a camchain tensioner and new rectifier are never far away from failing either.
I took it out last night and I've convinced myself the new engine runs better than the old one. After three years of riding a behemoth of an Adventure bike, it's surprisingly fun to ride as well, although I'm not sure I can ever go back to "sportsbike" riding positions.
Jazoli said:
Still looks st, but better than it was 
Only kidding, nice to see it back on the road, was this the one you did a TD on all them years ago? I remember adding some preload to something that day
Oh mate she's not a looker but I'm not throwing money at cosmetics when I don't know how it's going to run! But as it stands it was under £600 for 12 months transport including insurance, tax, and MOT. t, but better than it was Only kidding, nice to see it back on the road, was this the one you did a TD on all them years ago? I remember adding some preload to something that day
Yeah, you and/or Graeme(?) whacked some preload on it. I'm actually wondering now if I ever wound that off again...
The front end is soft in any eventuality, but as MTB said when he was dropping it off, probably not worth doing anything but whacking some new oil in it. I'll have a look if it's a job I want to learn, otherwise there's a place local that services.
Still though, there's some satisfaction isn't there?
black-k1 said:
Great to see an old bike back on the road. Well done on the rebuild. While we all (except perhaps srob ) like a new bike, I think that, for road use, older bikes like this deliver pretty much everything we need at a fraction of the price.
Yep. As above, it cost (comparatively) little to get it back on the road, and it's honestly not easy to find a viable motorcycle for under a grand these days. ) like a new bike, I think that, for road use, older bikes like this deliver pretty much everything we need at a fraction of the price. I'm under no illusions about how good a 22 year old bodger's CBR600F is, but it's honestly still surprisingly competent.
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