Topic: Noblehops makes a 400F pretty for his wife

[nvr2old]

That should work just fine.  Even on the second pic I posted at the 10:00 and 4:00 positions is just a reflection of the garage.  It came out totally clean and with no rust left over at all.

[MoMo]

there is a puller to remove it but that is not necessary as you've found out.

[NobleHops]

Got a small ass-kicking tonight trying to use the wintergreen brew to soften up carb boots and insulators as I was refinishing the airbox, detailed here:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=62328.125

Here's the short version:





Lesson learned: The wintergreen oil technique definitely works, but pay close attention to any old cracked and punky looking rubber as it might fall apart when you do this.  Proceed with caution and treat any parts that look suspect separately.

[NobleHops]

...all was not lost though, I was more successful prepping and repainting my tool tray, cover, airbox, and front brake shroud, and sorting through my airbox clamps and getting new screws to use on those. Very soon we will delve into the plating project, and THAT ought to be good for some hijinks.

Before - hard rubber bits, cruddy looking clamps and scuffed up plastic:




Skin 'em all:




Scrub em all, then scuff with scotchbrite:




Paint 'em




Done (unpainted at left)

[DustyRags]

Man, you are FLYING on this! Looks amazing! 

[bjbuchanan]

If I were you I would have used mothers back to black on the plastic parts. I used goo gone to clean them up and then the mothers and it looks brand new. I used it on my girlfriends 400 I am building

On your front sprocket did you use red loctite, like the permanent kind? I noticed it was red high strength, but not permanent right? Blue would have sufficed there

[tweakin]

Bummer on the wintergreen.  Coming along nicely!

[NobleHops]

I was fortunate I had an extra set, but I thought to make them available once they were reconditioned. Ah well.
.
Thanks though!

[NobleHops]

If I were you I would have used mothers back to black on the plastic parts. I used goo gone to clean them up and then the mothers and it looks brand new. I used it on my girlfriends 400 I am building

On your front sprocket did you use red loctite, like the permanent kind? I noticed it was red high strength, but not permanent right? Blue would have sufficed there

Not permanent. Should be good.

I doubt any wipe-on goo would have covered the scratches and scuffs I sanded out before I painted, but tell you what, I'll try your regimen on the other and we'll see how they compare. I'm open minded, if dubious.

[NobleHops]

Man, you are FLYING on this! Looks amazing! 

Thanks man!

[bjbuchanan]

If I were you I would have used mothers back to black on the plastic parts. I used goo gone to clean them up and then the mothers and it looks brand new. I used it on my girlfriends 400 I am building

On your front sprocket did you use red loctite, like the permanent kind? I noticed it was red high strength, but not permanent right? Blue would have sufficed there

Not permanent. Should be good.

I doubt any wipe-on goo would have covered the scratches and scuffs I sanded out before I painted, but tell you what, I'll try your regimen on the other and well see how they compare. I'm open minded, if dubious.

The mothers is useful if the box is in good shape, it makes sense if yours was all dinged up tho. Flybox uses the mothers too, its good stuff. Also heat guns and peanut oil have been recommended

[Apexxn]

Been a bit since I checked in here. Nice progress, lots of time on all your pieces and it shows in your results.

My two cents on Loctite. I use red on everything that needs a thread locker. Nothings permanent except weld and that's not even permanent if you get crazy. lol

[thirsty 1]

If I were you I would have used mothers back to black on the plastic parts. I used goo gone to clean them up and then the mothers and it looks brand new. I used it on my girlfriends 400 I am building

On your front sprocket did you use red loctite, like the permanent kind? I noticed it was red high strength, but not permanent right? Blue would have sufficed there

Not permanent. Should be good.

I doubt any wipe-on goo would have covered the scratches and scuffs I sanded out before I painted, but tell you what, I'll try your regimen on the other and well see how they compare. I'm open minded, if dubious.

The mothers is useful if the box is in good shape, it makes sense if yours was all dinged up tho. Flybox uses the mothers too, its good stuff. Also heat guns and peanut oil have been recommended

I use a heat myself but your wife's hair dryer would be ok too. It is "her" bike after all.

[NobleHops]

I use a heat myself but your wife's hair dryer would be ok too. It is "her" bike after all.

I have done the heat gun trick and got great results too. Good stuff.

Hope to get into it again tomorrow, it should be going fast but I haven't carved out a good chunk of time to get into it recently. Soon!

N.

[NobleHops]

If I were you I would have used mothers back to black on the plastic parts. I used goo gone to clean them up and then the mothers and it looks brand new. I used it on my girlfriends 400 I am building

On your front sprocket did you use red locktite, like the permanent kind? I noticed it was red high strength, but not permanent right? Blue would have sufficed there

Not permanent. Should be good.

I doubt any wipe-on goo would have covered the scratches and scuffs I sanded out before I painted, but tell you what, I'll try your regimen on the other and well see how they compare. I'm open minded, if dubious.

OK lads, I'm back at it after a bit of a break.

BJ, just for fun I did try some stuff to see how well it would work compared to the paint I used.

First the airbox, but note that I did sand this first with Scotchbrite and wet/dry, so that may have messed it up for the purpose of comparison. Cleaned it and hit it with the heat gun - you can just see a shiny spot on the left where it started to 'flash' as it does. I have used this technique before and it is a good one if the plastic is not too scuffed and just dull and oxidized-looking:





Hit it with this silicone dressing, which I once compared to Mother's Back to Black and found it better, YMMV:



Did the same to the (un-sanded) toolbox tray. Heat and BlackWOW. Results (painted parts at right):



Conclusion? If your plastic part is un-scuffed and in good shape, then the heat gun followed by some dressing (including probably the peanut oil I now love) will probably work really well. If your part is scuffed and uneven-looking or has scratches (like mine), then sanding and painting will turn out better, IMO. Could have been better still if I had used a primer and sanded it before topcoat.

Moving on...

[NobleHops]

On to the front end.

I had a spare top bridge in place, needed to swap it for the one I was going to use - should not have bothered, but I digress. It's kind-of interesting, you swap two seemingly identical parts and you find that one does not fit exactly the same as the other on these old machines. It needed a little prying to open up the clamps a skosh and I had to loosen the lower triple to get a little play into the fork to get it fit in there. Love these old bikes, wish they could tell all their stories of use and adventure.


 
On to tightening up the steering head, I used a spring scale on the triple clamp with the wheel off the lift.



Tightened the steering head nut with the Honda tool, turned the steering lock to lock a dozen times to seat and square up the bearing, then backed it off and tightened it just till it took about 8 lbs of pressure with the spring scale to move the fork.



Put the top bridge on, the top washer and nut, checked the torque and alignment all around, calling it good.

[NobleHops]

Alright, now we're getting into the little detail stuff that can just eat up time. Sometimes it is contemplative, fun, sometimes annoying as f@#$. This bit was both:

Here's a crappy photo of my ignition switch. Old copied key, huge head, switch feels like mush, little or no detectable 'stops' to the action. It's all plastic parts in the bottom, and they just wear out.



Take it apart, can be cleaned up, but the action is mush...



Troll eBay and the specialty suppliers, find an Emgo replacement part, buy it, clean this up, try to find original Honda blanks that look like they should, fail, put it aside while we wait for the new part.

Next.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Personally, I prefer the key action of the stock to the Emgo but sometimes you have no choice.

[NobleHops]

On to the brakes. DPO told me the brakes were rebuilt. They certainly looked clean, the reservoir in the master cylinder was spotless, caliper had been painted, but some brake fluid left in the lines evidently leaked and trashed the paint on the caliper, or it wasn't chemical resistant paint, or I don't know. So I need to repaint the caliper, and it's empty, so no big deal, I'll pop out the piston, strip and blast it, paint it, put it back together with the new seal I expect to find within.

OK so these pads look a little punky to have been put back into a rebuilt caliper, but whatever, forge on. Piston looks a little crufty too.



(You know where this is headed, right?)

Clean up the pads (done, at left) with some 80-grit on a flat block...



...aaaaand I'll just put a bolt in the banjo and use my airgun to gently pop out the piston into a rag, lovingly cradled in my hand. Nope.

That sucker is welded in there. So I use a c-clamp to see if I can break it loose from the seal and then retry the air. Nope, not budging and now it's further into the caliper bore.

No problem, I'll just mount up the rebuilt master cylinder, fill it, put a little penetrating oil down the caliper bore, and pump this out like God and Soichiro Honda intended. Nope. Master cylinder makes wheezy sounds but won't come close to moving any fluid, in fact it's leaking at the plunger. Maybe it wasn't rebuilt.



No problem, we have the nuclear option - I'll put a bolt in the banjo hole in the caliper and put my grease gun on the opened bleed nipple and By God we will PUMP this piston out with grease, NOT QUITE like God and Soichiro Honda intended, but close enough given the circumstances. Except the grease gun is nowhere to be found. So now we need a new grease gun.

What happened two days later when the grease gun and grease arrived I will only describe fully in the presence of friends that have given me alcohol, but it involves a grease gun that is finicky to prime, a bleed fitting opened too far, and a geyser of grease. That's all you get. I like hoppy beer BTW.

So as we know, nothing can withstand this much hydraulic pressure, for long, and the piston duly gave it up.

Here's my master cylinder:



...and piston.



...

[NobleHops]

Personally, I prefer the key action of the stock to the Emgo but sometimes you have no choice.

Yeah, I may yet go that route. This still feels mushy.

[thirsty 1]

Bummer on the brake stuff.    I'd be nice if people would tell the truth so you know what your up against! Hows the piston bore in the MC?

[NobleHops]

Alright, assembly is the reverse of disassembly, only cleaner, more fun, and a lot more satisfying.

Pluck a strand from your least favorite wire brush and clean out both holes in the master cylinder leading to the reservoir, paying particular attention to the smaller return hole.





Clean the bore till it's spotless. I use these lightly abrasive brushes in my drill to hone it.





Get your rebuild parts laid out in the correct sequence (Thanks Matt) and install the rear seal on the plunger:



...

[NobleHops]

Lube everything up with clean brake fluid, drop the spring and check valve in, then the forward cup, then the plunger, washer, then install the circlip.



Have to have something like these, I think these are MotionPro.



Install the condom/bootie/thing, and the wire clip, make certain the clip gets pushed down into the groove.'

Declare victory!

[NobleHops]

On to the caliper.

Here's the aftermath of the aftermath of The Grease Gun Incident.



Here's the seal from my rebuilt caliper:



This was in there too:



Seal groove:



GET THE DREMEL!



...

[NobleHops]

You can clean those seal grooves all day with hot water, soap, solvents, and a dental pick and then put a brass brush in the Dremel and run it around the groove and POOF! you'll still get a cloud of dried brake fluid.

Stripped the caliper with citrus stripper, followed by abrasives, and finally a light glass-beading, which I should have just done from the start.




Degreased them one last time with acetone, and handled them only on unpainted surfaces thereafter




Hung them in my Sooper Profeshunal Amazon Spray Box...




...let 'em have it with the VHT caliper paint




Did the silver parts for good measure, and then into the oven for an hour at 200 degrees.



...