1985 LTD 2018 Fall Work Period

[Rednaxs60]

been working on the exhaust valve seats of #2 ans 4 cylinders. #2 exhaust valve seat came out pretty good. Using my Dewalt drill on low speed and it is working quite well. #4 exhaust valve seat is not as good but is a 300% improvement from start, and is quite smooth to touch.

#2 exhaust valve seat before:

After:

#4 exhaust valve seat before:

After:

Will be working on 1 and 3 next.

 

[julimike54]

Looking good so far....

 

[Ansimp]

+1 :salute:

 

[Rednaxs60]

Not being as timid with the second head and valve lapping. Not bad product turn out. Checked with my parts guy and the valves are discontinued, so Plan A is in effect. A bit more lapping and I think all will be well. Having the valves and seats smooth and clean will be an improvement in any case. Also not willing to scour the net and find possible substitutes.

Will post pictures of cylinders 1 and 3, and update 2 and 4 after I am finished with valve lapping.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Finished with the valve lapping. Quite pleased with the results. Gave the intake valves a wee grind as well.

#1 exhaust valve seat before:

After:

#3 exhaust valve before:

After:

Now to get some good degreaser and clean out the exhaust ports and clean the outer head surfaces. Have to scrape the block and check for flatness. Need to order up a gasket set as well.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Another item I have been wanting to address is the centre stand. It works but can be placed in any position and it will stay there. Just needs some TLC and clean up.

Pictures of centre stand and pin removed:

Centre stand pin - needs a good clean and lube:

 

[dan filipi]

A much un-loved maintenance item. Gotta do it.

 

[Rednaxs60]

A little more cleaning done. Cleaned the old gasket off the cylinder block and cleaned the piston tops. Don't need the crap on the piston heads coming off and messing with my work. Here's the right side all cleaned up:

Want to get the dowels out of the left side so I can check for flatness. Next time round.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Quick update. Have the valves and seats done. Will be checking the cylinder block for flatness, but expect no surprises.

Have ordered a top end gasket set, as well as new o-rings for the water tubes. Intend to renew the valve and timing cover rubber grommets. These little items play an important roll in keeping the proper force on the covers.

Have put the centre stand back on. Works much better after a cleaning and lube.

Going to give the forks a good cleaning and hope to improve the look with a good polishing.

Also thinking about some wiring upgrades, always finding a better "mouse trap" so to speak for pet projects.

Everything is fitting into place. Glad I have the 1500 so I don't have to rush the 1200.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Been perusing many threads regarding my 1200/1500 bikes. Lots of good info to glean from each thread. The latest is the one by desertrefugee on timing belts at viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13363

Have 35K Kms on the ones installed from 3 years ago. Not a lot of miles per say, but probably enough to do a change for peace of mind considering I have a new set to go on, and it's cheap maintenance as well.

Will be considering this as I get closer to installing the timing belts.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Package came in the other day, a valve spring compressor kit, looks just like the one in the OEM service manual. Paid $23.00 CDN with shipping by Amazon Prime. Not worth doing a DIY or struggling with other techniques to get the keepers out. Nice unit in a case - really like cases:

May only use once but the ease of install will make it worth it.

 

[mcgovern61]

Nice tool! Inexpensive too! :good:

 

[Rednaxs60]

You can spend a lot of time and energy trying to get something to work, or get something like this. It'll do the job quite nicely. May even get to use it more than once considering I have a few more years of riding to do, and can only do so much work to one bike - I think. Cheers

 

[dan filipi]

Nice kit. What are all the pieces for in it? The one I use is one piece.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Will do a trial run and install one of the valves and post pics.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Did a trial run with the new valve spring compressor. It is shy the size of collet for the valve spring size on the heads, but can make it work. Will post some pics when the pics show up via transfer.

Took the air chamber out this afternoon. The removal instructions are in the Supplement because of the FI system. Everything listed below comes off before you can remove the air chamber:

injectors, idle air control valve to disconnect the air hoses that go to the air chamber, fuel pressure regulator, fuel filter and bracket, intake pipes, unplug the cruise control throttle release, a couple of vacuum hoses, and last but not least the throttle cables.

The air chamber only comes out the left side because of the TPS.

The reason I took the air chamber out is that the only one of the four screws for the air cleaner case would come out. Think a used air cleaner case and cover will be the best replacement strategy, sort of did a number on the case getting it out - pulled three of the four screws and anchors out through the air cleaner case bottom.

Found the screws on the air chamber cover were loose and one was missing. Always something. Taking the air chamber out was the last item on the bike that I had not removed and worked on.

Very few vacuum hoses on this air chamber. There is one vacuum line that is connected to each cylinder bank and has a "T" to the fuel pressure regulator. There is an air line connecting the IAC to the reed valves.

Have pictures and will post after transfer from cell to PC.

From this work will be cleaning up the water tubes (very rusted) and use new o-rings all round. Clean off the top of the engine block, and clean the throttle plates. New fuel filter when air chamber is put back in. Clean the intake pipes.

Going back to Ontario to see family and friends last couple of weeks in November. Talked to my brother and will be borrowing (probably permanently) Father's timing light to check the timing on this bike when the work is done. The supplement has the info regarding this.

Thought I'd update progress to date. Never thought I would ever have done so much work on an MC, but have learned a lot and have the satisfaction that the bike is in better condition than when I bought it.

More to follow. Cheers

 

[joedrum]

sounds like great work and process

 

[Rednaxs60]

Did a trial with the valve spring removal tool. The collets are designed to fit over the valve spring so that it remains centred; however the largest collet is one size too small, but I did make it work. Thinking a hose clamp may work to ease use. Other than this small inconvenience, the tool worked quite well.

There are two screws that can go into either end of the bar and the collets will fit on either. There is a spring loaded ball that keeps the collet on the screw.

The kit is:

The parts needed to be used are:

I mentioned the collets are recessed to fit over the valve spring:

The one end fits up against the valve head:

The other end fits against the valve spring:

If the collet was one size larger would have fit over the valve spring centring the collet on the valve spring.

The collet makes it easy to see just how much you have to compress the valve spring.

Now I have to wait for the gasket set to install new valve stem seals. Hope Canada Post doesn't take too long to settle its rotating strike action.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Posted that I took the air chamber out. Lots of disassembly before the air chamber could come out as I mentioned:

injectors, idle air control valve to disconnect the air hoses that go to the air chamber, fuel pressure regulator, fuel filter and bracket, intake pipes, unplug the cruise control throttle release, a couple of vacuum hoses, and last but not least the throttle cables

I also mentioned that this information is in the supplement for the FI bikes, not in the OEM service manual. There is also a section in the supplement regarding timing for the FI engine.

This pic shows the right side of the engine with the fuel pressure regulator disconnected, the injectors and intake pies removed:

The small vacuum hose in the centre of the picture is the vacuum hose going to the PB sensor. It is connected to a "T" piece that takes vacuum from both 1 and 3 cylinder intake pipes. It stayed on the bike connected to the PB sensor. I like to put the bolts back to where the bolts are used so I don't lose them; however the bolts for the fuel pressure regulator had to stay out so the the air chamber would slide out the left side.

This is a picture of the left side of the air chamber with the injectors, intake pipes and fuel filter removed. Found out during the removal that the fuel filter bracket ahs to come off as well:

When the air chamber is out there is lots of room for cleaning and such. The long water pipe is quite rusted so I shall remove and clean it up best I can. Seems to me this bike spent some time in the elements before I got it:

The air chamber internals are quite clean, will do a good cleaning before reinstall:

The underside of the air chamber has on vacuum hose that goes between the left/right cylinder banks and provides vacuum for the fuel pressure regulator operation. The other larger hoses are air hoses from the IAC valve:

I have read up on the reed valves and the supplement does have a section on inspection, but since there are no reed valves available, I'll leave alone. May change the hoses. I did notice that the reed valves for the CX650T are still available, may be a suitable alternative for these parts.

I looked online for the air chamber cover and the air cleaner box, and did not find any so I will have to look at fixing the mess I made and reinstall the original items.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Having a good look at the air chamber reed valves and IAC valve air hose. The small 1" long connecting hose that attaches to the reed valve and connects the reed valve to the IAC valve air hose has considerable cracking.

What Honda has done is use a clamp to connect the IAC valve air hose to the small connecting hose attached to the reed valve. The small hose is glued onto a small metal spigot on the end of the reed valve making it challenging to remove this connecting hose. I will be looking for new hoses for the IAC valve air hose, the connecting hose on the reed valve and the vacuum hose for the fuel pressure regulating hose.

Will only do one side at a time to keep the reed valves going back to where I take it off. Think that a small skim of silicone sealant on the reed valve spigot and a small hose clamp to secure the hose to the reed valve. New clamps all round as well.

Here is a[picture of the IAC valve air hose disconnected from the reed valve. You should also be able to see the cracking of the connecting hose:

These pics show the reed valve with the connecting hose removed ready for a new one. You can see the spigot that the hose has to attach to:

Have also put the valves into some degreaser to loosen up deposits so I can clean them. Will be shooting some degreaser into the exhaust ports to loosen the build up and clean these as well.

Interesting little side bar. At breakfast yesterday with a long time friend and a fellow marine engineering artificer, who now has an Xmas job as a Santa in a mall on the lower mainland, and he does look like Santa - long white hair and beard. When he walked in I asked for a new 1800 for Xmas and he immediately said why. I asked him about his reply and he mentioned that a well maintained older bike is just as, and can be as dependable as a new one, and besides if either breaks down on the road, VISA and a tow truck can get you to help - not too many people do any wrenching when touring.

I also showed him the pics of the exhaust valves before and after, and his first question was where was all the oil coming from. I mentioned the issue with some valve stem leakage being a flat four and such, but have had to think about his comment. I do believe he has hit on an issue, and this has been years in the making. How long in between use was the bike inactive, where was it stored, on the side or centre stand. Lots of questions that will never be forthcoming. Suffice it to say that the engine should work much better after this work period.

Always something to do. Cheers