Installed replacement clutch cover
Last night I cleaned, sanded and rubbing alcoholed the used clutch cover that I got in last week.
It was a poorly painted black that was orange peeled and chipped paint. A mess and filthy inside the cover as well. But it looks solid.
The clutch cover that I fixed with JB Weld has a greater leak out the clutch release rod hole than I thought.
After removing the lowers for the fan switch job last Thursday it was easier to see much more oil than I had thought was coming up. Still nothing major, and the JB Weld job cut down 99% of the leak and got me thru two weeks of heavy use so I’m grateful.
I also removed the clutch lever and bent it back to it’s original shape (prior owner left low side damage I never repaired), and I painted it green, and sanded down the pitted and rusty lever adjuster and painted that green as well. Also, the bar end I scraped down to bare metal I sanded lightly and sprayed that again too.
Installed everything leisurely before lunch in a couple hours. I will test it either today or by Wednesday at latest for leaks and to see if the rad fan will come on.
Posted in Uncategorized by green
Replaced thermostatic fan switch
mileage: 58241
My radiator fan has not come on in last 2 weeks or so that I know of. Even in hot weather stuck at light after light – I have to avoid those. My temps can go past the halfway which is far too hot. The bike starts to run a little stumbly and the clutch operates worse. Everything feels a bit ‘rubbery’ – I can tell when the heat is getting too much. It probably doesn’t help that my left ignition coil is not in good shape. I got the clutch cover, switch and the 2 coils with wires and boots from the old z6xe.com forum member from North Carolina for a nice price.
I have to go a constant 35 mph to maintain just below half on the gauge, it’s been pretty stressful commuting 10 days to work with stopped traffic.
Hope this solves the issue. I had pulled the wires about a week ago, and shorted them and the fan came on right away, so this is the test to see if the switch has failed or it’s another electrical issue in the circuit.
Posted in repair by green
Maintenance log Green Magic
43,174 8/15/12 Purchased!
43,295 9/16/12 Carbs cleaned (2 pilot air jets clogged), New fuel filter, clean & oiled Uni air filter, cleaned plugs, re-routed 2 hoses properly, blew oil out rear canister hose & rerouted, mixture screws reset from 3.4 turns to 2 turns, re-set idle adjuster.
9/20/12 throttle cable adjustment fixed, R/R wiring chopped and fixed.
10/08/12 New AGM battery
11/28/12 cleaned carbs again (were pretty clean).
11/30/12 fuel pump tested ok, checked for spark ok
2/8/13 43,305 Holy shit! Green Magic is back from the dead! NEW spark plug wires installed.
2/16/13 Oil change #1
2/26/13 installed painted green windscreen, fuel line clamps installed
4/8/13 blue carbon fiber seat cover installed
4/24/13 white mirrors installed
43,697 5/2/13 replacement regulator / rectifier installed
43,950 6/16/13 coolant replaced and flushed
9/30/13 chain tension checked and ok less than 1.3” slack
9/29/13 Double Bubble windscreen installed
45,381 2/1/14 Green LED gauges installed! installed ram air guards
46,439 5/4/14 Tire swap #1 to Dunlop Q3
46,931 5/17/14 Oil change #2, epoxy try on stator cover (x)
47,292 5/24/14 ZX10R rear caliper installed w steel line
47,696 balanced rear wheel
49,469 10/13/14 New Clutch, stator cover leak fixed + painted. replaced clutch rod
Oil change #3 – Rotella T6 and Purolator from now on.
51,600 2/23/15 cleaned carbs, cleaned out starter jets, last 2 new float bowl gaskets installed
53,884 3/16/15 Oil change #4
54,860 4/26/15 Tire swap #2
54,860 Nissin brake calipers mod installed ’05 F4i brakes, front and rear brake fluid swapped.
2nd re-crimp of R/R wiring. Shock pulled and Fox TC lined up.
55,318 6/10/15 water pump repair started
55,435 6/13/15 “Hot idle” problem fixed – loose coil spark plug wire deterioration issue.
56,284 6/20/15 re-balanced front wheel, brake cleaned front brakes
57,320 8/9/15 sanded off gas tank p.o. damaged rust spot and painted white, JB Welded cracked clutch cover
57,998 8/22/15 installed replacement Kawi front brake lever
58,241 8/27/15 installed replacement thermostatic fan switch
8/30/15 installed replacement clutch cover, green painted clutch lever,
bar end for drop damage, clutch knob
57,998 8/33/15 Adjusted chain slack, reconnected speedo cable that had fallen out.
58,321 9/6/15 Oil change #5
58,250 9/3/15 fixed replaced clutch cover leak, verified fan comes on. re-bent clutch lever back.
10/9/15 clutch lever stripped to bare metal aluminum at D.C.
59,646 11/02/15 rebuilt fuel petcock (didn’t need it).
59,982 11/08/15 Exhaust mod. Chopped out baffles. Debaffle. Installed new 5/16″ Parts Unlimited fuel lines
60,401 11/18/15 Valve adjustment job. Ignition coils replaced (both). New spark plugs, adjusted throttle cables.
62,470 2/12/16 Gold X Ring chain and sprockets back to factory 16/48 teeth. 3rd set of tires: Michelin Power Pilot 3
63,134 2/23/16 Oil Change #6 (Pleasanton street after shoot #97)
63,325 5/9/16 stator to regulator / rectifier re-wire upgrade to 10 gauge THHN wire (2 white and 1 black runs)
63,465 6/28/16 carbs dumping fuel. 3x, 4th after running bike with petcock ‘off’ and sitting 2 hours and no leaks
63,567 7/1/16 headlights lo and hi beams repaired. Hand grip wired back to stock. New lead back of R/R white stator to junction box old yellow connection (new blue wire).
Posted in DIY, repair by green
Work on the 1978 CB400A top end engine project begins in earnest
Finally tore into the engine oil blown gasket issue today on the Honda CB400A motorcycle. Doing it as a favor to help a friend get the bike back in sellable condition.
The lower cylinder to crank gasket blew while I was riding it on the highway.
Got the tank off and the valve cover off. Will adjust the valve timing tomorrow.
The oil which was way overfull with oil or fuel leaked into it through the carbs and into the intake and down through the piston rings into the crank. This caused intense pressure and this model doesn’t seem to have a crankcase vent so I guess the valve cover vent serves that purpose. The pressure could not be released fast enough and blew the lower seal out. Evidence abounds that recently oil sprayed out of the upper hose connection to the air box, and oil all over everything where the tube exits the air box to drain by the back wheel. It blew oil all over that whole area – it should not have, should just be steam and hot air coming out as needed.
There are two plans, A & B.
Plan A:
-Replace all the (contaminated) oil.
-Re-Torque all the head bolts – which apparently are weak on this model and loosen
-Adjust the valve timing while in there anyway.
Button it all back up and test fire it up to see if the leak goes away.
I give this about a 1% chance of working tomorrow. But 4 people advised me to try this first.
Plan B:
Go back into it.
-Remove valve cover
-Remove the head bolts
-Remove the valve train and rocker arms and lobes
-Remove the cylinder head.
-Removed the cylinders themselves.
-Install all new gaskets all around.
Posted in repair by green
Magical Monterey trip. Big Sur. Great work!
Had an amazing work trip down to Monterey. Working at the Concours d’Elegance, something I have always wanted to see.
Now there were far more Lambos down there than Prius cars!
Client put me in a magical hotel, the best hotel experience I’ve ever had. Monterey Bay Inn. The staff was terrific, and it was such a small boutique hotel on the water there were no common space rooms, so that meant breakfast was brought to your door every morning!
I was surrounded on two sides by beautiful Monterey Bay on the top floor of the Inn. I found out later I got The Honeymoon Suite – literally – my work buddy had been there last year for a wedding. I had a marble bathroom and open tub that looked right out to the ocean and a balcony over the water. It was fantastic every morning and often I’d get back to enjoy it in the late afternoon.
The cars were awesome there. And I got released early one day (we started early most days), and I got changed fast and took Green Magic down the famous Route 1 coastline into the heart of Big Sur.
At the final place I stopped at – just beyond Julia Phiefer beach with the rock formation cutout – I pulled in a great turnout with beautiful southern view. There I saw whales galore! Breaching out of the water, I couldn’t count the numbers I saw. I only had my pocket Canon SD camera with me with silly zoom so here’s the best pics I could muster with it.
We had great meals for the trip, frequenting the Tiki Bar restaurant maybe 3 nights. An easy walk for our crew from two hotels.
I’m hoping to go back next year for this event, it was the best assignment I’ve had this year!
My beautiful hotel room views out both directions:
Riding down Route 1 to Big Sur Saturday.
The magical view from Nepenthe restaurant.
Julia Pheiffer beach, near where I turned around.
Those are the flukes of the whale’s tail. Also the back of one coming out of the water highest mark above the rocks.
The Bixby Bridge.
Riding down to Monterey on day one. Wednesday. Zipped out of work in Belmont asafp, to beat some traffic and make a crew dinner in Monterey. Got there a little early so snapped some pics just north of town. Had to pack a fair bit of gear for 4.5 days and a shirt and tie and fancy shoes for Sunday.
My favorite car of all time: 1966 Ford GT40. I would own one if I could! Sex on wheels.
Hotel and balcony and a breakfast morning. The early breakfast moments each morning right by the water were sublime.
Grill of the 1937 Delahaye 145 Franay Cabriolet.
Last full day work there: Sunday show. Yes, that’s an actual ’65 Shelby Cobra Daytona.
Posted in Touring and tagged Concours, Concourse d'elegance, Ford GT40, Highway 1, Kawasaki, Monterrey, Ninja, Pebble Beach, sexiest car of all time, Zx6e, zzr600 by green
White pain tank ding, JB Weld clutch cover
Dropped the damn bike on Monday. Finally had time to look at it and decided it was worth trying to JB Weld it and see if it could hold up.
ALSO!: Finally, ground down the original p.o. gas tank damage where the handlebars bent and slapped into the tank. Then sprayed it white, several thin coats, maybe 6 or so.
Yesterday I managed to score a white spray paint can, moto chain lube, and rustoleum clear spray all for free at the Alameda County Hazardous waste free cycle hut! Was pretty stoked! The tank looks SO much better now!
Posted in repair by green
Damn I dropped it and cracked it up. Clutch cover +
Aw, dammit I dropped the bike Monday morning before heading to work.
I fly X Country for work last night with a cold and my left ear pressure went ballistic and it still wouldn’t pop (it’s now a week). Feels like I have a fuzzy basketball in there.
Anyway, no balance, took the bike of the center stand after it would not start (been 5 weeks), and I could tell had no chance of starting with the normal electric start.
Was planning to run it uphill to run it down and bump start it.
The second I took it off the center stand down she goes hard on the concrete parking slab. What I notice at first is the shattered front brake lever. I am now late and panicking as this is the only way to get 38 miles to work for hours and hours. I decide I am going to run it anyway in lane splitting traffic choked traffic out here the whole way with no front brakes.
Everything else looks ok besides a cosmetic scuff on the generator cover.
WHAT I DON’T NOTICE IS THIS:
I push the bike up the short hill here. Won’t start. not even close. I push it all the way out of the road here to the next bike road with a huge endless hill, and finally get it to bump start on that pretty quickly after panting and sweating up the hill.
Riding without the front brake lever is stressful and weird. At one point I decided to gently scrub some speed at 70 mph and reach for the phantom lever and it’s shocking to not have it there.
I remember the rest of the way though.
I get to work, side stand it and start to step off to the right and my right boot feel super slippery, it also was on the peg I recall. Damn, that feels like oil. Where did I pick up oil on my boot from?
Well, it was my bike. I look down and there are pools of oil forming, the whole middle to back right side of Green Magic is covered in oil. The side of the rear tire is too. Not good. (And I am 20 minutes late right now too).
I look around quickly and then see the shattered clutch cover that I had not seen before. Shit.
After work, I somehow decide to gingerly ride it home. I get out early ahead of the crazy traffic and use huge safety margins with cars in front of me and keep the speed fairly slow.
When I get back the whole rear end is soaked in oil, the tire is completely oil covered, and the rear brake is soaked in oil and basically not braking anymore either. Sheesh. I got lucky there. No more riding until this is fixed.
I wipe all the oil off and then remove the rear caliper and pads and dry it all and use brake cleaner on all the brake parts to hopefully remove the oil residues.
A bad start to a work week, but could have been a lot worse.
——
Follow up:
I just removed those shattered bits with my fingernail, and used a small hammer to pound / flatten back the circular opening a little bit. it had been deformed a little – there’s a small oil seal there and I could see it would not be able to do it’s job. Just set the JB Weld on it and we’ll see in 24 hours if it hold oil or not.
Re-assembled the rear brake and after pumping the lever several times it’s back to braking hard. Good.
Posted in Uncategorized by green