SHE LIVES!!!!!!! Adventures with a new project on a Facebook find

[dpcarson]

Well, I have done these on the boating boards I frequent, but I have never done motorcycle project build.  This all started because I sold my Grady white about 4 weeks ago, and our big boat project is 4 hours away up on the Chesapeake Bay, and too far away to tinker on.  Actually we are waiting on the weather to break so we can put some paint on it and hopefully head south to NC on her by mid March.

So I am sitting at work and it is slow and there is way to much time on my hands so I am checking out Facebook to see if anybody really does love me.  Nope they all love themselves.  BUT WAIT!  Somebody does love me.  There is an ad posted about a buy with a 2000 model Valk IS with a trike kit on it.  Lets see,  Been in shop and hasn't been ridden since wife had back surgery in 2008.  OK.  Cranked it every few months just to keep it going.  OK. only 40k miles.  OK.  Battery is dead and when I tried to jump it I think I messed up the started because the starter started making a weird noise and it will not crank now.  OK.  Left uncovered in barn and in rough shape.  May need to be repainted.  Good for parts.  OK.  $1000 firm.
OK!!!  Now they have my attention.  

I call and talk to the owner quite a bit and it is clear he is a driver and not a rider or tinkerer.  I tell him I am coming to look at it tomorrow.  He said OK.  I have two other guys coming tonight so I will call you if it sells.  I say "Wait, lets talk a little.  You call those other two guys back and tell them not to worry about it and I will be there in an hour with the cash.  It is saturday afternoon, and I bet they aren't bringing cash with them"  I told him if it was what he said it was and he was being honest that I would hand him the cash tonight and pick it up Sunday."  Success!!!  Just so happens when I told him my name he knows all of my family and used to buy paint from my dad when he owned a little paint shop.  Said my dad gave him credit even when times were hard and nobody else would so if I wanted it, it was mine!  I was happy, I think.  And nervous.  I have never done any major work on a motorcycle in my life.


Here are the pictures he sent me of the bike that got me headed that way.







So I am off.  I tell the wife to be ready to ride with me and we grab some cabbage out of the cash stash drawer and head to town.  We got there after dark and I aint gonna lie.  It looked a little rough under the two little plug in lights he had in his yard.  He told me again about his wife's surgery and not being able to ride anymore.  And I am nervous, but all I can think of is that I gave him my word I was coming to buy it and bringing the cash.  So.......

I owned an aircraft detailing company and can detail and spray all day long so I figured I can at least fix that much of it to part out if necessary.  I take a little rag with a little polish on it with me when I go.  I get there and see this poor ignored Valk sitting where it had been rolled out of the barn and she is dirty.  First thing I do is put a rag on the tank and it cleans up pretty good in a little spot.  Then I put it in gear and roll it.  It will turn over the engine and I feel the pressure so hoping the engine is good.  Then I call my younger brother that worked at the Honda dealership for a year and asked him about changing a starter on a bike.  He said yeh, no problem.  So for 1000, I figure it is worth the gamble.  I can part it out for more than that.

So we hand over the cash, get the title and all the paperwork and manuals and service records (this guy kept everything) and then head back the next morning to pick it up.  I brought it home, threw a jumper box on it and heard something I have never heard before.  a starter turning at top speed and nothing happening.  So, I get on the internet and find this site and figure out pretty quick that it must be the dreaded hydrolock. I rolled her off the trailer and into the garage and wrestled out the starter and of course, I find......


So now I am really bummed and started reading all over the boards trying to find out how much this is going to cost to fix.  I was going to take it to a shop.  I had three shops tell me they were not interested in the work.  Then more research and questioning and you's guys convinced me I could do it myself.  Well, maybe  not convinced me, but at least figured I could tear it apart and carry it somewhere in a box instead of as a whole.  So the teardown begins.  I pull out my old manual, download another, watch some youtube videos and start with the carb removal.



First the seat and tank...... and that damn airbox!




Then to start disconnecting every hose I could find to pull the carbs.  Several years back I bought a 12" long set of needle nose pliers at tractor supply and those came in real handy for this.








OK, carbs are out.  more youtube videos and I am ready to dive in and clean these bad boys out and clean up some jets and get going.  As I am breaking them down and realize that several of the floats are stuck so I know it is going to be time for some parts.  Ordered jet cleaning tool, couple cans of carb cleaner, and new gasket set, new screws to replace the ones I stripped, new needles and new #38 jets.  



Here is D-Ray's videos that I used to tackle this job.

Pt.1 1998 Honda GL1500C Valkyrie Project - Introduction	powered by Aeva

Parts are on order to now it is time to start the process of dropping the engine.  First I had to remove the trike kit and mounting bracket.  Thankfully, the PO kept the manual so it was pretty easy, except those two main nuts.  My impact driver would not budge them.  Breaker bark with 4 foot of extra leverage, no chance.....  So I went down to my mechanics shop and told him what I had.....  He handed me an impact wrench that weighed about a ton and said, hit it once with this and you are good.  Holy cow what an impact driver.  One tap of the trigger and the thing spun right off.  So dropped the voyager training wheels and bracket and started toward the engine.



I disconnect and unscrew everything I can find until I finally hit the point where the lift is absolutely necessary.  Don't know why I waited a day to get one.  Maybe I just dreaded buying it and decided an extra day would make a difference.  I was planning to make the 80 mile round trip to Harbor Freight to save 60 bucks, but then I saw online that the local Oreilly's had one for only 30 dollars more.  Figured that might be worth not making the drive.  So I got there and WOOHOO!!  price tag on the shelf said $99 and the price online was 119.  So....  They honored the price and I walked out with my new AC Delco lift for 99 bucks.  Ten dollars more than Harbor.  I was happy.  So now I could get real serious about getting that engine out.





The girl sure looks skinny without her heart.




In my down time I have been continuing to read and discovered I need some sockets that I am not going to find at the local home depot, so I did as much as I could and went ahead and ordered all of the sockets.  4 new sockets and not bad.  I think I bought all 4 for about 50 bucks online.  While I was waiting on those to arrive I finished off the carbs with new needles and gaskets and clean jets.  However, after a lot of reading I decided to go back with the #35 jets.  So now I guess I have extras if I ever need them.  In all of my reading I really dove into the de-smogging also, so all of the black spaghetti started coming of to clean up the engine too.



And of course I had the CA bike so I had to pull the canister and some extra hoses.



OK, so now we are in a holding pattern waiting on the new sockets to arrive.  I also ordered a batch of parts and gaskets so hopefully I would have what I needed and not have another multi-day delay waiting on another shipment once the tools were here.  So, during this time I decided to turn to the buffer shelf and start to give the girl a mild makeover.  

 

So, pulled the buffers, got out a bunch of pads and the meguire's and started digging in.  And boy did the old girl have some shine left in her.









Well, tools finally arrived and I was able to break into the engine and dig in a little and see what I could screw up.







I pulled the busted gears and one had to be knocked out of the bearing.  Those big new sockets came in real handy for that.



Then with the new gears in, it is time to start rapping the surfaces for gaskets.  Wrap the engine real good to keep trash out first!





Oh, almost forgot.  I found the old teeth so I do not have to worry about them rattling around in there and causing more damage.

 

This also is where I went through a bunch more parts and carb cleaner to clean out all the old sludge out of the rear case.  I also thoroughly cleaned the marriage surfaces to prepare for gaskets and cleaned up all the old grit and sludge everywhere I could get to.









So with everything cleaned up and the new parts in......


It is time to start reassembly!!!!!  I am getting excited now just thinking of hearing her breathe!!!!

So I get the rear case compounded and gasket on and get it on and everything torqued down, and then time for the clutch cover. and.......... dammit.  Where is that other dowel?  Yep, that little SOB right there.



So, after probably an hour of searching I finally think, hmmmm, maybe.  So I put the case on without the gasket to check it out and there is just no way.  Way too much movement without that dowel.  I would easily break the gasket seal and blow oil everywhere.  SO..... back to internet for more parts.  



and more coffee



So, all I really have left that I can work on was to continue to de-smog so I pulled breather tubes and put freeze plugs in.



And that really cleaned things up aa lot!  That should definitely make re-install much easier!!



SO..........  Now I am at a standstill until that dang dowel arrives.  I thought since I couldn't work on it anymore, I could at least post up my story.  So far I have been keeping count on everything and even counting the lift and new tools, right now I am into the bike for less than $1500.  I am certain it will need new tires (thinking darkside!)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Direzza+ZII

Of course new brake pads will be a part of the changeout, and it does need a new battery.  SO..... Hopefully by the time it is all said and done, we will be in it for about 2k with the lift and parts really not being a part of the bike but something I can constantly re-use.  More to come when the dowels show up.  I can't wait to hear the old girl turn over and hopefully rumble to life be next weekend!!!  It is really had to not buy new chrome and accessories until I hear her run.  But I have that list ready also!!

Has anybody used Cee Bailey windshield replacements?

http://www.ceebaileys.com/honda/valkyrieinterstatews.html


Sorry to be long winded, but I had a full coffee pot and nothing to work on until the parts show up.

[Gavin_Sons]

Great job, did this to a bike my brother bought last summer. I have a 2" shorter than stock dark tinted shield on my bike. I like it.

[jimmytee]

Nice write up and enjoyable to read.   As soon as you mentioned the funny sound with the starter, I thought, Hydrolock.  Glad you could salvage her. Sounds like quite an excellent deal.

[Jess from VA]

What a great post.  These are the highest art form on bike forums.  

Thanks for taking the time and effort to share.

That said, here's hoping I NEVER have to anything like this.  Not that I could.  

It's a good reminder to keep up with the ordinary maintenance and repair so we don't have to.

[da prez]

  You stole the bike. I would have given a grand for it without thinking. When done, you will know what you have and can be proud of it.  Damn good save.

                                da prez

                                     

[John Schmidt]

Great read and pictures. Three years ago I bought a hydrolocked bike for $1700 that also had some fire damage. I had a lot of the fire damaged parts and nearly everything needed to do the repair on the engine. When all was said and done, I replaced the engine and sold the old one with the parts needed to fix it. Final tally of $$ invested compared to what I sold it for, I came out with just over $4100 profit for about a months work. It's kinda exciting to do it all yourself and hear the results of your efforts finally roar to life. Keep us posted on how it goes. 

[Serk]

Awesome read, thanks for taking us along on your adventure!

...gonna save this thread to toss out whenever someone gets up on their high horse and proclaims that nothing good could possibly ever come from Facebook... 

[..]

Thank you for the post.

Did you make a link over on the Tech page as well?

[dpcarson]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys.  This is my first endeavor like this into a motorcycle so it has been quite an adventure, and still ongoing I guess.  I will keep things going as the parts show up and I make progress on her. 

Britman, I did not post a link to the tech page.  If that is where this should be I will be glad to move it if somebody will tell me how.  New guy here that has not figured out how to do to much except post quote and reply

[The emperor has no clothes]

Most Excellent !!! I'd say for someone that hasn't done something like this before you are doing GREAT. Glad to see you resurrecting the bike instead of parting it out. Looking forward to the end result.

[wiggydotcom]

I echo the sentiments of the others. Thanks for posting your adventure. That bike is one heck of a steal. I'm guessing you could also go back to the two wheeled version?

Not sure how far along you are in the process of reassembly, but you might do a little cussing when the airbox goes back in. It'll be easier if you bend all the tubes inward and cowtie em with tywraps
or other means to keep them bent inside until you get it down beneath the top of the frame. You might also spray some silicone inside the tubes to allow them to go on the intakes better.
I think it was John Schmidt who also used a ratcheting strap from top to bottom to actually pull the box downward to seat the rubber hoses.

That bike cleaned up beautifully. My guess is the previous owner had the hydrolock happen and that was the gamechanger he didn't know how to deal with. The experience you've gone through is probably something only 5% of the rest of us have done-if that. Great work!!

Keep those pics coming!

[Hook#3287]

Great find, great story, great post and I'm sure, great results will follow.

[old2soon]

Knowing WHICH end of the tool to hang on to is 70% of the battle!  KNOWING WHEN to walk away when frustration sets in is the other 63% of that battle!  And NO celebratory drink BEFORE the celebratory ride!    You sir should give yerself at least one pat on da back.  You have posted a useful tutorial that others WILL find helpful-I KNOW I have!  Well done good save and ecstatic you DID NOT have to part her out!  And when you FINALLY get to ride her all the banged knuckles all the cuts and bruises all the cursing all the waiting on parts and stuff-THAT frustration goes so far into the back round when you ARE in the wind!  RIDE SAFE.

[dpcarson]

Thanks again.

Wiggy, we probably will eventually take it back to a two wheel version.  My wife used to ride a bike but had a scare at myrtle beach one bike week and quit.  First thing we will probably do is put the trike kit back on and let her try it out to see what she thinks.  I have never ridden a trike either so I am interested in trying it out too.  The kit looked real easy to take of completely.  To take it off for a single ride consists of taking off those two giant nuts and pulling the bolts and just sliding it out from under the bike.  So we can take it on and off real easily.  I am not sure what is going to ultimately happen with it.  I have the other Valk to ride if I want to be on two wheels I guess.  wife sure does like having a stereo though.  

Here is the other ride.



Of course, we are also thinking that will the training wheels and the trailer hitch we may use it more to go to the beach since we can haul a little more luggage.  No idea what is going to happen yet.  Might even just sell it and take the money and run.  That is what I told my wife.  But........  probably not.

[dpcarson]

Knowing WHICH end of the tool to hang on to is 70% of the battle!  KNOWING WHEN to walk away when frustration sets in is the other 63% of that battle!  And NO celebratory drink BEFORE the celebratory ride!    You sir should give yerself at least one pat on da back.  You have posted a useful tutorial that others WILL find helpful-I KNOW I have!  Well done good save and ecstatic you DID NOT have to part her out!  And when you FINALLY get to ride her all the banged knuckles all the cuts and bruises all the cursing all the waiting on parts and stuff-THAT frustration goes so far into the back round when you ARE in the wind!  RIDE SAFE.

Thanks for the encouragement Old buddy.  Sorry.  Old 2 soon didn't sound right

[jimmytee]

Thanks again.

Wiggy, we probably will eventually take it back to a two wheel version.  My wife used to ride a bike but had a scare at myrtle beach one bike week and quit.  First thing we will probably do is put the trike kit back on and let her try it out to see what she thinks.  I have never ridden a trike either so I am interested in trying it out too.  The kit looked real easy to take of completely.  To take it off for a single ride consists of taking off those two giant nuts and pulling the bolts and just sliding it out from under the bike.  So we can take it on and off real easily.  I am not sure what is going to ultimately happen with it.  I have the other Valk to ride if I want to be on two wheels I guess.  wife sure does like having a stereo though.  

Here is the other ride.



Of course, we are also thinking that will the training wheels and the trailer hitch we may use it more to go to the beach since we can haul a little more luggage.  No idea what is going to happen yet.  Might even just sell it and take the money and run.  That is what I told my wife.  But........  probably not.

MY understanding and it's only from others, is that the "training wheels" you have there and a actual trike , don't handle anywhere the same. I'm only repeating what others have said.

[Highbinder]

The Voyager Kit still leaves it a 2 wheel bike when removed, they don't handle as well as a actual trike, but will do the job....I think they were made so you could put it on and off real easy, so you have 3 wheels in the back.  Those kits sold for around $4500 to $5500 if I remember correctly, great post. Might be a little hard steering if the front end wasn't raked, just takes more muscle...

[Tailgate Tommy]

Has anybody used Cee Bailey windshield replacements?

http://www.ceebaileys.com/honda/valkyrieinterstatews.html

I bought a Cee Bailey's 14.5" for my IS a few years ago and it's been great. Very clear and just a little thicker than stock so it fits nice and snug and doesn't move or rattle. Very happy with it.

Oh, and I agree, great post -thanks!

[Disco]

Glad you have the time, inclination, and skills to make such a great save.     She's going to love you forever! 

[Oss]

Terrific post fun to read

  Thanks for the pics as well as the story    

     Karma came around for you big time

[RDAbull]

Great read and the pictures set it off nicely.
During the reading I was able to muster up and use all of my mechanical abilities:
I twisted the cap off an MGD.

[72cutlassdude]

DPCARSON,

Great post on your project Valk!

I have 2 Cee Baileys windshields, one is a stock height 15% smoke tint and the other is a short (9" I think) dark tint. Around town I use the short shield. They are both excellent windshields.

Good luck getting the Phat Girl back on the road!

[~ Timbrwolf]

.....Those Hondaline Bag Rails and factory Pod Lights are woth over a grand alone



.....Bodacious find ! .. 

[old2soon]

Guy I ride P G R with has a Voyager kit. When he shows up with it on I KNOW he is NOT having a good day.  When he shows up without it on the other hand!  Some of the folks I've talked with about their voyager kits inform me it's a stepping stone to a "real" trike. In at least 2 cases that turned out to be the truth.  Again-good save on the Valkyrie. Far as calling me old2soon-not too worry-my brother got me a couple of old2soon patches I'm proud to wear.  While I'm not as old as some of our more senior members-like my brother said last birthday-celebrating the LAST of the "6" series birthdays!  RIDE SAFE.

[Willow]

Britman, I did not post a link to the tech page.  If that is where this should be I will be glad to move it if somebody will tell me how.  New guy here that has not figured out how to do to much except post quote and reply

As I read I was thinking myself that this may be interesting to some of the riders on the Tech board that never frequent the General board.  Than again, it is certainly a good story and of great interest to those on the General board, some of whom don't bother much with the Tech board.  It's good where it is or would be good in both places.  If you want to do something with it and need help just let me know.

You did very, very well with what you've accomplished, most especially for one who hasn't done internal work on a Valkyrie before.

You should be in a very good position.  What you have after your work as an Interstate without the Voyager kit is worth something around $7000. You have several options open to you.

You could keep what you have and have something worth around $10,000 that you have invested into $2000 and some time.  The $10,000 assumes the value of the V kit and Interstate separately.  If someone sold them together they'd likely not get that much.

You could sell the Voyager kit and end up with a fine motorcycle for free.

You could sell it all for reasonable prices and walk away with several thousand dollars for your time and effort.

Whatever you do it's been a worthwhile adventure for you.

You'll hear very differing opinions, but for me Highbinder's advice is very good.  If you want a trike for your wife I would go with a true trike.  There are some very good reasons for some riders to compromise to the Voyager kit, but it's not a trike and won't handle quite like one.  It is a good option for someone who doesn't want to give up his two wheeled ride but is short on the ability to hold a two wheeler up.

Good job!     Well told adventure.

 

[Cracker Jack]

By far the best and most informative report I have seen on the hydro-lock problem and fix. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share!

[BonS]

Great post! 

I don't have experience with de-smogging a CA model but over the years I've read posts from  folks that have done it. I don't know what the particular issues are but there were driveability problems after they completed their modifications. I also don't remember ever reading a post that illuminated exactly how the issues were resolved. Perhaps someone will put this to rest and that is fine with me. Otherwise, this would be a great time to deal with it! Keep up the good work!

[dpcarson]

Great post! 

I don't have experience with de-smogging a CA model but over the years I've read posts from  folks that have done it. I don't know what the particular issues are but there were driveability problems after they completed their modifications. I also don't remember ever reading a post that illuminated exactly how the issues were resolved. Perhaps someone will put this to rest and that is fine with me. Otherwise, this would be a great time to deal with it! Keep up the good work!

Thanks for that info.  That will put me on another info search to read all I can about this before putting it all back together.  I don't want to pull this beast apart twice.

[Willow]

Great post! 

I don't have experience with de-smogging a CA model but over the years I've read posts from  folks that have done it. I don't know what the particular issues are but there were driveability problems after they completed their modifications. I also don't remember ever reading a post that illuminated exactly how the issues were resolved. Perhaps someone will put this to rest and that is fine with me. Otherwise, this would be a great time to deal with it! Keep up the good work!

Thanks for that info.  That will put me on another info search to read all I can about this before putting it all back together.  I don't want to pull this beast apart twice.

I believe what Bon refers to is an issue if one just jerks out that canister.  If memory serves there is a tube in and one out.  That circuit, I believe, needs to be maintained or plugged. 

[Pepmyster]

Great read!!!!!!!!

[dpcarson]

Darn it.  Snowed in today and the new parts are not supposed to arrive until tomorrow.  These are the days that get expensive.  Nothing to do but look, dream, and shop.

[dragonslayer]

Great post with really good photos.I think this post will help anyone considering doing a hydrolock fix some excellent info to go by.Let us know the final outcome.

[dpcarson]

Well, today was a messy day.  We were supposed to possibly get flurries with no accumulation, but of course the weather reports are always accurate, so by 9 am when I was leaving for my first appointment the roads were so covered that I couldn't get up the hill down from the house.  So, back home and now we have a snow day to tinker on the Interstate.  
Of course, all of the new parts I ordered to finish out the installation have not shown up yet, so now I have to find something to keep my busy on the bike.  That shouldn't be too hard.  Projects never seem to disappear.  So... first I walk out into the garage.  Does everybody's garage look this junky?



So one of my concerns has been getting a grip on all the electrical on the bike to make sure I had it all squared away when the girl got put together.  So I sat down and jus moved everything out of the way and started going through all of the electrical to get a feel for what was what an what went where.  One thing I did find was that many of the end connectors were frayed and in bad shape so I pulled out my electrical tool box and decided to replace a few of these connectors.  As you can see, one thing I believe in is a touch of sealant and heat shrink connectors.  Blame that on my love of boat tinkering also.



And then I since it was just three I tried to seal them with a lighter but....  that didn't go well so I had to break out the heat gun.



I had also been reading the three about using marvels mystery oil for a cleaning agent so I decided to give it a try.  That sucked.  But while I had it on my mind it was time to start some polishing on the horribly neglected front rotors and wheel.  Forgot to take any pictures along the way, but this was my first time removing the front wheel and calipers so I was happy to have it go well.  They turned out pretty good.  I have always wanted sweet wheels on a bike but just can't justify the expense when the rotors pretty much cover it completely up.



By this time I was bored and started hitting the bottle pretty heavily.



Well, when I was taking the bike apart and pulling the engine one thing I did notice was that there was a broken flange bolt in the right side hanger (is that what you call the thing the kew switch is mounted too?).  So, while I didn't have parts I figured I would go ahead and try to use an extractor to pull that out.  I sprayed it down good with some liquid wrench to see if that would help a little.  I ran the first extractor through with no luck.  So I moved up to a larger extractor bit, with no luck.  I finally just drilled it out and tapped it for a new bolt.  



Of course I do not have metric taps so I will have to find an oddball.  Or I may eventually just drill it out smooth and use the correct size flange bolt and use a cap nut on the back.  This hole already had a nut spot welded on the back that had to be drilled back also.



I finally got it tapped but the back side was pretty rough and it does press on the wiring bundle so I had to grind it down and smooth it out.



And here is how it finally turned out.



When I start putting it back together I may just grind the nut off the back and put a new flange nut on with the correct size flange bolt.  Not sure yet.

I also decided to pull of the U-joint and lubed up the splines to at least already have it done.



Then decided I could at least do a little cleaning.  There are a bunch of little nooks and crannies to dig into when cleaning the motor!



One thing I also figured is that after cleaning the carbs up, another thing I need to pay attention to is the air supply.  Dirty air will could up the carbs just like dirty fuel.  So.... I decided to clean up the airbox really well before re-install.  (actually I prefer to thoroughly clean anything before a re-install just as preventive maintenance if nothing else)  So I broke out the gunk engine cleaner and a rag  and went to work on the box.  Much better!



However, while cleaning it I noticed that the seals around the hoses are cracked and allowing air leaks to occur which are below the filter and could let dirty air in.





So, while everything is pulled apart I decided now is also the perfect time to correct this issue.  First thing to do was to clean out all of the old glue and start prepping the surface for a new seal.



It took a while to get all of that goop cleaned up but it did finally all come out.



And I really was not sure on what to use to hold this together and did a lot of thinking a researching an reading and finally decided to try some gorilla glue because I know this stuff expands considerable and that expansion would allow it to fill in the gaps and actually expand down the joint inside the airbox joint also.

So, I prepped the surface with a light sanding and then a cleaning with some lacquer thinner (couldn't find my acetone).  



And then I decided to do just one to begin with to see how it was going to turn out before jumping in and doing all 6 only having to clean them back out and start over.  So, Did one, and let it cure out so see how strong it was going to be.  I used Gorilla White to get a faster cure because I am impatient like that.



Oh, and while I was at the parts store I found this really cool adapter.  Everybody but me probably already has one, but I had never seen one before and thought it would be perfect for the tool box.  It is an adapter that has a sliding part inside and will work as either a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter, or slid it the other way and it works as a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter.  Way cool!!  Had to have it.





While the glue was curing out I decide to grab this box of engine guard parts and start polishing over them with some steel wool.  Much easier when off the bike.

Before


After



Well the gorilla glue cured out well and when I tried to bend the air tube way over the way I will have to in order to get the airbox installed the glue held without much trouble.  So....... Seems like the thing to do.  I went ahead and did the other six.  one thing I did do was about 30 minutes after putting th glue in, when it had foamed up and skimmed over I go back and press it in a little better to get a little more density and better seal.



As you can see here, the gorilla glue's expansion properties caused it to creep down and into the joints on the inside of the airbox.  I am pretty happy with this outcome.  



Then, I finished all I had that I felt like I could tinker on today so........... Time to do some cleaning on the garage.  New parts (including that stupid little dowel) have not even shipped yet.  So time to put on the patience hat.  I am not good at that.  More snow expected to hit hard this afternoon with anywhere from 3 - 8" which means more days with no shipping deliveries and no work.  So I REALLY need those parts.  I may run by a nearby honda dealership today to at least get the dowel so I can get started on getting the engine back in.

Thanks for all your comments and compliments guys.  I will continue the saga when I get more parts!!!

[BF]

"Does everybody's garage look this junky?"

Usually...yep. 

[John Schmidt]

I think you're the first person I've read about that reglued the hoses in the airbox. It's never been an issue most have ever bothered with, just turn them back to their respective positions and go with it.

[flatsixlover]

Great read!  Enjoy your attention to detail and doing the job right 
Will be following this build until it's conclusion.
Thanks for posting you journey.

[Jess from VA]

Great post. 

Not only does work expand to meet the time allotted for it, but work expands to meet the space allotted for it.  Nice garage.... even it is a little cluttered at present.

I have two interstates in a 10 by 12 shed (with all my tools, equipment, jacks and gear).  The only way it all fits in there is enforced organization.  No Winter (bike) projects for me.    (well, I did fix the toilet last week, but there is simply no fun at all in that endeavor)

[dpcarson]

(well, I did fix the toilet last week, but there is simply no fun at all in that endeavor)

   So did you go back with the stock seat or upgrade it while in the process. hopefully the day long is not necessary.

[Gryphon Rider]

I think you're the first person I've read about that reglued the hoses in the airbox. It's never been an issue most have ever bothered with, just turn them back to their respective positions and go with it.

I did it years ago.  I forget what stuff I used, but it was still holding last time I checked.  I figured if Honda paid someone to do it and it wasn't too much trouble, I wasn't going to try to find reasons not to do it.

[Jess from VA]

(well, I did fix the toilet last week, but there is simply no fun at all in that endeavor)

   So did you go back with the stock seat or upgrade it while in the process. hopefully the day long is not necessary.

When I bought the house, the master bath was entirely Women's Pink.  It was nicely upgraded and I don't waste money, so it has stayed that way.  The pink seat in there is pretty new (but I generally prefer to only use a small night light in there anyway).  

What I do like is I still have the original 3 gallon American Standard potties.  EPA can KMA!!