The Bumble Bee Project (2020)

[D-Eagle]

Holy Hell that is one heck of a project. Like a new bike by the time you're done.

[ionbeam]

As one Honda V-4 owner to another, change those rubber throttle body coupler boots unless you know they are new and/or are in excellent shape. On my V-4, Honda referred to them as 'heat isolators' for some reason. I had to replace them on both my V-4s as they deteriorated and ripped.

[raYzerman]

As one Honda V-4 owner to another, change those rubber throttle body coupler boots unless you know they are new and/or are in excellent shape. On my V-4, Honda referred to them as 'heat isolators' for some reason. I had to replace them on both my V-4s as they deteriorated and ripped.

Thanks... I was warned... some much lower mileage thermostat changers said, they'll be rock hard and the hoses will all be hard from living down there in the crotch of heat.... not to mention this girl is 21 years old. I decided the new hoses (~$130) were a good idea anyway, turns out the existing hoses were decent and I could have left them. I did buy a set of lightly used spare "heat isolators" ($10), but found mine in good shape, again at twice the mileage others complained about... new ones are unobtainium.

[Hppants]

I've never seen a gear driven cam'd Honda V-4 from the "inside" -wow.

Not gear driven, mind you, but one of my close riding buddies put 98K on an ST1300. Started smelling coolant faintly at stops - original hoses were long in the tooth. Took one look at the job and sold the bike (bought an FJR).

[raYzerman]

Here is a VFR history if anyone is interested... goes only to 2014... however the VFR800 V-TEC was revised again and allayed all the residual issues with it. I sat on one, quite nice, but it just doesn't quite have the same character. So I got the best generation one instead, and I believe it is. V-TEC's all have chain driven cams.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n ... -honda-vfr

Pic of VFR cam gear drives. All straight cut gears...... but don't you call my baby a whiner.
I forgot to mention the PO said it never had a valve check in it's 109k kms/65k mile history. When I checked them, they were all nominal or slightly above. Buttoned it up quick because removing the cam retainers meant work and replacing some little o-rings in oil passages.... I still have the new ones, now going into my stash.... along with the $50 shim kit I bought....

[raYzerman]

As I mentioned, my new favourite niece (Leslie) and I have been having fun with the Bumble Bee thing. While she isn't mechanical at all, she has a brother in Korea who has a bike, so she can appreciate them to some degree. She once said she'd never get on one, obviously has some preconceived notions... and unbeknownst to her, I'm slowly trying to change those notions... don't know if I'll ever get her on one for a ride, but I'm hoping so... someday, no rush, but another reason I'm encouraging her to be part of this. I send her the odd pic.... so here it was, late March, it was warm enough to open the big shop door for a few hours, and after taking a lunch break, came back to see this little fella, a honey bee on my yellow towel as if it were a big flower I suppose.. but it was cool and he wasn't moving too fast, I was able to take him out and release him back into nature.... Of course, this has to be a sign of things to come, as I proclaimed to Leslie. I keep thinking of various options for the graphic scheme......



Meanwhile, part of the coolant system work was to replace O-rings in the coolant pipe adapters..... They may be 21 years old, or they may have been replaced when the PO replaced the thermostat, the two on the blue coolant tubes I'd be sure are original. I had not changed them when I put the blue hoses on, doing this after the fact, oops. Lookie, I happen to have a Bumble Bee utility knife, LOL.

[raYzerman]

No pics... Somewhere in the midst of all this I removed the front end... it would all help with access to the front for the valve check, etc., but not necessary for that... Bumble Bee had a "stiff neck" and what I call self centering steering, a distinct spot with handlebars straight where a little effort was required to move the bars... with front wheel off the ground, you'd really notice it... steering head bearings need replacing, so I went with an All Balls tapered bearing kit that comes with all you need. Surprisingly easier than I thought and easier than some FJR replacements I watched others do.

Also took the opportunity to potentially rebuild the forks, a buddy of mine gave me a new RaceTech fork spring set (0.95) as the originals are on the weak side, forks have cartridges but only the preload is adjustable. Took apart one fork, oil looked half decent, bushings may have been replaced, no wear apparent, seals not leaking... I cleaned up that fork and put all the original stuff back in, new seals fer fun. The other fork, I just flushed it out and new oil. New springs in of course. Took the opportunity to re-route brake lines as I will be installing handlebar risers and need all I can get (for now). Ultimately someday will replace the lines, gotta have some more bling after all to enhance the Bumble Bee theme, this will be much later as my stainless line set is sitting on the wrong side of the border......

[escapefjrtist]

Stop teasing us Ray and keep it going! Enjoying “watching” you systematically go through the machine and get it back on the road...

~G

[raYzerman]

Again, multiple things going on as certain things have to be installed before others... once valve check done, time to connect the remaining coolant hoses and install the radiators, which are side mounted. Airflow is in through the front, out the sides. Left rad has a fan. Instruments can be switched to show ambient air or coolant temperature, if coolant temp gets too hot, it automatically switches to display coolant temp.

Right rad has a hose at the top of the filler neck, which is the highest point on the engine and is called an air bleed hose... all air is purged automatically. Just fill and run the engine, blip the throttle a couple of times... but that comes later.





Open hose is to connect to coolant reservoir bottle so system can overflow/suck coolant back in as necessary. Honda specifies silicate-free coolant. It happens to be blue. So with all the blue hoses and new coolant, Bumble Bee has blue blood... a sure sign of royalty. I marked the upper and lower fill marks in red so I can see them easily through the fairing opening. I always overfill slightly for a coolant replacement, when air is purged, I like to have it at max when I'm done. This bottle is rather large, so has lots of room for expansion. When I got the bike, coolant bottle was bone dry.... rad level was a tad low also.... somebody before me wasn't keeping an eye on things......





Interesting note and chuckle a bit on coolant.... marketing. In the past, I would pick up a jug of Prestone premix at US Walmarts which were labelled silicate free... that is no longer the case, a little research... no longer can prove it is, so I picked up a jug locally (Covid restrictions for border crossings). There were 3 identical jugs all labels identical, as well as the fine print on the back... all say the same thing except one for domestic, one for Asian, one for European, all the same price and premium priced. Other brand names significantly cheaper on the shelf too, but Joe Backyard Mechanic might tend to just go with the more expensive one, because of less guessing about getting the "right one" and I'm sure they'll thank you for leaving your extra dollars at the store. This stuff made by Recochem (Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver). Sounds official enough. I had to go with silicate free, so paid up the extra $5.... well, it was Canadian dollars....

[raYzerman]

The poor girl has been naked way too long during all the surgical procedures, so I at least wanted to get some of her clothes back on. Installed LED F2 headlamps in her bra, 3M tape to hold the drivers and the connections will be right where the OEM connectors are.



Before I can put more of her clothes on, installed a carbon fibre fender extender from Spain, and a bunch of electrical accessories were added... new fuse panel, had to tap into her brain for a tach signal to feed the new gear indicator, installed heated grips, voltmeter, GPS cradle, Battery Tender lead (I used a 5-pin relay for the fuse panel so when the key is turned on, the Battery Tender feed is shut off), got all the wiring routed from tail to nose. It looks much better than this now....



Also changed all the tail/brake/signal bulbs to Superbright LED's, been underwhelmed in the past with that, but these ones are indeed bright. Installed a set of sequential signals on the rear as I have on the Raspberry Honda, small but effective. As I got the new wiring all neatened up and tucked away out of sight (when the fairings are on), I installed the bra and her rear skirt. Progress pic.



While the bra is off, replaced all the illumination in the cluster, I was really after brighter turn signal indicators since some accuse me of leaving them on once in a while, but went all out with upgrading all the warning lights and backlighting as well. So, with all that done, we can put her bra back on. I had also installed some new front signal lenses which are more clear, the OEM's rather dull and faded, I wanted more transparent to have the LED signals show. I originally wanted to install some running lights like Raspberry has, but they look more like appendages on the VFR. Since the fronts are running lights anyway, the signals are large and the Superbright LED's look good... not installing front conspicuity lights, it's just fine the way it is and preserves her natural beauty...... my opinion of course. Put her socks and shoes on as well.



The stock seat is not too bad, but not good enough.. the preferred seat seems to be a Sargent or maybe a Corbin, but I scored a rare gem from a guy in California way back in January... a Russell leather one-piece for the grand price of $100. How good is that!! Test fit.... checked ergos, got handlebar risers and a new Givi windshield in the wings......



Original instrument lighting, kinda dull and plain, can't see the green backlighting that well...... we'll need some more jewellry and bling for the girl!! You know she's worth it!! This pic from early on.

[Hppants]

Starting to look like something!!!

[D-Eagle]

Big score on that seat!

[raYzerman]

Well we need a little bling now, had this kit of real carbon fiber to dress up the IP. Interesting stuff, a little thicker and stiffer than decal or wrap type stuff, came all the way from Germany. Very precision fit. The girl deserves some makeup and jewellry....... clean all the plastic with alcohol, warm everything with hair dryer, position carefully, press on, heat again, press again... the sticky is real good stuff, you can't get it off... well spose you could iff'n you really wanted to. There were also parts for the triple tree, foot guards where your boots rub, etc. There are 4 pieces to the IP you have match up...







Been working on handlebar risers and placement of shift indicator and voltmeter. Another number of hours fabbing up brackets and trying it, windshield on and off a coupla times...... so this is the final dash layout and a simulated night shot with the shop lights off, the camera doesn't do it justice, it is not as harsh as this at all. In daytime, the green backlighting fades off but the gauge numbers are enhanced. The green is because the original IP has green masks inside the IP and I used green Superbright LED's. Red got red, blue got blue, amber got amber, etc. to match OEM colours/lenses, which you should really do when using LED's.

The shift indicator is flashing "L"... for Leslie? Nope, "Learning"... haven't run the bike so can't set it up yet. Will do that on the shakedown ride.



While I was in fab mode, made up a bracket for a panel mount Battery Tender outlet... now I don't have to fumble with cords. Single hole mount behind fairing using existing fairing screw.

[Hppants]

I've got this thought in my head:

I'm at deals gap. It's early in the morning. I run up the hellbender from Stecoah, where I've camped last night. The bumble bee is warming up nicely as I gently lean back and forth on the (relatively) mild sweepers. The sun just peeked over the tree line and in a rarity, there is no fog this morning. The road is clean and its dry.

I get to the Dragon store and the parking lot is mostly empty, except a couple of pirates belching around. It's too early for the squids, they drank too much last night (as in every night). I look down at the dash, coolant good. Fuel good. Didn't forget to cancel my blinker - good. OK - let's do this.

For the next 312 curves, the big gage in the middle stays between 7 and 10 instinctively. I can't prove it, mind you. I'm way too busy watching the vanishing point of the next curve. But I know this because I can HEAR it. That pipe is singing to me a song of euphoria. Those cams are harmonizing the sweet sound of the well oiled machine. Ray's got her just perfect. I don't have to worry about nothing. Just release the front brake 10 feet from the apex, push the inside bar a little more, twist the right wrist as much as I want, and listen to the "V4 music".

Yeah - some thought .... indeed.

OK - I'm back now. Please continue, Ray......

[raYzerman]

I'm all good with that, but likely not on that particular stretch of road... gotta remember, all this stuff is getting done while I'm waiting for that fuel tank gasket to show up..... installed a Givi rack, not really intending to put bags or a top box on this to keep the clean look. I used a spare Givi "toilet seat", capped it with a 1/4" thick aluminum plate I fabbed up, painted a "Sunset Yellow". We have plans for this... the Givi toilet seat allows hooking bungies under the edge... plans for those Givi rondells to disappear and something cooler in its place. I did modify the rear seat cowl to fit, but I think it looks better to just leave it off.... can strap a tail bag on any time, or two if going on a trip.





I tidied up the tail and made sure Bumble Bee knows damned right which team we're cheering for......... wallet fits nicely and carries spare fuses, etc.





And my friend Leslie has been through much, love her to bits and Uncle Ray just has to honour her.... again wanting her to be part of this. We've been teasing each other off and on, this year she was treated to her first actual live Maple Laffs hockey game in Trontarded. Bit of a diehard fan, so I'll have to put one of these blue things on here somewhere, maybe not this one I'll try to get one that maybe is just the leaf and no text, LOL... however, I am going to let Leslie choose which one (I will try to steer her, LOL), and I'm thinking a good spot for it is right under that tail rack..... wonder how that's gonna work out, ha ha. BTW, she hates the Bruins, I wear a Bruins hat occasionally.... hmmmmm, yellow and black... Bee colours... we're gonna have some fun with this!!



So here is another omen of things to come...........

[BkerChuck]

Ray, I didn't look for Honda rondells but my used Givi rack and "toilet seat" was missing one of those rondells and I was able to score some 50mm Yamaha emblems that fit perfectly. Can post pics if desired. Check Amazon or Ebay and you might even be able to get different colors.

Quick eBay search found these. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-3D- ... hOaFiOoKGQ

[raYzerman]

Ray, I didn't look for Honda rondells but my used Givi rack and "toilet seat" was missing one of those rondells and I was able to score some 50mm Yamaha emblems that fit perfectly. Can post pics if desired. Check Amazon or Ebay and you might even be able to get different colors.

Chuck can read minds........... yellow and black, of course!! Newer and vintage styles, I prefer the latter but may have to get them custom made.

[tidrick]

Dang.....

Hey, "Uncle" Ray - - - I gots a sick "Bird that needs your level of skillz and attention....



Love the yellow on this era VFR. Had a '99 for a short time - just couldn't get the fit I wanted, went back to an ST1100. Then added the XX - better fit for me (bike is not a short-coupled feeling) and have added some old-guy comfort mods, but - sigh - the R/R & stator woes much like you have describer here - now carb issues and limited skill/confidence on MY part to dive that deep.

"Uncle" Ray...???? Ha!

[raYzerman]

Are you on the ST-Owner's forum? Tons of good help there.... ST1100's are awesome. I'd offer but..... and not sure who is in your area, but bound to be somebody... ask up...

[Full House]

I've got this thought in my head:

I'm at deals gap. It's early in the morning. I run up the hellbender from Stecoah, where I've camped last night. The bumble bee is warming up nicely as I gently lean back and forth on the (relatively) mild sweepers. The sun just peeked over the tree line and in a rarity, there is no fog this morning. The road is clean and its dry.

I get to the Dragon store and the parking lot is mostly empty, except a couple of pirates belching around. It's too early for the squids, they drank too much last night (as in every night). I look down at the dash, coolant good. Fuel good. Didn't forget to cancel my blinker - good. OK - let's do this.

For the next 312 curves, the big gage in the middle stays between 7 and 10 instinctively. I can't prove it, mind you. I'm way too busy watching the vanishing point of the next curve. But I know this because I can HEAR it. That pipe is singing to me a song of euphoria. Those cams are harmonizing the sweet sound of the well oiled machine. Ray's got her just perfect. I don't have to worry about nothing. Just release the front brake 10 feet from the apex, push the inside bar a little more, twist the right wrist as much as I want, and listen to the "V4 music".

Yeah - some thought .... indeed.

OK - I'm back now. Please continue, Ray......

Ray, I think you could sell the yellow beauty if you have a mind too!!!