Project RVF400 Super Tune Marathon

Greetings fellow enthusiasts,

I will start this thread by saying there was a previous joint thread pertaining to this bike but after recent events you will see this project more than justifies its own thread.

For the second time, meet my friend Trey's RVF400



I was over filled with joy to start ripping off the monstrosity that is the Tyga fairing kit.

Now as I have had my hands dirty a few times now my friend Trey was brave enough to follow my detailed advice.

I helped hand select this bike and my choice was very much dictated by the condition of the engine. When we initially heard the bike I was able to overlook the sound of the dirty carbs and could instinctively tell it had high compression during listening to it running.

Before I would even agree to touch this bike I made it a prerequisite that this bike had a "as received dyno" as a starting measurement to monitor the future of this project.



Initially when the result was sent to me I was skeptical of the 56.5hp figure, this is 3.5hp more than stock crank spec and as far as I had observed by that point the tyga full exhaust was the only performance modification done.

Needless to say I decided to experience this "56hp" first hand and took it for a quick limiter bash up and down the street.

The trail of thought as riding was as follows:
"Pfft 56hp okay bike lets have at it" *gives it full throttle in first*
*Yawn* "from 0 RPM to 10,000 your slower than my bike, how much hp do I have 60?"
And then as the revs proceeded to exceed 12,000 all the way to the limiter for the first time since doing 40kph on the across for the first time I for lack of better words sh*t myself as the bike whispered "b*tch you know nothing of speed" *hops of bike shaking in fear*.

The good news is this confirmed I picked one with a good engine and may the marathon begin.

First things first, bye bye Tyga kit *dusts hands*



Wanna see the effort people go to for lame headlights? *gets out wire cutters*



Luck hit when the big CBR golden calipers I had that wouldn't fit my bike happened to be a direct bolt on fit.



The originals I pulled off,



The RVF's master cylinder was leaking fluid when I went to bleed from this defect



And the master cylinder that came with the golden calipers had a broken elbow joint



By combining parts from both we had a fully functioning master cylinder.
New battery,


Radiator fluid change,


Oil and oil filter change,







I used the stab it with a screw drier technique to remove old filter


Changed spark plugs. The removed plugs actually indicated a very good fuel air mixture which seemed to contradict the dyno's "alleged" lean diagnostic.



By this stage it was time to tackle the more involved mission of the entire intake



Whilst dismantling I spotted a pinched seal



There was an air filter that might be oem in the sub air filter, not sure but I had never seen one like this before, thought it was worth a photo



Carbs taken off



This is for me when things get a little more interesting, I was seriously jazzed about comparing the carb internals against the mc22 and seeing what made it tick.

The first aid kit



Carbs before disassembly


Me having the time of my life



Bit prior to three bond



Bits after



Note the needle that had 3 washers on it



1 of those washers was a mixture screw washer I found missing later, the other 3 needles only had 2 washers on them, all of which is not how I would approach carb tuning. I guess we all have our methods of what we believe works and doesn't but on assembly I opted for the OEM setting of 1 washer on the needles.

I also took note of the mixture screw setting they used which was all roughly 1 and a 1/3 turns out.
All main jets where #108
Carbs where moderately dirty but eventually back in good shape after three bond.
Litetek seals added and new carb boots.



Synchronizing was a nightmare, eventually I had to accept something was wrong or I had done something wrong as it was not close to possible to accurately balance the carbs, I rarely give up on these types of issues and after numerous tests and prodding I came to the conclusion the the purchased boots may not be OEM as advertised and after swapping back to the previous boots I was quickly on my way to a good sync.

This is a photo 5 mins before perfect sync was achieved.



Another shameless plug for Litetek and its signature green, used to replace previously pinched airbox seal



New air filter



Now mind you by this stage (day 2 night) I was getting pretty over it all and just wished it would be magically put back together, during which time I also installed a more suited spring rate spring to my mc22's rear shock





Now apart from 1 washer on the carb needles I found 1 and 1/2 turns out to be the ideal spot for the carbs, based on the spark plugs and dyno along with riding the bike I felt that it would be best to stick with the #108 main jets to try preserve the (what I considered) raunchy top end. However if time was no factor and the mood was right I do feel #110 main jets may or may not slightly improve things.
After running a can of threebond through the intakes during running and also mashing a tank of nulon full system clean the low & mid range of the bike now out performed my mc22 and so it should right? But don't take my word for it a second dyno will be done in 3 days to verify if my hands are worthy of the vintage v4 masterpiece, much further work is still yet to be done relating to suspension, drive train and other numerous things but look forward to more soon and I hope you enjoyed the project so far as much as I have, it really was a dream to work on.

 

Haven't been around a while, my bike got knocked over by a van while it was parked and there's this insurance claim going through from the owner of the van so my bikes kind of MIA atm.
However that hasn't stopped me from soldering on with the RVF.

I have modified a RS250 shock to go in and put a 900lb tecknik spring on it for the rear suspension and have front fork springs and stuff coming for the front end but the springs had to be custom made and after much debate not only had I convinced the owner to go back to the original kit after further discussion the original plan to just throw a cheap chinese black kit on as is we agreed if I had the skill to pull it off that I could paint the current tank and the black fairings to a design we both agreed on. which is the following.



I used gimp to edit the magnesium coloured rims to red as I think it looks better and I am going to completely copy the design.

Here is a photo of the tank so far. It took about a day to sand the whole thing back to metal by hand using 200 and 400 paper it had like 3-4 different paint jobs in its life. I chose to use dulux duramax spray cans with the primers (metal for the metal and plastic for the plastic at the front and the colour paints vivid gloss white and hot lips gloss red for the red. I used some of that green scotch painters tape to get the line where the red meets the white and at this point it just needs one more sand on the red plus another coat on the red before I spray on some special chem resistant clear coat which will then be followed by a polish. We also have a new keyless fuel lid and scratch pad and white honda stickers to go on but the wait times on the paint to harden properly is quite substantial so patients is going to be key for the rest of the jobs (fairings etc). Based on how things are going so far though and that we have sourced all the proper decals etc I am pretty confident I am going to knock it out of the park in terms of aesthetics (not that I care about the looks of it but the owner was driving me insane with cosmetic related crap so I figure if I do this the pain will finally end.



It took a very very sharp eye and mind to get the line perfect to replicated the original especially with the rather bulky tape I was using but I have had experience in the past because when I was 15 my first job was a apprentice painter and decorator and I know a few trade secrets to make sure that even with cheap tape and spray cans that the job will still turn out just as good as a pro job. I wouldn't really recommend a pressure pack and crap equipment job in a back yard to the average Joe as its likely due to so many variables you will screw it up so many times that the amount youd be paying in sand paper and rattle cans to get it spot on you'd be better off just paying a shop to do it.

 

Also just some other random photos of shock replacement, some more carb balancing and tank job.

 

Ok so the fairings have arrived, they are all black and not actually in the best condition and the paint job from China isnt the best quality but what can we expect from China. I intend to sand the clear coat back and go straight for colour over the black fairings, biggest to smallest, most colour to least colour so white will be first.

Here is some more gas tank progress pics for eye candy (for those that are into that kind of thing).
Here's a shot once I had finished the colour layers:


Here's a shot with the front attachment adhered:


And this shot is with the key-less cap and scratch guard attached with the final chem resistant clear coat sprayed:


At this point I need to wait about 2 weeks for the clear coat to cure at which point I will then buff/polish and apply the decals =). While it is curing I will be starting the nose cone next. Not bad for rattle can!!!

 

I am using http://www.dulux.com.au/products/dulux-exterior-products/spray-paint/product-detail?product=13655 for the tank which is a 2 part mix before use joby which combines dymethyl ether which by its self has a "fair" resistance to chemical solvents on its own according to the http://www.ipexna.com/media/1231/epdm-fkm-chemical-resistance-guide.pdf resistance guide and xylene which I believe contains Polyvinylidene fluoride which is resistant to abrasion and chemical solvents also.
But I couldn't resist doing my own tests for the sake of science using turps, paint stripper and petrol to change theory to first hand fact and even un-cured/touch dry it exceeded my expectations and don't envy the man that has to sand it back as chemicals appeared to have no effect on it at all... Compared to the colour and primer which pretty much dissolved instantly.
But being 22$ for 1 small can I opted to use https://www.bunnings.com.au/dulux-duramax-325g-gloss-clear-spray-paint_p1400718 everywhere else which only contains the xylene.

 

Just a visual progress update of fairings.

Sanding back the aftermarket job:


Base colour red coat on nose cone done:


Base colour white coat for mid fairings done:

At this point to do the blue I will need to connect the mid fairings and the nose cone to ensure the design lines up correctly where the blue meets the red for the nose cone and where the white meets the blue on the mid fairing. But Before that happens I am able to do the red on the lower quarter of the mid fairing as the gap between the rear cowl and side fairing is so far apart eyeballing it will be just fine.

 

should be finished by the end of the day:

 

Ok so finally finished the design and colour layers of all the fairings, all thats left to do know is attach it to the bike to make sure everything is happy/see how it looks before going any further then doing all the clear coat.
I know it must be a little annoying knowing the design is finished but I didnt put them on the bike and provide the photo on the bike yet but I needed a break hahaha.









Guess after all the work I have to admit I am keen to see it finished.

 

yeah I will be clearing over the stickers when they go on but MY FRIEND! *gives a dirty look* needs his hand held a little too much to order them all and wants help with providing sizing etc. But I have no choice to clear coat the fairings asap or the paint may get damaged due to being exposed etc so I will just put decals on clear then clear over the stickers again after, wait a million years then polish etc.

 

Nightmare... still so much to do, stays are bent, the chinese fairings arent a 100% mold (i did expect that and did expect to have to "make it work"). the wiring is in the way of the tank and rear cowling sitting flush, the riders seat needs work the paint will probably take damage while I work out how to mount them all and the H bar is clearly incorrect along with alot of missing or broken fairing plugs and yeah far from where I would like it to be so I wont be glossing it until I am sure it can be fitted safely and all the paint design is lining up how I would like it.

 

In the design im copying i cant see the front mud guard so I always just assumed it was red, but since the rims are going to be red it might be mixing too much red and blue "go the nights!" but yeah I can see how that would work if the rim where done in white!
Im actually really worn out from it all and sun burnt and feel really defeated to be honest, I just want to go out there and kick it over but I nothing worth doing is easy.