Saul

Out with the Fowey grey gang today. Combined age 240+ years. Truro, Blackwater, Helston, Porthleven and finally Restronguet Creak to do a Freddie Dobbs. Well not really just for a pot of tea

Very sad mate, my thoughts are with you.

I didn't take offence Pedro, I knew you were joking

No mate she is a biker. She was tracking the new front brake lever that was being delivered today, by the time the delivery driver was three stops away she had her full bike gear on waiting. As soon as I fitted the lever she was gone out after 8 days off the road. 108 miles later she was home knackered because she has work tomorrow. Me and the Mrs are referring to her as Shevel Knievel now. She has had the lecture several times and knows another claim means she will be off the rood as she will never get insurance again for several years. I hope for her sake it sinks in. Oh and I don't have a problem riding my bikes to where I want to go, don't need a van.

You don't know the half of it mate. Let me introduce you to my Hornets new end can. Not Soft Dad. The motor has only done 291 miles

Well got Shadows bike as far as I can. Just waiting on the new indicator and front brake lever. Managed to disguise the scratched up headlight cowel with a black accent which Shadow loves. She thinks it looks Sick! Which apparently is positive, I’ll settle for tidy. I like the new aluminium rear L plate, supposedly unbreakable but we all know Shadows talent for destroying stuff. Now she is obsessively watching EBay waiting for the parts to come.

Good to know, I'll tell her Not!

Pissing down here to but spent the day fixing Shadows CB125F again, the job that nevers ends.

Well the bike is still rattling but in the mean time Shadow rear ended a car last Friday. Wiped out an indicator bent the handlebars broke the front brake lever and added a couple of more scuffs. . She was shook up and bruised but is ok now. The new handle bars came today. So I went out to fit them only to discover what I bought was different to what was on the bike. But the bike was bought as a repaired crashed bike so I suppose I should not be surprised. The new bars fit and look much better so I think I got the right ones I also stripped out the forks to check they weren’t bent and luckily they were fine so I just cleaned every thing up and put it back together. Also cleaned up and checked the brake caliper. Repaired the crack in the mud guard. Just painting a couple of black strips on the headlight cheeks to hide the scratches. I know I would never be able to match the colour and those checks are £80 each. So disguise seemed like the best option. I have contacted a mechanic to check the rattle out to see if it can be fixed affordably.

That's all Honda water cooled 4's from that period I believe. Most are hidden behind fairings Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Coolant hose

Much happier CBF New Fork Seals, forks repainted, new front brake pads (thank you Fred) all brake callipers stripped and cleaned, replaced brake fluid front and back. New oil & filter, air filter and plugs. Replaced front marker lights with LED’s to match headlights plus pretty deep clean. Oh and fresh coolant. Should be good until next year now just need to get my head around a valve check and adjustment.

I could go one better, her Grandfather was a boat builder, there are all sorts of boat fenders and stuff up the In-laws place. Her uncle would play along. We could trig her bike up nicely . Or her boss, she works as crew on a fast rib that does Seafari trips to see dolphins and the like out in St Austell bay. All very temping to do but 17 year old females are renowned for their lack of humour or any form of self deprivation and Shadow is a typical example of the breed. I could get her uncle involved then throw him under the bus under the bus when she kicked off. Very temping indeed

The SW Motech Crash bars have earned their keep that's for sure.

Had some good news for Shadow today, her insurance is not cancelled despite her being at fault for the RTA. Yes she knows the renewal will be painful in October. The parts to fix her bike were £80 so not all the world. She is paying me back next payday. Most will be here for Thursday so she could possibly be back on the road for Friday. Only fly in the ointment is the rear indicator that is coming from a breaker in London, has quoted up to the 19th for delivery but it could come sooner. At least she has some idea when she will be back on the road.

Article on checking valve clearances on a CBF 1000, same process for the 600 https://www.fireblader.dk/i_files/mc011.htm

Nah this was before Shadow had her off, hanging fire until her bike is sorted.

Nah she was fine, that’s just her resting bitch face.

3 of us old codgers went out today plus Shadow. Run up to North Cornwall, Otterham Station, Slaughter Bridge, Tintagel, Boscastle and Camaford. I managed to save Shadow from being dragged into the Witches Museum, oh and apparently: “I’m not fucking funny at all” according to her.

Took out Shadow to get her chin up. Missing her freedom on her CB125F.

I'm not to worried about that really, car wheel paint has always lasted well for me on several projects over the years. Also I keyed the surface well and made sure it was spotless so I have given it every chance to have a lasting finish. But you never know. Like I said you can always do a better job. Best IMHO would be media blasted lowers sprayed with top quality two pack paint from the gun, done in a booth. Probably overkill for an 18 year old CBF600 and I wince at the thought of the cost. . Horses for courses.

Just painted my fork lowers ready to reassemble the bike. After rebuilding the forks I washed them in soapy water. Then sanded them all over with 240 grit sandpaper, would have gone finer but I used what I had. Then degreased them with brake cleaner on a rag. Panel wipe or thinners would have been better but again used what I had. Masked the Showa label, fork seals and stantions. I gave them 2 coats of high build primer leaving the paint 15 mins to flash off between coats. They came up quite well at this stage with no faults to my eyes so I didn’t bother giving them another light sand. I went for lunch then came back and gave the lowers two coats of car wheel silver. Giving 30 mins between coats. I am quite pleased with how well they came up considering how rough they were. I am going to give them 24hrs to cure before attempting to refit them to the bike. I chose the wheel steel paint as I have used it loads in the past and is pretty tough once cured perfect for fork sliders. Of course you can always do better but for my 18 year old CBF they are plenty good enough. The important thing is to clean and prepare the surface you are going to paint well as that will ultimately determine the finish you get. Also lighter coats are better to prevent runs in the paint. Good clean prep and care will give tidy results. Now you do what you want but I was asked to show what I did.

The new dust covers want to ride up the stanchions rather than clip into the fork legs. Any tips.

All done, first time I have ever done fork seals. Fiddly mucky job but straightforward enough. Had to go and get my mate to undo the dampener bolts on the bottom of the forks. I will buy the long Allen sockets I need for the next time.