help with gear shift rod replacement

[proto]

The cardboard this morning was bone dry. No oil leaks. that gasket sealant worked as a patch!

Now onto bleeding the clutch so I can get back on the road. Holy **** there was an awful lot of air in the system...

So this morning I started the process by looking for a hose. I went down to my local auto parts store, no luck there, local honda dealer, no luck there either. The auto parts store had a rather expensive kit for bleeding vehicles, but I didn't want to spend that much on it.

So I had an idea and I went down to the local pets store...bought a 2 dollar air hose for a fish tank. it was a little bit smaller than the bleeder nipple, but these things are kind of stretchy so after putting a pair of needle nose pliers on one end and stretching it out a tad...success! a nice, tight fit! improvising is fun.

I started bleeding the clutch and GIANT air bubble after air bubble came out...20 minutes later I was in a rythm of bleeding it, and I saw no more air bubbles. The clutch lever is still extremely loose. After doing some research on these boards, I noticed a few threads talking about the top banjo bolt.

I tried to loosen that top banjo with a ratchet while I held the clutch lever halfway in. no luck, it's too tight. Next, I zip-tied the clutch lever halfway (a nice trick when you don't have another person around!), tapped my ratchet firmly with a rubber mallet and...completely stripped my socket. the bolt is still intact, I suppose thats what I get for using a cheap 6 dollar walmart socket set, haha. I'll have to find something a little bit tougher than that.

Started the bike up and although it won't idle immediately on startup, it has no problem starting and if I let it warm up for about a minute (hold the throttle in just slightly) it will hold the idle. I think luis is right and I need to adjust the idle screw, I'll look into that after I solve the clutch issue.

[luisr320]

Nice going. You're almost there and no mechanic was required. Doesn't that make you feel good?
Regarding the clutch, try this:

Bike on center stand, steering streight
Open fluid reservoir
Fill to the mark
Pump the clutch lever about 8 times all the way in or until you start feeling pressure on the lever, whichever occurs first
Hold that last actuation on the clutch lever in
Open the bleeder nipple and let the fluid come out
While still holding the lever in, tighten the bleeder
Repeat until all air is out, or until you feel pressure on the first lever application
Don't forget to refill the reservoir from time to time.

[proto]

Originally Posted by luisr320

Nice going. You're almost there and no mechanic was required. Doesn't that make you feel good?
Regarding the clutch, try this:

Bike on center stand, steering streight
Open fluid reservoir
Fill to the mark
Pump the clutch lever about 8 times all the way in or until you start feeling pressure on the lever, whichever occurs first
Hold that last actuation on the clutch lever in
Open the bleeder nipple and let the fluid come out
While still holding the lever in, tighten the bleeder
Repeat until all air is out, or until you feel pressure on the first lever application
Don't forget to refill the reservoir from time to time.

did those steps earlier, like you told me to. all the air I could get out came out of the bleeder valve, but after another 5-10 mins of bleeding it with nice clear fluid, I knew it wasn't going to come back from that.

According to these boards, its the banjo bolt connecting the master cylinder to the line. I got a bigger ratchet and socket and again, pushed the clutch in halfway while tapping the ratchet with the mallet and it finally loosened. a nice hiss of air came out, I quickly closed it and released the clutch. Repeated that 3 times and the third time it oozed fluid and no air.

clutch is solid and stiff now, better than when I first got the bike!

I am considering making a youtube video since the manuals don't mention that pocket of air that may get trapped (I believe somewhere someone called it a reverse trap) just under that banjo bolt.

Anyways, took my baby out for my first ride in over a month...boy I missed it.

Nice to see the speedometer working perfectly as well, although the light bulb appears to not be functioning for it. the high beam light bulb is also not functioning, I am assuming at this point the bulbs burned out or got damaged, so I will replace them soon. If I'm lucky that may be the problem with the neutral light not coming on as well.

I think the carbs were a tad bit dusty, after bleeding the clutch and starting the bike up again, I had no problem with the bike idling or starting.

Thank you luis for all of your support and encouragement, I wanted to give up multiple times throughout this repair, with problem after problem surfacing. Your bike and build is gorgeous and hopefully when I get some vacation time in the spring, I can strip her down a bit farther and repaint / clean her up a bit more.

Cheers!

[invalidsession]

Glad to hear you got her sorted out

Chris.

[proto]

pictures! everyone loves pictures

My master cylinder. heavily scuffed up, but still in one piece and doesn't leak. I'm planning on buying one to replace it when I find the right price on e-bay or on these boards:



A picture of me bleeding the lines earlier today. holy crap, lots of air!



The cheapo 2 dollar fish tank air line I bought at the pet store to pump hydraulic fluid through.



My bent shifter rod next to the new one I got on e-bay. wew I'm lucky that's the only thing that got damaged in the engine!



The picture of my gasket on the bike, near the bottom of it - the problem area where my oil leak is located.



as you can see when the gasket is flush with the case, it leaves a small pocket behind it where supposedly the rubber plug should be filling up. most likely damage from me prying the engine casing off the first time around.