swanz wrote:Hi Guys, I love my bike but its not been the most reliable bike in the world and i admit its mostly my fault.
1. When i bought her, she broke down within a mile of the guys house on the test ride due to fuel starvation, we got it going eventually by removing the diaphram in the fuel tap. does anyone know if this going to give me other problems..
This sounds like a classic 'vaccumn pipe break' hence the fuel starvation. The diaphram is opened by the vaccumn (suck) created from the engine.. theres a thin rubber pipe that runs from Cylinder #1 (Rear Left, about half way up, blocked by the frame) that connects to the petrol tank, these perish and go brittle overtime and leak air.. if it has gone your engine might be getting a little too much air on that cylinder causing it to run lumpy. Check the hose.
The vaccumn is there as a safety-device.. if your carbs start leaking the tank now has the capability of emptying itself.. the petrols either going to go into the cylinders / engine or all over the floor. Either way isn't too good.
swanz wrote:2. The battery would die on me constantly after numerous batteries and then a rectifier and now a stator i seem to have cured that problem however i think i need a new gasket for the stator cover as it leeks a little oil. Does anyone know what part number and where to get one.
Standard Honda part used on all NC13e Engines (NC21,24,30,35) Part #11636ML0010 Lings.com or Davidsilverspares.com are the main Honda spares dealers.. expect to pay around £3.75 + postage.. you can also contact forum member Rick Oliver.. he may have them instock.
swanz wrote:3. she has been sat outside for most of my ownership and not gone very far due to my consistant problems this has left her a little sad.
And now for the good news I bought her a garage which lukily for me has a 3 bed semi attatched for the wife and kids.
More bad news She arrived in her new home on a trailer as she refused to start. Anyone got a guide for restart and restoring a not well looked after V4 to its formar glory
You can tell it hasnt' been looked after very well. This bikes going to be a money-pit. It's not going to be impossible though, if you have the time / patience you can do it up. However, i'd consider selling it and getting either a good base model or a newer NC30, which tend to hold their value better and have better brakes / tyres and more potential upgrades available.
However, on-to your question.
Check the exhaust system.. They rot really badly, the collectorbox's new are non-existant and even second hand ones can fetch upto £200.00. Theres a forum member on here who'll be able to make you a very high-quality Stainless steel option that wont' rust, but expect to pay nearly £300.00 for this.. the bad news is that for either one you'll have to take the engine out of the bike to change it. Pricey, timeconsuming and a ballache, but by no means impossible. You can do one in 4 hours if you know what your doing and prepare properly.
If your exhaust systems ok check all of the bearings for smoothness / excessive play.. and re-grease where appropriate, ie head bearings, rear axle. Head bearings / front and rear wheel bearings are all easily available and all cheap apart from the bearing for the rear-axle.. these are around £65.00. Bearings often get over-looked as bikes change hands all the time.
If the bike still has the original rubber brake lines on them replace them with new hoses, aftermarket stainless steels are cheap enough and going to be more reliable than 20 year old rubber lines (honda reccomends changing the O.E spec rubber ones after 6 years to maintain line integrity)
While you have the lines off you can renew the brake fluid, inspect the brake calipers and make sure the pistons move freely and the calipers slide on their sliders.. these are usualyl neglected too, so they'll need a strip and clean-up with proper grease on the sliders to ensure the best caliper operation.. from then on, clean and re-grease the sliders every 12 months to keep in tip-top shape. The pistons are plastic so rarely go. A full set of piston seals and slider boots will set you back about £48.00
Drain the coolant and flush out the system with a hose pipe to remove any built up crap, crack the cover off the waterpump and make sure the impeller blades are all clean and intact and the pump turns over when the engine does. Refill with 50/50 distilled water and anti-freeze, making sure the anti-freeze is low/non silicia motorcycle approved type. Replace yearly to keep cooling system optimal.
Drain the oil and replace the oil / filter. 10/40 semi-synth is good for general all year round use.
Final task is valve clearances and carb setup. Getting the carbs off is a pain until you get the knack (wait till you try and put them back on...) the valves are lock-nut adjustable so with the engine cold, get the rockerboxes off and adjust all of the valves so their in-spec.. this will ensure that your engine starts and runs as it should.
Once the valves are done invert the carbs and remove the float-bowels. Check the float-heights are proper and the jets / emulsion tubes are all clear and in the right places.
Finally, when starting these bikes use full choke absoubtly NO throttle at all until it's been ticking over or you'll flood the engine.. these plugs do die but not as easy as NC30 plugs so try that when you come to start the bike.
Tyre wise BT45 / Pirelli sport demons are best commonly available.. 130/70/18R 100/90/16F
The standard suspsion is very soft by todays standards and if it's covered a few miles / had a fatty on it will be way past its best.. a new rear shock can cost an arm and a leg depending on what you want in there.. pretty much most things can be adapted.. common choices are CBR600RR's & Aprillia RS's. Maxton do some progressive springs for the front which firm things up when you brake hard for £60.00
Worn suspension will make the bike really bad to ride agressivly.
Hope that helps, as you can see it will probably be a lot of work, unfortuantly many older bikes are ridden until their worn out and passed on and on. Honda NC13 Engine is bullet proof providing it has some oil every now and then.. this in turn leads to a bike that can get really worn out before the engine conks out.
Once there running they are a nice bike and fun to ride. You don't see them very often now and when tidy can keep up with most 600's on twisty roads providing the riders good (and nuts
)
Its just spending can really get out of hand and before you know it you've burned through enough money to have brought a half decent NC30, then an NC35, then a CBR1000 hah!
Aftermarket parts are also more available for the NC30/35's.
The choice is yours but if you decide to do it, good luck! If you need any more information just ask, I visit the board quite a lot.
