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Who was here last and what were they thinking?!?

2K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  Joe XR 
#1 ·
I don't remember what the show was but there was an older electrician telling his apprentice that when doing a repair you always bad mouth the guy who was there before you. I have long lost track of the number of bikes I have worked on now but this, my third and probably final RC may just take the cake. I left her sitting in the corner of the shop for awhile now knowing she was going to be a pita. Not sure I have found anything right on this bike yet!

Just venting but wondering who else has ever started working on a bike and though...

Who was here last and what were they thinking?!?
 
#3 ·
Holy tamoley, I've never seen a bolt not only survive that much overtorque but also able to be threaded out without breaking? Says a lot about Honda's part quality, that's for sure...
I'm about 3/4's through a track conversion on an unloved SP-1, and it's been an adventure. Lots of near-rounded bolt heads, stripped screws, random fittings using what was at hand. Nothing shocking, just evidence of not having the right tools or much attention to detail. Some stuff is Honda's fault (getting the corroded swingarm spindle out took a few full-force whacks with a 10 lb sledge after a week of penetrating oil) but most is just hamfisted shade-tree mechanic work...
 
#4 ·
this recent sp2 i bought....i got it home and tore into it, there was just so many little things and stuff missing i just decided to put her out of her misery. the wiring was a mess and though i can do it, i just dont want to redo a whole harness haha.

parted her and never looked back.

I have other RC51s that could use the parts and will be better served....plus now i can make a cool coffee table from the SP2 motor!
 
#7 ·
this recent sp2 i bought....i got it home and tore into it, there was just so many little things and stuff missing i just decided to put her out of her misery. the wiring was a mess and though i can do it, i just dont want to redo a whole harness haha.

parted her and never looked back.

I have other RC51s that could use the parts and will be better served....plus now i can make a cool coffee table from the SP2 motor!
I have had that same though multiple times now on this one but I want a good 'rider' RC and it always hurts me to part anything. Doesn't help that this is another '04. I might not feel as bad about another year.
 
#6 ·
'Toaster that caliper bolt is gnarly. You finding other bolts like that through out the bike? It is exciting to think that we may be riding next to these guys on track days. Lets hope he was not with the group A riders.

I can't wrap my head around what the guy was doing with this bike. The wiring harness is cut into in all kinds of weird places and then patched. Should probably just pull it all out and replace it but I'm too stubborn for that...
 
#8 ·
My dash and tail lights kept going out, so I fixed the cluster f@ck that was the wiring in the tail area. Super happy riding, until they went out again. Played with all my fixed wires and the dash did not flicker or go out. So I took the upper cowl off and found this...new harness on it's way. I might try to repair this one for a spare, but the wires are cut so short, it will be difficult.

136154
 
#9 ·
I have a container that holds all of the ridiculous half-assed splices and other wiring fuckery that the previous owner did to my RC. Wrong gauge wire, wrong butt splices, twist splices wrapped in duct tape. I have it all sorted now but my undertail harness will always bear those scars.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Yes. They all had running lights. The problem with some of the after market turn signals is they are small and made of cheap plastic. If you hook up the running lights you will likely melt the housing with the blub being lit the whole time. I changed all my turn signals to LED and installed a flashed relay. After that I installed yellow LEDs eyebrow lights in the headlights. I think it looks better that way.

edit to add more info:
This is what the eyebrow lights look like. They are wired directly to the low beam power and ground wires. The headlight is unplugged in this pic.


I removed the headlights from the bike to drill the mounting hole and clean out the debris that falls into the housing. The socket was bought off amazon. The bulb was from the local Napa store.
 
#18 ·
That look's really slick Johnny. I like it a lot. Does anyone know if the euro spec bikes had the ability to turn off the headlights from the left controls? I have a couple older euro spec bikes that were factory set up that way and I like the ability to turn off the headlights at will.
 
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