Anyone have any ideas on the best approach to repair a broken faring? Its the left side of my 95 cbr. The part where the littly "banana cup" looking thing screws on. Would just an epoxy of some sort be the best choice?

Also, I'm replacing the front and rear brake pads and does the organic pad work better than the metallic pads? I had an older Nighthawk and the brakes did more squealing than my.....well you know what I'm getting at. A few so called "mechanics" recommended the metallic ones for better stopping power but will wear out the rotors quicker. It sounds like a tossup, but whats the best choice for the average rider. I'm not into doing any tricks or brake stands!

Do cam chains and tensionersseem to be a problem on other makers of motorcycles, or is it a Honda engineering delema?

 

Hi Gill, welcome to the Forum
1 Epoxy is great for most things, depending on whether you need to get the "banana thingy" (??) off again - are you talking about the bit that fits over the built-in crashbar ? If so, epoxy should be fine....
2 I use sintered metal pads in my 1990 F-L, they work OK, but I only have twin pots and no DCBS so yours will stop a lot quicker than mine, never mind what you use....Rubbing a little copper grease like coppaslip on the back of the pads will reduce squealing......
3 Camchains and tensioners are a design flaw on the earlier models - there's plenty of correspondence from everybody on the subject, just look back over the last month or so....
there is a "modified" camchain tensioner which came out in the later models, from about 1994 or so, which has a longer plunger than the earlier model like mine. Replacing the camchain is not such a major issue if you use a chain with a masterlink like DID - if you use a Honda solid chain, the engine needs to be removed and casings split. .......not for the fainthearted, and a waste of time in my humble opinion, as Honda chains don't last any longer than split chains with a masterlink....Hope this helps......

 

Thanks for the response Shadow. I had an 85 Nighthawk with 76,000 KM that had a cam chain replaced by a local shop here. He couldnt get a DID chain or any after market chain so I bought the "golden" Honda chain for 110.00 plus a tensioner for 75.00. He was able to cut the Honda chain ( I almost cried!)and fed it around the crankshaft sproket and, using a tool to re-connect the chain. I ran it for a few months, but since, sold the bike. Made a huge difference in tightening up the engine though. (total cost after labour was just over 500 bones!)

The reason I was asking about the cam chain, was my 95CBR has a similar sound at idle or shortly off-idle that concerened me bit. I didnt want to have to go through the whole senario again. I remember the old 98-2000 VFR engines had direct cam to crank gears, which in my humble opinion, should be the way all bike engines should be designed. After all the discussion about counter balance shafts and alternator shafts,I'm wondering if that may be it. Although. in all my reading about the chains, I never heard of anyone complaining about the other chains in the engine, or a cam chain actually breaking.

I wonder who has seen the most milage or kilomatage on their CBR?

Yeah, when I got the bike, the original owner dropped it on the left side breaking it off. The Banana thingy was 55.00 bucks, unpainted from the dealer. Fortunaly there is a shop now in town here that has some used, aftermarket parts kicking around....which leads me to another question....what is your thoughts on aftermarket exhaust....maybe I should start a new topic on this...lol. What are the optin to mounting them on? If they are not "slip-ons" does that mean they have to be cut and welded on to the existing pipes?

 

I don't think welding mufflers are a common option today...if you don't wanna make some art for your self

There's the slip-on where you keep the original exhaust pipe (from cylinderhead to where the muffler/s start). You can either bye two mufflers (left and right) or just one and then you plug the other sides pipe....and of course thenthere's the"full" system.Ibelieve that the full system has a better flow/torrent for the exhausts= a bigger diameter on the pipesand you dont have the pipe you plug, if you bye one side slip-on, that disturbs the flow/torrent of exhausts...and they are not so heavy.

[IMG]local://upfiles/18306/9F121FF84C6241F8B9BCF2A8A7245FFF.jpg[/IMG]

 

I tried epoxy, and all other glues and material. The best way in the world is plastic welding. It's not hard at all. You may need some plactis before you mess with your faring. Only thing you need is soldering iron and piece of plastic (same kind of material as your faring; ABS plastic). Once you get used to, you can even make a shape and missing peice. Actually, it's fun!!