I'm not sure why you've given up on the impact driver. You said that you had a star socket, and if you see the pic I attached above, the bottom bit shown in the picture is really an adapter to take, probably, 3/8 inch sockets. If you don't have or can't find one of these, then you should probably be able to remove the head of the impact driver, again as shown in the pic, and use a 1/2 inch to 3/8 inch socket adapter to mount your star socket. I'm using the 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive measurements because these are standard drive sizes in the U.S. You Aussies may use metric measurements, but I think you get the picture.
As to the F in 1000F, I've always assumed that Honda uses the F to designate four cylinders, since as far as I know, they've only attached the F to fours, starting around 1976 with the CB750F, CB550F, and CB400F, all fours.

 

Scratch that, the V-twin Superhawk had the model number VTR1000F.

 

no i havent given up on the impact driver. im just saving it til last. swinging the hammer against the impact driver is hard with the oil cooler and other bits in the way. i dont want to remove any more parts from the machine unless i have to. since i wrote last, i found an excellent extension bar set and wouldnt you know it...it was the perfect mechanical leverage. i actually got the left bolt off using the 12 inch extension, plus 1/2 and 1/4 adapters to take the square drive 1/4 T40 bit.

unfortunately, ive rounded off the right bolt so much that the T40 bit is camming off the right bolt with every turn.

so i ordered the T40 bit with the 5/16 inch hex base. it hasnt arrived yet but it should be a useful bit to have from now on. i'll use that on the impact driver if i have to.

in the meantime, i used ARALDITE (!) to glue that same T40 bit into the right Torx bolt to give me something to bite into with the the rig i used on the left side.

that'll take 2 days to cure i spose, and i ll give it another try.

if that fails, i still have the impact driver and new hex bit to try, and if that fails, i'll grind some plastic away til i can get the bolt-extractor overbolt on.

if that fails, i dont know what else i can do. maybe a reverse-thread screw remover but i dont think an electric drill will fit into the available space.

no, no problem with avoirdupois weights and measurements from me pacojoseph. i grew up with SAE and i rue the day they inflicted metrics on this country. i HATE metric measures and they have no internal meaning to me. whats 30 cm anyway ? how do you relate to that in terms of the human body. one foot is the length of one forearm and its on a human scale.

i still quote my weight in pounds ( in fact stone ! 14 pounds = one stone ! )

I'm a complete troglodyte. i hate decimal currency too. give me pounds, shillings and pence anytime.

 

so the mystery of the F remains ! someone on this forum must know.

we'll take this to the Honda board if we have to.

 

Good idea and a reminder to me on the impact driver. I am building a decent set of tools, got the large toolbox tro help with organising .That is an indespensible tool for removing tight fasteners.
And you dont always need a full swing of a hammer for it to do it's work. Tapping it basically tranfers your energy both down AND around to loosen the fastener. I'll have to remeber to add that...good luck getting yours done.

 

here is a pic from under the switch the big rivet looking thing is what holds your switch in

 

I just took mine of two days ago it also wasn’t easy but i just used a wrench with a longer handle. if you don’t have that just slide a piece of pipe over it and with good breakfast youll have as much torque as any impact gun. if the spleens are turning in the socket and you didnt actually twist the inside of the screw that should tell you something about the socket ur using. Good luck

 

grendl: i havent used the impact driver before, so if you only have to tap, that's GREAT. I imagined big swinging belts in order to have any effect.

tom: maybe i shouldve started with pipe in the first place. i tried with an extension bar of 1/4 inch outside diameter and that was the problem. it flexed so much that all the strain was taken at the inset star-points and thats what rounded them off. it proves one thing: if the system you're using is wrong, give up straight away, because it's never going to magically start working for no reason. but if you begin the job at 10pm, as i generally do, and there's no chance of going to the shops to get what you really need, you persevere to no good end. in the end, you're sorrier and wiser.

nutter: thanks for the photo. shows how different parts can be. you've taken the riveted plastic cover off, have you ? and you have the 4 wire loom.
here's my photo. this is the replacement part with one of those stinking Torx 40 bolts sitting loose in it.
today i visited a bike wrecker, who let me forage through their junk box of bolts. he gave me 6 replacements for free and i intend to put back SHORT allen-key bolts this time. NO LOCTITE.

 

Your best bet for using your impact driver is to practice a little on some test bolts before using it on your bike. Make sure that you've set the driver to loosen, not tighten, which is done by twisting the head of the driver. Also, there tends to be a little slack in most drivers, and I'll twist my driver counterclockwise a little to take up this slack before hitting it with a hammer.

 

they're good tips thanks pacojoseph. i didnt know about the slackness before striking.

i did try the impact driver, but in the end nothing was happening. i think i just couldnt get good enough blows on the target. or else, there was no grip left at all with the rounded-off star points. the Torx was virtually a circle by the time i started hitting it.

in the end, i gave up and started sawing ! i took the only line available between the switch and the yoke anchorages. that line forced me to pass through the thickest part of the switch, uncovering the spring for the locking bar.

god what torture this was. there was no room for the hacksaw frame, so i had to hold a blade in my gloved hand. i had only 3 inches of movement back and forth and it took about 3 hours to get through it. this is when i discovered the switch was machined from aluminium billet ! i commenced thinking the whole thing was molded plastic. if i'd known it was solid aluminium, i wouldn't have started.

my hand was nearly paralysed at the end. ( and i have incipient arthritis of the finger joints )

here's a photo of the sawn switch when i finally got it off.

i knocked off the left side with a wooden punch, but then i still had to get the fragment left off the right side. this is where the black and decker bolt extracting overbolts came in. glad i bought them after all.

but i still had to saw off the 'collar' around the boltholes, piece by piece and break the sections off with pliers, going gradually around the whole 360 degrees.

then the overbolt, turned with an 18mm ring spanner.

that Torx was in so tight, even the spanner took all my strength to turn.

i now see that i never had the slightest chance of getting this Torx out by any means other than what i used.

i've now sent M8 25mm socket head allenkey screws in three times smothered in lithium grease to open up and lubricate those threads for good.

what a saga. this has taken all my attention and aggro for a fortnight and i spent $250 on tools, some of which i used and some of which are in the armoury for the next trial by torture.

thanks for following this thread. nutter, you were basically correct in saying some of these ignition switch bolts are never coming out unless you're prepared to demolish the switch by chisel or saw.