Hi All.

Just wanted to share the details of my restoration project I have now completed for my 1999 Honda CBR600FX (UK).

I have spent nearly 2 years and a few thousand of pound in the process. Here is the story. I hope you enjoy……



A point to note, the memory card in my phone went corrupt so I lost a huge amount of photos from the project. Most of the photos showing the completed works were lost so I only have the before photos to show you. Up to date photos of how the bike looks now are at the end! Thanks for the interest.

I bought the bike in February 2019 from a used motorbike dealership in Herefordshire, UK after moving house and needing a bike to get me to work covering nearly 40 miles a day. (Due to the crazy traffic on the commute it would take me nearly 90 minutes to get home in the car, yet on the CBR I was averaging about 30 minutes after filtering around traffic which was amazing).
When I bought the bike it was actually in a pretty good condition. (For what I knew at the time). It had a small tear in the seat, a couple of very minor scratches on the bodywork (definitely not from a drop or crash) and the rear tyre was pretty much squared off but still had some life left in it for the time being.

I had it delivered to my dad’s house not far from the dealers as I was living 110 miles away for work at the time. When it came to pick it up, my first bike over 400cc, first bike in nearly 10 years in fact, all my new bike gear and helmet etc, I was excited and couldn’t wait to blast it the 110 miles back home and get out on it almost every day from there on.

As soon as I got back home and inspected it, I found missing bolts, missing pipework and a non-standard fuel pump had been fitted and poorly cut into the wiring loom bypassing the fuel cut-off relay. (That’s not necessarily too uncommon on these bikes as they sometimes suffer with issues around the fuel cut-off relay and these bikes are often used on trackdays where fuel consistency is important.) Also, the fuel filter had been removed in the process and incorrect types of fuel hoses were installed that had become rigid and brittle. You can see the poor fuel hoses as the green ones in the picture below on the bike in the background.
The two retaining clamps that hold the rear brake hose onto the swingarm were also missing and the hose was just held in place with a grey cable tie as you can see in the first pic. The front mudguard was also cracked, with only 1 of the 4 mounting points properly intact. None of these points were mentioned in the listing and so I contacted the dealership and told them I wanted it all rectified immediately. They refused to budge on the fuel pump or pipes issues and the mudguard but installed cheap drain hoses to the fuel tank (which were the wrong length) and managed to find some bolts that roughly fit the holes for the ones missing out of the fairings. Talk about doing the bare minimum. The bike was now far from perfect in my opinion, but it was working and did the job… for a while. For a bike that was mostly factory complete at 20 years old, I was happy enough with the price I paid for it with the few remaining faults.

 

I did about 400 miles commuting on the bike and noticed it had a horrendous flat-spot between 5000-7500rpm (more on that later) and more worryingly the increasingly present sound of cam chain rattle.

I contacted the dealership again and complained, yet they just argued and argued and said it was a used bike what did I expect. I told them I expected a used bike that could last a bit longer than 400 miles without needing major engine work especially as you could now call the bike falsely advertised.

They took the bike back and had it for 3 weeks during which time they supposedly replaced the cam chain, tensioner and guides, serviced the engine and then found out the carburettor connecting rubbers were perished and needed replacing so they agreed to do that also. Which took another few weeks to source the required ‘new’ parts. (Which were clearly not new).

I got the bike back and it was useable and sounded fine and ran ok despite the dead-spot in the rev range.

I ran the bike most of the remaining year in all weather conditions (including heavy rain and snow), but regularly maintained the chain and moving parts and cleaned the bike to try and keep it running ok. The bike was stored inside the garage at the house whenever it wasn’t used so it wasn’t left outside to rot away.

Towards the end of the year and just before it started getting much colder, I decided to replace the brake pads with EBC HH Sintered ones as they had started getting weak. I checked the thickness of the discs and their overall condition and decided they were actually quite good so no need to replace them. I also checked the hoses and found them to be really soft, almost too soft as if they were weathered a bit too much. They needed replacing. Brakes are one of the things I will not compromise on and will almost always upgrade and so I decided to put HEL performance braided brake lines on the bike, front and rear. The front brakes are usually divided from one hose at the master cylinder into a splitter over the front mudguard and the HEL ‘Race’ hose kit removes the splitter so you have direct pressure from the master cylinder to each front caliper. This gives a much better feel on the front brakes alone, even before you account for the steel braid. Now, I’m a bit of a perfectionist so when I gave the calipers themselves the once over, I noticed the caliper pistons were pitted. Not too badly and can probably still be used, but not perfect. So they had to be changed too. I managed to find a company who sell polished stainless steel direct replacements and so I ordered them in along with the appropriate fluid and dust seals for each piston. I wanted titanium ones, but wasn’t willing to pay £250 that I was getting quoted! I couldn’t possibly put it all back together with corroded dirty bolts and split rubber boots or seals, so literally every other part was also replaced. The calipers had all new titanium bolts, bleed nipples and grub screws, new rubber slide boots and fluid bridge seals which sit in between the caliper sides and they also had new pad OEM retaining spring clips. Everything from the hoses down was now almost as new, but not the master cylinder! And remember, I’m a bit of a perfectionist! So I ordered a master cylinder rebuild kit and fully refurbished both front and rear master cylinders in the process. Because of the extra hose added into the front master cylinder, the hose kit came with an extended banjo bolt. Naturally, I didn’t fit the supplied stainless ones and ordered in all new titanium banjo bolts for the whole system too. The brakes were literally like brand new now. To account for the removal of the hose splitter across the front mudguard, I had to add a hose separator and make a custom bracket to install the brake hoses in a position as close to factory standard as possible. The way it is installed, you would think that it has come out of the factory like it. Very nice indeed.

 

I did about 400 miles commuting on the bike and noticed it had a horrendous flat-spot between 5000-7500rpm (more on that later) and more worryingly the increasingly present sound of cam chain rattle.

I contacted the dealership again and complained, yet they just argued and argued and said it was a used bike what did I expect. I told them I expected a used bike that could last a bit longer than 400 miles without needing major engine work especially as you could now call the bike falsely advertised.

They took the bike back and had it for 3 weeks during which time they supposedly replaced the cam chain, tensioner and guides, serviced the engine and then found out the carburettor connecting rubbers were perished and needed replacing so they agreed to do that also. Which took another few weeks to source the required ‘new’ parts. (Which were clearly not new).

I got the bike back and it was useable and sounded fine and ran ok despite the dead-spot in the rev range.

I ran the bike most of the remaining year in all weather conditions (including heavy rain and snow), but regularly maintained the chain and moving parts and cleaned the bike to try and keep it running ok. The bike was stored inside the garage at the house whenever it wasn’t used so it wasn’t left outside to rot away.

Towards the end of the year and just before it started getting much colder, I decided to replace the brake pads with EBC HH Sintered ones as they had started getting weak. I checked the thickness of the discs and their overall condition and decided they were actually quite good so no need to replace them. I also checked the hoses and found them to be really soft, almost too soft as if they were weathered a bit too much. They needed replacing. Brakes are one of the things I will not compromise on and will almost always upgrade and so I decided to put HEL performance braided brake lines on the bike, front and rear. The front brakes are usually divided from one hose at the master cylinder into a splitter over the front mudguard and the HEL ‘Race’ hose kit removes the splitter so you have direct pressure from the master cylinder to each front caliper. This gives a much better feel on the front brakes alone, even before you account for the steel braid. Now, I’m a bit of a perfectionist so when I gave the calipers themselves the once over, I noticed the caliper pistons were pitted. Not too badly and can probably still be used, but not perfect. So they had to be changed too. I managed to find a company who sell polished stainless steel direct replacements and so I ordered them in along with the appropriate fluid and dust seals for each piston. I wanted titanium ones, but wasn’t willing to pay £250 that I was getting quoted! I couldn’t possibly put it all back together with corroded dirty bolts and split rubber boots or seals, so literally every other part was also replaced. The calipers had all new titanium bolts, bleed nipples and grub screws, new rubber slide boots and fluid bridge seals which sit in between the caliper sides and they also had new pad OEM retaining spring clips. Everything from the hoses down was now almost as new, but not the master cylinder! And remember, I’m a bit of a perfectionist! So I ordered a master cylinder rebuild kit and fully refurbished both front and rear master cylinders in the process. Because of the extra hose added into the front master cylinder, the hose kit came with an extended banjo bolt. Naturally, I didn’t fit the supplied stainless ones and ordered in all new titanium banjo bolts for the whole system too. The brakes were literally like brand new now. To account for the removal of the hose splitter across the front mudguard, I had to add a hose separator and make a custom bracket to install the brake hoses in a position as close to factory standard as possible. The way it is installed, you would think that it has come out of the factory like it. Very nice indeed.

 

At the end of January 2020 I got sent way with work for 4 months. When I came back I looked at the bike and saw it was in a sorry looking state. The chain had dried up, a lot of the bolts had surface rust or the aluminium fairing bolts had corroded and gone chalky as they sometimes do but more annoyingly the front fork seals had perished and the fork oil had leaked out all over the front wheel and my garage floor! The bike could not be ridden until at least this fault had been sorted out. So I ended up searching for a cheap to buy, cheap to run bike for the interim. I ended up buying this for fun….
So much fun on twisty back roads and roundabouts in fact that I had to buy new boots with toe sliders on them…

 

Back to the CBR…

I took the front forks off to dismantle and inspect them and found out the stanchions were heavily pitted and corroded. I could easily replace the fork seals, but what is the point if the stanchions are just going to rip them up again within a few miles. The stanchions needed to be repaired or replaced.

It is at this time…. I knew I …… was committed to a full rebuild and restoration! If I was going to spend nearly £200 on having the stanchions refurbished, checked for straightness and re-chromed, then I might as well spend a few hundred more cleaning up various other aspects of the bike. Right?

A few hundred……..he said……..

In the process of dismantling the forks, I managed to find one of the compression damping adjusters was seized and my efforts to remove it had only destroyed it beyond acceptable use.

In came the K-Tech adjustable compression / rebound damper adjusters as a replacement as Honda themselves didn’t even list them as a separate part in their part diagrams or factory service manual. These parts were nice as they were machined better and had more adjustability settings that you could actually feel! (I think the original adjuster had 6 settings whilst these have 15 and a very noticeable ‘click’ between each setting)

I sent the stanchions themselves off to a company called Brook Suspension in Bradford, UK who cleaned, re-chromed and polished them and then sent them back along with new slide and tube bushes, oil and dust seals, a specialist tool to bleed the damping rod, the correct size fork seal driver and the OEM spec oil as listed in my factory workshop manual (Motul Factory Line 10W).

Whilst they were away I repainted the lower fork tubes and replaced the front axle pinch bolts with better stainless ones. I also checked over the other internal components from the forks and ran them through my ultrasonic cleaner I had specially purchased for this project, so everything had come up perfect.I also managed to measure and source all other replacement seals such as the fork top seal for the pistons and I also bought new OEM fork seal guards as I noticed one of the originals was cracked.

 

I had so much difficulty trying to find the correct amount of oil to put back into the forks when it came to rebuild. You think I could just read the workshop manual, but no. The manual stated both a required amount of oil (475ml per fork, +/- 2.5ml) and a fork oil level that it should sit at from the top of the stanchion. (118mm), as shown in the picture below.There was no way in hell I could get both correct. At first try I went to put 475ml into the forks, but each fork would only hold around 400ml at a push before overflowing. Far from what the manual states and obviously making the oil level effectively zero. I posed the question to another biker forum and got varying responses. I watched a youtube video specifically showing how to rebuild this exact model of suspension fork and the guy in the video appeared to do it differently to what the Honda manual says but annoyingly misses out the part showing exactly how he sets the oil quantity or level.

I got back in touch with Brook Suspension and they told me to go with the oil level at 118mm first and see how they feel. They haven’t specifically rebuilt this exact fork or have the workshop data for it so could only best guess it, but they are the experts so why not trust them.

It was difficult with what I had to accurately measure the oil level so I needed to make a special tool out of random parts I had in the garage. Essentially how it worked was that I set a rigid metal tube to 118mm in length fixed to a flat cross member that will sit over the fork stanchion. I would overfill the fork oil, then use a syringe to suck it back up the tube. When no more oil comes out into the syringe, the oil level should be as good as 118mm as you need. It worked a treat and the rebuild was completed just moments later. And wow! What a difference. They felt amazing almost as if they could even be better than brand new. So smooth yet firm and not a single bit of unusual travel or feel. Not to mention they look great with those K-Tec adjusters at the bottom.

 

On to the next job. Might as well look at the rear shock whilst I’m at it!

The original shock was still fitted which was great news. Sadly, it was a bit corroded in places and the adjustment rings at the bottom had seized up from corrosion whilst the remote reservoir was basically empty. To top it off, both the compression and rebound adjustment screws had seized solid and trying to turn them looked as if it was going to chew the heads or snap them off. Sad face indeed. I attempted to dismantle it and rebuild it, but after consulting Brook Suspension once again for advice, they told me this specific shock cannot be re-gassed without first drilling through the reservoir end plate and replacing it on rebuild. The replacement parts are now unobtanium so whilst they do advertise a shock rebuild service for a great price, this exact one they cannot accommodate for. One model before, or one model after apparently they could but not the 1999-2000 FX.I could not find even a hint of the necessary parts anywhere online from any country and had no other option but to put an aftermarket shock on it. Now, here’s the dilemma. I want to go for a factory standard look as much as possible. So whilst I could put an awesome Ohlins shock on it for £480, or a Hyperpro or even a Nitron shock as slightly cheaper options, neither of these came with the option of a red spring or a remote reservoir on a hose and I wasn’t down to modify a new shock at even more expense. I once again contacted Brook Suspension and explained that I’d looked on their website for options but nothing seemed to fit the build. The guy on the phone told me he had the exact model I was looking for from YSS which fits the brief perfectly. I knew they did one for the CBR900RR in the form of the MX456 shock, but they don’t list it for the FX on their website. Doesn’t mean they can’t get it though! I special ordered it and had it sent from the YSS Factory in Thailand. I can’t even remember how long it took to arrive, but it was a lot faster than I was expecting.

 

HOWEVER!!! It turned up with a black remote reservoir! Black! Not even anodised gold. Far from the factory anodised silver look I wanted! The websites only ever seem to show it with a silver reservoir so I thought all was good. That being said, I wasn’t going to complain about it as it had already cost me £580 by that point and I had waited for it to arrive after all. I can manage I suppose. I set all of the settings in the middle, so a new owner can adjust all of the parameters either way if they want to. Installing it on the bike was easy and I used new stainless steel bolts, not just for the top and bottom shock mounts, but also for the connecting plates and mechanisms (often called dogbones). I could have easily used titanium bolts here, but the bolts need to be able to take higher tension / impacts and stainless steel has a higher tensile strength than titanium. Titanium is more susceptible to snapping under stress where stainless steel will likely bend more. I checked all of the bearing components in the dogbones etc and found that whilst a bit dirty, the bearings were in good condition so I cleaned them up and thoroughly regreased them before fitting new dust seals. The whole suspension mechanism was now rock solid and of course cleaned up perfectly.
To protect the remote reservoir from unwanted scratches caused by clamping it in place, I put a small piece of foam on the holding bracket for it to sit on and then used a bit of adhesive heat-shrink tubing to cover the majority of the retaining clip so that way any small movements should hopefully not scratch it much over time.

 

Now, I couldn’t go fitting an awesome rear suspension setup onto a dirty swingarm could I??...
I checked the bearings and seals in the swingarm and found they had a little bit of play in them and the collars that help it fit together were a little bit corroded. So they all got cleaned up and new needle roller bearings were installed into the swingarm with new seals. The years of dirt and road grime cleaned up after about 8 deep cleans and soaks in degreaser and spirits. I noticed the sticker on the swingarm was rough and starting to flake off so I replaced it. Replacing the stickers wasn’t easy. I couldn’t find anywhere with them in stock. I ordered about 3 times from websites only to be told my order had to be cancelled as they couldn’t be viably sourced. I ended up finding a website for a back street shop in Japan who supposedly had them in stock so I ordered them in. They took about 16 weeks to arrive but absolutely do the job in making the swingarm look great again. I considered polishing the swingarm to take off the minor stone-chip blemishes all over it, but it wouldn’t fit the bill of a factory standard look, and even after taking the blemishes out, getting the brushed aluminium look back onto the swingarm would have been too much time and effort.

 

I did the same process for the rear mudguard whilst I was there, cleaned it up and replaced any missing factory stickers. It came up amazing after treatment with trim gel to restore its colour and protect it.Also, over time, it was clear the chain tension adjusters at the rear of the swingarm were getting a bit gritty and sticky and just looked a bit poor.
A couple of polished titanium bolts, new circlips and a thorough clean and polish of the adjuster plates themselves and they cleaned up like brand new again and worked perfectly. The threaded holes in the swingarm were also cleaned out and re-tapped to make sure they were in great shape.
Ooooh. Shiny.