Engine Rebuild Video Series - 87 CBR1000F
 

Hey all,
I recently undertook an engine rebuild on my '87, and I thought I'd tape the process and put it on the web to share. I tried my best to film every step, (though the bike was basically detrimmed already) and I'll be following the FSM process closely.

The bike was done recently by the previous owner, but I think he might have reused the gaskets since the bike had several oil leaks, as well as low compression in cyl 3. I also suspect that he only did the topend, though I won't know for sure until I crack the case

I'll post the episodes as they are completed - I know it's a cliche but the video editing takes longer than the work so I've got a pile of footage to assemble into something resembling entertainment, or at least entertainment for the sort of folks who already like this sort of thing. Also figure it might be helpful for anyone who's considering the job, but unsure what it entails. It can be an intimidating job if you don't know what you're in for, but in my opinion, it's also one of the most satisfying to complete

I've got a pretty high degree of familiarity with the subject but by training I'm a bodyman, not a mechanic. Doesn't take a lot of specialty tools, though it does take a variety of precision measurement tools to do it decently. Being meticulous helps. Being organized is essential. Having a giant budget for parts would also help, but is not applicable in my case, so we won't be modifying the engine or throwing a ton of money chasing horsepower. If all goes to plan we'll be sticking to the basics - gaskets, seals, rings, and bearings if necessary

Also, it needs to be said that there's a lot that can go wrong with an engine. Go figure, she's got lot of moving parts, any of which can fail and damage the parts next to it. Hence, diagnosis isn't covered here. Also, the rebuild process on a worn or running engine like this will be very different from the process on a seized or blown engine. I can't cover every real world eventuality in some silly youtube video so if you're not sure what's going on with your bike's powerplant, best to find/hire someone who can properly diagnose the problem, and advise on options. That said, the more you know, the better that conversation will go

With all that out of the way, here's the link to Episode 1: Cylinder Head Removal. Enjoy!

...and here's the link to Episode 2: Cylinder Head Service

Excellent, methodical and well thought out, cant wait for the next instalment, :icon_clapclap:

Thank you sir. Wait no more!

In Episode 3 we go into the cylinders and pistons. It's a bit shorter than the previous episodes, owing to the relative simplicity of the assembly in question


Apparently the dry weight of these engines is like 187 lbs. Not super psyched about crankcase removal in episode 4 ;)

Again great video, and a good demonstration for other engine builders:icon_headbang::icon_munching:

Looks like a lot of work went into your vids, much appreciated.

I too had a smokey problem, mine was fixed by throwing thousands of dollars at the local stealership.

I look forward to more...your clutch hyd system o/haul was quite informative too.

Glad you like them. I had to go try and find your rebuild thread again. I'm sure I read it once years back. Sounds like our bikes were in a similar state - even down to the rings on 3. Did the Vesrah kit work out? I'm not sure what mine had on it but the valve cover gasket had to be stretched in place. Totally unsuitable

What's saved me so far is that the previous owner didn't modify anything. Yours was a quite a bit more tricky with the overbore and cylinder damage and backwards pistons and cracked cam retainer etc. For what it's worth, spending a couple grand on it was the right call. You could have easily spent twice that at a lot of shops. Plus, you're out riding yours and a lot of us are stuck inside fixing ours

Still no oil leaks after 5 years and about 5000klm so I would say that the Vesrah is good kit, made in Japan gear usually is.

I am glad I spent the money to get it fixed, I just love it, it pulls like a train from 4k up, makes it a pleasure to ride not having to chase gears if one is feeling lazy but, when it is needed there is more than enough power for most needs....

Yeah they're awesome bikes. Even in her sorry state mine used to fire right up on the first crank. All Honda. Reminded me of a three-legged dog the way it just wanted to go go go. Now we're almost at reassy stage and suddenly I'm the one that wants to go go go

I've got my parts but the factory kits will run out sooner or later so good to know there's some good quality aftermarket

Part four's up. Waiting on yet another parts order so between my time spent in front of the parts washer and catching up on some other small nags, I should have time to sort through some video footage and get part five out fairly quickly

Another Excellent instruction, the only thing I could pull you up on was not wearing Steel Toecap Boots instead of those rubber ones:icon_couchhide:

Haha I thought about editing those out but it was like 35 degrees out that day and let's just say the viewer was lucky to even get coveralls

Yeh , we are surrounded by Heath and Safety here in the UK:)

Agree, and I should really know better. My first job in the collision repair industry I was lucky enough to work for a shop manager that made compliance a top priority. With frame jobs it was common practice to strap the car down, and have a couple thousand pounds pulling on the frame from various rams while hammering away at the kinks. If a chain came free and you were in its path, you could lose an arm or worse. Became second nature to wear all the gear, and I picked up some good habits

That same shop I worked under a painter that was near the end of his career. I probably don't need to explain why, but after that experience, I became very keen on keeping paints and solvents away from my internal organs. The hazards weren't officially acknowledged, but anyone who'd been near a booth could see what a lifetime of exposure looked like. At the same time, while silicosis was well-understood, I can't remember many journeymen bothering with dust masks when blocking

You're right though, I'm probably being a bit cavalier with toe safety. I'd probably miss them if they were gone ;)

Waiting for my next installment:icon_spitball:

Hey, I've always been one to move at my own pace - could be why I never earned a cent in industry!

Here's part five, ya nag :D

Really enjoying these video's , keep them coming, really good on the video editing too. Well done tentacleslap:icon_toast::icon_imnotworthy:

Well they're far from perfect. Could probably shave a couple more minutes off and the audio isn't great, but I am just a hobbyist after all, so glad you're enjoying them

Just wanted to say thanks for putting this series out there. While they may not be perfect, I thought they were very well done: well paced for the most part and the camera work was a lot better than I would have expected. The script writer deserves kudos, as well, for sticking to the advertised subject rather than making the producer the subject.

Thanks, again!

Glad you like them. We'll be getting to reassembly soon so filming that should be a fun challenge. I've got a mind like a goldfish sometimes so odds are I forget a critical step at some point. Feel free to roast me in the comments when I do ;)

Watching and enjoying these vid - You are a talented man!

Part six is up. This is probably the most difficult stage of the job, and yes, I do manage to screw it up at least once!

Second try went better, but it was running a bit long so had to cut it off. Hopefully less of a wait for part seven. Enjoy!

Good advice ,especially at the end, walk away and have a think, but another good video:icon_toast:

Great video series. Thanks for the effort. I like the details you point out.

Very nice job! Looking forward to the next one.

Another great video, I felt for you when you realised you had left out those damned locating pins, I hope it wasn`t too hard to clean up all those spider webs and that you got it all.

Thanks guys. It wasn't too bad to clean it up, just a bit of solvent and elbow grease. This is where it's really great to be a hobbyist as opposed to trying to do this for a living - if you're trying to make hours there can be a lot of pressure to just slap it back together and hope it doesn't come back in a few months. If you're just at it for fun you can really take your time. It's all part of the process

Congratulations Jon.
 

What a sensational contributor Jon is!

He has set a new standard in "HOW TO's".

Not only have I enjoyed his posts, I've learnt a lot too.

Congratulations Jon.

Hey thanks! We'll save the congrats until she's back together but in the meantime I'm glad I'm not the only one nerding-out on these bikes. Had a moment of pure mechanical joy last week when I got the crankcase together (for hopefully the last time) and reattached the shift lever to bench test the gears. She responded with that addictive sound and feel of each gear sliding neatly into place. Perfection

I'll try and get the footage sorted out for the next episode in the coming days

-J

Here's Episode 7

Hard part's over!

Thanks again for this , excellent instruction particularly like the in-screen instruction , good idea. Cant wait for the next one:icon_headbang:

Great video as usual. Very much appreciate the effort you've put into our enjoyment.

Glad you guys like them. Making them's half the fun anyway

Hopefully I'll get a chance to work on it more this weekend

Part 8 is up!

Okay in my defense I kind of figured in the first episode that this would be quite an undertaking, so yes, I know, we're four months on, eight episodes in, and probably up to a couple hours worth of watching me fumble around what should be a weekend job for a normal hobbyist, but I did say I planned on being methodical

But hey, we're almost done. Hopefully I'll be able to cram the rest of the head assy/engine installation into the next episode

For a fun exercise, I made a list of all the things I still have to do on this bike before I can fire it up and go for a rip

Don't ever do that :icon_nut:

Feels Goodman lol!! This one was my fave so far, eyes were glued to the screen. The technology on these bikes is impressive even at that age, you make it look simple.

Haha thanks well I am a nerd at heart. The next episode is the valvetrain, probably my personal fave. These lumpy motors don't look like much on the outside but man oh man, they've got some lovely guts, especially the cylinder head

Take the rocker arms. Here's a part that needs to be cast, machined, hardened, and polished, all within a very tight specification. They are tiny, but need to be tough, pushing against the springs to clickity clack down onto the valves once every four rpms. If this part breaks or seizes, immediate catastrophic failure. Some parts are overbuilt, and others are underbuilt. These seem to be perfectly built. You can see where the engineers added metal to make them stronger in places, but also took away metal from other places to make them lighter. Gorgeous part

If I had a spare I'd make it a keychain, but that'd probably be a waste

This has been my "Game of Thrones" eagerly waiting for each episode , Great stuff and well done:icon_clapclap:

High praise indeed! Thanks Cabaret

...okay I finally figured out the pattern where CBR in your name are in caps. Mind like a goldfish sometimes

G'day wow what a huge task you took on man. Great viewing and a lot of knowledge taken in from your vids. When's part 5 coming out? Very keen to see you fishing it off.

Glad you liked them

We're up to part 8 right now, but we're basically at the 'sort through footage' stage, so shouldn't be too much of a wait for the cylinder head episode. Hopefully less than a week