[Ninelives17]

Looks really sharp, I like it!

 

[lexdfox]

Second quarantine project complete! Found a second ECU from a fellow forum member and sent it to DHM for a reflash and TB cam. I was a little intimated having not yet opened the engine, but honestly it was cake. I had it completely buttoned up and valves checked in less than an hour.

For those of you looking for tips to replacing the cam, zip tying the cam chain to the gear and simply pushing it down to the side made timing much easier.

Reset the ECU and went on a test ride. I know the ECU needs a few miles to learn the system, but I didn't realize how on/off it was. I rode around for 26 miles or so and it felt boggy off the line. I heard from several people that TB cams can be slow to respond from idle and are best in the mid to high rev range, but it felt really bad. Like riding a super rich 2 stroke.

Then at a stop light, the ECU seemed to all of a sudden know what to do, because when I took off it was so sharp! The throttle response was pretty linear from just past idle all the way to 10k. Wow what a difference! Took it up some long uphill sections and it kept the speed constant when before it would start to slow. The reflash really woke things up. I'm super happy with it, and such an improvement for $170! Maybe I'm getting back to a wallet friendly build after all...

 

[lexdfox]

The wife and I got a vinyl cutter recently, so I decided to redo the graphics a bit. I didn't want to do anything crazy (yet) so cut out a larger honda wing logo and a script version of "honda grom" that I use for my website and other things.

Version 1.0 was a bit too big, in order to fit it the logo was basically rotated 90 degrees, so almost immediately shortened it an inch and made a 2.0 version.

 

[Ninelives17]

That looks great! I de-stickered mine completely, now I get crazy guesses about what type of bike it is........

 

[lexdfox]

Time to start thinking about preventative maintenance.

Seeing Ninelives' post about a torn cam chain tensioner, I decided to start with that. Stuck with OEM replacements for both cost savings and that my current setup has survived this long. Bought everything: tensioner arm, rollers, new chain, spring, washers, and o-rings. All told about half the cost of an aftermarket tensioner arm. I don't plan to do a BBK or anything like that, so OEM should hold up well. Cylinder is staying stock. In fact, also ordered a complete OEM top end, including cylinder as well, but that's for another day...

The rollers were actually in decent shape considering how many miles they've gone. Obviously the tensioner button was indented quite a bit, replacing that was definitely a good idea. This part was also ordered OEM but in retrospect I should've ordered an aftermarket with a harder material. Might still do that. Can you order one just as the button and not a full cam chain tensioner kit?

 

[Ninelives17]

I believe you can order a harder button through Kitaco by itself. I'm unsure of pricing.

 

[Justin V]

I bought a delrin one and a brass one. Brass was supposed to be noisey, but I'm fine with it and not going to use the delrin one.

 

[lexdfox]

I bought a delrin one and a brass one. Brass was supposed to be noisey, but I'm fine with it and not going to use the delrin one.

Would I be able to get the delrin one off you?

 

[lexdfox]

Thanks, Justin for the delrin button! Got it in the mail this weekend and while dealing with a stator issue I popped it in and took out the new OEM rubber one I bought, only 200 miles or so on it and you could start to see the makings of an indent already!

 

[boingk]

Great build writeup mate, good to see the basic cosmetic mods right through to a cam install.

Let us know how she's going!

- boingk

 

[lexdfox]

Great build writeup mate, good to see the basic cosmetic mods right through to a cam install.

Let us know how she's going!

- boingk

Thanks, boingk!

Only thing that's happened in the last few months is fixing a charging issue. I found that the battery would slowly die even while riding. Opened up the flywheel cover and found the stator to be pretty shot. I had replaced it with an SF stator as suggested by another forum member (forgot who), so put my stock stator back in, but that didn't fix the issue. Turns out the aftermarket DC rectifier I put in a few years ago died as well, so I also put my old stock one back in, now it stays charged just fine, and my high beam indicator works again!

Due to current workload and interviewing for a new job, I've been swamped lately so no time to ride. The bike sits at 18,900 miles. I simply plan to ride it until I hit 20k for now. I bought all the OEM parts to do a full top end rebuild and will do so then. This is just preventative though because it has always ran strong!

Oh and I put a new seat on it.

 

[boingk]

Nice, looking good! My '00 VTR1000F had rectifier problems and aftermarket parts were superior, but I think Honda stepped their game up some time ago as far as electrical gremlins are concerned. Good to know you've still got the stock parts to put back in.

If you do the top end are you going to do anything else while you're there?

- boingk

 

[Chillis]

Thanks, Justin for the delrin button! Got it in the mail this weekend and while dealing with a stator issue I popped it in and took out the new OEM rubber one I bought, only 200 miles or so on it and you could start to see the makings of an indent already!

The aftermarket cam chain tensioners have a wide foot that rides on the button and don't groove it like the stock tensioner does.

With the Takegawa unit you can run a stock button and not have to worry about the digging in.

I switched to the Chimera button though from Steady Garage. I believe it is derlin as well.

 

[lexdfox]

If you do the top end are you going to do anything else while you're there?

No, just replace OEM with OEM. My MO is to keep the stock bore, I'm pretty satisfied with the performance as-is with the few engine upgrades I have done and I want to maintain reliability as much as possible and see how many miles I can rack up on the original engine.

 

[lexdfox]

Took the grom out after sitting for months to run an errand and turned it into a ride. 7 miles from home I hear something odd, I thought I had a flat tire for a sec, then look down and my oil cap is straight up gone. I pull over and realize there's oil all over the side of the bike and on the exhaust. I have the kitaco clutch cover with a sight glass so was able to see that most of the oil was still there thankfully, so I'm hoping no damage done. Hoping I still have my stock oil cap laying around, I had replaced it with an aluminum cap when I did the clutch cover. What luck, I get it out for less than an hour and nearly run it dry!

 

[boingk]

Good catch! I've done the same on my VTR1000F - right leg felt warm, look down and its covered in oil. Pull over, assess, ride to the nearest garage. Clean it up, duct tap a folded sock over the hole while I complete my 200 mile ride haha.