When a bike hits the ground it's the "edges" that get bruised, things like brake/clutch levers, turn signals...and bar ends. Fortunately they're easily salvaged. Here's what I do:

Using some basic furniture stripper, the paint is removed and the ends scrubbed clean. Then I mix up a small batch of body filler and apply a light coat over the entire fixture. After about twenty minutes a quick sanding with 320-grit followed by a finer grade and they're ready for paint.

Some time ago I discovered a Rustoleum color, Stainless Steel, that mimics the original silver pretty well. I apply a couple of light coats of Rustoleum primer, followed by a few color coats, and finally three coats of Rustoleum clear. By varying how "wet" the final clear coat is applied, I can achieve more or less of a gloss finish.

Check one more item off the Blues Project list.

The Blues Project is in need of a replacement windscreen, and that leaves few options. I've had some limited luck with light wet-sanding old screens followed by copious amount of machine buffing, but there's no repairing the deep gouges in this baby. I've long wanted to try one of the aftermarket screens from Hong Kong, and at $36 shipped, what's the worst that could happen? As it turns out, it's a pretty good fix.

I ordered up a replacement screen from ebay seller MC-9238 and after a three-week wait, the padded envelope finally arrived. Unfortunately, one corner was visibly damaged and, sure enough, the screen had sustained a 3-inch light scratch. The seller stressed in his listing to contact them with any issue, so I did, along with two photos of the damage. I received a quick response and a promise to ship off another. The second one arrived only a week later — this time nicely boxed.

I fully expected that some fitting would be necessary, which consisted of elongating three of the mounting holes with a step drill. After about 15 minutes of fiddling the screen was in place. I added a "Honda" decal and Bob's your uncle.

The fit is acceptable if you're not in need of a concours piece. The screen is deeply tinted, much more than the OEM, as seen in the first photo, with a flawless, nearly black, finish.

At left can be seen the only real manufacturing "oops,"  as the lower ear doesn't quite flow correctly with the headlight. I considered trying some filing/sanding/shaping, but decided it's unnecessary.

Overall, a very useable windscreen for a bargain price.

NEW 2014 — Leftover Bargain

Here's a zero-mile VFR800 at a dealer in Pennsylvania, offered at used bike prices. It's a standard model, having an MSRP of $12,850 and offered at only $9,895 out-the-door.

The standard gives up some niceties — ABS brakes, traction control, heated grips — but someone's getting a warrantied Interceptor at a starter-bike price.

I have to wonder what this is saying about the public's acceptance of the new 800.

With the carb set cleaned & tweaked, #10 fired up instantly — always a good feeling. Warm it up and fit the Morgan Carb Tune.

On the '86-87 carbs, #2 is nonadjustable and the remaining three are set to it. I use a Motion Pro 90-degree screwdriver-thingy and it usually goes smoothly, as in this case.

Carb or throttle body syncing is an important but often neglected step for any multi-cylinder engine, and these V4s are no exception.

It's time to mount up the front brake and clutch master cylinders to #10, and part of the process is replacing the unserviceable sight glasses.

After disassembly and cleaning, the old plastic windows are broken out and the mounting surface thoroughly prepped. Here the clear RTV is being applied....

Next, I use an old wooden popsicle stick with a bevelled end to scrape away excess RTV. The idea is to remove all unnecessary sealant to prevent it squeezing out into an unsightly glob when the glass is pressed into place....

Once the glass is firmly in place a suitably-sized socket is held under pressure with a rubber band for about 24 hours while the RTV cures. Later, clean away any smudges with mineral spirits or similar, and you're ready for installing on the bike....

2006 VFR800 (non-ABS)
28500 miles
$4750 or offer

I came upon this beautiful 800 on ADVrider.com. I think black is an ideal color on these sixth-gen bikes. The seller notes 24 individual farkles added to this VFR, from Ohlins shock to Buell lowered foot pegs and a bunch of goodness everywhere else. The electrical and cooling issues common to this generation VFR have been dealt with, Michelins PR4s mounted and throttle bodies sync'd.  Load up the factory saddle bags, settle into the Sargeant saddle and enjoy the ride home from Houston. More photos at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/422265...7636135265944/

LInk to the ADV ad:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1061994&referrerid=60399

Honda RC213V-S
It's a V4.
It's $184,000.
From Fox News:
"Exotic cars finally have some real competition in the toys for rich girls and boys department. Honda has introduced a street-legal racing bike that goes on sale in July for the eye-popping price of $184,000.

The RC213V-S is based on Honda’s MotoGP championship winning motorcycle, and the two are so similar that Honda says they share about 80 percent of their parts. Common components include a massive swingarm, Öhlins shocks, a slipper clutch, magnesium wheels, and Brembo brake calipers squeezing Yutaka rotors. The street version also features an aluminum frame, under-seat gas tank, and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic bodywork just like the race bike.

The powertrain is a 999cc V4 connected to a six-speed gearbox that’s close to the competition version, but replaces its pneumatic valve springs with steel springs. As a result, engine speed is reduced, but with an optional sport kit it will spin to 13,000 rpm and produce 212 hp.

That’s if you live in Europe or Australia where the kit’s available and the standard bike makes 156 hp at 11,000 rpm. Due to noise restrictions, apparently, US-bound RC213V-S will be restricted to 8,000 rpm, which equates to a relatively paltry 101 hp. Nevertheless, it’s equipped with adjustable power modes and engine-brake control, plus and a race-develoed traction control system.

The RC213V-S is the most expensive street-legal production motorcycle ever offered by a major manufacturer, easily topping the recent $65,000 Ducati 1199 Panigale Superleggera and $50,000 300 hp Kawasaki H2R. The order books open on July 12th, and only 200 are expected to be produced, which is nearly $37 million worth of motorcycles."

Over this past winter I came across this little gem — '87 VFR700 FII, in Candy Wave Blue. Mostly original, 23800 miles and it even runs, unlike most of my finds. It required a 7-hour trip on a winter's day to Detroit to fetch it, and once home it was officially named #10. I've never actually seen the blue/sliver color scheme in person but it shows very well, if a bit subdued for an 80s sport bike.

The teardown revealed a well-preserved VFR with great compression, only a couple of valves slightly out of spec, and one carburetor float cracked. The seat and windscreen were roached but most everything else was in good tack. The 700 came with a recent gold-colored drive chain in great condition which inspired me to build from there. I've decided to go a mild hot rod route with this refurbishment; some carb tweaking, Yoshimura 2-into1 pipe and fender eliminator with aftermarket turn signals. The seat will be recovered in black.

After the carb work was complete, valves adjusted, fresh plugs, coolant & oil, it was time to turn to the leaky forks. Disassemble, clean, replace, adjust. The fork internals are in great shape so it's a pretty straight-forward service.

While the forks were off, I found the steering bearings to be notched, so a fresh set of All-Balls roller bearings complete the front end. 

Brakes were up next: upon inspection, I found that most of the hydraulic components would require attention. So, everything was stripped, followed by a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner. Fresh caliper seals, master brake & clutch cylinder rebuild kits, sight glass replacements and brake pads. Wheel bearings checked out fine and the silver/grey wheels themselves are in great original condition, definitely not always the case.

A fuel drip was discovered at the very bottom point of the fuel tank, obviously the result of the tank sitting unused for a period of time with water collecting at the low point. I really wanted to keep the original blue tank so I had my welder patch the area where the pinholes appeared. As a result the low-fuel sending unit will never again find a place on this fuel tank, and that little feature is now deleted from #10.

The fun part is here as reassembly begins. Forks remounted, brakes refitted, carbs and air cleaner installed. The Yosh pipe polished like new — I have developed a refinishing technique for black-painted exhaust pipes which leaves a smooth satin-y sheen to them and this set looks great!

When the time came for a test firing, the engine caught almost immediately and sounds amazing.

More to come..........