Our old Hondas were treated to an impressive level of fit & finish…for their time. Still, there's a few areas where the factory didn't make the extra effort, one of which are the foot levers.

Shown here is a typical example; a 2d-gen brake lever. They're actually elegant cast aluminum pieces, but were left with a crude casting line running the perimeter. With some effort, we can finish the job.
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I begin with a thorough cleaning and then attack the casting line with a selection of Dremel sanding attachments (below). Next, I hand sand with increasingly finer grades of wet sandpaper, beginning with 320 grit. When I'm happy with my progress, I decide whether to paint or polish. For paint, I've had these powder coated or simply prime/paint/clearcoat with a quality spray, like Dupli-Color engine paint. For a mirror-like finish, I polish with white rouge on the buffing wheel. The final step is to apply Sharkhide protectant to maintain the shine. Either way, you've now got a custom detail that sets your project apart.

Here in northern Illinois, USA, we're enjoying a relatively mild winter season; not a flake of snow on the ground and daytime high temps running around 10° above "normal." But, Mother Nature has the entire second half of her winter show to remind us who's in charge. In any case, today we can celebrate that half-way mark, knowing that brighter, longer, warmer days await.

As a reminder, here's a video from YouTube's Half Fast Fred with a ride over the Continental Divide at Wolf Creek Pass in southwest Colorado on his VFR800. 

What: 1990 VFR750R
Where: Tiptop, Virginia
Why: RC30
Price: BaT auction
UPDATE: Sold for $30,000

This is an unusual offering in the world of RC30 trading. Showing 20,000 miles with a recent mechanical refurbishment, this bike lives in the netherworld between a collector's dream and a rider's opportunity. This example displays a lot of originality but suffers (from a collector's view) from many missing and incorrect parts along with cosmetic blemishes, and, there's an unknown history, with the likelihood of a racing past. The RC30 was never meant to function well as an everyday rider — it's a race bike sold to a relative handful of consumers only to satisfy racing homologation rules. In the end, this example might be a good basis for a full restoration. If so, Honda's recent  “RC30 Forever” Genuine Parts Program should help — just keep your credit healthy. Auction ends January 17.

What: 1984 VF1000F
Where: Forney (Dallas), TX
Why: Nice, low-mileage survivor
Price: Ebay auction
UPDATE: SOLD for $7300

I'm always happy to see a nicely-kept, low-mile Interceptor made available for another owner to experience. This listing helps out with lots of informative photos, showing the excellent mufflers, a key point on any black chrome-equipped VF. I'll let the seller tell us about it:

"Excellent survivor 1984 Honda VF 1000F Motorcycle. Bike runs and looks amazing. Paint and coverings are in excellent condition. There is a small minor paint chip on the left front fender. V4 motor only has 13,900 miles on it. Engine serviced this month, installed new brakes and tires. Coolant flushed and replaced with new coolant. All hydraulic fluids flushed - brakes and hydraulic clutch replaced with fresh fluid. No rips or tears in seat. Everything works. Bike never laid down and garage kept. Clear Texas title!"

The first day of my new year began with the reassembly of Project 39's rear suspension and axle/brake components. This 1993 VFR750 suffered years of slow deterioration in Florida's salt air (right photo), and so every piece required attention.

I began with a thorough degreasing and cleaning, doing my best to polish out the bits of corrosion on the aluminum parts. particularly the swingarm, which I elected to leave in place. All the bearings checked out okay, so were cleaned and re-greased. With the axle and brake parts on the bench, I proceeded to de-rust and repaint the rotor and torque arm, followed by a complete rebuild (w/OEM parts) and painting of the caliper. For this project, I chose EBC V-Pad semi-sintered brake pads for the rear application. I generally use their HH sintered pad, but they can be too effective on a non-ABS rear brake, at least in my opinion. We'll see. In any case, the orange pads look kinda racy. Braided brake lines, in black, are waiting on the shelf, right next to a new RK/Superlite 520 chain & sprocket conversion kit with a 1-tooth larger front sprocket from Sprocket Center.
(click on an image to enlarge)

(Right) Here's a shot of the DMr custom modified Honda CBR 929 shock absorber. This is a fully adjustable unit with a remote reservoir located at the top of the shock. The reservoir will prove to be an issue as I move on to the next step — installing the subframe and fender.

The pink arrow points to the heat shield which I showed in an earlier electrolysis post. It required repainting because it's visible through two openings on the right side of the frame.

It's always nice to begin the new year with some shiny parts coming together. 

I recently found these aftermarket VITON-tipped PROLINE brand float valves while searching eBay for replacements. They're offered by eBay seller sawzillaparts and cost $23.30 for a set of four, delivered. They seem to be of excellent quality and the fit was perfect. I'm a big fan of VITON products so these fit the bill.

(Below) Hopefully your float bowl drain screws haven't gotten to this point of corrosive deterioration. Amazingly, these were still functioning, but there's no way they're going back in. I source these Chinese replacements from eBay seller besthomeve — $7.73 per set of four. These also seem well made and should fit all our carb bowls.

Electrolysis: Mention the word to my wife or daughters and you'll be knee-deep in a discussion about hair removal. But to a gearhead it's all about rust removal. After stumbling upon a few late-night YouTube videos on the subject, I decided to give it a try.

The process is simple, as seen in the diagram to the right. Direct current (12 volt) is passed through water causing rust to release from a negatively charged item to a positively charged piece of metal (anode).

One tool I really wished I had room for in the shop is a media blast cabinet. That is the definitive means of prepping a piece of metal for paint, but media blasting can also affect the base metal's "complexion," while electrolysis will not. However, electrolysis will not remove dirt or paint and leaves a black discoloration which will need to be scrubbed or lightly sanded away. In any case, I wanted to give it a go with a few rusted bits from Project 39 — a rear brake rotor, torque arm, caliper mounting bracket and heat shield.

Here's my basic electrical components; a battery & charger, two strips of scrap steel to act as sacrificial anodes and some lengths of wire with large clips. You can use the charger alone, set to about 2 amps, but I put the battery inline to act as an electrical "sponge," just like in a bike's electrical system. All I need now is a 5-gallon plastic tub and some lengths of wood to suspend the pieces in the water.

(Below) Here, I begin with the caliper bracket and snap ring. After adding warm water with a tablespoon per gallon of baking soda to form the electrolyte, I make the electrical connection. The close-up photo shows the telltale bubbling of the chemical reaction after only a few seconds. ​After about two hours of soaking, I removed the bracket from the brown, opaque solution and…success! The rusted spots were down to bare metal.
(click on images to enlarge)

(Below) Okay, let's try some more serious items. With fresh solution I loaded the brake rotor, heat shield and torque arm, letting them soak all day. The muck that resulted told the story; that's a lot of rust removed. The anodes show how they sacrifice themselves to allow the reaction — these anodes will be sanded clean and used repeatedly. The dirty electrolyte is non-toxic and can be poured down a drain or even on your lawn.

After cleaning and sanding, here's some of the items ready for paint. Was the effort worth it? For items where I just can't reach the rust with sandpaper, like the torque arm, yes. The flat metal heat shield would have gone quicker with just sanding, but the rotor had shallow rust pits that I'm now confident are rust free.

If you're in a hurry, this is not your best approach — it can take 24 hours or even longer for severe rust removal, but for items like these, electrolysis can be a useful tool.