XJ4Ever Stainless Steel Brakes and Bearing Rebuild

[3Phase]

Everything arrived today and now the fun begins with a metric benchload of new parts!


Front and rear wheel bearings, seals.

All of the parts necessary for a complete brake rebuild including a freshly painted front brake union joint, new master cylinder kits, banjo bolts and washers, Chacal's XJ4Ever OEM-style SS brake lines and HVCycle SS pistons. The K&L brake caliper kits are not shown.

Mike's XS gas cap rubber seals and a bag of spring clips;

1 Quart of Thor Oil's Tire Prep #12 100% Wintergreen Oil.

Upper and lower triple tree bearings and lower seal with a new chrome bolt (new chrome is not as 'bright' as the old chrome) and cover washer. Not shown are two new McMaster-Carr 6975A16 Fixed Hook Spanner Wrenches for Slots, fit 1-37/64" to 1-21/32" (40MM to 42MM) Circle Diameter.






Yamaha rear brake master cylinder kit 2H7-W0042-00 for a 1980 XS1100G.
The old parts are laid out above the new parts for reference.




Wintergreen oil and Xylene mixture to renew the old rubber bushings on the swingarm for the rear brake hard line.





I already painted the front brake union with Rustoleum Satin Black and a sacrificial rear master cylinder is soaking in EvapoRust as I write to get the remnants of the steel retaining circlip out of the piston bore. It will be cleaned, prepped and primered tonight so that it can be painted tomorrow. I want to see how the paint turns out and holds up to brake fluid before I start to take working parts off of Columbo.

.

[soccer4m]

Busy Man

Well Scott, looks like you will be one busy XSr for awhile. Columbo owes you its second life as He has been rejuvenated from the Boneyard multiple times by you. Keep us informed as to the progress of all this, maybe some of us will get the motivation to also delve into the usual needed repairs on our trusty steeds. Nice pics...........Mike in Sun Diego

[jjz28]

you forgot to add the duct tape in your description of parts.lol Looks like you'll be like new!

[3Phase]

The installing the parts isn't all that much work, it's the cleaning and painting! And that duct tape is there only as a prop to hold up the bag with the new fuel tank filler cap gaskets! Really!

I ran into trouble with the steel brake line on the swing arm. The P.O. overtightened it and basically ruined both fittings:


There is a small gap at the end of the threads around the center hole.




This is trash. The fitting is almost a full millimeter shorter than it is supposed to be because it was crushed. The tip of the fitting expanded into the cavity in the other fitting, ruining the flare on both fittings and making it almost impossible to separate the two.

I held a marker next to the fitting while turning it on the steel line so the high area of the threads is highlighted in black.





I've ordered a new steel line from Chacal but be nice to your brake lines and fittings.

.

[3Phase]

It's been a long weekend.

Columbo suddenly developed a "crank but no spark" ignition problem when I tried to ride to the store to pick up some parts. A quick test at the TCI showed that the #1/#4 pick-up coil was over 2 Mega Ohms but the #2/#3 coil was a healthy 728 Ohms so I borrowed a car to get the parts before the store closed, then removed the Columbo's rear brake when I got home so I could do ignition and the brake work at the same time.

The ignition problem child turned out to be a dirty connector behind the fuse block but testing the pick-up coils showed that the #1/#4 coil was still too high, 768 Ohms, so I swapped in a good set of coils from Bush. Naturally, I cleaned and greased the mechanical and vacuum advance while I had the engine cover off.

The mechanical advance was almost out of grease and there was some of that fine, red, rust-dust just beginning to show up on the engine case behind the ignition assembly so the no-start timing was actually rather serendipitous.


And now the brake work!

The finished paint on the front brake union and the rear master cylinder. Both parts were brushed with five coats of catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Penetrol.

The finished paint withstood spilled gasoline and did not begin to soften for more than three hours when spot tested with brake fluid. It should do even better after the paint has had a chance to cure for more than a few days.





The second coat of catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Penetrol on the rear brake caliper.
It looks good so far.




A packet of black Rit fabric dye restored the color of the rear master cylinder cover and dyed some white self-locking nylon (Zip) ties black.





I got a great deal (free) on a giant bag-'o-ties but they were a little brittle so they really weren't usable. After being simmered in dye for about fifteen minutes the ties are more flexible because the nylon absorbs some water along with the dye.


.

[CRXSi90]

Interesting trick with the rit. Where did you get the catalyzed rustoleum?

[3Phase]

Interesting trick with the rit. Where did you get the catalyzed rustoleum?

I bought a quart of NAPA's Crossfire CH254 Standard Hardener when I painted the tank and side covers on my '79 Special with Gloss White Rustoleum.

The paint supplies:-



The finished fuel tank:-



The paint thread:-

'79 Special Weed Abatement Project In Progress



.

[3Phase]

I'm testing using the NAPA CH254 hardener with Flecto Varathane Professional Clear Finish 1000 Semi-gloss. It works and brushes on nicely but there are no UV additives. The last varnish I used on the front brake fluid reservoir held up for 5 years with no UV additives or hardener.

And now! On to the pictures while I finish putting the kit in the front master cylinder!


All of the front brake parts soaked in EvapoRust. They're a mess!




.

The old steel rear brake pipe and the new DOT Certified steel brake pipe from Chacal at XJ4Ever.com. Chacal's part uses heavier male fittings and overall looks a lot better than the obsolete Yamaha 2H7-25871-00-00 pipe, brake.

The new brake pipe is not copper or copper-clad, it's just a fancy finish.




.

Front View

Catalyzed Satin Black Rustoleum on the rear brake master cylinder. The brake fluid reservoir has been sanded and coated with catalyzed urethane varnish and the new SS brake lines have been fitted.




.

Rear View

Showing off one of the new M10 1.25 x 19mm 14mm Hex banjo union bolts.
The 10.2 mm x 17mm x 1.55mm copper washers are from NAPA.
The new SS brake hose and the formed metal brake pipe are from Chacal at XJ4Ever.com.




.

The catalyzed high temperature (BBQ) Rustoleum Satin Black paint looks brown compared to the regular catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint on the rear brake master cylinder.

The brake fluid reservoir has been sanded and coated with catalyzed urethane varnish.

I don't care for the brown color of the high temp Rustoleum so when I sand it down to get rid of the brush marks I'll finish it off with the regular Satin Black.




.

The front and rear brake fluid reservoirs have been sanded and coated with catalyzed urethane varnish.





.

[Rasputin]

Looking great from here. Hope all the parts from Chacal work out well for you.

[3Phase]

Thanks, Rasputin!


I'm tired this evening so I'll just get on with the project. It's been hot and humid and painting has been a nightmare.



The new triple tree bearings have been installed along with a new upper bearing shield and flanged bolt.

The lower half of the triple tree has been painted with catalyzed Satin Black Rustoleum. It sticks out like a sore thumb along with the rusty chrome pinch bolt. The upper half will have to be painted to match and the pinch bolt cleaned up along with a bunch of other rust and other weird stuff that always pops in flash photography.

Replacing the upper and lower bearings was a lot of work but not really difficult. I was worried about it after reading some of the bearing stories here on the site but I only destroyed one Harbor Freight chisel removing the lower inner bearing race from the lower triple tree.

I used the handle of a single-jack to keep the round flat-nosed punch in the slots while removing the upper race for the lower bearing on the lower half of the triple tree.

Whew! Type that nine times fast!




.
Full front view:

The front forks are loosely installed with their TKat fork brace and a brand new pair of fork gaiters for a 2014 Yamaha Star Bolt.

The fork gaiters are Yamaha part# 1TP-F31E0-V0-00 and they're a perfect fit on the old XS1100.




.
Close-up view.




Now it's time to refill the forks with oil, bolt on the brake calipers and finally start hooking up Chacal's new brake lines!

.

[CRXSi90]

I bought a quart of NAPA's Crossfire CH254 Standard Hardener when I painted the tank and side covers on my '79 Special with Gloss White Rustoleum.

The paint supplies:-
.....

The finished fuel tank:-
.....

The paint thread:-

'79 Special Weed Abatement Project In Progress



.

Cool, I think I remember your painting thread and have been interested in paint application by the "rolling" method for some time. I'm still scratching my head about how the hardener helps a paint type which typically sets up by solvent evaporation. But I'm no chemist, so I guess I'll have to let it go and trust the evidence!

Here is one question on this: is there a difference (in terms of gasoline resistance or whatever) between Rustoleum applied with the hardener and Rustoleum applied w/o hardener, but allowed extraordinary time (months) to dry (or I supposed, baked)? In short, does the hardener just help the paint set-up quicker, or does it actually facilitate crosslinking (?), resulting a more durable finish?

I love the fork boots. I don't really understand why fork boots were omitted over the years. I guess the problems caused without them (rock chips, bug gut etching, rusting, seal failure) weren't bad enough to justify their existence.

[3Phase]

I put some inexpensive general-purpose wheel bearing grease (the tan, fibrous stuff) on the upper fork tubes before installing the chrome headlight brackets to try and minimize corrosion of the fork tubes underneath the brackets.

I cleaned and degreased the very top of the fork tubes where they are clamped in the upper triple tree to avoid any surprises later on down the road.




.
Remove the snap-ring to open the speedometer drive assembly.




.
The speedometer drive partially disassembled showing:

The drive housing with the driven pinion gear still in place and a couple of its teeth visible at the top of the housing.

The retaining snap-ring and the outer precision shim for the main drive gear.

The inner precision shim is shown on top of the main drive gear.




.
Check the speedometer drive for rust.

Clean and pack the gears and speedometer drive housing with a good molybdenum grease.




.
There is a pressed pin that holds the speedometer driven pinion gear in the speedometer drive housing.

The pin can be removed but I strongly suggest that you do not.




.
The speedometer drive looked shabby so it's being painted.

Start with green self-etching primer. The self-etching primer will stick to the clean, dry and degreased aluminum speedometer drive housing.




.
After the spraying with self-etching primer use primer-sealer.

The self-etching primer sticks to the cleaned, dried and degreased aluminum speedometer drive housing.

The primer sealer sticks to the self-etching primer.

The paint will stick to the primer sealer.




.
Mixing a very small batch of Rustoleum Satin Black paint, Penetrol and catalyst in an old spice jar plastic lid.

No thinner is required for this job, just a dash of Penetrol and a very, very, small drop of catalyst.

The safety razor blade is shown in the work tray for scale.




.
The speedometer drive with its first coat of catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint.

Some gray primer shows through the paint but there are almost no visible brush marks. Most of the brush marks will flatten out as the paint dries and cures.





Now it's time for the second coat of paint on the speedometer drive.

I'll assemble the front brakes and press in the new front wheel bearings and seals while the paint dries.


.

[3Phase]

Here is one question on this: is there a difference (in terms of gasoline resistance or whatever) between Rustoleum applied with the hardener and Rustoleum applied w/o hardener, but allowed extraordinary time (months) to dry (or I supposed, baked)? In short, does the hardener just help the paint set-up quicker, or does it actually facilitate crosslinking (?), resulting a more durable finish?

I'm not a paint chemist but I did once stay at a Motel 6!

It was hot yesterday and I accidentally added too much catalyst to the final batch of paint for the brake calipers and the lower triple tree. Within minutes it started to thicken as I was painting. Less than five minutes later I finished painting but I could almost scoop the paint out of the container like Jello. It wasn't fun to clean up and I don't know how well that last coat will work. It may get some crackling or peeling or it could stick and harden so that I can use the brakes to stop .50 caliber bullets.

The paint itself is pretty much fuel-resistant within a few days but it gets better as more time passes to let it dry and cure. I splashed some gasoline on one of the finished side covers after three days of dry/cure time and it didn't even dull the paint.

As for the long paint drying and curing times of months and years without any catalyst compared to using a fast catalyst: with the catalyst seems better for me if I use the correct proportions. I've also had some old alkyd painted parts that basically laughed at Aircraft Stripper and begged for more when I tried to repaint them so the 'linking works quite well without catalyst when you give it enough time. I do not want to wait ten years before I can fuel up or bleed the brakes.

Fun Fact: Urethane varnishes use what are call uralkyds.

They're alkyd-based and the alkyd hardener seems to work to make a brush-on urethane finish. It's not as good as a regular two-part urethane clear coat with their extra special UV inhibitors and optically correct clearness goodness mixed in (I'm painting small parts, not grinding lenses for a microscope!) but I think it'll keep my brake fluid reservoirs from crumbling away and disintegrating in front of my eyes as I ride.

I love the fork boots. I don't really understand why fork boots were omitted over the years. I guess the problems caused without them (rock chips, bug gut etching, rusting, seal failure) weren't bad enough to justify their existence.

I don't know why they quit putting gaiters/boots on bikes. I've wanted some since I got Columbo but all they ever had at the dealer was giant multicolored ones for dirt bikes or some triple-spendy imported jobs for the Triumph Speed/Street Triples and Bonnies. I was never motivated enough to buy them off the Internet but yesterday I was at the dealer to get a couple of quarts of PJ-1 fork oil and spotted the brand new gaiters on the wall next to the leatherized, eaglized chrome-studded-buckled-farkeled-tassled saddlebags and mount kits so I snagged them and took them home -- mine!

When I bought Columbo the forks just cried out for gaiters. They were moderately dinged and pitted but I was able to clean them up and fill them with the two-part JB Weld, then sand the forks smooth and buff 'em out. Eventually the forks will have to be replaced but eventually I'll be dead too. In the meantime -- shiny new boots! (Deadercising)


.

[3Phase]

Almost Finished

And straight back into it.

As always, click any image to download a larger size:-


The outer side of the speedometer drive assembly after its second coat of catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Penetrol is ready to be packed with grease.




.
The inner side after it's packed with grease and ready to install.




.
The front brake union is installed with Chacal's braided stainless steel sheathed brake hoses.

I'm not absolutely positive about the correct orientation of the brake hose fittings with the red tape but that is the only way that they fit without straining the brake hoses.




.
The rearward view of the front brake master cylinder with Chacal's new brake hose.

The master cylinder has been painted with Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Penetrol.
The brake fuid reservior has been sanded and sealed with catalyzed Flecto Varathane.





.
The frontward view of the front brake master cylinder.




.
The rear brake caliper with Chacal's new brake hoses and the new pre-formed steel brake pipe.

The rear brake caliper has been painted with catalyzed Rustoleum Stain Black paint and Penetrol.




.
The rear master cylinder installed with Chacal's stainless steel sheathed brake hose.

The rear master cylinder has been painted with catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Penetrol.

The brake fluid reservoir cap has been boiled in black Rit fabric dye to restore its color and the reservoir has been sanded and sealed with catalyzed Flecto Varathane.




.
Right-hand side view of the rear brake caliper and rear brake master cylinder with Chacal's new stainless steel sheathed brake hoses and the pre-formed steel brake pipe.

The rear brake caliper and the rear master cylinder have been painted with catalyzed Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Penetrol.

The brake fluid reservoir cap has been boiled in back Rit fabric dye to restore its color and the reservoir has been sanded and sealed with catalyzed Flecto Varathane.




.
Flecto's Varathane Professional Clear Finish 1000 Semi Gloss was catalyzed with NAPA's Crossfire CH254 alkyd catalyst to seal the front and rear master cylinder brake fluid reservoirs.





I think it looks pretty good so far. All that's left to do is bleed the brakes, put Columbo back together again and go ride!

.

[3Phase]

I didn't get to ride yesterday.

I started to change the 5wt oil in the rear XJ air shocks but the oil in the left-hand shock was brown instead of greenish-blue so it had to be rinsed out and then flushed with fresh oil. It takes forever to drain all of the oil, then all of the solvent and flush it out.

The Japanese version of one of the BST air line fittings on the air pressure equalizer/balancer hose was leaking and had to be fixed.

The rubber covers for the lower shock tubes had some tears and holes and had to be patched so the shock tubes wouldn't get scored when a piece of dirt or grit found its way into the lower oil seal.


It actually felt kind of good to make a break for the exploded XJ engine case photo layout. It's not looking good for taking a ride today either and I'm fresh out of exploded engines.


.