Installation of Hondaline Engine Guards on 3rd Generation

Sledge Hammer · July 04, 2007, 04:25:47 PM

Greetings, all,

I am a new member of the forum and a relatively new owner of a 3rd Generation VF750CD. Recently, I was finally able to find the Hondaline engine guards for the bike and realized that I had a few questions about them that nobody would be better able to answer than the knowledgable folks in the MOOT forum. So, please pardon me if these questions have already been covered, but I couldn't find a link to a topic where they were and I would sure appreciate your help.

The first question is what problems if any that anybody encountered when installing the guards and recommendations for avoiding damage to the down tubes. The flanges at the upper end look awfully stout, and I am concerned that instead of bending around the downtube as the bolt is tightened to 41 ft-lbs that they could actually crimp it.

Second, I wondered if anybody has any ideas for preventing broken paint on the downtube where the upper end of the bar attaches. Since Honda did not radius the edges, I am concerned that they will break the finish on the frame and invite corrosion.

Third, there is no mention of lubrication for the bolt threads. Anybody care to comment on what they used?

Thanks in advance for your patience and help.

Mike

Greg Cothern · July 04, 2007, 05:47:59 PM

Mike you can use a piece of a rubber bicycle innertube if you wish to protect the paint. Tighten em down to specs you will be fine, the frame tube is pretty tough!!!

Sledge Hammer · July 04, 2007, 07:35:02 PM

Quote from: Greg CothernMike you can use a piece of a rubber bicycle intertube if you wish to protect the paint. Tighten em down to specs you will be fine, the frame tube is pretty tough!!!

Thanks, Greg! Thanks for the vote of confidence in the frame tubes. I'll have to try the inner tube trick. As luck would have it, I think one of the tubes on my mountain bike just became a candidate if it doesn't start holding air any better!

Best regards,

Mike

Gloveberg · July 05, 2007, 08:04:12 AM

Did you buy them new or used? The new ones have a small strip of rubber glued to the inside for just such a reason. Plus the spacer that it used keeps the tabs from being pulled too tight and damaging the downtube.

rjb/AKA Bob Barram · July 05, 2007, 10:01:11 AM

Good thinking on the concern for the tubes, because it does happen. I found out when moving mine to a new bike. Even though there was a rubber strip I guess I did not position it correctly because when I took them off the paint had been rubbed off.
So use caution when doing this.
Bob

Sledge Hammer · July 05, 2007, 10:30:59 AM

Quote from: GlovebergDid you buy them new or used? The new ones have a small strip of rubber glued to the inside for just such a reason. Plus the spacer that it used keeps the tabs from being pulled too tight and damaging the downtube.

I bought them new (and paid way too much). I saw the strips and guessed that's what they were for, but they didn't look adequate. Maybe I'm just too conservative in my thinking.

Thanks much for replying, Jimmy.

Best regards,

Mike

Sledge Hammer · July 05, 2007, 10:40:44 AM

Quote from: rjbEven though there was a rubber strip I guess I did not position it correctly because when I took them off the paint had been rubbed off.
So use caution when doing this.
Bob

Most definitely, Bob. I don't know how thick that tube wall is at that point, but I know it's not a point where I'd want even a hint of corrossion. That inner tube trick that Greg mentioned is sounding more and more appealing.

I wish the guards could be bolted top and bottom to hard points as the guards do on my friend's Kz650, but I guess Honda's accessory engineers didn't have much of an option on this design.

Regards,

Mike

rjb/AKA Bob Barram · July 05, 2007, 02:16:04 PM

As far as the unit being secure, I know there is no movement on mine.

Gloveberg · July 05, 2007, 04:30:12 PM

Mike if you are concerned with how sturdy they are the way they are mounted then ask anyone that saw my bike after the spill I took in '05. They saved my engine and sides very well and I was even able to bend them back straight afterwards!!! Those gurds and their mounting points are just fine

RedMagna · July 06, 2007, 06:20:51 AM

Spaceman Spiff, everyone has covered engine guard question (I used black electrical tape myself) so you're covered.

I just wanted to say hi and let you know that there is a large number number of active and former Magna riders in your neck of the woods in GA, SC, and NC. Give me a yell if you decide to ride up towards Suches or Helen, GA and want some company, as that's become my favorite area to ride in a short period of time.

Sledge Hammer · July 06, 2007, 03:52:44 PM

Quote from: GlovebergMike if you are concerned with how sturdy they are the way they are mounted then ask anyone that saw my bike after the spill I took in '05. They saved my engine and sides very well and I was even able to bend them back straight afterwards!!! Those gurds and their mounting points are just fine

Now that is certainly a useful data point! I hope you came out in at least as good a shape as your bike. Rather than ask you to rehash it, is there a link on the forum to it, a let-the-rider-beware summary?

Actually, I got inspired to get off my duff and get serious about getting some guards on my own scoot after a buddy of mine went down in the rain on his ZRX recently. He doesn't recall touching the front brakes but in any event, the front end darted out from under him and sent him belly-surfing on the tarmac at about 30-35 mph. The good news is that he's fine: he didn't even get to try out his KBC helmet for impact protection, and the First Gear mesh jacket and Tour Master mesh pants performed admirably (makes me feel a lot better about my own Tour Master mesh pants). However, it is simply amazing how effective wet asphalt is at grinding down aluminum. If he still has a 0.050" of metal left between the transmission and the great outdoors, I'd be surprised. Especially sad because he hadn't even gotten his license plate for it yet. But the first item he took care of was putting some sliders on it.

Sledge Hammer · July 06, 2007, 04:03:59 PM

Quote from: RedMagnaSpaceman Spiff, everyone has covered engine guard question (I used black electrical tape myself) so you're covered.

{snip] Give me a yell if you decide to ride up towards Suches or Helen, GA and want some company, as that's become my favorite area to ride in a short period of time.

Hey, thanks, RedMagna. Hadn't thoguht about that electrical tape, but that would work, too. That stuff has a thousand and one uses... If I think I'm going to be up that way, I'll definitely give you a holler.

Mike

Gloveberg · July 06, 2007, 08:06:14 PM

Quote from: Spaceman SpiffRather than ask you to rehash it, is there a link on the forum to it, a let-the-rider-beware summary?

The quick nitty gritty: I was trying to keep up with better riders than me and got into a corner too hot. I went wide and got into some gravel and lost the front because I target fixated on the gravel. I went one way and the bike did it's thing. The result:

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This was the "before" shots:

Sledge Hammer · July 07, 2007, 01:52:04 AM

Quote from: Gloveberg[snip] I went wide and got into some gravel and lost the front because I target fixated on the gravel. I went one way and the bike did it's thing.

Hooboy, those "after" pictures hurt just looking at 'em. Have you been able to complete all the repairs?

I had my own brief offroad experience on a recent ride in the boonies with a (yet another) better rider (I encounter better riders all the blasted time): same mistake, watching where the bike was going rather than where I wanted to go. Fortunately, I hadn't gotten too much speed up as I pulled away from the stop sign, so I was able to limit my dirt track experience to two or three feet, but all the same, it was a real effort to avoid dropping it.

More seriously, I let my little faux pas rattle me enough that I made a much more critical error getting it back on the road. I didn't find out how critical until about an hour later when we were taking a rest and my friend The Better Rider told me that my quick check to the rear when pulling back out on the road had been inadequate: I had nearly gotten myself plowed over by a large, fast-moving pickup which had materialized around the curve behind me. Had that driver not reacted in time, I literally would never have known what had hit me. My contribution to the Let-The-Rider-Beware Files...

Gloveberg · July 07, 2007, 03:20:07 AM

Quote from: Spaceman Spiff

Hooboy, those "after" pictures hurt just looking at 'em. Have you been able to complete all the repairs?

Everything is done except the tank. I've got a good spre tank but it's yellow and I'm too lazy to paint it or the rest of the bike. I let a couple of nice red tanks on ebay get by me but I keep looking

Quote from: Spaceman Spiff
More seriously, I let my little faux pas rattle me enough that I made a much more critical error getting it back on the road. I didn't find out how critical until about an hour later when we were taking a rest and my friend The Better Rider told me that my quick check to the rear when pulling back out on the road had been inadequate: I had nearly gotten myself plowed over by a large, fast-moving pickup which had materialized around the curve behind me. Had that driver not reacted in time, I literally would never have known what had hit me. My contribution to the Let-The-Rider-Beware Files...

Yikes