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Operation Mandarinia : Track fueled 919

15K views 115 replies 18 participants last post by  BigBoyBigWheeler 
#1 · (Edited)
OPERATION MANDARINIA


Hello and welcome to my build thread for my 2007 Hornet 919.

During the winter of 2019/2020 I will enhance and tweak my Hornet to achieve the best suspension, braking and handling characteristics I can within my student budget. The main components of the build are :
.
  • RC51 Front end w/ Ohlins valves
  • Ohlins rear shock
  • CBR600RR Front calipers
  • Brembo 320mm Series ORO rotors
  • FactoryPro shift kit

To achieve all the things listed, I have researched, read and dug around on this forum all the parts and details needed to execute the changes. I will document every step of the journey and explain my reasoning as best as I can while doing so.

I know the 919 is not the optimal track weapon because of it's poor anti-squat geometry and relaxed head angle, but I just love the 919. As soon as I got on it, I fell in love with its dynamics. I want to make this into a competent commuter I can take to the track and in the twisties without breaking a sweat.

Here is the complete list of things I need to either buy, make or install to make my project happen :
.
  • Kyle Racing 17/44 520 Chain
  • Ohlins rear shock
  • CBR600RR Caliper rebuild
  • Rear caliper Rebuild
  • Front Master Rebuild
  • Rear Master Rebuild
  • Venhill Lines / Hel
  • Factory Pro Shift kit
  • Paint Pulsar cover
  • Tail tidy
  • Turn signals
  • Starter valve synchro
  • Throttle position Sync
  • Power commander 3 install
  • Valve check + Spark plugs
  • Michelin PR2 Tires
    .
    RC51 Specific
    .
  • RC51 SP2 Forks
  • CBR929 Lower Triple
  • 919 Stem (lathe)
  • CBR929 TopYokes UK
  • Honda emblem
  • Renthal Ultra low Gold
  • CBR929 Wheel
  • Brembo Série ORO 320mm
  • Spacers & axle
  • RC51 Bearings + tube
  • CBR600 fender 07-12 + paint
  • Stem Bearings 919
  • Straighten Front wheel

My goal is to be finished with all the things listed by the beginning of the 2020 riding season in spring !

Here is what I am starting with, a bone stock 2007 Honda Hornet 900 :




In the next post, we are starting the initial tear-down and cleaning. See you there !
 
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#4 ·
Thanks, that's great news then ! Can't say I am competent enough to be able to tell the difference in anti-squat while riding, but the goal is to get good enough to.

Cool. I love build threads. Great list of mods and stuff to do.
Some suggestions. Pair valve, flapper mod. Maybe a tank pad and seat cover.
When you get rich some Sato rearsets.
I did the flapper mod as soon as I got the bike ! I will do the pair valves at the same time as the valve check, forgot it on the list.
Yeah I am looking at tank pads and seat covers, those are good items. As for the rearsets, I really want either the Gilles ones or the Sato ones, but i'ts either those or a Mivv X-Cone with the current budget. Maybe later during the year I'll be able to liberate more capital :grin2:
 
#16 ·
Perfect, I will keep that in mind ! The Sato rearsets do look mint, that's for sure.

I am wondering if the rearsets will have enough vertical adjustment. With the regular OEM pegs, my knees were 2 inches below where they would naturally grip the tank. To put it in different words, if I grip the tank correctly with my knees, my feet are about 2 inches over the pegs. The sato seem to have a 40mm vertical adjustment, so roughly 1.5inch, hopefully that's enough.

I was also looking at the Gilles rearsets, but I the adjustment range only seems max up 20mm.
 
#15 ·
Pitting is bad news. Hopefully it is very close to the casting in an area that you won't be using that much. Helps to put in higher end SKF seals with the pitting too. Yes they are more expensive and yes the pitting will still wear them out, but they do hold up way better than the cheaper aftermarket seals
 
#23 ·
Alright, we are moving to the small detail about the 919 that bothered me.

The horn !! It's in the way and breaks up the smooth radiator lines.

I got an idea while removing the PAIR system. Can you spot it ?


Right here...


Interesting...


A quick CAD mockup later, transferred to sheet metal.


Added a small bend to offset the horn mount because of the fouling throttle cable hook.


A closer look to that offending hook.


Here is the horn located with the remaining of the bracket trimmed off.


Here it is on the other side.


The bracket is not rock solid. I assume it will rotate forward due to the weight of the horn through normal riding. I purposefully got the bottom flat part of the bracket to sit tight on the lip of the coil bracket, but the moment arm is too big and it can still pivot down. So I added some enforcements.


Captive nut welded to the mix.


With the matching notched arm that mounts straight onto a frame gusset.


I also added a brace on the edge of the bracket because I am scared that it will bend down with vibrations


Here is the system all mounted up.


Other side.


And here is the final result, all mounted up and ready for action.




After all of this, the horn mounted, connected with the bike on, it does not want to ''horn''. I reversed the connections and still did not want to ''beep''. I also checked the fuses and they are all in good shape. Maybe I need to start the bike to get the horn to sound ?

In any case, I'll get the bracket sandblasted and painted after I empty the sandblaster, which is now full of soda. Next post the teardown continues and some deep cleaning is performed.
 
#24 ·
The stock horn position is ugly. I like what ya did. Won't work for me I filled that void with wiring loom from the headlight bucket. I moved my horn to the choke cable mount.
Great metalwork skills too. Very neat.
I've always liked the cb1300 twin horns mounted under headlight. I may try to sort something out one day.
 

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#26 ·
That's a cool design, I forgot about that.

The horn on my 599 was the same way, mounted on the radiator, like an after thought. I simply took it off, and used one of the bolts on the front forks. It now sits partially behind the headlight at the 7:00 position. No CAD mock up, nor welding required. And it works. And I'm not even going to post a pic.

The horn on the 848 was behind the radiator, on the left side, pointed sideways. It didn't project much. I moved that one to point forward, out in the open. Again, no CAD mock up. Now it sounds like a horn. When you live in deer country, you NEED a horn.

You put that horn under the tank, and I don't think you, or anyone else is going to hear much.
Thanks for the heads up. Now that I think about it, it won't projet well at all. Sometimes you get caught up doing things but don't stop to think if you should.

Just to be clear though, CAD mock up refers to Cardboard Assisted Design :grin2:
 
#25 ·
The horn on my 599 was the same way, mounted on the radiator, like an after thought. I simply took it off, and used one of the bolts on the front forks. It now sits partially behind the headlight at the 7:00 position. No CAD mock up, nor welding required. And it works. And I'm not even going to post a pic.

The horn on the 848 was behind the radiator, on the left side, pointed sideways. It didn't project much. I moved that one to point forward, out in the open. Again, no CAD mock up. Now it sounds like a horn. When you live in deer country, you NEED a horn.

You put that horn under the tank, and I don't think you, or anyone else is going to hear much.
 
#27 ·
Nice. I believe a guy on my local forum a while back replaced his solid rear axle with the hollow rear axle from a F4i so he could use a Pitbull TRS. If you’re going to be hauling it to the track often, I’d definitely look into this. Every one of my track day / racer friends swear by the TRS.
 
#34 ·
Lets switch gears and get into some real good cleaning ! I imagine this phase is going to last a few weekends of work because the bike is not exactly ''clean''. Its quite grimy especially in the chain area. The previous owner must have loved lubricant, because everything is CAKED with old gunk. I especially hate that kind of grime because it smears everywhere and is a NIGHTMARE to clean, but I think I found a solution ! Lets investigate.

Started with cutting the chain.


Got the wheel off.


The sprocket was literally caked.


Same with the sprocket carrier.


Got busy removing the toast rear tire.


I really wrangled with it. It was my first time removing a rear tire. I did the front tire off the 929rr wheel last weekend. It was much easier I'll tell you that.


It was quite dirty too.


Quick cleaning with dish soap and simple green. I removed the wheel weights and used WD-40 to get the adhesive soft.


Next up got the swing-arm pivot bolt off so I could remove it completely.


Swing-arm was also completely dirty. Gummed up from the chain lubricant in the front. Removed everything that attached to it.


The frame area is also pretty dirty too. I'll have to clean everything up before I put the swing-arm back into place.


Inside view.


Got it clean with a combination of WD-40 to melt away the gunk, simple green to wash it away and dish soap with a toothbrush to get into small areas. I know this will get dirty again, but I can't stand working with dirty parts.


Looks brand new !


So we are left with this, quite messy.


Cleaned up my work area a bit.


While cleaning the wheel and swing-arm I noticed that some seals were damaged, so I will get new seals all around, same for the sprocket carrier seals. I'll also get some rear wheel bearing because they feel a bit notchy. Next up were are continuing the cleaning of the rear portion. On my last ZRX build I disassembled everything at once and got a bit overwhelmed by all the parts and cleaning. I am therefore going section by section with the 919. Once I get all the rear stuff sorted, I'll move to the front and engine portions a section at a time.
 
#37 ·
Had a pretty busy weekend with uni work, but I did have time to sneak a bit of brake related work.

Here is the current situation. I have the 600RR calipers and all the associated paraphernalia.


I have some new pads for the front, pad guide pins, seals and rebuild kits for everything hydraulic on the bike.


Here is the extra 919 lower triple I bought. I will grind the bottom of the stem and extract it from the triple. I'll then have to see what I need to machine/add to the stem to make it fit on the 929 triple.


Clean vs dirty caliper ! Soda blasted the internals, everything is clean. The stainless fasteners I have are not the correct length, so I will need to order some.


The guide pins and spring plates were completely grimy. They will require a good clean.


I also got my RC51 front bearings, spacer and seals. I will install those on the 929rr wheel and we will be ready to roll. Also ordered some angled valve stems from KurveyGirl, hopefully they get here by next week !
 
#40 ·
The blue tube is brake assembly lube by ATE. Its german and compatible with DOT4 fluid. I prefer to use it to assemble brake parts instead of red rubber grease.

I used the 600rr calipers because of the 32mm and 30mm pistons. I wanted to keep my 14mm master cylinder.

I have the 14mm/34mm/30mm combo on my ZRX and that thing brakes like no other.

2003-2004 CBR600RR mc 11/16” (17.4625 mm)
caliper pistons 32mm/30mm

2000-2001 CBR929RR mc 19mm
caliper pistons 34mm/30mm

2002-2003 CBR954RR mc 11/16” (17.4625 mm)
caliper pistons 32mm/30mm

2000-2001 RC51 mc 19mm
caliper pistons 34mm/32mm

2002-present RC51 mc 11/16” (17.4625 mm)
caliper pistons 32mm/30mm

1999-Present CBR600F4(i) mc 5/8” (15.87mm)
caliper pistons 34mm/32mm

Stock VTR Master Cylinder 14mm
caliper pistons 30mm/27mm
That is exactly right, thank you for this very useful chart !
 
#39 ·
2003-2004 CBR600RR mc 11/16” (17.4625 mm)
caliper pistons 32mm/30mm

2000-2001 CBR929RR mc 19mm
caliper pistons 34mm/30mm

2002-2003 CBR954RR mc 11/16” (17.4625 mm)
caliper pistons 32mm/30mm

2000-2001 RC51 mc 19mm
caliper pistons 34mm/32mm

2002-present RC51 mc 11/16” (17.4625 mm)
caliper pistons 32mm/30mm

1999-Present CBR600F4(i) mc 5/8” (15.87mm)
caliper pistons 34mm/32mm

Stock VTR Master Cylinder 14mm
caliper pistons 30mm/27mm
 
#45 ·
I have been quite busy the last two weeks, uni work has picked back up pretty quickly after my midterms..

I was able to button up the soda blasting and cleaning of the new calipers and the rear one. I now have box of clean parts.


They are now ready to assemble back up with new seals, pads, bleeder valves and new lines.


I also managed to grind flat the bottom of the extra 919 bottom triple I purchased.


You can now see the separation between the shaft and the triple itself. Once I saw this, it was time to press it out.


After an initial ''thunk'', the shaft went out very easily. Much easier than removing the shaft from the CBR929RR triple.


View of the surface. Looks good. I'll throw it on the lathe to square up the portion I ground down and I'll start making measurements.


I also managed to remove the rear master cylinder.


Took a picture for future reference if I decide to undo this part while rebuilding it.


It was in pretty good condition, so I was happy.


The plan for the coming weeks is to clean up and finish the rear end, bot it all back together and move on to the front, where the big business will be !
 
#46 ·
Back on track baby ! Finals are done and course work turned over! Finally had some time to dig in and make some progress. I don't have all the parts I need to finish the rear section, so the progress is a bit scattered at the moment, but with the reception of two key pieces next week, I should be able to complete the rear end fully by mid January.

I started by cleaning the sprocket carrier. If you remember, I posted a picture of the condition it was in a couple of posts earlier. It took me 2 hours to completely un-gunk it. I am very glad this is over with.


Also took the time to install the new rear wheel bearings and cush drives.


Got my 17/44 conversion from Kyle Racing and installed it on the newly clean hub !


Also installed the block-off plates I received.



I installed a rear tire for the first time ! Was quite physically involved, but I got it done, quite satisfying. How do you guys go about balancing the wheels afterwards ?


I also treated myself and got a Mivv X-Cone exhaust ! This this looks KILLER.



Before re-installing the rear swing-arm, I cleaned the two support pivot pieces. The left one was very gunky inside because it was in close proximity to the chain.


That area was quite dirty as-well. I cleaned it up the best I could, but there are so many little recessed areas, pockets and spots that I can't reach to scrape off the gunk.


Rear wheel spacers are ready to go back in. These will be greased.


Installing the axle adjusters, I noticed a gap between the circlip and the body of the adjuster. I added a stainless washer to remove the slack. It will be shown later down.


I used this small toy syringe to pack the bearings in the pivoting portion of the swing-arm.


Used my rolling seat to put the swing-arm in place. The collapsing function is quite useful !



Wheel installed.


You can see the washer I was talking about.


Front sprocket installed temporarily.


Finally, I installed the new fender I ordered. I transferred the hardware over from the old fender.


This thing is PERFECT. I almost don't want to ride to avoid damaging it. Almost. :laugh:
 
#47 ·
Amazing!

I balanced my front tire by taking two jack stands and a very long 3/8" socket extension. I clean the socket extension and cover it with light oil and place it thru the wheel and up on the jack stands.

I then take a rubber mallet and tap the tire so that it vibrates to where ever the lightest point is. I mark that and then move it 1/4 ~1/8 of a turn to see if it goes back to the same point.

I make a loop from tape and use that to hold the weight on and keep adding more and more until it doesn't spin when tapped.

I add more light (3n1) machine oil to reduce friction.

Harbor Freight has the cone holders on theirs that would make it faster to find the light spots, but I was in a pinch.



[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fim0mFH3Q0[/ame]
 
#49 ·
Amazing!

I balanced my front tire by taking two jack stands and a very long 3/8" socket extension. I clean the socket extension and cover it with light oil and place it thru the wheel and up on the jack stands.

I then take a rubber mallet and tap the tire so that it vibrates to where ever the lightest point is. I mark that and then move it 1/4 ~1/8 of a turn to see if it goes back to the same point.

I make a loop from tape and use that to hold the weight on and keep adding more and more until it doesn't spin when tapped.

I add more light (3n1) machine oil to reduce friction.

Harbor Freight has the cone holders on theirs that would make it faster to find the light spots, but I was in a pinch.
Thanks for the pointers, I am going to purchase the Motorcycle truing stand from Harbor freight, alongside their weights and use your technique !

I also installed a washer on the rear axle adjuster bolt. I put mine on the inside because I found the washer would force the c-clip off too easily.
Thanks for the heads up, I will make sure to check them once I hit the road in the Spring !
 
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