13,500 Mile overhaul

[OriginalRocket]

I rolled over 13,500 miles on my 2012 NC700X and besides a seat, windshield, handle bar riser mod I've done little else besides a couple oil changes, and a valve adjustment at 10,000.

Well this winter I decided it was time for a major overhaul. On the list is the following:

-New F/R tires (Michelin PR 4's)
-New Chain (DID vx2)
-New sprockets F/R (staying stock 16/39) Not sure what brand to use.
*-Change Front brake pads (EBC Sintered HH)
*-Exchange brake fluid (Castrol DOT4)
-Change oil, oil filters (Rotella 5w-40, FRAM Ultra 7317, Honda OEM Transmission Filter)
*-Change air filter (Honda OEM Filter)

*=Completed

So far time and funds have allowed me to accomplish the entire brake system and air filter. Here are a few photos of that day. Mind you these are the original brake pads and air filter from when I bought the bike new in October 2012.

Thoughts: I will extend air filter change to 20,000 mile intervals based on what I have seen. I hope these EBC brake pads last longer, if not they are less than half the cost of Honda OEM, I just hope they are nice to the rotor, or I will go Kevlar(organic) Brake fluid will always be exchanged when I do pads, its cheap enough and I bought a brake fluid exchange kit which makes it super easy and quick. I did do both front and rear fluids, Rear brake looks like new. I don't usually use it unless emergency or hard braking is needed.

My tires are still stock and they need to be changed. I have the minimum tread depth left, they are almost at the wear bars, maybe .5mm both front and rear. Don't mind the other bikes, they are a (brother-in-law) 2014 Yamaha FZ8,(sister-in-law) 2015 CBR300, (wife's) 2013 CBR250. I store and work on them for fun (they pay for parts) over the winter.

Any other thoughts/comments/ideas from the public are welcomed.

 

[Beemerphile]

Oh good. When I read "overhaul" I was expecting to see split cases, pistons in hand, etc. As far as comments, just a few...

1) I always prefer "rotor friendly" pads. The price of replacement rotors is over the moon.

2) Air filter renewal time is greatly influenced by where you ride. My 1/2 mile gravel drive assures plenty of dust. There is probably some "rule" against it, but I have a low pressure compressed air tool that is designed for blowing out Donaldson air filters. The filters on my farm equipment get blown out dozens of times between changes. It is a little more "iffy" here since there is no "safety filter" behind it, but I wouldn't be against carefully cleaning a filter to extend its service life.

3) Brake fluid exchange is one of the most overlooked services. It really does make a difference. I do mine every year, but every two years is probably fine.

4) I am not a believer in Fram filters, but I can't say I ever heard of any damage caused by one. I just don't like the construction when I see the internals of one that has been opened up. I would bet you could run without a filter if you changed the oil regularly and do no harm. That is the way all motorcycles used to run. OK, there was often a little slinger, but often not even that. I am an OEM oil filter guy, changed every other time, but I don't preach it.

5) I am not sure that brand of sprockets is a big deal. I just buy the chain and sprocket sets from Sprocket Center. I expect that rear sprockets could go two chains. I would always change the front sprocket with a chain regardless of how it looked.

 

[Chestnut]

I was also expecting the engine spread out on your floor when you said major overhaul. I'm about to hit 30k miles and just thinking I should replace the brakes. Had forgotten about the brake fluid. Would've remembered before it was dripping all over the garage (probably). Gah, so much maintenance to do this spring...

 

[rippin209]

Just went over 32k. on the list is taking a couple of links out of my chain(it was to long when I got but didn't have the tools to fix it) valve adjustment oil change change tires and change the fork oil. I'm going to try and remove the charcoal canister. I'll remove the catalytic converter when I can

 

[Beemerphile]

I'm going to try and remove the charcoal canister.

I cannot imagine why you would seek to do this. Cat Converter, I understand but disagree.

 

[rippin209]

Just something to get plugged up that does little to no benefit. I've had the gas tank vacuum lock a few times already

 

[Wcmike]

Adding in the valves/coolant work already done, and a couple of spark plugs, I'm hoping that list is all I will ever have to do. The good thing is none of it is diffficut.

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk

 

[670cc]

From what I see on the forum, a lot of air filters that are pulled could have gone right back into the bike for another go-round. Not that it hurts anything to change them, except the pocket book.

To the OP, I'm shocked that you got 13,500 miles out of the stock rear tire. I ride gently and saw cord at 9000 miles on two different Metzeler Z8s. It must be the rough oil and chip roads that destroy mine.

You should be set for a good riding season when you're done. Enjoy!

 

[Beemerphile]

Adding in the valves/coolant work already done, and a couple of spark plugs, I'm hoping that list is all I will ever have to do. The good thing is none of it is diffficut.

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk

Well, there would likely be clutch replacement in a long term relationship, but again, easy to do. Water pump, clutch cable, hydraulic hoses, wheel bearings, swingarm bearings, steering head bearings. With some of the reported cam chain tensioner failures, I wonder if some kind of routine replacement might be wise (50,000 miles?). I do this on my airhead BMW's at 50K.

All depends on the expected length of ownership and mile accumulation - and history as we learn it.

 

[dduelin]

I'm reminded how excited I was in 2012 when I learned the NC700X was coming to the USA. One of the draws for me was the overall simplicity of systems and it's built-in economy.

This might be viewed as an overhaul but really it's just replacing a few wear items that are expected. Good job taking care of your machine.

 

[Old Can Ride]

The DCT clutch is well designed, and should last well over 100,000 miles on pavement. I have the manual clutch and do some dirt, so only about 40,000 miles before clutch plate changes. Now near 85,000 miles and have done two clutch replacements. Have had to replace rear wheel bearings. Soon after I changed the rear wheel bearings, I hit a tree stump in the dirt, and had to change the entire rear mag. Found one on ebay that the mag only had 1800 miles on it, so did not have to do the bearings again. Have not had any other bearings locations go bad.

I like the Kevlar brake pads. They do very little damage to the rotor. However, they do not last as long as the Honda brake pads or the EBC brake pads.

I like the K&N air filter. I play in dirt, so it does require more than normal cleaning. Also, you do have to buy the cleaning fluids to clean it. I have about 70,000 miles on the K&N air filter.

I do change my break fluid more than normal, but that is just a personal preferance. I just do not like rebuilding master cyclinders, so as soon as the break fluid starts to turn light brown I change it. Very little water content this way.

As for chains, I wear a chain out every 12,000 miles. I replace the chain and the sprockets at the same time. Use DID chain and ET spockets from Sprocket Center.

I use the Honda oil filter. Reason is that I know the Honda filter has a high percentage of filtration, but I am sure many other oil filters do also.

 

[dduelin]

...

......I do change my break fluid more than normal, but that is just a personal preferance. I just do not like rebuilding master cyclinders, so as soon as the break fluid starts to turn light brown I change it. Very little water content this way.


I use the Honda oil filter. Reason is that I know the Honda filter has a high percentage of filtration, but I am sure many other oil filters do also.

I like Honda filters as well and use them but Honda actually specs filters with relatively low percentages of filtration. Apparently they prefer to use a filter media with low resistance and pass the oil through it at a high rate of flow so it filters more per timed period. Honda filters have a 65 - 70% 20 micron capture rate in single pass test. Other filters claim up to 99.9% but don't say how they achieve this. It does no good to have a filter so fine it clogs up in a short interval and begins to bypass unfiltered oil. Their are endless debates about filters in the community but I figure the Honda MOTOR Company knows how to build a reliable engine and keep it that way. There may be "better" filters but good enough for Honda is good enough for me.

The Honda/Acura car filters P/N 15400-PLM-A01 and A02 fit Honda motorcycles and have the same filtration rate and bypass valve psi. They are a little longer but fit just fine. In bulk they are about $5 each from online Honda car part suppliers. I use these on my ST1300 but prefer to use the Honda motorcycle filters on the NC700X.

I also change my brake fluid on a year or 12,000 mile basis. The clutch fluid on the ST1300 darkens quicker than the brake so I do it about every 6 months. The slave cylinder almost requires dropping the engine out to replace/repair and fluid changing is easy and cheap.

 

[showkey]

Just something to get plugged up that does little to no benefit. I've had the gas tank vacuum lock a few times already

If your saying there was a slight vacuum on the tank when the cap is released ?????? That a normal condition.

Defeating the canister will have no " UP" value.........but the defeat will changes the mixture if the purge control of the canister is defeated. Purge control is " figured" into the over fuel mixture control.

 

[Old Can Ride]

I like Honda filters as well and use them but Honda actually specs filters with relatively low percentages of filtration. Apparently they prefer to use a filter media with low resistance and pass the oil through it at a high rate of flow so it filters more per timed period. Honda filters have a 65 - 70% 20 micron capture rate in single pass test. Other filters claim up to 99.9% but don't say how they achieve this. It does no good to have a filter so fine it clogs up in a short interval and begins to bypass unfiltered oil. Their are endless debates about filters in the community but I figure the Honda MOTOR Company knows how to build a reliable engine and keep it that way. There may be "better" filters but good enough for Honda is good enough for me.

The Honda/Acura car filters P/N 15400-PLM-A01 and A02 fit Honda motorcycles and have the same filtration rate and bypass valve psi. They are a little longer but fit just fine. In bulk they are about $5 each from online Honda car part suppliers. I use these on my ST1300 but prefer to use the Honda motorcycle filters on the NC700X.

I also change my brake fluid on a year or 12,000 mile basis. The clutch fluid on the ST1300 darkens quicker than the brake so I do it about every 6 months. The slave cylinder almost requires dropping the engine out to replace/repair and fluid changing is easy and cheap.

Great to know information on the Honda oil filter. I was told by a Tucker Rocky rep. years ago about the 99% filtration filter. I guess I just misunderstood what he was trying to tell me. What you said makes more sense to me.

 

[TN Thunder]

Good going on the high tire mileage. I changed my rear tire this morning, original equipment, at 8875 miles with a lot of cord showing. New front goes on Tuesday morning. Center of tires could go another 10K miles. Wear the sides out here in the mountains. And about 85% of my riding is mountain roads.

 

[MZ5]

I just replaced my second front sprocket recently, at somewhere around 36k miles. It was a SuperLite I got from Sprocket Center. It was nearly as worn (based on visual, not measurements) as the factory one when I replaced it with considerably more miles on it. Not twice as many, but well over 50% more miles. Perhaps the ludicrously poor and stretched JT chain on the SuperLite did it. Perhaps it's not quite as durable. I don't know, but I do know that I put a Honda front sprocket back on this time, and I expect I'll just keep buying Honda sprockets in the future.

 

[L.B.S.]

My general reasoning floats between fear/laziness/cheapness.

If I'm more fearful than lazy or cheap, I bite the bullet and go for what I perceive to be the best purchase to stave off severe and costly bike damage or worse case, crashing.

If I figure the odds are in my favour based on a pattern of past personal experience, and I can be lazy and/or cheap out, well I don't open my wallet or tool box quite as frequently.

For some reason, I've always been ill at ease regarding aftermarket front sprockets, and the what if, of if they happened to be not quite as perfectly machined as the OEM version, or if they were phenomenally awesome as far as wear goes, I am uncomfortable contemplating the wallowing out of the countershaft spline engagement. I would really prefer the sprocket to be just slightly softer than the counter shaft, and the resultant loss of life out of the sprocket I can live with, knowing no $$$$$ damage was being done to the bike.

Both the NC700X and my CBR125R have the sloppiest feeling drive sprocket fitments I've yet encountered in any of my previous bikes. This is exacerbated by not having any kind of locking tab on either. I don't know how they aren't grinding the splines off the shaft as it is, so adding a potentially harder sprocket to the mix really makes my tail bushy.

I haven't heard of any cases of problems on a single CBR125R or NCX for that matter, but it's just something I can't shake. Probably daft and uselessly paranoid over nothing, but I always go for the OEM front sprocket, if at all given a choice and especially with these two bikes.

Since I'm cheap, the temptation is there to get a lower cost aftermarket one, and one would think that if they wore out earlier than an OEM, it would tick two of my boxes, but that's where the laziness enters the mix- I don't want to be replacing anymore bike parts sooner than I have to, and interfere with riding time.

Pretty much same with tires/chains/oil, the whole lot, lol.

 

[Beemerphile]

For some reason, I've always been ill at ease regarding aftermarket front sprockets, and the what if, of if they happened to be not quite as perfectly machined as the OEM version, or if they were phenomenally awesome as far as wear goes, I am uncomfortable contemplating the wallowing out of the countershaft spline engagement. I would really prefer the sprocket to be just slightly softer than the counter shaft, and the resultant loss of life out of the sprocket I can live with, knowing no $$$$$ damage was being done to the bike.

With top name manufacturers. the first concern is pretty much a waste of good anxiety. The second, though, is sound logic. It is not unlike the brake pad / rotor trade-off where a "forever" pad will ruin a disc. I am like you in preferring to wear the cheaper item.

Both the NC700X and my CBR125R have the sloppiest feeling drive sprocket fitments I've yet encountered in any of my previous bikes. This is exacerbated by not having any kind of locking tab on either. I don't know how they aren't grinding the splines off the shaft as it is, so adding a potentially harder sprocket to the mix really makes my tail bushy.

In the case of sprocket splines, you can help the wear situation with the application of grease or a 50/50 blend moly paste and grease. This works with OEM sprockets as well and should help to de-bush your tail..

Since I'm cheap, the temptation is there to get a lower cost aftermarket one, and one would think that if they wore out earlier than an OEM, it would tick two of my boxes, but that's where the laziness enters the mix- I don't want to be replacing anymore bike parts sooner than I have to, and interfere with riding time.

The front sprocket only has to be strong enough to last the life of the chain. Any more durability is wasted. It is like outrunning a bear. You don't have to be able to run faster or longer than the bear - you only have to be able to outrun your hiking buddy. Also, the sprocket wearing in with the chain extends the useful life of the pair. As the chain pitch grows from pin wear (confused to be "stretching"), a sprocket whose tips splay backwards in response to the longer pitch will remain serviceable longer than one that doesn't because it will be longer before the longer chain tries to hop the sprocket tooth making that awful end-of-life clicking / clacking sound in first gear.

 

[rippin209]

If your saying there was a slight vacuum on the tank when the cap is released ?????? That a normal condition.

Defeating the canister will have no " UP" value.........but the defeat will changes the mixture if the purge control of the canister is defeated. Purge control is " figured" into the over fuel mixture control.

No not slight. I'm commuting home and my bike starts running rough like it's running out of gas. Doesn't happen because I top of every day. I pull to the side, go to take the gas cap off and I almost need a pair of pliers to take the cap off, once I do give the bike a wiggle to check for gas, all is fine put the cap back on bike starts right back up continues down the road just fine. I've had this happen twice. And the cap being stuck on two times that didn't choke the bike. Both times the bike was dying out on me I was driving fast and aggressive over a mountain pass I go over twice a day, just after getting over the hill when the road started to level off

 

[rippin209]

I use a Napa gold filter that fits every Honda except the little Honda coup 2000
every other Honda was designed with the same flow rate bypass and so on.
From what I understand that fits everything from a NC700X to a Honda pilot. A little longer then the filter that's supposed to go on our bike but fits just fine and works great. And Napa filters are made by wix, good brand