Posts
205
Joined
7/22/2013
Location
Surprise, AZ
US
Fantasy
3549th
Edited Date/Time
11/18/2014 8:12pm
I have always wanted to tear a bike down to the frame to clean, re-lubricate, learn, etc, but have always been a bit cautious about doing it. I currently have an 09 CRF450 and while I don't plan on doing this sort of thing for a while (the bike only has 15 hours on it), it seems like something I would really enjoy doing. I would NOT be tearing the motor apart by any means, just getting the bike down to its frame for cleaning/lubrication.
Here are a few questions I have:
1. Where do you start? (Disregarding obvious stuff here like plastics, wheels, etc).
2. Electrical...this is probably the toughest part?
3. What is this acid wash that so many people seem to use to clean the frame and where do you get it?
4. How long can I expect to take on something like this?
5. Any special tools needed?
Any input or help in addition to these questions is greatly appreciated.
Here are a few questions I have:
1. Where do you start? (Disregarding obvious stuff here like plastics, wheels, etc).
2. Electrical...this is probably the toughest part?
3. What is this acid wash that so many people seem to use to clean the frame and where do you get it?
4. How long can I expect to take on something like this?
5. Any special tools needed?
Any input or help in addition to these questions is greatly appreciated.
Stock grease and shock/fork oil need to go as wheel on your new machine. Good time this winter to take care of both.
1. Well, start with securing the bike to the stand, as you take heavier items off, the bike will become unbalanced often. Simply start with the parts that are more accessible first, cables, brackets, electronics, etc.. until you get to the motor. There is no real particular order really, common sense applies.
2. Not really, most bikes have proprietary plugs that go on one way. Not sure if your 09 is full injected, if not you have a CDI box and a coil, no biggy.
3. Not sure, but I would use less abrasive measures first like 409 and a tooth brush or scotch brite to clean the stained or dirty areas.
4. Weekend or two. Cleaning old grease out of linkage/wheel bearings, thorough cleaning of all parts takes some time.
5. Torque wrench for assembly. That's about it. The motion pro front end alignment tool is great too, but thats for anytime you remove your front wheel.
Motor mounts and key fasteners like sub frame, suspension linkage, caliper bolts, etc. i use a blue loctite. Red loctite for parts that spin like disc/sprocket bolts. Steel fasteners on the motor that thread into the aluminum case, a little anti seize doesn't hurt (but that's more for motor work and shouldn't apply to your project.
Have fun. I enjoy it, especially if you have a few new parts to add in the build up.
Now that winter has basically arrived here in WI I just started tearing down my '11 CRF450 (same as your '09) and what I recommend is that you snap a handful of pictures of the cable, electrical wiring, and hoses prior to disassembly. Make sure you note all the cable tie and stand-offs..etc.. Otherwise tear down is fairly simple!
I take all winter to tear down, clean and rebuild/grease the whole bike.
The Shop
TM
Youtube has some helpful vids.
I know you said you weren't taking the engine apart but you can use the cardboard template for any of the bolts so you know where they go. I did this with the case bolts as you can see near the top of the picture. The other stuff is sitting on the counter in the order it came off.
For hoses and wires you can put a piece of masking tape and number them 1,2,3,etc for both ends of the connections so you know which ones connect to each other. Whenever I did work on cars, I did this. Granted, there are much more wires, vacuum lines, etc in cars though.
Ruskymx
Cleaning and Framing a Bike although intimidating is quite simple. it may take you some time though. it gets easier the more you do it and if you stay organized it make your life a lot easier during re-assembly
to save your back and knees it may be good to invest in a scissor lift style stand
1. first drain the bike of oil and coolant (makes engine lighter when removing)
2. remove plastic, seat, wheels, fuel tank and exhaust
3. you can remove the sub frame, air-box and rear fender as an assembly (subframe and air-box can be separated later for cleaning)
4. remove the controls (front brake as an assembly) , clutch perch and throttle w/ cables.
5. remove front forks and rear shock (fasten the frame to the stand with a tie down)
6. i suggest to loop a zip-tie through the top of the shock to keep the washer/bushings from falling out and getting lost
7. remove linkage and triple clamps (with or without bars removed)
8. remove the rear brake, chain and swingarm
9. remove radiator and hoses
10. remove Throttle body or carb
11. remove kickstarter and shifter
12. remove engine and electrical components
taking good pictures while dis-assembly will help when it come time to re-assemble
when it comes to cleaning i use a 70/30 mix of water and Fast 505 in a spray bottle gets the tough stains out in about 5 sec but be sure not to let it sit or it will etch the frame and engine
then a bucket of soap and water and maroon scotch brite for scrubbing
if you want a nice satin finish with a little shine but not polished looking, i would suggest to go over the frame with an sos pad.
wire brush and scotch brite the engine
as far as cleaning the electrical i would get electrical/contact cleaner to clean the electrical plugs and just wipe down the wires
since the bike is all apart its the perfect time to clean and re-grease the linkage and steering head bearings and swingarm bearings
clean all your bolts and loctite your engine mount and linkage bolts
motorex makes a copper paste anti-seize and i like to use that on my engine mount, swingarm pivot bolts and exhaust header nuts
if you do change gearing do not loctite the sprocket bolts. they should be checked every ride.
nows a good time to get your wheels on a truing stand and make sure they are straight.
refer to your manual on all torque specs
hope this helps everyone has their own way to disassemble, this is mainly for reference. have fun and stay organized.
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