The NC30 Thread

[Johnwebley]

Dave, that was my bikes,it was all I expected, and more, handles beautifully, so much so I didn't have a chicken strip on the rear tyre,

The reason I sold it was two fold,I was to old and inflexible, it killed my knees after about an hour's riding,
Secondly, I couldn't ride it slowly, it cruised so sweetly at 10 to 11k rpm,which is nearly 100mph,
No stress, just swooped through the corners, easy, and great brakes as well,

I could see my licence vanishing so  quickly ,

Maybe I am getting old !!!



BTW,Wemoto do a great brake spares service, pistons, seals, nipples etc,



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[Rozabikes Tim]

Rode one once - what a jewel with mega soundtrack.

[andut]

Nice project Dave, and you’ll enjoy the finished bike.

I have a mostly original, very low mileage NC30 in the RC30 colours, and it’s fabulous to look at and fun to ride, although not quite so comfortable as an SOHC.

As you’ve likely already read, cooling is one of the NC’s weak points, so definitely check what comes out when you drain it, and make sure the rads are as clean as possible inside and out with straight cooling fins.  They don’t like sitting in traffic.  Water pumps can also fail and are nla, but are repairable.

The other big weak point you have already found with the reg rec cooking the battery.

Might be worth checking valve clearances whilst the cam covers are off.  They’re a pain to get to, so often overlooked in the maintenance schedule.  The previously mentioned Rick Oliver does a shim swap if he has stock of what you need to keep costs down if you need a few.
 
Rear shock is generally a bit on the soft side - swapping to one of Rick’s Nitron shocks made my bike much more pleasant to ride and allows the option to play with ride height’s, but not a budget friendly choice, so maybe one to think about after you’ve ridden it for a few miles.

Final thing to mention is the rear tyre size.  Bit difficult to get the right tyre size for the 18 inch rim these days, so keep an eye out for the identically styled 17” wheel from an RVF - quite rare and therefore expensive, but does offer tyre choices (adjustable ride height Nitron shock compensates for smaller wheel if you go that route)

Enjoy !

[andut]

Forgot to add ….. definitely a later add speedo.  MPH speed is quite rare.  Don’t be tempted to move the clutch lever downwards to make it more comfortable than where it is now as it will hit the speedo case - most NC30s seem to have a damaged clock case !

[Laverda Dave]

Thanks for those tips Andut. Rick Oliver definitely sounds like the man to contact. I've been looking at his site and had has a lot of goodies in stock. I did read about the rear wheel upgrade. I'd like to know what the real mileage is but I guess that is out of the question with it being a grey import.

[Laverda Dave]

A bit of good news to report, the bike is a runner 🙂. It's a bit rough carbwise but it started easily and I let it run for 30 minutes and there were no issues, no overheating and the fan kicked in at about 95-98C.
I think the exhaust may be blowing slightly and there is a ticking coming from the front bank when hot although this could be tight valve clearances as I understand these get left as they are so hard to get to.
Anyway that's the good news. I have dropped the oil and it was golden so more good news. Prior to dropping the oil I drained the cooling system and the anti freeze looked fresh as well. Pete Hamber advised me not to use a flushing agent but just to keep refiling with distilled water until it ran clean so that's the action I took and it's all good.
So now I know it runs I've begun the strip down to clean it up and refresh some of it (especially the alloy parts) although the forks need a rebuild but the rear shock looks very clean even the spring is pristine although the remote reservoir isn't!
During the stripping process I noticed there appears to be three finishes of the various nuts and bolts, BZP, yellow passivated and a black (or very dark green). I know Honda used an olive drab finish back in the 80’s but these appear to be something else.
Does anyone have any suggestions of what the finish could be?
Dave

[Johnwebley]

On mine, they all seem to have been a neutral grey,

Be careful with the footrest hanger Allen screws, they can be very tight,



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[Laverda Dave]

Things are progressing with the NC30 although it is amazing the dirt, rust and filth a fairing can hide!

The fairing itself is damaged with a couple of tabs broken off and a large piece missing so will need repair before a re-spray in the 1989 RC30 lookalike paint colours, yes I know it’s a later model but to me the original NC30 paint scheme was the best.

A lot of the fittings are rusty, they appear to be a black zinc finish so where possible I’ll have these powder coated in satin black as I’ve been told finding a black zinc platter is nigh on impossible and if I do, they are very expensive. I might have to consider getting the various black zinc bolts finished in chemical black although this finish isn’t very durable, if anyone has any ideas on alternative black finishes I’d be happy to hear.

One of the captive nuts in the main frame rail is just turning and needs to be renewed, I have tried to remove it via gentle persuasion but it will likely have to be carefully drilled out.

As the bike has 28k showing on the speedo (miles not kph) I am going to renew all the chassis bearings whilst it is all apart.

At the moment it’s all spannering, noting, degreasing and cleaning of parts getting them ready for plating.

[Rozabikes Tim]

Dave. Watched a good video on Utube on one of these. Dragging clutch. Common problem with clutch getting hot when pulling away in what is a very high first gear. Metal plates warp. Superbike Surgery channel. Very addictive as he is so knowledgeable - if a little sweary!

[Laverda Dave]

I watched him recommissioning a RC30 Tim. He is very good but as you say he swears like a trooper and whilst I don't mind a bit of effing and jeffing he takes it to another level! It does get on my nerves in the end and especially when the local vicar is around for tea and crumpets and I'm trying to watch it😁.

[Johnwebley]

CAN i SUGGEST THIS CHANNEL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIzA5WYePNM

AND THIS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz0YYP4yNN8&list=PL7gSdA4Amiqwl6Smur-gQSJwCBQtHOaEI

AND
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzqYUaMoMzQ

OF THE 3 ,THE LAST ONE IS THE MOST HUMAN,HE DOES IT MAINLY OUTSIDE !!!!


WATCH AND ENJOY

sorry about the caps

[Laverda Dave]

Thanks John.
I've seen the first two of those, RRC turns out some amazing work and I've been using the strip down episode as a reference although the editing does leave some parts out.
I spent another afternoon in the garage today, more stripping and noting. I had to use the 1000w Clarke mpact wrench to remove the two torx bolts holding the ignition barrel to the top yoke, they were glued in and were absolutely solid. They have joined the scrap pile as a result of having the heads virtually ripped off by the impact driver!
The 41mm socket turned up this morning and the steering nut is now off, again the impact wrench had to be used.

[Johnwebley]

Thanks John.
I've seen the first two of those, RRC turns out some amazing work and I've been using the strip down episode as a reference although the editing does leave some parts out.
I spent another afternoon in the garage today, more stripping and noting. I had to use the 1000w Clarke mpact wrench to remove the two torx bolts holding the ignition barrel to the top yoke, they were glued in and were absolutely solid. They have joined the scrap pile as a result of having the heads virtually ripped off by the impact driver!
The 41mm socket turned up this morning and the steering nut is now off, again the impact wrench had to be used.

You obviously have the 36mm socket for the rear wheel,

You will need torx for the calipers, those are lovely to work on,
Wemoto has seals and stainless pistons

Enjoy

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[Laverda Dave]

It's been a busy but productive weekend in the garage. The bike is now completely apart with the engine now sitting on its own on the bike lift as I removed the frame today.
Prior to indulging in some heavy degreasing I thought I'd strip the fork legs. Somebody has been in there before me and has managed to completely mangle the head of the hex socket bolt holding the damper rod. Nothing fits what is left of the rounded head.
Has anyone else come across this before and if you did how did you get the bolt out? I think I might have to resort to drilling it out but that is going to be risky considering the head of the bolt is set so deeply in the recess. It's only going to take a slight deviation of the drill and I'll go into the alloy of the fork leg. I was going to try to hammer a torx headed socket in there but knowing how tight those bolts are I can't see the torx head having enough grip in the socket head.
Any ideas would be welcome 🤔.

[Bryanj]

Very common to have to drill the head off, i think an 8mm drill takes out the hexagon then the head off the allen bolt leaving the thread to go out with the damper and unscrew easily, dont forget you will need a new copper washer and be carefull with the bolt as some of the Hondas have a "short head" bolt and a standard one encroaches into the axle area, found that one out on a GL 1500!