Motorcycle Repair: front calipers/transmission, motorcycle salvage yard, honda interceptor

Question
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Followup To
Question - hi falcon! to follow up i will buy a new caliper. second when i step on the shifter it moves but thats it. now like i said i road it for a little bit before this happened.

thanks again

gary
hey chris how are you ? two questions

first i own a 1986 honda interceptor

1. my front right caliper froze during the winter and the only way to move it out of the garage was to take it off. my question is should i rebuild the caliper or buy new?

2. after i took off the front caliper i just road the bike up and down my street then all of a sudden i can not get the bike out of neutral. any suggestions.

thanks for any info you can give me

gary

Answer -
Hi Gary.
 Here's at least one answer.  I will need more info on the second to answer it correctly.

As far as the caliper is concerned, you should buy new.  The fact that it froze up means that it has rusted in place.   Not much point in trying to save it at that point as it will never seal properly once you get it unstuck.  Get a new one or a good used one from a motorcycle salvage yard. I may be wrong, but the calipers from the V45/V65 Magna may be interchangable with the interceptor.  We all know the engines are the same.

As far as your second question, I need to know more about the shifting problem.

 It can't get out of neutral, but what is it doing when you try to shift?

 Is the clutch engaging?  Partially engaging, feels mushy or not engaging till near the end of lever travel?

What about the shifter lever?  Does it feel like it is engaging the shifter mechanism?

Anything that you can think of, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is important to analysis.

Let me know and we can take it from there.

Good luck.
FALCON

Answer
Hi Gary.
 The shifter should move, but what about the clutch lever?  Is it mushy or anything like that?

You could need to bleed the clutch line.
Here's the proceedure;

1)  Put the bike on the centerstand and remove the cover for the side where the clutch master cylinder is and remove the cover (cap) of the master cylinder.

2) Fill the clean container with some brake fluid, but don't use it all. Attatch the bleeder hose to the bleeder valve (it's a nub with a hexagonal base to it at the top of the brake itself).  Put the other end into the container that you just put brake fluid in.  Open the bleeder screw a bit while pressing down on the brake pedal/lever and close it before you let up on the pedal/lever.  You will probably see bubbles in the line.  Be sure to refill the master cylinder before it get's too low and repeat this process until you no longer get bubbles in the bleeder line.

2a) At the master cylinder, there is a nut that connects the clutch line to the master cylinder.  While applying pressure to the clutch lever, crack open that nut and reclose it immediately.  It will spurt fluid out at you, so cover the tank and wear eye protection.  Air likes to get trapped in that spot, so doing that will get the air out.  repeat as needed till the cluch feels solid.

3) Tighten and close everything up when done.

4) Ride away and have fun.

If that doesn't work, then you may need to go into the engine, in which case, you will need to get the repair manual.  If you are not ready to do that then take it too a mechanic that is familiar with Hondas.

Good luck.
FALCON