THE HONDA AX-1

TOTAL REBUILD PAGE

Last edit 27 Oct09

Mirror sites dhost.info/ax1/ Germany EU

By Kiriakos Triantafyllou Greece 2007- 2009

ax1rebuild.net23.net/ U.S.A

JULY 07

I am still working with the engine , I had finish painting the side covers, and now I am dealing with the base of the engine , under the cylinder area .

I used again , MOTIP spray paint 600 Celsius, black color this time .

Engine needed also lots sanding , as the old color was destroyed by oxidation caused by salt water , this engine was imported to Greece from France , from the external condition of it , it looks that the former owner , was living next to sea , I found also as evidence , few sea sand , stacked at the side plastic chain cover.

The engine was in good shape (now that I have use it for a 1100 Km I can sign it too) , only the exterior color was the problem .

From 1 Nov 08 this site runs on New server 1.5GB free space and more.

1000 Thanks to my new Free host .000webhost.com

The black color under the flash light of my digital camera looks reddish , any way no one, will notice it, at the end. :-)

Best view

1024x768

Page started 21/10/2007

Engine looks great don't you agree ? .. amazing results , hard work pays they say ,and they have right .

The only problem now is that I had an accident with the O-RING from the water pump cover , I damaged it by accident .

There is a myth in the local market that Honda does not supply in Greece this part , and the only solution is to buy the all water pump ... I got stuck for a while with that problem .

The solution came from KTM , they use the same O-RING too , I found it so easy, and so cheap that it is hard to believe it .

Here is the magic O-RING from KTM , cost me only 2 € , and I got two items .... It came in a week time , and offer to me a lot of joy and relief .

What worth’s to know is how I found it , I visited one web site at Holland , looking for parts , from the catalog I found the dimensions , and then Google search lead me to Germany , at the official KTM web site, spare parts page .

The KTM e-shop was had the item for 1€ cost , but they was require 24€ as shipping cost !!

I visited the local KTM dealer in my town , he does weekly orders for parts , so he added my parts in his list , I waited a bit , but I got it ......

Honda .. I did past you over in this .. Smile !!

Thank you KTM !!

NEXT STEP

I have start looking for a NEW rear suspension , I found that the most cost effective option for me , was the BITUBO one. (Made in Italy)

It cost as much as 315€ + 5€ shipping , a total of 320€

The part number is H0064XZB01, the box that came to me, had the brand name TT , and I found later on , that its a BITUBO partner , other than that , the product is genuine .

It haves also a label on the carton box , pointing that is made to be used for an AX-1 .

Here it is, my Baby !!

My dream , is to make my AX-1 rims and front fork, to look alike with the AX-1 1995 model .

I had hard times to find some one, to do the paint job in a reasonable cost , so I had to speak with eight persons about it , finally I came in agreement with one , and from now and on , I am following his instructions, of what preparations I should do, in its part , so to be ready for painting .

Here is a picture of what I have in mind .

Creating the naked ring

Ready !!

At this point lets make a total of what I have do so far .

Engine ready
Rims had go for inspection and repair, they had small problems, causing loss in air pressure.
Frame ready for paint job
Rims ready for paint job

The appointment with the painter had come , so frame and rims was send to him .

At the mid time I am starting working on my tank .

Four days later, I got notified by the painter , to go and collect the painted parts .

My joy is hard to be described ... So far I was working for almost two months, and all that I had in my hands was parts and boxes , finally I will be able to start making it again one piece , soon I will have the base to start building it .

A new set of BRIDGESTONE tires at 180€, was had all ready ordered and received , so by collecting the rims from the painter, I passed from the seller that I got the tires , and he hooked them on.

Finally ... The Arrival, I am flying from joy !!

Next round preparing the wheels

New SKF ball bearings installed , and the brake disk almost in place !! So far... so good !!

Lets see some close up s , from the paint job , the painter did almost perfect work .

The black color at the Rims turn up, to be, very shiny, so shiny , that my digital camera has hard times to capture it . ( Translation ... At this spot is the Honda logo )

NEXT ROUND.. Installing the engine .

Installing the engine in the frame , is something that even the Honda service manual does not describes .

So, hooking the frame over the engine looked to be the best way, at this point I got panic a bit , because I realize that I had many parts spread on my small carton boxes , and I need them back , but divided in proper teams , so to finish its step , with out the need to look in all of them, for the missing parts .

After all this hard work , finally my motorcycle starts to get some shape again ... another happy thought of my are , that my small work shop, started to look like Honda s production line .

Time for a new Muffler !!

I started looking for a good muffler for my AX-1 , I did not liked the idea of getting the original one, because it starts rusting easily .

As alternative options I found the brands Marving and Mivv , both had the extra metal bases that mount on the frame as the original does .

But Mivv looked to have poor distribution network , I send one E-mail , and never got reply , I did the same to Marving , and I got lots of support in zero time .

My choice become the Marving , good support , and a bountiful product too , with out second thoughts , I order it for 224€ .

At this point I also need some Honda parts , actually a lot of them , so I did order them .

Complete set of Engine switch – tank cap – driver seat look – helmet holder & two keys
New engine guard
lots rubber grommet s
New throttle cable - choke cable
New plastic external Fuse cover & Engine switch cover
back aluminum luggage rack
New rubber step ( driver) and chromed plates

My radiator had some damaged fins , probably got damaged from the technicians that I had be at the past for service .... any way I invented this tool , and I repair my damaged fins , plus I painted the radiator , with the MOTIP 600C spay paint . ( Just one fast application , the excessive use of paint on radiators cause more problems than good .

My front forks and swing arm , are aluminum and needs to get polished , so I got the proper tools for the job , hard brush + soft brush + special material for the brushes , the white bar is for the hard brush , and the blue bar for is to used with the soft brush .

I also got one cream, for servicing , of polished areas .