Hi and welcome to Bird @tu*
Well you asked for it.. Here is a copy of something I put together for the press after being asked the same old stuff over and again for various mags..
My personal preference is the carb models as they are more economic and considerably faster
There are various minor faults on all Bird models.. most of which I will tell you but one I will not as you may publish it, and as it is something that potential new owners can use as a lever with unknowing dealers, that would simply not be on ;-) !!
1996 to 1998
Reg rec fails at anywhere from 12 to 35 K miles ( average is 20K )
Replace with after market item with cooling fins and that cures it..
Front springs start to sag by about 15k ( quick check is to form a vertical fist and see if it will slide easily between the underside of the nose cone and the top of the front mudguard.
If it don't they are shot..
We do an upgrade kit with different length springs and spacers ( which when fitted also address's the issue of pump down )
Rear shock..
Rear shock is gas over oil.. Again at 16 to 20K miles it will have had it.. Do not replace.. Have it rebuilt?? Dunno about other places but when we rebuild them they are sent back to the customer already set up for their weight and riding style ( cos we ONLY work on Birds and know what's to do
) Once rebuilt with decent seals etc they are usually good for 30k+ miles
Cam Chain Tensioner.
On the early bikes this was a bloody nightmare.. Some even failed at 7k miles !
But .... It is a 20 minute job to replace one and is not a million quid.. And yes, the job is well within the ability of even the most kakhanded mechanic !
And that's it really.. obviously other minor faults occur but they do not fall in to the category of 'issues'
1998 2001
These are the first of the injection models.
Similar in many ways to the probs encountered with the carb ones, but it is the generator stator that goes phut on these, while the reg rec is pretty darned reliable.
Once again, replace with an after-market one and the problem rarely comes back.
CCT again ( they did improve it but they still went phut at anything from 15 to 20k )
Wiring loom ..
There is a big multi pin plug affair buried in the loom to the rear of the tank on the left hand side.
The plug was used once by Honda when the bike was built, and then they wrapped it up in black tape and tucked it away.
Unfortunately water ingress's into the tape and rots the ruddy connections.
This can cause all manner of very weird faults and problems.
The simple cure is to cut the thing off and just join the wires together. The whole job is well documented on the B.I.R.D. (
http://www.superblackbird.co.uk )
Same issues with suspension..
2001 to date.
More or less exactly the same as the 99 to 01 bikes.
No major issues to speak of that are specific to these models.
Ahh, actually that is not true..
There IS one issue.. the matt black ones should be avoided if you are buying because they are matt black.
It will come as no surprise to learn that after a while where bits are rubbed, the matt soon aint matt but is shiny ! ( I say no surprise.. apparently Honda were amazed at this revelation and are still wondering what the hell to do about it as bikes are going back under warranty all over the place ! )
What parts are popular.
Let me rephrase that.. What parts are ( in my opinion ) essential and what are bling.
Essentials:
Hugger
Tank pad ( bigger the better )
Fenda Extenda
Those small magic mushrooms ( the big buggers have to be mounted too low ( below the centre of gravity ) which means even at 0 mph, if you topple over it will cost you a new nose cone, fairing mount and mirror assembly !!
Fit the small ones and they will protect the more expensive stuff 90% of the time
Headlight protector
A new headlight is a LOT of money.. a plastic headlight protector is under ?18.00 !
Not essentials but popular:
Mirror arm extenders
Bar risers
fork preload adjusters
HID light kit
Yoke protectors
6mm spacer to jack up the rear of the bike and speed up the steering
Bling:
Just about everything else !!
A few odd bits of info:
The Honda front brake lever a different shape to the clutch one. It is tapered as it was noticed at 170mph+ the wind pressure feathered the brake and caused the brake light to flicker !
The engines REALLY dislike fully synthetic oil.. I would like to offer an explanation but even after all these years I have none.. We have seen bikes with vibrations, oil frothing etc, all of which have been cured simply by an oil change back to either semi synth or dinosaur oil
Blakbirds do not like K & N type filters.
The whole concept of the air delivery is based on as smooth an airflow as possible entering the carbs or injectors ( to the point the carb bikes have a small baffle fitted in the nose cone to stop air turbulence and the EFI models have a vertical grill up inside the ram air plastics )
K & N type of filter causes too much disturbance and ends up actually reducing the volume of air passing through the plenum ( one of my customers went to the extreme of putting an air flow sensor in the air box to check this out, and the result was quite astonishing )
There is so many more odd things about the bike it would bore the pants off you so I will stop there !
Ok, think that about sums it up..
