I Forked Up | 1986 GPZ1000RX Revival - Part 6

Well it turns out refurbishing a motorcycle can be a little bit difficult. The front suspension on this bike is completely butchered. Doing a fork overhaul should be a relatively simple task that should only really be an afternoon, but my afternoon turned out to be three months.
Instagram: / fingerprintsworkshop
Patreon: / ronaldfinger
Merch:ronald-finger....
Fork Cap 3D File: www.printables...
CMS: www.cmsnl.com
Music:www.epidemicso...

[@RonaldFinger]

Heyo! Sorry for taking so long to get this video out. My router was unplugged for a month and I just realized this morning. I'm on Instagram if you want to get more frequent updates @fingerprintsworkshop (link in description)

[@slozenger9000]

No worries dude! This was an early Christmas present! Thanks :D

[@jimmyjames2549]

Race Tech sells bushings for your forks. Fork seals and dust seals as well. Cheers.

[@TheIowaXperience]

Cant wait to see the next episode on Independence Day. Couldn't help myself...

[@Rose.Of.Hizaki]

How does someone last without internet for a month? O_o

[@andrewgerber7863]

I'm in the process of rebuilding a 2003 speedmaster from frame up. Its been apart for a long time. I have slowly been powder coating parts. After building an oven getting all the tools together and such.

[@vunguy3n]

Clicked on this so fast, my finger might have caused a sonic boom

[@carlpatrick1788]

I wondered what that sound was. Lol

[@trentbuescher4725]

same

[@ogrooster69]

The part where you're just pondering while sipping a bottle of brake fluid. This is why I love this series

[@gazehound]

This is the sort of content that YT needs more of. I think it's difficult to find high quality series like this that are packed with information and are interesting all the way through. I'm sticking around for whatever you do on this channel.

[@andersjjensen]

I think the best part of Ronald's creations (beside the brilliantly witty narration) is the fact that he shows all the "ugly bits" too. Lots of young people are getting accustomed to "effortless perfection" and set their expectations accordingly. Ronald is a healthy antidote to that. He really excellently illustrates the old saying: "Becoming a master of a craft just means running out of ways to do it wrong" :P

[@PhantomDragonEternal]

Please tell me you have watched his Fiero series.

[@gazehound]

@@PhantomDragonEternal Of course I have :)

[@gazehound]

@@andersjjensen For sure. Applying his humor to his mistakes makes it all the more fun to watch

[@Ungodly_Alien]

Anyone know of any similar channels that produce similar content? I love this channel and I would hope that there are other KZbinrs that have the same passion and knowledge as Ronald.

[@bryduhbikeguy]

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year to everyone in the Finger Hut,and around the World!

[@RRCRestoration]

Well that's my Saturday night viewing sorted :)

[@martinberazategui]

hey, i hope you upload part 2 of the CR soon!

[@nilashishalder7629]

Dude knows names of every single smallest of parts in vehicle,. True talent..

[@soupsfarm1825]

BRO oh my god when you cleaned the wheels before giving them to the techs made me so happy, im a tech at a discount tire near your area ;) and i cant tell you how many people give us their shit covered wheels and expect us to work with it

[@uhtred7860]

I used to hate it when farmers brought in their POS quads to be fixed after their "wire and twine" home repairs finally proved inadequate, and they would be COVERED in decades of cow shit. :-))

[@soupsfarm1825]

@@uhtred7860 bro this.. I swear, we can’t patch sticky plugs and they come in for a repair then get pissed we can’t repair it smh

[@patrickmorrissey2271]

I do love your sense of humor... Heh heh heh!!! Casually taking a sip out of a DOT 3 Brake fluid bottle... Nice.... This is SUCH a trip down memory lane... Back around 1990 or so, before you were born, I wouldn't call it a fleet per se, but I had a bunch of crotch rockets... The few that really stand out were a Honda Interceptor VFR750, A little CRR 600RR, and a Yamaha FZR 1000.... I did a lot of those jobs you are doing now.... Oh my, yes.... So many memories, watching you do this.... I do remember, at the time, that bolt in the fork, where you used the diamond stick on it... The advice back then was ALWAYS use your best & fastest air impact on that... If you hit it real sharp, it would spin it loose by itself... with hand tools, according to the techs, you could literally never get it apart... In a true sign of your audience engagement, I'm sitting in my house yelling at my screen the whole time... But you got there. Nice job. I feel like at the time, some of the racing companies were selling endless chains??? I might be mis-remembering that... I kinda wondered if that's what you had... I swear, we were putting those on... So long ago, but I seem to recall putting endless chains on... there was a tool you needed.... the missing master link, that's weird. Can't remember ever seeing that fall off. Someone forget to put it on??? Uhh, my other point was, it wasn't uncommon for people to change sprockets & change chains... Factory chains were crazy expensive, was part of it... But also, changing sprocket sizes, would give you a torquier bike, or more top end, or easier to pop wheelies, or pull harder from 40 to 100, or whatever, depending on the combination you went with.... So, not too unusual, to see that done... I wouldn't panic about that... So crazy... I need to get going, but I'm sitting here daydreaming about old bikes..... Heh heh heh! Okay, I also wanted to say, the blurred out lubing of the shaft... Hahahahahahah! Priceless. I do love your sense of humor... Ronald, is it wrong, for a man, to lube his shaft?? It's not wrong... Sometimes it has to be done.... I think we can all agree, it's not wrong... hahaha! It's a brave new world... Heh heh heh!!! I'm cracking up, thinking of that scene... Ahhhh, thanks for the laugh.... And lastly, I'm sure some commenters will nitpick, but you are basically doing great... Especially for a younger person, who wasn't there when these things were new... There are no cool techs to talk to, and figure out how to do this.... You're like, out there, on your own, figuring this out.... You're doing great.... I'm almost pained, you're doing all this work to kind of an anonymous bike.... If you could have found a CBR 900 RR, or an FZR 1000R... All this work would be SO WORTH IT, you'd have an ultra collectors item..... Still, an awesome series... Great job Sir.

[@adrianbooysen219]

I just love how your 'Revival' is turning into a full-blown micro restoration. Not that I'm complaining, though

[@andersjjensen]

Yeah, we know him by now. He says "I'm only going to do the bare minimum" to keep his sanity. But deep down both he and us knows... He's gonna do it right in the end...

[@luckyedwards4870]

Oh yeah, great sense of humor with the blurred out video, that cracked me up. 👍

[@duncanmann553]

This has cheered my day up. You are so honest to leave in all the issues that could be edited out. Your humour is very much appreciated by this English man 👨. Keep well and Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you.

[@paulwubben7506]

I wish more KZbinrs left in knocking over a WD40 can or stripping the hell out of a bolt. Because those are the kinds of things that happens.

[@jhuntosgarage]

@@paulwubben7506 Every single time.

[@captainjirk9564]

That's the best part of his content, it's so genuine

[@rikkus67]

Ronald's humour is also appreciated North of the 49th Parallel... must be a Commonwealth trait! Dry and crass with class.

[@applebutter4036]

Yes and it's not as easy as one would think. I've tried making a couple videos on a restoration project and it was so frustrating dealing with these issues that I just couldn't be bothered to set up the camera and record all of it. It's bad enough just having to fix the things that broke.

[@lanesherman9075]

For someone as young as you are... You are very good at inserting 4-letter words at the appropriate time and circumstance. Thanks for the content.

[@swebigmac100]

You are so knowleagble Ronald… rebuilding forks, brakes chains, knows about 3d printing, spray painting, lubing shafts and prolapsed anuses. Just wow.

[@mattconnor6779]

I think you're the only person who could make me want to watch a complete restoration series on a motorcycle. You're just the best!

[@JASONEAVIS]

Totally made my day, please, please please can we have more frequent content.

[@markhutchinson3367]

Great progress! Just FYI, there are two types of chains. One of them like you mentioned, that has the clip on the master link. The other style has the link pins that are crimped down with a special tool that mushrooms the end of the pins so that the link plate can't come off. Also, the rear suspension link that you said was rubbed down from the fender, that link wasn't scraped from the fender like that. That is ground down from the factory as that this the parting line in the casting and they intentionally grind it to be flush with the surface. Keep up the good work!

[@berttrombetta4953]

Yes the OEM chain has a rivet link, though most aftermarket use a split link because you don't have to drop the swing arm to fit them. Get a chain link extractor to remove the old chain or simply cut it off with a grinder, unless you plan to reuse it.

[@Mudster250]

Can get chains with a spring link, with a soft rivet link, but a 3rd type is an endless chain where all links are identical hard rivets. I usually go for endless although it does mean removing the swing arm. It's an opportunity to grease all the bearings up. Loved the Fiero and loving this. Keep up the great work Ronald 👍

[@MrBartHamer]

You should never put a chain with a retainer clip master link on a high performance bike. Anything > 40 HP should all ways use a rivitted link or an endless chain (if possible to install). Endless chains can't always be installed as with some bikes the chain run thru the swingarm bracing.

[@ВольдТюнер]

@@MrBartHamer thats right, clip on powerful bike = loosen chain and may be great damage for bike and rider

[@coolyo1990]

Last video I watched, I had dreams of rebuilding my motorcycle one day. Unfortunately it was stolen sense then. Watching today is bitter sweet. Love the videos.

[@bridgerolson3556]

I love seeing old machines brought back to life and getting another chance to bring people joy. Keep doing what you’re doing my man 🧡

[@ryanolson6794]

Yo, I might be your dad.

[@bridgerolson3556]

@@ryanolson6794 aye we both got 91 Miatas!

[@kevintyler7900]

Absolutely brilliant. Are you sure your not British? Your sense of humour is spot on and determination fantastic. Thank you so much for the entertainment.

[@collarbonecam]

Just know, your work is truly inspiring, it’s rare to see someone so well showcase the ups and downs of taking on restoration work like this. I’ll continue to show up for this, and recommend it whenever I can.

[@tom_123]

The thing I find most satisfying and inspiring about these videos is the making of tools to solve problems.

[@drmlabs]

Love how you take your time to make a real good video. The KZbin advice that tells you you have to churn out vids every day at a set time is BS. You're the proof of that. Take your time, do it right, we will be here to see them

[@Strike86]

The humour, the editing, the honesty... if Ronnie isn't the most underrated restorer on KZbin I don't know who is.

[@dub944]

HILARIOUS INTRO… great progress, great content. As I usually say each time, love your sense of humour. Canada approves! 🇨🇦👍

[@filude305]

Dude this is a very serious series documentary of real life project restoration on level that regular tv show never has aired. Dude your a master of filming working on project vehicles and at the same time have a awesome character narration to go with it . Wao bravo

[@davidp2888]

21:37 Okay...THAT was funny. I'm so glad I found your channel when you started the Fiero series. Watching you hone your skills has been a great experience.

[@AnEvolvingApe]

NoooooOOOOOOOOOOO! LOL!

[@MoeSlislack]

i love your background music. it's like we are listening to all the upbeat montage scenes in every 80s movie. you get a real "feel good" and "everything is going to be ok" kind of feeling from watching.

[@Jester123ish]

My favorite series on KZbin at the moment. Those 3D printed caps could go one further and incorporate an O Ring to keep out moisture!

[@backtotheroots7048]

21:37 Yes. I paused the video just to comment that. Thank you for noticing Ronald.

[@paulwubben7506]

Best episode yet. Really feels like you’ve found your video making stride with this series. The fiero series was good, but I think your editing and narration have gotten better. Your projects have got me inspired to take on something far more involved than I ever have before. So once I get rid of my friends bike from my garage, I’m looking for a complete resto project. PS I’m getting an ultra sonic cleaner for Christmas. Can’t wait to clean little bits with it.

[@repentnow1720]

Custom 3D printed bearing packer For The Win! Nicely done!

[@robertspear9134]

Thanks Ronald, absolutely love this series. Have 0 intention of ever restoring or rehabilitating a motorcycle but the editing and presentation is so good I have to watch it. Way cool that you 3D printed your own parts.

[@Perception_]

I watch these videos because there's so much to relate to. Nothing lasts forever, and things break, it's just a way of life. It does feel great though to finally find solutions for some of the headaches that exposes themself along the way.

[@DraconiasFeuerbrand-pb8ul]

I can't believe myself that I was actually anticipating this video by this much. never i had more fun by watching someone repairing or restorating something. What great series. I was hooked right as you did the fiero series. Greetings from germany's capital.

[@davidreed6817]

You young man (considerably younger than me!) are bordering on genius, and like Duncan being English appreciate your sense of humour too, great to see this lovely bike slowly coming back to life, fantastic!!

[@AutoBat1]

Ronnie, your videos are absolutely amazing. Thank you for taking the time to film & edit them.

[@ViktorSarge]

Very satisfying. I love how much quicker the bike is progressing than the Fiero was.

[@RonaldFinger]

Me too!

[@SanjanaRanasingha]

I was waiting a whole month for this! Been lurking all over your Instagram to get a glimpse! Cherishing every second off of this!

[@Mandred85]

Your failures make your series so immersive! We all do all kinds of error while DIY stuff. Even the ones criticizing them in the videos do mistakes like you do! But you keep them in and show your learning progress wich all of us are going through. It's an never ending process, and I love that!

[@austindavis1686]

Man your videos have inspired me to do more work on my own car and this series pushed me over the edge to buy myself a motorcycle my self. Now I've got a 76 CB500T thanks to you. Thanks man, you produce great content and inspired me to become a shade tree mechanic myself.

[@RonaldFinger]

Awesome! Just don't blame me when things go wrong :)

[@robertmeyer8221]

I selfishly hope you never get burned out on making KZbin videos because I love watching your content.

[@bigfilsing]

Many chains from that era were "punch" chains that didnt have a split link. There were often grooves in the pins to make it easier to punch the chain which slightly spread the pin head . Could easily be one of those chains but i can see how you would think the split link retainer was missing. Typically to remove a punched chain either involved grinding of the head of the "punched" pins or if you had a heavy duty tool you could punch them out Lovin the vids and all that grief and work will be worth it. Great bike.

[@WizzRacing]

Why he had a hard time getting it off. It was pinned....

[@jamesatwood4433]

I'm honestly floored that you originally planned to keep the chain

[@melissagreenberg2788]

Your videos are pure gold and love your sense of humor!!!

[@feellivinglife9748]

I was searching for this part but not getting it in search results then suddenly top of KZbin recommendation 😍

[@JamesSeale2575]

These repair series are brilliant, I really enjoyed this one Roland Finger A+

[@katherynscleaning5807]

Clamps for future reference. Mean any nut or bolt close to them will never get loose until they are. Sorry you learned that the hard way. Note for future projects. Workshop manuals if you read them let us learn this the easy way.

[@pommieMJ]

Great set of videos. I'm restoring one of these as well and have many of the challenges you have too. I like you showing the mistakes and mishaps and then how you get around them. This is VERY useful, thank you. Keep up the great work!

[@robertjordan3270]

Ron Finger, favorite Yanker good video again, thanks

[@NBMusicServices]

Thx for the great videos! I would definitely change the wheel, swing arm and headstock bearings as they are cheap and relatively easy to do. They make a real difference to making the bike drive tight, as will new chain and sprockets. Also maybe worth a smear of copper grease on the fork caps? They get tight because of the corrosion between dissimilar metals. Copper grease stops this, making them easy to remove in future

[@andrewonmyway8184]

What a super rebuild. Thanks for sharing. 3D printing is a blessing for older bike owners. You deserve all the credit for not giving up. You have certainly got a great sense of humour. Looking forward to your next instalment. From a Classic Kawasaki fan!

[@richardfarmer6570]

Great update, really glad you were able to overcome the various issues. Bike is coming along so well, can't wait to see it back on the road.

[@ldenorio]

i took a shot every time you said plunger, i am now hammered

[@derrickavery9297]

Love your vids. I enjoy seeing how it's done and that you include the mistakes as it makes it feel real. Keep it up.

[@damonmfiske]

Every time I see one of your new videos appear, I get comfortable, set playback speed to normal, and enjoy the show. This is what KZbin was made for! 👍

[@formhubfar]

A handy tip I heard (and used successfully) for pitting on the fork face was to dig the pit out with a needle and apply super glue and let it dry, then going in the direction of travel use some 2400 wet and dry till only the super glue in the pit remains.

[@mattfranco8715]

Epic step forward. The end is near! Keep pluggin’ tiger!

[@blackrosebasser]

Hey man a little tip! I saw you just spin the bearing with your finger. Check the wheel bearings again and stick your finger in the hole and press inward to give it a bit of sideload like it would have all tightened down. It should be silky smooth, if theres even a slight amount of imperfection, replace them. I use the motion pro tool and it takes about 10 minutes. Love the videos and I too love taking unloved machines and bringing them back to their former glory to be enjoyed safely by other people.

[@Tybearius]

My 4yo daughter and I love watching this series on Sunday morning. :-)

[@fahrfromrunnin]

I always enjoy your content! At your age, you have a lot of talents that I have worked for decades to grow (and some I am still working on!). One small detail I should offer though; if there is a good chance that something will shear off, use a breaker bar instead of an impact. That way, you can Feel what it is doing, and can hopefully mitigate the damage done.

[@lennym1273]

💯

[@uhtred7860]

Shhh, no sudden movements.....a wild THOT is visiting your comment!! the best way to scare them away is to calm say "I have no money" they will soon move on looking for their natural prey, the SIMP. :-))

[@colerippeon3903]

We love your videos man. Your such an honest guy. You never "fake your knowledge" like you know it all. You show us your challenges and we learn as you learn. Keep doing this layout of video. Your channel will explode. Also you fix up unloved vehicles that no one else would care about. We love that.

[@philipbassett5129]

Love your honesty, humour and ingenuity, Ronald. Great videos. Couple of things though, a spring clip retainer on a superbike chain? Are you sure!? These are ok on a 125, but for big bikes these should be riveted links, no? And that back wheel went in nicely after you cleaned up the back of the bike, but are you sure you want to do that without doing a rear suspension linkage strip, clean and re grease (especially given the state of other neglected parts of the bike)? Sorry, hope I haven’t spoiled your day😉

[@fullmetalf4i]

awesome solution on the fork caps. Each one of these videos makes me want to head out to the garage and finish my own bike projects

[@Dodds_Dirtbikes]

Props to Mr. finger. Ive been working on bikes and cars for most of my life and i still have a deep hatred for rebuilding forks. Got lucky with the fork caps. Keep it up brother!!

[@omni1000]

What I love about Ronald is that he seems to be a kind of a screw-up. A dork who knows absolutely nothing about mechanics, but googles his way through anything. I love his videos. Merry Christmas. :)

[@EvelOttos]

A+ episode Sir. I'm sure plenty of us have been down the same road of, "making a tool to remove the broken tool you previously made to remove the thing that just won't budge". Looking forward to the next one! Oh and if you're going to spend all the time to 3D print your own fork caps, at least put some personalization into them!

[@Evdath]

I love that you are not afraid to show mistakes and failures.

[@Clearanceman2]

I learned in my project that you should always change the sprockets and the chain together. And the Haynes manual says this as well.

[@mongosaqqara]

Ronald I must say you are a genius...I wanted to upgrade my mc forks for the longest time but would never attempt it alone...Bravo dood!

[@hawaiikahala]

Just awesome! Yeah, I was waiting for this video for a while but it was all worth it. Great to see how you built you own tools and come up with new ideas to fix or clean up parts. Great series by the way!

[@brendendas]

I am probably the most engaged on KZbin while watching videos on this channel compared to any other. No phones, no twitter, no pauses. Just this.

[@nickcsuki8123]

Only thing I regretted on my previous rebuild was not taking apart the steering / headtube assembly when doing the forks. If you proceed from here it will only get harder. I never trusted my bike at high speeds because of that...

[@drstallings_314]

Hard work + determination + engineering = Ronald Fingers. Love this channel.

[@ness3415]

Thank you for cleaning the wheels before dropping them off to the techs, it's greatly appreciated by the shops. Great PSA on that. Also, what tires did you decide on running, unless someone else can tell me?

[@b0dge]

Binky and Finger episodes drop within hours of each other? This is unprecidented.

[@Aux1Dub]

Dude I can’t believe you didn’t change the old bearings! Still, you go way further than I ever would. Fork rebuild? Not doing it lol

[@sloth0jr]

Your attention to detail is wonderful.

[@bavarianbanshee]

18:04 is 100000% accurate. We have to clean the area we're going to stick the weights to (at least the techs who give a sh*t), and it doesn't usually get as clean as when you do a proper cleaning yourself. And also, we do care when you bring in really dirty wheels (and/or tires that you've just ripped a huge burnout on, especially if you exposed the sharp metal cords that stab our hands) and we do think you're a dick if you bring them in like that.

[@CrashRacknShoot]

I never even start one of your videos without liking it first. I know it'll be great every time.

[@thesighbored]

Should have removed those worn decals on the lower fork for a clean look.. Also hopefully you will replace both the sprockets along with the new chain..

[@eclipseno15]

Yeah i hope he will replace those too... but by the way he trying to get chain off, not just cuting it, worried me he will reused it... pliz no

[@baoboumusic]

This must be a holiday weekend. Binky yesterday, and now we got fingered? Woo, and might I add, hoo!

[@tyrex-1942]

21:24 a man of culture

[@vitoriaaa_]

I swear i was thinking "Ew that looks like those prolapse videos" and when he said "It's like a prolapsed anus" i just lost everything lmao that shit got me wheezing

[@relax4o]

There are 5 minutes type of videos that you think will never end. And there is a 40 minutes video that you think it's too short and want to see more. Thank you for the great content and happy holidays.

[@dubz1020]

Every day I check and every day I'm disappointed.

[@RichardMigneron]

@33:03, I was waiting for the "I love it when a plan comes true", Georges Peppard, the A-Team 🤣

[@richardculbertson8027]

With putting a new chain on do you plan on changing the sprockets as well and as always thanks for the great content

[@bobbybean05]

Great to see , also if you rotate the rear axel 180 deg you gain about an inch more ride height.

[@turbocavalli]

This series has gone for so long that when the first episode came out I had a girlfriend…

[@paulhall170]

Never in the history of motorcycling has such an un-lovely and and un-loved bike been treated so lovingly... That said, your patience and thoroughness is a lesson to us all, thank you :)

[@9Risky]

“Congrats to Everyone who is early and found this comment”!

[@slozenger9000]

WAHOO!

[@AoiBrause]

[@dillan.mclenaghan]

How the fuk have i seen 2 of this stupid channels in one day

[@johnmurraycompton569]

Tedious job but so satisfying to see completed.

[@Gamer-ed5gg]

I will alway look forward to watching your videos, I have already watched this two times today.

[@5wasthenumber]

Another wonderful video! You have a great story telling ability, and your music choices are perfect for the eighties kid inside my middle aged body. Outstanding!

[@diogo.cichocki]

The Lost reference... just take my like.

[@maxwellkunz5367]

Impeccable editing

[@Radioactive_Slime]

Okay, am I the only one that instinctively took a sniff of that bolt when he held it up to the camera? “Can you smell that?” Lol, got me good!

[@timothysmith3311]

Ronald you truly are a forking legend.

[@coolissimo69]

Imagine I am not a moto fan , but always waiting anxiously to watch this rebuild.