ColtMax's 1997 restoration thread

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ColtMax

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My Vmax has 144 000 km and still runs great, I would like to make sure that it runs this way for many more KMs as I share a particular story with this Vmax.
This thread will cover my journey through the overhaul process of this bike. I am not a professional mechanic but I do have good experience with fixing motorcycles and cars.

The plan for 2025 winter consists of the followings:
1 - overhaul of the front fork with Progressive Suspension springs
2 - steering bearings
3 - wheel bearings and seals
4 - brake discs and pads
5 - brake calipers overhaul
6 - brake and clutch master cylinders
7 - clutch friction discs and metal discs
8 - clutch double D mod - I have bought the extra spring, but not sure if I will go through with this.
9 - clutch slave cylinder overhaul
10 - carburetors overhaul
11 - intake and v-boost boots
12 - fuel filter
13 - thermostat replacement
14 - drive shaft seals and re-shimming
15 - engine valves adjustments and valve cover gaskets
16 - Progressive suspension rear shocks (444-4020B) intended for Harley's, but very similar specs to the discontinued VMax 444s.
17 - cleaning, polishing, brushing and clear coating some aluminum components such as the scoops and side covers.

I welcome all suggestions such as "while you are at it" or "you should do it this way".
Hope this can be useful to others too.

So, let's get started! :)
 
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1- Overhaul of the front fork with Progressive Suspension springs

The first section of the bike I'll be tackling is the front suspension.
First step is to disassemble the front forks and these videos from @one2dmax (Sean Morley) are amazing!
Here is the how to disassemble the front fork video from Sean:

PARTS:
I have ordered the following OEM parts to perform this task:
1737354558047.png
ItemPNDescriptionQty
154V4-23188-L0-00O-RING
2
193LR-23149-00-00WASHER, SPRING UPPER
2
93GM-23173-00-00SPINDLE, TAPER
2
64PU-23144-00-00SEAL, DUST
2
44PU-23145-01-00OIL SEAL
2
74V4-23146-L0-00WASHER, OIL SEAL
2
55EB-23125-00-00METAL, SLIDE 1
2
124V4-23158-L0-00GASKET
2


UPGRADE
As an upgrade, I am installing the Progressive Suspension spring 11-1144
1737355042475.png


DISASSEMBLY
The disassembly process was pretty straight forward, thanks to Seans's video.
Here is how my bike sits now:
PXL_20250120_041437764.jpgPXL_20250120_041503345.jpg
 
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