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Obligatory New Member post


bdutton

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Hey everybody,

 

I'm Bill from Connecticut. I bought a 96 VFR750F in August last year with 23k miles on it. This is my 2nd motorcycle and I felt it was a logical next step over the asthmatic Ninja 500 I rode during the 2015 season. It was stock when I bought it, but shortly thereafter installed a Corbin seat and Yoshi pipe I found on eBay. Here it is pictured with my buddy's KTM 1290R SuperDuke. I currently have 27k on the bike and a sweet Givi rack setup I found for sale on one of my local Facebook groups. I have a couple questions at this point and I figured it's time to ask individuals more experienced with this bike than myself.

 

1) Are there aftermarket/replacement mirrors preferably without the rubber covering the arms that actually allow you to see behind the bike? The current ones are about as useful as wings on penguin.

2) What is everybody using for stands/lifts? I've used Pitbull in the past but looking at their single sided stand they say to insert on non-drive side (not possible on this bike?). I've been eyeing the Abba Skylift, but it's a little on the pricey side.

3) Is there anywhere to pick up replacement plastics? Mine aren't horrible, but a couple cracks due to old brittle plastic and a piece was starting to fade when I bought the bike.

4) Has anybody done a projector retrofit for the headlights? I know projectors and fluted lenses are a no-no so I would be vacuum forming new lenses, just wondering if anything like that has been done before.

 

Thanks for reading. Look forward to learning more about these wicked machines!

 

-Bill

14642273_10153778267287294_8240876063560720654_n.jpg

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Welcome!

 

1. I put the 00-01 vfr mirrors on mine. No rubber pieces and a lot better than most aftermarket mirrors. I ordered the bolts, metal and rubber pieces for mounting them as well.

2. I have a pit bull rear stand, it goes in on the drive side. Ordering the head lift stand from them in the next month.

3. Plastics can be tough to find, I repaired a bunch of mine instead of spending the money on new pieces.

4. I haven't seen a projector retrofit yet. I currently have LED headlight bulbs fitted. I have considered the same direction as you. If you do it I may be interested in working with you on it, I'm only up in Maine.

 

Hope this helps you.

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Thanks for the good info. I'll have to look into those things. I took a Friday off back in September and rode all the way up to Kittery. My house-> East Greenwich, RI in order to meet up with my buddy (F800GS in the picture), onwards to Kittery, lunch at the Weathervane and back the way we came with a side stop at an old friend's brewery in Woonsocket. 377.0 miles and 8+ hours of seat time. Traffic was a nightmare on the way up just outside of Boston, so I'd shoot a couple fireballs out of the pipe if anybody got too close for comfort. c1a204c2ecac5fea15f25c7188e4fd74.jpg

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I also put the Y2K mirrors on my 4G. You can wait forever to find some on eBay or just buy new. 

I have a pit bull front stand. Between the center stand and the pit bull you can get both wheels off the ground. 

eBay or these forums are usually the best source for plastics. Those are becoming unicorns. 

I put plug-and-play LED bulbs in a couple of my bikes but the beam spread isn't very good. I don't drive enough at night anymore to justify trying anything else. 

Welcome aboard!  

Paul in SoCal

(former CT resident)

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I also put the Y2K mirrors on my 4G. You can wait forever to find some on eBay or just buy new. 
I have a pit bull front stand. Between the center stand and the pit bull you can get both wheels off the ground. 
eBay or these forums are usually the best source for plastics. Those are becoming unicorns. 
I put plug-and-play LED bulbs in a couple of my bikes but the beam spread isn't very good. I don't drive enough at night anymore to justify trying anything else. 
Welcome aboard!  
Paul in SoCal
(former CT resident)

Thanks for the info Paul! I'll have to look into the later gen mirrors. I'm not a big guy (5-10 150 wet) so getting this bike on the center stand is impossible for me to do by myself lol

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

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6 minutes ago, bdutton said:


Thanks for the info Paul! I'll have to look into the later gen mirrors. I'm not a big guy (5-10 150 wet) so getting this bike on the center stand is impossible for me to do by myself lol

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 

 

The pit bull rear stand makes it easy to lift. It will slowly stand the bike up straight will a bit of pressure then lift the rear wheel up. After the first time I have zero issues doing it alone (5-10 175 myself).

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  • Member Contributer

Hi and welcome to the forum. I had a Kawasaki EX500 (same bike before it was rebranded as a Ninja) before my 95 VFR. In between I had a 89 CBR600 which is now my wife's bike.

 

2. With the centrestand and a small jack under the exhaust pipes you can raise both ends to remove the wheels. I can't tell from your pics if you've removed your centrestand or not. 

 

3. For crack repairs use the Plastifix kit.  My tail section has cracks and shaken itself apart. I've fused all the pieces into a single piece but I haven't painted it yet.

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Welcome, sir! Looking forward to getting out myself tomorrow (high of 18°) to drive my VFR 2-1/2 hours back home. Besides freezing, I'm sure I'll have a great time!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/24/2017 at 11:17 AM, bdutton said:


Thanks for the info Paul! I'll have to look into the later gen mirrors. I'm not a big guy (5-10 150 wet) so getting this bike on the center stand is impossible for me to do by myself lol

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 

It's about leverage. You stand on the centerstand and pull the bike backwards, not up. 

I learned this quick when working on my step-dad's GL1500. 

Paul in SoCal

 

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On 2/24/2017 at 11:17 AM, bdutton said:

I'm not a big guy (5-10 150 wet) so getting this bike on the center stand is impossible for me to do by myself lol

 

I weigh about the same and am a little shorter. I can get my 5th gen on the centerstand pretty easy with the right technique.

So can you.

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On ‎24‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 7:17 PM, bdutton said:


Thanks for the info Paul! I'll have to look into the later gen mirrors. I'm not a big guy (5-10 150 wet) so getting this bike on the center stand is impossible for me to do by myself lol
 

 

Push down with your foot, Don't pull up with your hands. . I have a 2014 Triumph and after getting that on the centre stand the VFR is a piece of cake.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/24/2017 at 1:51 PM, coupedupsubie said:

 

I haven't seen a projector retrofit yet. I currently have LED headlight bulbs fitted. I have considered the same direction as you. If you do it I may be interested in working with you on it, I'm only up in Maine.

I'm currently in the planning phases of moving forward with the retrofit. Found a spare used headlight assembly on Ebay to use as a practice piece for pulling the lens off using the oven. I will be combining it with a plug and play deer laser system found TheRetrofitSource.com. 35 watt ballasts, bi-xenon mini h1 projectors (version 7.0), H4 dual output harness, and possibly halos. Going to be pricey, but a fun project now that the bike is 100% back together and running like a top!

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1 hour ago, bdutton said:

I'm currently in the planning phases of moving forward with the retrofit. Found a spare used headlight assembly on Ebay to use as a practice piece for pulling the lens off using the oven. I will be combining it with a plug and play deer laser system found TheRetrofitSource.com. 35 watt ballasts, bi-xenon mini h1 projectors (version 7.0), H4 dual output harness, and possibly halos. Going to be pricey, but a fun project now that the bike is 100% back together and running like a top!

 

If it's is their motorcycle specific setup be sure to post the results. That's the setup I am looking into.

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I also have a spare headlamp assembly, and plans to use that same H1 setup.


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The install is going to be fairly straightforward. The hard part will be rigging up something to make a new lens. Once I figure it out, I'll pass it on to the next guy that wants to do a retrofit.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

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Projectors aren't designed to work with fluted lenses so I'm going to make a new one that is smooth so I get a straight cut off with the beam. Don't want to be blinding oncoming traffic.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

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