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Major (or not?) Service and Clean of a Gen 7


Yokel

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All. There shouldn't be any consideration for the wheel vs. the triple unless a fork is bent. Still, it is easy to do starting at the wheel, lift the wheel to set fork height as you wish, then tighten the tops, then the lower triple. Some bikes are highly sensitive to this and to order of attaching/tightening the calipers. My old (hated) GSXR-750 was like that. 

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13 hours ago, Yokel said:

Today's update... did some blitzing around to blow out the cobwebs, and noticed the front end has a bit of a shimmy.  It gets more pronounced at speed.
 

By shimmy, do you mean a vibration? You may have checked this already but it happened to mine ; one of the brake discs was ever so slightly warped. I don't know how it happened but I had to replace both discs with some new EBC ones which cured the problem. 

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21 hours ago, Yokel said:



Is it evident I'm excited to have mine back?  

You should get another one.... 😉
 

 

 

Well, OK, you do make a good point. I've logged many miles in the mountains to your west on 6th & 7th gens so I'm remembering BRP, Cherohala, Deal, etc. I would be excited also (obviously).

 

With so many threads here focused on 5th gens it's fun to see a 7th every now and then. I enjoy the 5th gen threads for what they are because I have never owned one, but your rare 7th post hits the heart. Keep it coming.

 

Three months after purchase:

 

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Thanks for the input all.  Shimmy sorted. 

 

Well, the bike is in good kit overall now with a few things left to do when I get a few spare days. 

 

Going to put a couple hundred miles on this weekend to really give it a solid look. 

 

Valves still need done, I need to pop the shocks and change fluid, and pull the shock for a good cleaning, but ill wait for that until the hugger shows up.

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1 hour ago, bmart said:

Do you know what fixed it? 

 

I did a lot of things at once instead of isolating potential causes.  

 

Rebalanced wheel (1/4 oz), cleaned/scoured brake discs, new grease on reassembly, and retorqued everything in order to spec. 

 

Hard to say one specific thing changed it. 

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Must have been charm and good looks. I'm glad that you solved it!

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Nice job!

Nice having the lift too! I have one in my garage for cars tho but for the bikes it must be a real back saver! 

I recently bought a 13 and I did a minor clean up and air filter check/change after reading about the process of getting to the air filter.

So I wasn't surprised to se this!

Kinda glad it wasn't a K & N being in there for 20k miles and not checked!

Thank god the oil filter is easy to get to! 

I don't get why people just don't look up how to do stuff?

Dirty filter.jpg

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3 hours ago, eastbowl2 said:

Great thread!  Glad you got your ride back.  It's making me seriously look forward to spring around here...

It's coming!!!!

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7 hours ago, 1237cc said:

Nice job!

Nice having the lift too! I have one in my garage for cars tho but for the bikes it must be a real back saver! 

I recently bought a 13 and I did a minor clean up and air filter check/change after reading about the process of getting to the air filter.

So I wasn't surprised to se this!

Kinda glad it wasn't a K & N being in there for 20k miles and not checked!

Thank god the oil filter is easy to get to! 

I don't get why people just don't look up how to do stuff?

Dirty filter.jpg

 

 

It's really just not that hard... take a little time to get the bodywork off.  I don't get it either.

 

Enjoy that bike!

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Did about 220 miles yesterday, the front end shimmy is not gone as I thought. 

 

I'm out of town for work for the next few weeks, but went ahead and ordered some parts.  Wheel bearings and head bearings are inbound.

 

Going to dismount/remount tire on rim as well.

 

Have new brake pads coming all the way around as well.  

 

Need to get a dial indicator to check forks and wheel/rotors for true. 

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The shimmy can also be a result of the tire brand. As an example, last year I have worn out the Shinko verge on the front which came with the bike. Replaced it with a Conti sport attack.  It was close to a tank slapper at 48 mph. Balanced the wheel on 3 different machines without improvement. Put on a Shinko again and everything went back to normal. It could have been a bad tire, but I believe it was the tire contour. 

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35 minutes ago, Wald said:

The shimmy can also be a result of the tire brand. As an example, last year I have worn out the Shinko verge on the front which came with the bike. Replaced it with a Conti sport attack.  It was close to a tank slapper at 48 mph. Balanced the wheel on 3 different machines without improvement. Put on a Shinko again and everything went back to normal. It could have been a bad tire, but I believe it was the tire contour. 

I put shinko's on my vmax and they didn't even need to be balanced! I only take it up to 85/90 and lift tho. 

I remember with the Shinko's reading that there was a dot on tire that had to be next to the valve stem or something. Either way it worked for me.

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6 hours ago, Wald said:

The shimmy can also be a result of the tire brand. As an example, last year I have worn out the Shinko verge on the front which came with the bike. Replaced it with a Conti sport attack.  It was close to a tank slapper at 48 mph. Balanced the wheel on 3 different machines without improvement. Put on a Shinko again and everything went back to normal. It could have been a bad tire, but I believe it was the tire contour. 

Strange you say that...

 

That's exactly what I put on... continental sport attack. 

 

Hmmmmm

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Well, well... well.  Time for an update!

I had the very great pleasure of zipping around with a few of you hooligans the last few days at the VFRD Spring Ride.  Great time!

It also exposed a few things that need yet a bit more attention on the 1200.

1) Right fork leg seal is seeping oil.  No bueno, but not surprising as they are original.  Springs up front are also obviously shot, and the fluid is definitely on the back side of good.  Now I'm pricing out casettes (never did like the Showa much, but springs helped a LOT when they were new).  I'm sitting on the bottom of the fork legs a LOT.  The springs in there now are Sonic Springs 1.2kg/mm, but I'm fat and they are worn out.   I may go to 1.35kg/mm as I'd rather have them run high than low.  HispanicSlammer is running Andreani cartridges up front and seems to like them... and the pricing sure seems right at under 700USD with springs.

2) The shock out back has started to identify as a pogo stick.  It was installed in 2016 and is past due for a rebuild.  I may visit with the Penske team about making it a piggyback reservoir, or finding a better way to mount the reservoir than the zip-ties I'm using currently.

3) Valve Clearances are needing to be checked, still.  

4) Going to do all fluids again as I've now had a chance for everything to get stirred up nicely.  Hopefully will purge any remaining bits from the cooling system.

5) Might swap the front tire a bit early as the shimmy is supremely irritating... Or maybe I'll just burn it off.  The Conti's grip nicely, but man, that front tire is awful at 45-55mph.

6) While forks are off, I'll do head bearings and wheel bearings.

 

Even with all that, the bike performed admirably.  The smokies are challenging for a big bike like this, especially with a fatbodied rider... and I was stunned at how well it held lines considering how bad the suspension is.  I'm so glad I bought it back.

 

 

 

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On 3/6/2022 at 10:20 AM, Wald said:

The shimmy can also be a result of the tire brand. As an example, last year I have worn out the Shinko verge on the front which came with the bike. Replaced it with a Conti sport attack.  It was close to a tank slapper at 48 mph. Balanced the wheel on 3 different machines without improvement. Put on a Shinko again and everything went back to normal. It could have been a bad tire, but I believe it was the tire contour. 

 

I've heard claims to the contrary, but my experience has been exactly the same as yours, though with other brands.  As soon as the offending front tire was changed out, the shimmy disappeared. 

 

 

 

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Tire brand/models can do this, but the bike may also be causing unusual wear. Definitely worth looking into bearings and suspension...and riding habits, like heavy or harsh braking when leaned over. 

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Well... Here we go again!

 

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Started the tear down today to send forks off to be re-valved.  Spoke with Jamie, and think we have a plan to make the front end better.  Also pulled out the Penske, as it's due for a refresh as well.  Jamie is going to do both for quite a nice price!  Hope I like the work.  People have complained that he valves and springs on the firmer side, and that's what I want!

 

Also, should get the valves done this time.  Will post as that progresses as I don't think there's a good walk through of that on the site.

 

Stay tuned.

 

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Yeah, since I track my bike, firmer is definitely better. Completely transforms response and handling!
If you want cushy ride for street, factory suspension is fine. No need to send to Jamie.

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Change of plans...

Found a place relatively local that will do all the suspension work for a ride-in ride-out appointment, so I'm going to put things back together.

Looking at that front valve cover, I'm quite frankly concerned about being able to fit my damn hands in to get any adjustments done.  So, I'll probably just pay the money to have that done in the offseason by an appropriate digital contortionist.  The bike isn't down on power, and there's no valve noise, so I'm just going to ride it for the time being.

Suspension appointment is early July, so will update afterwards!

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Valve-clearances actually decreae with wear, so you won't hear any noises. Next thing you know... puft-puft-puft fried exhaust valves!!!

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On 6/11/2022 at 3:47 AM, DannoXYZ said:

Valve-clearances actually decreae with wear, so you won't hear any noises. Next thing you know... puft-puft-puft fried exhaust valves!!!

 

 

You're right.  Screw it, I'm going to do it.  Ordered parts.

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On 6/11/2022 at 3:47 AM, DannoXYZ said:

Valve-clearances actually decreae with wear, so you won't hear any noises. Next thing you know... puft-puft-puft fried exhaust valves!!!

 

Well, to build on this sentiment... I did actually check the valves.

VALVE CHECK HONDA VFR1200F

 

I strongly advise NOT doing this if you do not have a shop manual handy, either digital or paper.  It is a pretty fiddly operation, and I found having that nearby was seriously handy.  Also, take MANY photos.  You need to be part electrician, part plumber, and part mechanic to work on a VFR1200, but it's done easily enough if you are organized and take your time.

 

You will want:

A u-joint socked attachment and extension.

A magnetic extendable wand.

Dextrous Fingers.

A "very" long phillips head or JIS screwdriver (simply for throttle body boot clamps.  It needs to reach about 3/4 of the distance across the bike.)

Some Honda gasket maker liquid crap.

Since you're in there, may as well do plugs, get some of those on order.

You're disconnecting throttle cables, good time to lube them.

Might consider picking up some spare o-rings for the PAIR system and spark plug holes to valve-cover mating surface

A bunch of zip ties.

A very small vacuum attachment to clean out the valley.

 

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Basically, it's straightforward, BUT there are a few tripping points.  

 

After you get your plastics, and tank off, you need to remove the computer.  It's a bit fiddly, but easy enough.  then the entire airbox assebly can be removed.  The lower portion of that airbox has a multitude of wire looms running around it and many connectors mount to it. Take more pictures than you think you need about how they are routed.  It's a very tight fit under the plastics, and these engineers routed everything explicitly to fit.

That done lands you here:

 

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Fuel rails are next.  Pay attention here, the connectors have a rubber wedge holding them OPEN AND LOCKED.  That rubber has a tab you can pull to remove it, and allow a pair of needlenose or a hemostadt to get in there and pinch those to release the connectors.  Here is a photo of that disassebled so you can see how it works.

 

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The proceed to break things down to remove fuel injection rails.

 

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Disconnect throttle cables.

 

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You should easily be able to remove the fuel rails.  Injector #1 wiring I noticed was labeled, but you might want to take careful observance to how the injector wiring is routed... this seemed like something that could readily be screwed up.


DOUBLE CHECK o-Rings came out with the injectors.

 

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Take special note of any fiddly small lines, and make sure to photograph them.  I found it helpful to photo wiring/tubing mounts from where they were taken.

 

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COTD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Next take your ginormous screwdriver and loosen the intake boot clamps.  You have to get at them from the holes in the frame.  The rear boots can be seen from the LEFT side of the bike, the front left boot can be gotten to from the left side, but the FRONT RIGHT one has to come off from the Right side.  You'll see it.

 

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After that is done, pop off the throttle bodies.  It takes a bit of work.

 

Now, you should have a view of your valves down the intake channels.  Mine were covered in garbage.  That will be remedied later.

 

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The rear valve cover removal is stupidly straightforward.  Pop off the coils, undo the bolts and pop her loose.  BEWARE THE SMALL O-RINGS inside the valve cover and MAKE SURE they come out with it.  You can see one of the two on the lower left of the following photo.

 

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The valve cover gaskets are absurdly robust.  If you take your time and are careful, you should not need new ones.  They are shaped to fit into a channel on the underside of the valve cover, so re-installation is relatively painless.  (Except the front valve cover, to hell with that thing.)

 

From here, the front cover is next.  This is a bitch.

 

There are FOUR bolts, not THREE like the rear.  See this image to locate the fourth.  I mangled the crap out of the gasket for about 2 hours before I finally called HS and he mentioned "another fastener".  The damn thing is almost impossible to see.  It's tucked behind a boss, but ahead of and left of the PAIR device.

 

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It's the bolt in the lower left of the following shot.  This was taken by shoving my phone in the gap betwixt the fram and valve cover.

 

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Also, the back right and left side bolts are essentially box-end wrench tool bolts, unless you have fancy low-profile ratchets.  Even then, it's a very snug fit wiggling them out.

 

See left of photo below for front valve cover bolt clearance. 

 

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Bunch of sadists.

 

OK.  So, now this can come off.  I had to remove right side, then fish left side out from wiring loom which I had put some tension on to the triple tree with zipties.

 

Now you should be here, and can actually get started following the steps to check your valves.

 

You will want the u-joint socket thing to get the front plugs out, and will need a flexi-magnet to retrieve them and replace them without banging them on the electrode tip.

 

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Here's an idea of the parts removed to accomplish this job.

 

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COTD

 

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