Member Contributer Hingley Posted August 25, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 25, 2022 Well guys the disease strikes again, I have always really liked the 1999 VFR800 in Pearl Yellow but only when it had the Corbin saddle bags with it, plus they were the last year to have the manual choke system as well as the last Gen to have Gear driven cams At present I have a mint 1990 and 1991 project bike but we all know the hunt for the Bucket List bikes never ends Well a few weeks ago I was planning on flying out west to go to a wedding and decided to nose around to see what was on the market in different parts of Canada, well as always over the past number of years , nothing. in the end as a lark I searched the area around where the wedding was being held, and low and behold there is a 1999 VFR800 in Pearl Yellow with 50,000km ( 30,000 miles ) matching Corbin bags as well as Corbin seat including the seat cowl with Heli bars and two brand new Dunlaps installed, Dam this is not good, the bike I have wanted for years was right here in the area I was traveling to but 2400 miles away from home. In the end a deal was struck over the phone and I was able to have it moved to a friends garage until I can get it shipped back east. Once I arrived out west I could see I have a little restore work ahead but that is ok, she has had a couple of tip overs based on the marks the bags have and a bad leaking fork seal plus oil soaked front brake pads, but god it looks good in yellow, She is sure going to look good beside her sister in the barn I know once it is home I will also have to consider doing the Reg upgrade and probably have to check the valves and plugs etc. NOW in your guys mind what else should I check or upgrade before I put her back on the road? Any advice would be great since this is the most modern bike I have ever owned with Fuel Injection, computers, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted August 25, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 25, 2022 Great find, and in the best colour! The weakest spots on the 5G are the alternator plug (3P yellow wires, uder tail cowl, left side below rider seat) and the linked brakes. The alternator plug gets wet and corrodes, gains resistance and then cooks itself and possibly the alternator. Pull the connector apart, keep it clean and sprayed with Deoxit or similar, and if it is cooked chop the plug out and hard wire the three yellow wires with suitable heatshrink. A voltmeter is a useful warning tool as the battery voltage while riding starts to drop if the connector is failing. Like all Hondas the RR can also fail, and the voltmeter will give a little warning before your battery runs flat or overcooks. The linked brakes are great but not tolerant of being ignored. The secondary master cylinder can either seize or just clog, both can cause the centre rear piston to lock on or drag, so check the wheel rotates freely after applying the brakes and the disc is not getting excessively hot. The SMC should move just a mm or two when you apply the front brake, any more will suggest air in the system. Frequent flushing with fresh fluid is the best preventative, and there is a very specific bleed sequence. The last occasional issue relates to the common ground connector which is a small (30 x 20 x 10mm) orange block taped into the harness near the alternator plug. Again this can corrode and cause weird earth faults, that can be solved by cleaning and Deoxit or in some cases joining all the wires to a common earth. Good luck and safe travelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted August 26, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2022 +1 Terry. Gotta agree the 5th gen. Pearl Yellow is very hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted August 26, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2022 Great find, keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted August 26, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2022 Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted August 26, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2022 The linked brakes are great but not tolerant of being ignored. The secondary master cylinder can either seize or just clog, both can cause the centre rear piston to lock on or drag, so check the wheel rotates freely after applying the brakes and the disc is not getting excessively hot. The SMC should move just a mm or two when you apply the front brake, any more will suggest air in the system. Frequent flushing with fresh fluid is the best preventative, and there is a very specific bleed sequence. This is very interesting as this is the first bike I have ever owned with this linked brake system, I must admit I am old school ( very old ) and when I first read about this brake system I was not all that excited about working on it, this is great info to have I will for sure check the common ground connector, I am hoping being from out west the dry air helped with corrosion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted August 26, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2022 The same linked brakes are on quite a few Hondas, I also own a ST1300 with a similar system (+ABS). The ST fraternity know these brakes inside out and due to the tendency to do very high mileage in inclement weather which means the incidence of SMC seizures gets attention. There's nothing to be worried about but on a new-to-you bike, you should give them a thorough inspection. In particular with the bike on the centrestand, push forward on the left calliper and check the rear wheel brakes come on, and then release nicely when you let go. I carefully syringed and mopped out my master cylinder reservoirs, refilled with clean fluid and then bled many times to ensure clean fresh fluid throughout. There is a very specific bleeding sequence to follow, its not hard but it needs to be done correctly for the best result. I also cleaned around the calliper pistons to make sure they were all freely moving. My brakes went from "hmmmm" to "whoa!" as a result. If you need any guidance, just ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted August 27, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2022 There is a very specific bleeding sequence to follow Have you found this bleeding sequence is spelled out in the Honda service manual or it is better shown somewhere on u tube Very good advice by the way, it will be a big help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted August 27, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2022 3 hours ago, Hingley said: There is a very specific bleeding sequence to follow Have you found this bleeding sequence is spelled out in the Honda service manual or it is better shown somewhere on u tube Very good advice by the way, it will be a big help Download the service manual, its all in there. https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/files/file/171-98-01-honda-vfr-service-manual-optimized-bookmarked/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted August 27, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2022 Well sir, I just downloaded the service manual and it is a good thing I did, the brake system on the vfr800 is sure complex and I could see me getting a pile of air into the system when I plan on servicing the system, thank you all for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted August 28, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 28, 2022 The 99 VFR800 does not get here for a couple of weeks but it was driving me crazy trying to see what the 1999 model had for components compared to later and earlier models Looks like I got lucky for once, from what I can find the 1999 VFR800 for Canada does not have 02 sensors or the Cat/Converter, Bonus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ducnut Posted August 28, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 28, 2022 The first two years DO NOT. The last two years DO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted August 28, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted August 28, 2022 On 8/28/2022 at 1:38 AM, Hingley said: Well sir, I just downloaded the service manual and it is a good thing I did, the brake system on the vfr800 is sure complex and I could see me getting a pile of air into the system when I plan on servicing the system, thank you all for the help There's a chapter at the back of the manual called Technical Features. This is a great primer to read as you move from a previus generation to the 5th as it covers off how the new/different bits are meant to work. IIRC, the 2000 onward model received significant emmissions related changes in the exhaust and FI; they added a cat and the O2 sensors, and I believe the headers became SS instead of mild steel, possibly with a smaller diameter. The FI also "gained" an auto fast idle system in place of the bar mounted lever. I know which I'd rather have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted September 3, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted September 3, 2022 I see by some inserts in the form that most guys are saying to stay away from all balls fork seal kits as there have been quality issues and only use the Honda forks seal parts Is the same true when it comes to other parts such as the fork bushings, tapered steering stem bearings etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ducnut Posted September 7, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted September 7, 2022 On 9/2/2022 at 9:21 PM, Hingley said: I see by some inserts in the form that most guys are saying to stay away from all balls fork seal kits as there have been quality issues and only use the Honda forks seal parts Is the same true when it comes to other parts such as the fork bushings, tapered steering stem bearings etc? I have All Balls tapered steering stem bearings in all three of my bikes, without issues. I think, the vast majority of the negative feedback comes from the MX, ATV, and SXS guys who like to use the car wash. High pressure water bypasses any rubber bearing seal. Then, when the bearing fails, it’s the bearing’s fault. Plus, those guys perform near-zero maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ughandi Posted September 7, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted September 7, 2022 On 9/2/2022 at 6:21 PM, Hingley said: tapered steering stem bearings Can attest that that my all-balls stem bearings are doing just dandy after 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted September 7, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted September 7, 2022 I have a request to all the VFR guys out there This new VFR800 project coming has a set of Corbin Beetle Bags on it I noticed that the left side is not right , probably due to a tip over So if anyone is out there that is a pack rat like me I would really like to have a good copy of the Corbin install instructions, hopefully they will help in remounting the bags correctly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RossR Posted October 5, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted October 5, 2022 On 9/2/2022 at 7:21 PM, Hingley said: I see by some inserts in the form that most guys are saying to stay away from all balls fork seal kits as there have been quality issues and only use the Honda forks seal parts Is the same true when it comes to other parts such as the fork bushings, tapered steering stem bearings etc? I own a CBR1100XX as well as a VFR800 like yours. On the XX forum the most experienced forum members have advised against using All Balls and comment that they have not had good results with switching to tapered head bearings. This topic is potentially controversial so my input would be to use OEM Honda parts. These are not very expensive parts and the head bearings last a long time. At 30,000km I would not expect your head bearings to need replacing unless the bike was misused. Mine were replaced at about 60,000km. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted October 5, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted October 5, 2022 I've had All Balls tapered rollers in my headset for 15 years. No problems and a significant increase in the natural frequency of the fork in pure bending - aka more stiffer and better. Chatter and death wobbles, or any odd oscillation phenomena are significantly reduced in my bike. The all balls seals on the other hand, I don't think they've ever had a good rep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted October 6, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 6, 2022 By the sounds of it I will be buying Honda fork seals and dust covers I will probably use All Balls tapered steering head bearings as I have used them in my old race bike and had no issues Any thoughts on All Balls fork bushing kits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted October 6, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted October 6, 2022 As an experiment, I built some CBR-F2 forks using everything All-Balls, including the seals. The bushings looked identical to OEM and the seals are still sealing 6 years later. I think the majority of "failures" are failing to perform the work correctly and failing to check for stone nicks that immediately tear new seals. Seen that TOO MANY times. I've also used Bike Master seals with zero issues. Of course now that I post this you know they are gonna start leaking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hingley Posted October 6, 2022 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 6, 2022 I think the majority of "failures" are failing to perform the work correctly and failing to check for stone nicks that immediately tear new seals I agree this this statement 100%, if the seals are installed roughly or a nick in the chrome is not addressed the seal will sooner or later fail Good point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted October 6, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted October 6, 2022 I happily use AllBalls tapered rollers in all of my bikes that needed new bearings. For fork seals I would prefer SKF or stock, but have also had good results with Tourmaster. The only seals which have given me grief were Pyramid Parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted October 6, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted October 6, 2022 I didn't know SKF made seals for the VFR...looks like they do. Pretty much everything good in mountain bike fork land is now SKF, even the OEM stuff. They're dominant cause they're great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 allballs is cheap chinese commie trash maybe ok for head bearings, not for wheel bearings ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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