Csper Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 Hey Y'all, Picked up my VFR about two to three weeks ago and let me tell you, what an improvement from my old ninja 400! Already put on about 600 miles and now getting to know the bike. Somewhat newer of a rider as I've been riding for about 9 months now. Picked up the VFR because I needed more power for commuting on the Dallas highways, plus who doesn't like some more horsepower😆Had about 5000 miles on the ninja before I switched bikes so I'm making sure not to get too confident and outride skill. I've already done some mods to the bike such as a puig windscreen (improves aero and looks), trex sliders (was concerned about these but has worked out well for other members here and so far are great), a DIY tail tidy (it actually looks good), and added tank grips. Something I love about the bike so far is the center stand which makes maintenance very easy. Been reading all the VFR literature I can get my hands on to learn everything I can about this bike and how to take care of it properly. Was having some issues with it being jerky down low, poor transitions on the quickshifter (upshift), poor transitions on engine braking downshifts, and running what seemed to be hot and lean. But since I knew it had been sitting in a garage for most of the past two years with the previous owner, I gave it some fuel system cleaner and its fixed all the issues I was having, and the butt dyno seems to confirm it has a bit more pull now, it sounds a bit better as well. Hopefully I didn't proceed to violate half of the forum rules on my first post 😂 Anyways, here she is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR78 Posted March 28, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 28, 2023 Nice bike, just one thing. I thought the Gen8 quick shifter was only set up for up shifting, so using it for clutchless downshifts might not be such a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 4 minutes ago, VFR78 said: Nice bike, just one thing. I thought the Gen8 quick shifter was only set up for up shifting, so using it for clutchless downshifts might not be such a good idea. Yep, just worded that a bit weird, fixed it lol. Had wanted to change to GP shift but sounds like its impossible with the push type quick shifter, and would rather not give it up 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR78 Posted March 28, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 28, 2023 I always give it a little throttle blip on downshifts. Never been sure if there is any real need to, just a habit. I had a slipper clutch in my previous bike, so banging it down a gear, without a blip, was not a problem on that bike. Ideal for the racetrack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 13 minutes ago, VFR78 said: I always give it a little throttle blip on downshifts. Never been sure if there is any real need to, just a habit. I had a slipper clutch in my previous bike, so banging it down a gear, without a blip, was not a problem on that bike. Ideal for the racetrack. Yep, I was doing the same, for some reason before the fuel additive it was just lurching back a bit, using same clutch and throttle input. Old gas getting crusty in the injectors is my best guess, because it is very noticeable how much smoother it is now. The person I bought it from only put 8000 miles on it, and it was a garage princess most of the time after he moved to Texas, he didn't like the roads so he basically stopped riding. Now I hope to give this bike a full, mile filled life, with obsessive care 😆 Going to keep using fuel system cleaner every now and then since it seems to have worked well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 Congrats on your 8th gen. and welcome to the forum! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Thumbs Posted March 29, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 29, 2023 Have all the fluids been changed? The front brake pistons are poorly plated and could do with a clean, mine were so bad @16k miles I put some stainless steel ones in, but I very much doubt that they put salt on the roads around you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Thumbs said: Have all the fluids been changed? The front brake pistons are poorly plated and could do with a clean, mine were so bad @16k miles I put some stainless steel ones in, but I very much doubt that they put salt on the roads around you Oil and coolant were serviced at 8k and i picked it up with 8190. Rear brake fluid could probably be replaced, it looks a bit dark on the outside so ill open it up and check. Got some DOT4 laying around and did it on the ninja so it should be a 30 min job max if i need to do it. Oil looks good but will also check the coolant and brake pads (although these should be good from what ive seen so far) just in case a dealer "serviced" it 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 By the way, for future service what brake pads would yall recommend? Also, should I just run OEM oil or would a full synthetic from a manufacturer work best, just wondering if all OEM fluids is the way to go as I've heard OEM is the best for oil filters and coolant(edit: nevermind im good😂). Not trying to start an oil war just trying to get general advice 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted March 29, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 29, 2023 14 minutes ago, Csper said: By the way, for future service what brake pads would yall recommend? Also, should I just run OEM oil or would a full synthetic from a manufacturer work best, just wondering if all OEM fluids is the way to go as I've heard OEM is the best for oil filters and coolant. Not trying to start an oil war just trying to get general advice 😂 ha ha, 14533 members and likely 14533 opinions. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Skids said: ha ha, 14533 members and likely 14533 opinions. Good luck! Just did some forum searches and reading, figured out what oil i'll probably be getting. Not telling because i dont wanna end up like that horse over there... 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bmart Posted March 29, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 29, 2023 Everyone knows it is Mobil 1 4T...or that you bought the wrong oil. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeEffArah Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bmart Posted March 29, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 29, 2023 And we're off! Help mode...off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 chaos ensues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer St. Stephen Posted March 29, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 29, 2023 If you choose the right oil it will unleash factory power. Read this somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted March 29, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 29, 2023 3 minutes ago, St. Stephen said: If you choose the right oil it will unleash factory power. Read this somewhere... You have to also snip one wire in the oil filter control unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 30, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted March 30, 2023 On 3/29/2023 at 9:25 AM, Csper said: Been reading all the VFR literature I can get my hands on to learn everything I can about this bike and how to take care of it properly. On 3/29/2023 at 9:59 AM, Csper said: Now I hope to give this bike a full, mile filled life, with obsessive care That's great, and congratulations with your 8gen purchase. Glad you got the Deluxe version. As for the Dot 4 fluid you had lying around for your old ninja, throw it in the bin and treat your 8gen to brand new Dot 4 in both brakes and clutch. Brake fluid is hygroscopic. Replace the fluid no longer than two years, its so easy to do on an 8gen (no linked brakes) and a one man operation to bleed both systems. Do this job routinely and you may never see any piston and seal issues! My go to Brake Pads are EBC HH's. FA488HH for the rear and FA390HH for the fronts (2 sets). Enjoy your 8gen. Its a great bike and extremely reliable. Here's a link to a fantastic version of the Service Manual https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/search/&tags=vfr800x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 49 minutes ago, Grum said: That's great, and congratulations with your 8gen purchase. Glad you got the Deluxe version. As for the Dot 4 fluid you had lying around for you old ninja, throw it in the bin and treat your 8gen to brand new Dot 4 in both brakes and clutch. Brake fluid is hygroscopic. Thanks for the reminder man, definitely dont wanna put old fluid in there. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubyRS Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 I'm sure you notice a huge improvement in highway stability over the Ninja 400. I have my eye on that new Kaw Ninja 400R though : ) Just noticed you're license plate looks wonky. A Competion Werks fender kit cleans the tail up a bit if you are looking to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 On 3/31/2023 at 4:13 PM, SubyRS said: I'm sure you notice a huge improvement in highway stability over the Ninja 400. I have my eye on that new Kaw Ninja 400R though : ) Just noticed you're license plate looks wonky. A Competion Werks fender kit cleans the tail up a bit if you are looking to do that. Unfortunately, they dont have any fender eliminators for this year otherwise i would have gone that route. If you know one for a different year i can modify slightly to fit this bike id appreciate the feedback. But for right now the diy is gonna have to do it. Also, much more stable on the highway especially with wind, used to have to fight it to keep the bike straight sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubyRS Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 On 4/1/2023 at 10:39 PM, Csper said: Unfortunately, they dont have any fender eliminators for this year otherwise i would have gone that route. If you know one for a different year i can modify slightly to fit this bike id appreciate the feedback. But for right now the diy is gonna have to do it. Also, much more stable on the highway especially with wind, used to have to fight it to keep the bike straight sometimes. The Competition Werks VFR1200 (7th gen) kit fits like a glove for the 8th gen. See my pics in the thread here "What did you do to your VFR Today" on page 31. There are also other threads here dealing with fender kits for the 8th gen, but the CW kit is made perfectly because the fenders are the same on both bikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csper Posted April 10, 2023 Author Share Posted April 10, 2023 On 4/3/2023 at 11:05 AM, SubyRS said: The Competition Werks VFR1200 (7th gen) kit fits like a glove for the 8th gen. See my pics in the thread here "What did you do to your VFR Today" on page 31. There are also other threads here dealing with fender kits for the 8th gen, but the CW kit is made perfectly because the fenders are the same on both bikes. Took me a minute to figure out how to install it and get it all off but it looks very good and is solid. Thank you for the help it looks much better now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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