Hi all, cheers from Quebec in Canada

[Stoichiometry]

Hi all, thanks for running and contributing to this awesome forum. I'm from a village in Quebec, Canada. Couple of weeks ago I acquired a 2003 VFR800 ABS with ~11 000 km (~7000 miles) on the clock. I hadn't understood the motor at first while test riding the bike, as recently I had had experience only with off-road thumpers and inline 4s, but a bit later it grew on me a lot and now I just love riding it. Also, I find the stock suspension is decent bordering on good 🤣 🤐.  Initially I wanted to buy an ST1300, but now I definitely prefer the VFR as a long distance universal tourer, and a fun machine in general.

The bike was in a pretty good condition in general thanks to low mileage, but of course I wanted to make it good all around. I replaced a partially rodent damaged air filter, changed oil (which still looked ok when drained) for Rotella T6 15W40 with a new filter, cleaned some blocked breather tubes, changed coolant with Honda antifreeze (old coolant looked like the same Honda stuff and was clean, but I did it just in case, and also cleaned the inside of the expansion tank from sediment). Cleaned the chain from some kind of whitish chain lube with kerosene and switched to gear oil, which in my experience is the way to go with motorbike chains. Sprockets look new . Also cleaned the calipers and installed new EBC pads, installed a couple of missing nuts and clips. Lastly got rid of the bar risers and beefed up the charging part of the wiring and cleaned and greased all electrical connectors I could reach. I'm planning to build an active  RR myself and replace the OEM one. I've tested all major electrical components and for now all is good. A lot of things to do are still on the table, which can be good if you look at it at a certain angle, but the bike is a good runner already and I enjoy riding it in plentiful local twisties a lot.

 

[mello dude]

Welcome dude....we like photos here! More plz.....😉

[Terry]

I thought I was the only OCD fool that removed the filler cap ring to clean beneath. Bikes always run better when they are clean!

 

What bar risers did you remove? I have been thinking about adding some. We have a local engineering company that makes some custom-fit bars which I have on my other VFR and make for a decent reduction in wrist weight. 

 

The VFR riding position was never a problem in my youth and at open road speeds is pretty good, but I do find it uncomfortable at low speed.

 

[vfrpilot28]

Welcome aboard!  Nice pics keep them coming.  We here at vfrd love pics.  So you're going to build a RR? Obviously more intelligent than this guy.  

[Stoichiometry]

14 hours ago, Terry said:

I thought I was the only OCD fool that removed the filler cap ring to clean beneath. Bikes always run better when they are clean!

 

What bar risers did you remove? I have been thinking about adding some. We have a local engineering company that makes some custom-fit bars which I have on my other VFR and make for a decent reduction in wrist weight. 

 

The VFR riding position was never a problem in my youth and at open road speeds is pretty good, but I do find it uncomfortable at low speed.

 

Beautiful bike and scenery!

As for the risers - I don't know the manufacturer, they look similar to the ones you can find on Amazon, only with flat caps. I prefer the ergos without risers, but I must add I'm of average height.

[Stoichiometry]

22 hours ago, Terry said:

I thought I was the only OCD fool that removed the filler cap ring to clean beneath. Bikes always run better when they are clean!

 

What bar risers did you remove? I have been thinking about adding some. We have a local engineering company that makes some custom-fit bars which I have on my other VFR and make for a decent reduction in wrist weight. 

 

The VFR riding position was never a problem in my youth and at open road speeds is pretty good, but I do find it uncomfortable at low speed.

 

Micro maintenance challenge accepted! Have you polished the right clip-on under the throttle tube and then impregnated it with PTFE for low dry friction? 😵‍💫🤣 Why am I doing this?

 

[Terry]

1 hour ago, Stoichiometry said:

Micro maintenance challenge accepted! Have you polished the right clip-on under the throttle tube and then impregnated it with PTFE for low dry friction? 😵‍💫🤣 Why am I doing this?

 

OK you win this round. I have been known to polish the damper rod in the forks to reduce stiction, and also to polish the clutch push-rod. 

[Stoichiometry]

37 minutes ago, Terry said:

OK you win this round. I have been known to polish the damper rod in the forks to reduce stiction, and also to polish the clutch push-rod. 

Actually good idea about the clutch in particular.