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23K+ Km And A Possible Dct Failure?


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Sunday 03.03

So...there I was....on my return trip from a Biker Event about 1000km from home.

About 200km to go I start feeling a very very slight vibration through my handle bars.

I stop my music and start paying some more attention to what's happening to the bike. I listen but can't really hear anything.....I am doing about 150km/hr. Slow down some and the vibrations increase.....I can also hear a strange sound. My first thought are of my front wheel bearings.

So I slow down some more and come to a stop to have a closer look at the front wheel. Strange thing happens as I come to a stop..the bike goes off. Oh well, what to do. I get off, put the bike up on the centre stand and have a look/feel of the front wheel. All appears ok. So I start the bike again and the knocking/crashing/grinding sound that greets me causes my heart to sink.

I am not going anywhere now....well at least, not on the VFR.

Hire a minivan and load her up. About 2 hours later I am home and she is standing on the driveway. I can't bear to listen to her again so I go in and call it a day! But as I go to sleep, I am filled with thoughts of having to purchase a new engine! Sleep doesn't come easy!

Monday 03.04

Get to her and start a visual check.

Oil level? Check

Water level? Check

Electricals or DTC? All good

So I start her up again.

The noise is terrible...but I listen on and I am pleasantly surprised to hear that the sound appears to be coming from the rear of the engine/gearbox assembly. perhaps the engine is OK and its just a shaft or bearing in the gear box? I engage first and the response is normal and as would be expected.

So dissassembly starts! I figure that I might be able to do some investigation from the sides. Taking the clutch cover doesn't reveal much....and I realize I have no choice that to take the engine out of the frame and open her up.

As the day end I ponder on what might be wrong. Starting from what I know

1. noise comes with the engine running

2. gear selection appears to be "normal"

3. noise appears to be coming from the rear of the engine/gearbox assembly.

I figure that its either the countershaft or the main shaft thats screwed up.

Tomorrow, I will share what I found.

Uploading the video with her running this morning. Will share the link when the upload is ready.

Has anyone had any experience with the DCT like this or similar?

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Still trying to upload the video...we will see how that goes.

So the pictures say the story.....for now.

Fillings in the sump. Strange because I have only every serviced the bike with genuine Honda filters and I use the synthetic oil recommended by the shop I bought the bike from (I actually bought 6 4-liter cans along with the bike). My service interval is 5000km and I always change both the oil and the DCT filter.

What could have gone wrong???

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It is with a heavy heart that I inform us all of the worst.

I have a damaged crack-shaft.

Piston 1 appears to have lost its bearings somewhere along the line and the pictures say the rest.

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That sucks!

I hope you have warranty coverage for this.

I'd be interested in finding out if anyone else has reported a similar issue.

Best of luck to you in getting this sorted out.

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Guest Stroman

I guess you are aware of the issue some of the early bikes had with swarf in the engine left over from the manufacturing process? No idea if this is what's happened in your engine but is it possible swarf may have blocked an oil feed to the big end bearing? Some of those chips in the sump look quite big to me.

Edited by Stroman
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Oh man... That's rough. :sad:

Keep us posted on the fix.

I guess you are aware of the issue some of the early bikes had with swarf in the engine left over from the manufacturing process? No idea if this is what's happened in your engine but is it possible swarf may have blocked an oil feed to the big end bearing?

What's that all about Stroman?

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I think if he still had warranty, he would not have disassembled the bike in the first place.

Sorry for your luck.

Maybe if the damage is only confined to that one bearing, if you are lucky, you could get the crankshaft turned down, and use an undersized bearing, thoroughly clean the rest of the engine, and reassemble.

You didn't ride it too long after the noise, so perhaps it's possible to save it.

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Guest Stroman

Yokel, there was a batch of early bikes recalled in the UK for inspection by Honda after they discovered swarf in some engines. I think the technicians checked the oil ways with a boroscope. Not sure if it applies to models sold in the US. Lots of threads on the problem if you Google it.

From Honda:

Honda is aware that some customers have experienced an abnormal engine noise with their VFR1200F.

This was referred to Hondas technical team for investigation, who found aluminium swarf (small shavings of metal) present in some VFR1200F engines. This issue potentially affects only VFR1200Fs manufactured over an identified and specific period of time. In total there are 392 potentially affected machines in the UK.

Honda has notified VOSA and a recall is now in progress for the selected VFR1200F models, as the swarf could cause a potential problem with the engine and, in the worst case, possible engine seizure, due to the aluminium swarf restricting the engine oil passage in certain conditions.

All registered owners of possibly affected machines will be contacted by Honda shortly and advised to contact their local authorised Honda Motorcycle dealer.

An inspection of all the potentially affected machines will be carried out by checking the oil gallery for aluminium swarf. If no swarf is found then no further action will be necessary. If any swarf is found a new replacement engine assembly will be fitted.

Honda would like to reassure that our customers concerns and our engineering quality standards are taken seriously and treated as priority and we apologise to customers affected by this issue for any disappointment or inconvenience caused.

Should customers have any further concerns, we would advise them to firstly contact their local Honda dealer or contact Hondas Recall Line on 0845 200 8002, open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

Edited by Stroman
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Even if it is out of warranty, I would file a complaint with Honda. You never know. They have reps with policy money and could always get an engine out of the deal because of the low mileage. Or maybe 1/2 the cost of a new one or something. It's worth a shot.

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:1: ,000

Definately contact the local Honda Rep.

You may be pleasantly surprised by what Honda does to stand behind their product and those who purchase it.

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Thanks for the support guys!

Several constraints I have.....I am Nigeria in Africa.....bike was bought from a dealer in the UK.

Apparently, my warranty is only valid in the EU zone.

However, my dealer, Doble in the UK, has promised to see what can be done so I am hoping for the best. I dont even want to think of having to rebuild that V4 lump.

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Guest Stroman

Good luck. I suppose it's possible your bike missed out on the recall with you being overseas. I bought an early dct and rang Honda at the time providing them with the chassis number, they confirmed that the inspection work had been carried out. Might be worth a call so they can check if yours was one of the affected batch, or perhaps Double can do it for you.

Edited by Stroman
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My buddy's Kawasaki ZX-12r ate a main bearing just outside warranty. Apparently some of the bikes had tight bearings fitted at the factory.

He contacted Kawasaki, and they provided free parts, he paid for the dealer's labour. Better than nothing.

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Rotten luck mate, I hope someone can come to the table and help you out.

Failing the dealer in the UK, I'd be inclined to write to Honda (UK/JP) directly.

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Guest sanemancured

I couldn't listen, had to turn it off as it was so awful. Worlds first diesel VFR1200F?

Here's hoping it's sorted for you soonest.

Peter

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Man when was the last time anyone saw a VFR with a chewed up crankshaft, eh? A rare thing indeed, and it looks like Honda really did have some machining issues with some early bikes.

Glad I didn't buy one of the leftover 2010 VFR1200s - if the 2012 model was here I could have easily bought one of those over the K1300R at the time.

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