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What did you do to your VFR Today?


weee06

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Installed a new seat cover - the original started cracking a few weeks ago, and all of a sudden, it was opening up in six or seven places throughout the seat. Looks better than stock and not nearly as slippery. Also did an oil change, coolant change and air filter. good to go for the summer. Also did coolant and oil on the RC51. 

 

Just realized this is in the 8th gen forum, must be the fumes from the contact cement on the seat cover...

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I just purchased a set of Michelin Road Pilot 2s from Amazon for $230. It will be another $100 to get them mounted. Doing a few burnouts to use up the original tires. 7500 miles on them, pretty old, so the burnouts are very easy and easier on the bike. Not much smoke, either. I haven't done a burnout since 1990-something on my GS1100. Not as much fun as I remember....

Purchased a NOS passenger pillion from Ebay for a very reasonable price. I just need to find the grab handles. I purchased the bike in October with 700 miles on it. It has the cowl set up.The dealer had less than zero interest in assisting with sourcing these items.

Tank bag and saddle bags for an upcoming road trip through Colorado and Utah to Las Vegas.

Next up is a tire hugger and steel braided brake lines. Although, I am considering moving up the 847 stator dealio in the pecking order.

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After a two week Covid-19 lockdown due again to Quarantine incompetence, and now with only a 25km distance from home tavel allowance.🤬

Did a basic service 84,000kms. Oil and filter, airfilter, fuelled her up and added a small bottle of injector cleaner, then went for a short run up the highway, and some back roads. Put an instant smile on my face. Love this baby and she continues to purr like a kitten. :fing02:

Cheers.:beer:

 

 

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51 minutes ago, VFR78 said:

Question Grum.
 

Are you still on the original wheel bearings? 

Yes Sir. No issues at all. Have you had bearing problems?

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No issues yet, but a local mechanic (cars) has suggested that sealed bearings are usually done by 60,000kms. 
 

I’m heading off on a 9,000km trip into Central OZ in August and was wondering if new bearings should be on the “to do” list before heading off.

 

Currently, I’m just doing all the fluids, chain & sprockets, filters, tyres and brake pads.

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Hi Grum, first time 

11 hours ago, Grum said:

After a two week Covid-19 lockdown due again to Quarantine incompetence, and now with only a 25km distance from home tavel allowance.🤬

Did a basic service 84,000kms. Oil and filter, airfilter, fuelled her up and added a small bottle of injector cleaner, then went for a short run up the highway, and some back roads. Put an instant smile on my face. Love this baby and she continues to purr like a kitten. :fing02:

Cheers.:beer:

 

 

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Hi Grum, first time I have noticed the small HRC decal, is a Repsol one to follow? 🤔

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7 hours ago, Philois1984 said:

 

Hi Grum, first time I have noticed the small HRC decal, is a Repsol one to follow? 🤔

Hi Philois. How ya going up there in the warm north? Haha good observation Philois and no a Repsol one won't be following. It might be over 15years ago I acquired a set of Honda decals and stumbled across them not long ago, forgetting I had them. Thought I'd give the HRC a go seeing there was two of them, put them down low to be a little discrete! They can easily come off if I get sick of them.

Cheers.:fing02:

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10 hours ago, VFR78 said:

No issues yet, but a local mechanic (cars) has suggested that sealed bearings are usually done by 60,000kms. 
 

I’m heading off on a 9,000km trip into Central OZ in August and was wondering if new bearings should be on the “to do” list before heading off.

 

Currently, I’m just doing all the fluids, chain & sprockets, filters, tyres and brake pads.

Thats strange. Had a 1980 Mazda 6 did 320,000k,  ED Falcon another 300,000k a BA Falcon 265,000k. My partners current 2013 Mazda 3 123,000k.

Four VFR's, my previous 6gen sold with 94,000ks.

 

All of the above never needed wheel bearings!

 

However my partners 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer did chew out a front left bearing but can't remember the mileage.

Are you only referring to the front wheel bearings? And how many k's have you done? Pop the bike on the centre stand and have someone push on the rear to raise the front, give the wheel a spin, it should be smooth and free spinning, you may need to remove the calipers to check this.

 

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12 minutes ago, Grum said:

Thats strange. Had a 1980 Mazda 6 did 320,000k,  ED Falcon another 300,000k a BA Falcon 265,000k. My partners current 2013 Mazda 3 123,000k.

Four VFR's, my previous 6gen sold with 94,000ks.

 

All of the above never needed wheel bearings!

 

However my partners 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer did chew out a front left bearing but can't remember the mileage.

Are you only referring to the front wheel bearings? And how many k's have you done? Pop the bike on the centre stand and have someone push on the rear to raise the front, give the wheel a spin, it should be smooth and free spinning, you may need to remove the calipers. 

 

 

From the members I've seen here that needed new front wheel bearings they had seen more than occasional rain.  Washing a bike with profuse amounts of water the way one would bathe a car is probably also not good for bearing's longevity and by no means ever pressure wash a bike.  As Grum said, they should go a good long way and will give some signs of feeling rough before catastrophic failure.  When the wheel is off, use an index finger to press in firmly and turn the races slowly.  If there's no roughness and they're silent you should be good to go. 

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7 minutes ago, Cogswell said:

Washing a bike with profuse amounts of water the way one would bathe a car is probably also not good for bearing's longevity and by no means ever pressure wash a bike

 

Good point here. Keep high pressure water washers well away from bearing areas. They will definitely prematurely destroy bearings.

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30 minutes ago, Grum said:

Thats strange. Had a 1980 Mazda 6 did 320,000k,  ED Falcon another 300,000k a BA Falcon 265,000k. My partners current 2013 Mazda 3 123,000k.

Four VFR's, my previous 6gen sold with 94,000ks.

 

All of the above never needed wheel bearings!

 

However my partners 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer did chew out a front left bearing but can't remember the mileage.

Are you only referring to the front wheel bearings? And how many k's have you done? Pop the bike on the centre stand and have someone push on the rear to raise the front, give the wheel a spin, it should be smooth and free spinning, you may need to remove the calipers to check this.

 

Only looking at the rear bearings. I replaced the fronts when I had the ding repaired and wheels painted. Just because it was simple to do. The back runs smoothly. Maybe my mechanic is talking out the other end. My FG2 XR6 has 102,000kms on it and he’s never looked at it’s bearings! The bike has 62,000kms on it and all seems good. Just concerned that if something goes wrong in the boonies I have to park it under a tree and catch a bus. 

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I’ve put a Kaoko and the low Motopumps on it for the trip. Years are catching up with me! I think the only benefit of the Motopumps might be in my head, not my body.

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6 minutes ago, VFR78 said:

Only looking at the rear bearings. I replaced the fronts when I had the ding repaired and wheels painted. Just because it was simple to do. The back runs smoothly. Maybe my mechanic is talking out the other end. My FG2 XR6 has 102,000kms on it and he’s never looked at it’s bearings! The bike has 62,000kms on it and all seems good. Just concerned that if something goes wrong in the boonies I have to park it under a tree and catch a bus. 

Your rear main bearing is more protected than the fronts. If it spins nicely and by grabbing the wheel and checking for any axial play, if thats ok then don't worry.

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On 5/18/2021 at 9:55 AM, Cogswell said:

Finally got around to fitting an 847 today.  I've had no problems with the 6th gen  OEM R/R but after 32,000 miles its output had become less stable. I have a Datel voltmeter and where it used to run at a steady 14.6v, it was moving around more between about 14.5v and 14.8v.  The latter was making me uneasy b/c if it begins to fail and spikes too high it can possibly affect the ECU.  This is an easier swap than I think widely believed and a great upgrade for the stator's life.  Got it from Jack at Roadstercycle.  The kit is really clean and very robust.  If you're not familiar, the 847 is a series regulator that only turns the stator on as needed vs OEM which runs the stator flat out at all times and shunts excess current off as heat.  There are more details on that topic on the Roadster website. 

 

This is Mello Dude's flip plate.  The 2 protruding bolts are carriage bolts that secure in square holes in the plate and mount the 847.  The 2 chamfered holes with the flathead screws mount to the stock 6th gen R/R mounting holes. 

 

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A minor issue on a 6th gen is the fairing stay (below).  If installed over the carriage bolt head, the stay will be pushed slightly out of position. To keep the stay in the correct place a stack of 3 washers was added to clearance the plate so it doesn't interfere with it.

 

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View of washer insert. 

 

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Final install, below.  Once the 847 is bolted to the plate it covers the 2 chamfered mounting bolts preventing them from backing out, so no need for Loctite or similar.  For the 847 mounting bolts I had 2 nuts with nylon locking collars laying around.  Once snug, this install is rock solid.  Note the wiring - very robust.  The connectors come crimped and sealed so very clean.  Note that now the stator connector will be on the stator side of the bike.  I ordered the 847 with 4 feet of battery wire and 3 feet of stator wire and sheathing for the stator wires.  The sheathing is not necessary, but does keep the wires bundled when threading them beneath the throttle body.   I trimmed the stator wires but left enough for a short loop inside the frame so that in the event of any damage to the wires or connectors I can pull a bit more through and re-connect.  The battery wire turned out to be too long, so rather than cut and re-connect, etc, I created a loop of wire  behind the rear cam cover and zip tied it.  The stock R/R connector can just be seen under the black 847 connector tucked behind the radiator mount post.   Just tape it off and leave it. 

 

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This is a comparison of the stock R/R with the 847.  The stock R/R initially confused me and I'm sure others with its multiple wires.  The two pair of red/white and green are duplicate wires as the gauge of the wires is less than desireable.  The 847 uses much heavier wires allowing for a single strand run of wire. 

 

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Part of my electrical system maintenance routine is to treat connectors with Oxgard and these were no exception. 

 

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My stator connectors are done with Posi-locks.  The nice thing about them is that their locking collars screw in to the connector barrel, making them field serviceable without tools and makes stator removal a snap.  I've run these on my stator for years with no issue. This is a spare set of various sizes I carry.  Co-incidentally the yellow ones are the gauge needed for the stator wires.  The 847 kit wiring has thicker insulation than typical, so I had to use a drill to open the collar diameter slightly - makes for a very rugged and tight fit.  The 847 is an easy bolt-on upgrade and IMHO would probably solve many owners' electrical gremlins.

 

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So now with some miles on the 847, an update.   Even tho this forum is 8th gen, maybe it still applies to someone that might want to go this direction.   Going down the road the '47 regulates to 14.5v very consistently, no complaints.  It also cleans up the wiring around the frame and is a clean installation, another plus.  OTOH, this unit displays some strange behavior at lower revs and at idle.  For context, I've checked out my (10,000 mile) stator for both resistance and voltage, at the 847 connector (to account for any drops across the connection to the stator).  It ohm's out perfectly, and voltages at 1,200, 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 rpm's are 20v, 30v, 40v, and 55v.  As far as I can tell those numbers are within specification of a properly functioning stator.  I took those readings on a 90 degree day after a long ride and the engine was well heat soaked. 

 

While I replaced my OEM R/R due to increased fluctuation to the high side (sometimes seeing 14.8v vs previously a very steady 14.6v), I never had any trouble with it at idle with either high beams on or the fan running.  I would get in the range of 13.3 to 13.5 volts with either going.  Not great, but not a concern, either as at least I know the battery is not being discharged. 

 

Enter the 847.  At 1,200 idle, I get battery voltage (12.8v) or less - 12.7v.  Here's the strange part.  Sometimes if I bring the revs up I get low 13's with it, sometimes not.  On one occasion while stopped I decided to continue increasing revs to see if I could get it in to the 13's - I finally gave up at 8,000.  At that point the stator is putting out what, 70 to 80 volts?  And the 847 can't regulate enough power for the voltage to be any better than the battery?  My lowly OEM R/R could do that . . .  Now maybe this isn't a big deal.  This could be going on for a lot of riders and they never know it b/c they don't have a volt meter (mine is a Datel with a 1 significant digit display).  Still stranger, other times it will bring up the voltage at low revs - after one stop light patiently watching the meter at 12.7v, traffic began moving and at under 3,000 rpm in 1st gear it was showing 14.0v with the fan still running.  ???  I don't know if this somehow has something to do with 847's "switching the stator off and on" and it has trouble doing that under certain load conditions, or what.  I emailed Jack at Roadster Cycle (where I bought it) and he attributed it to low stator output.  Hmmm . . . sorry Jack, I don't think so.  A healthy stator at 8,000 rpm should provide enough amps at the voltage it's supplying to give the fan the watts it consumes - if the regulator can control it.  There's more to this story that I don't know.  Maybe this is how series regulators behave, not sure.  I cannot find anything about it in my research on it.  

 

The main worry about the low voltage with the fan going is because of the situation where this is likely to happen - idling in a traffic jam.  I can't let the engine overheat, and I don't want the battery going flat running the fan whilst the R/R is unable to regulate to sufficient voltage to at least prevent the battery from discharging.  If this happened with a heated vest, well, just turn the dumb thing off.  The added factor in all this is that I have HID headlights, and those consume significantly less power than the stock H4's, so there should be extra available to run the fan, but apparently not.  If H4's consume 55watts each, at 20v supplied that would be about 5 to 6 amps (someone please correct me if needed).  If the HID's are 70% of that, then call it 70 watts then call it 4 amps needed if the fan draws 30 watts for a total of 100w, plus what's needed to run the balance of the electrics (ECU, etc), then maybe the total consumption is 125 watts (just guessing).  At 20v , the stator would need to produce what,  6 to 7 amps, and Jack's telling me my low mile, verified stator can't produce 7 amps???  Well, maybe not . . .   Something isn't right with this.  I get it that voltage will drop as the draw increases - but I had a better time of it with the OEM R/R.  I've been over the wiring carefully, checked each connection, ohm'd them out - everything looks and tests out correct.  I don't have an ammeter - wish I did - that would tell me what I'm probably looking for - is it stator output, or is it the 847??

 

The silver lining in this is that if it does indeed run the stator cooler, then hopefully it will never end up BBQ'd as it did in the past.  And hopefully the 847's internals are more robust and likely to last longer than a typical shunt R/R.  

 

Sorry for my long rant - but now looking at it, would I make this swap again?  Right now I'm not sure - leaning toward "probably not".  It may have its advantages, but consistency of regulation, particularly at low rpm's is not one of them.  Hopefully it won't leave me stranded if I get caught in a long backup in hot weather.   

 

 

 

 

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Hi Cogs.

Further to my PM. Have you tried back probing the 3 phase into the R/R while connected. If you are seeing 20vac measuring with the plug removed at idle, it my well be less when plugged in. 

Nice install you've done. Would certainly try heatsink compound in between the R/R and mounting plate.

There could well be a chance the SH847 is faulty particularly if you can determine good AC input while connected to the R/R. It's own thermal protection could also be comming into play, rightly or wrongly. Trust you also have the genuine Shindengen version.

Don't have any experience with the SH847, but there appears to be very few complaints from those who have used the genuine item. The 847 should be the Rolls Royce of R/R's shame for some reason your not getting that performance.

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38 minutes ago, Grum said:

Hi Cogs.

Further to my PM. Have you tried back probing the 3 phase into the R/R while connected. If you are seeing 20vac measuring with the plug removed at idle, it my well be less when plugged in. 

Nice install you've done. Would certainly try heatsink compound in between the R/R and mounting plate.

There could well be a chance the SH847 is faulty particularly if you can determine good AC input while connected to the R/R. It's own thermal protection could also be comming into play, rightly or wrongly. Trust you also have the genuine Shindengen version.

Don't have any experience with the SH847, but there appears to be very few complaints from those who have used the genuine item. The 847 should be the Rolls Royce of R/R's shame for some reason your not getting that performance.


Grum, thanks for the suggestion - I'll give the volts AC a check while connected and see what it says.  Regarding the heat sink, there is some limitation to that with this swap.  The mounting plate adapter stands off slightly from the frame so there's no direct contact with the mounting plate to the frame.  Regarding thermal protection, it seems to have the fan on / low voltage idle issue after a cold start (I checked since I have the fan switch), so while a possibility, it seems unlikely.  As I mentioned, maybe I'm making too much of it.   What I may do is ship it back to the vendor and ask him to re-test it - he claims to test them all prior to shipping.  He seems like a stand up guy, we'll see.  I really want to like this unit - and when going down the road, I do!  But sitting in traffic, no so much.  I'll report back what the AC reading is. 

 

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1 hour ago, Grum said:

Hi Cogs.

Further to my PM. Have you tried back probing the 3 phase into the R/R while connected. If you are seeing 20vac measuring with the plug removed at idle, it my well be less when plugged in. 

Nice install you've done. Would certainly try heatsink compound in between the R/R and mounting plate.

There could well be a chance the SH847 is faulty particularly if you can determine good AC input while connected to the R/R. It's own thermal protection could also be comming into play, rightly or wrongly. Trust you also have the genuine Shindengen version.

Don't have any experience with the SH847, but there appears to be very few complaints from those who have used the genuine item. The 847 should be the Rolls Royce of R/R's shame for some reason your not getting that performance.

 

Grum,

 

Further update.  I successfully backprobed the stator wires at the R/R while connected to the R/R.  I have some alligator clips with solid core wire that make that easy.  Across all 3 pairs voltages were as follows:

 

1,200 rpm 14 to 15v

2,000 rpm  20v

5,000 rpm  44v

 

Those readings are 20% to 25% less than when I test them with the connector removed from the R/R (and the latter was done at the R/R connector, so the only variable is being attached to the R/R vs not).   Now the question is "would that be expected?".  Even if yes, it still doesn't explain the behavior of running up to high rpm and not having the voltage move with the fan running.  But, it could be a piece of the puzzle.  I am at a loss as how the series regulators work vs the shunt type. 

 

Many thanks

 

Cogs

 

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Well I could certainly understand that with only 14 to 15vac on the input, the R/R might struggle to regulate the output with load to 14.5vdc. Guess its all about the R/Rs minimum input operating voltage threshold. 

The other thing that could easily be checked, and its a long shot, but your main Red dc output wire fuse or c/b. You don't want to have any strange voltage drop across this device as the R/R needs to be monitoring your battery voltage under varying loads to regulate properly. So with the bike running and switching your fan on to load things up, Do You See Exactly the Same Voltage on each terminal of your Fuse or C/B? If not then you have a voltage drop situation, not good!

Like the idea of having Roadstercycle functionally test your R/R. If the test is good then there must be a stator issue you'd think!

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Sounds like what I just finished doing to my 99 VFR. Stater checks out good with static and running test. R/R checks out good. Its a newer SH689DA. Cut, soldered stater wires w heat shrink tube and added some electical tape. Wires and stator both get fairly warm not hot.

 

Negative cable was slightly loose on first inspection and LAC battery is roughly 4 yrs old. Replaced with heavier output LI battery. Ordering voltmeter next and FH020AA R/R as back up for future swap.

Adding new tires for Laguna Seca AMA races July 8-10. Conti motion rear and Conti Sport Attack front. 

Also bought new soft tail bag to replace my failed hard luggage rack. An overloaded 46L top box and very rough trucking corridor I have to ride to work are to blame. 

So now my back pack is worn. Good thing I recently lost 40 lbs. Haha. Cheers

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11 hours ago, Grum said:

Well I could certainly understand that with only 14 to 15vac on the input, the R/R might struggle to regulate the output with load to 14.5vdc. Guess its all about the R/Rs minimum input operating voltage threshold. 

The other thing that could easily be checked, and its a long shot, but your main Red dc output wire fuse or c/b. You don't want to have any strange voltage drop across this device as the R/R needs to be monitoring your battery voltage under varying loads to regulate properly. So with the bike running and switching your fan on to load things up, Do You See Exactly the Same Voltage on each terminal of your Fuse or C/B? If not then you have a voltage drop situation, not good!

Like the idea of having Roadstercycle functionally test your R/R. If the test is good then there must be a stator issue you'd think!

 

Grum, 

Thanks for the suggestions.  The c/b wiring has ring terminals to / from the breaker. As a test,  thinking I'll temporarily  move the hot wire directly to the battery to bypass the breaker to remove that from the equation - see what happens. 

Maybe it's just time for a stator rewind.  Darn these M/C charging systems - they should be more robust - they're barely adequate when they work properly. Seems like they could have designed a shaft driven alternator  with an internal regulator that's air cooled - like all cars have, and spared us all the headaches.

 

 

edit:

 

So removing the c/b from the circuit does seem to help - although this experiment was done at a cold start.  I could keep it around 1,500 to 1,750 rpm and get 14v with the fan going.  It's tough to isolate each variable - maybe heat soak is factoring in to this for the 847, thermo-regulating itself, or maybe it's just the c/b does not have sufficient capacity.   At any rate, I have a midi-fuse holder and some 30A fuses on the way - will try that and see if anything changes. 

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