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New VFR ideas


SportTouringCZ

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Hi everyone, 

I've just got my first VFR 800 5 gen., model year 2001.

The bike has exhaust done by previous owner but otherwise is stock and in good condition.

After the first preventive maintenance (oil,coolant, filters, brake fluid /clutch fluid, chain & sprockets, tires) what are the first steps you've taken?

I am thinking about VFRness to lighten the load on charging system, new tires and helibars...

Any other suggestions / good mods for vfr? 

Thanks in advance 

STcz 

 

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That's a good list of preventive maintenance items, I guess.  My recent experience with two low-miles 5th Gen bikes was that the long-term maintenance items hadn't been done either, things like the fork oil and the fork seals were original to the bike, and the valves had never been checked/adjusted. 

 

And when a bike gets to being 17+ years old at some point you need to do more than just flushing/filling the brakes.  Instead  you need to clean out the sludge that builds up in the brake reservoirs and inside the brakes themselves.  Also inside the clutch master and slave.

 

Yes, do the VFRness.

 

And what's the status of the bike's thermostat?  Is it original to the bike?  The 5th Gen thermostat doesn't last forever, and when it fails it can do it in any mode: stuck full closed, stuck full open, only moving a little bit between to sticking points.

 

And if you go for the thermostat, you might as well replace the O-rings in the coolant connections to the front and rear cylinder heads, and replace the short hoses that connect to them, if you don't they tend to start slow-leaking when you try to go cheap by reinstalling the old ones after you replace the thermostat.

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16 hours ago, gig said:

Congrats. How many miles, pics?   

Thank you. Around 33K miles and everything seems to be OK. From the technical point of view. I just want to do all the maintenance so that I know that I´ve started the maintenance Schedule correctly.
I will post photos as soon as she is in garage. Right now the bike is at its previous owners house. ;)

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14 hours ago, GreginDenver said:

That's a good list of preventive maintenance items, I guess.  My recent experience with two low-miles 5th Gen bikes was that the long-term maintenance items hadn't been done either, things like the fork oil and the fork seals were original to the bike, and the valves had never been checked/adjusted. 

Thank you for that idea with fork oil. Thanks to that coolant came to my mind which is also gonna go :D

The seals are good as new so I supppose the oil is in the same state as the seals themselves.

14 hours ago, GreginDenver said:

 

And when a bike gets to being 17+ years old at some point you need to do more than just flushing/filling the brakes.  Instead  you need to clean out the sludge that builds up in the brake reservoirs and inside the brakes themselves.  Also inside the clutch master and slave.

So basically do it myself or stand behind the mechanic to make sure he does it how it´s supposed to be done. :)

14 hours ago, GreginDenver said:

Yes, do the VFRness.

I think I have to because the alternator and regulator is original.

Do you think the VFRness can save the factory setup or is it just going to delay the inevitable?

14 hours ago, GreginDenver said:

 

And what's the status of the bike's thermostat?  Is it original to the bike?  The 5th Gen thermostat doesn't last forever, and when it fails it can do it in any mode: stuck full closed, stuck full open, only moving a little bit between to sticking points.

Definetly original so one more item to add to shopping list (in the future )

14 hours ago, GreginDenver said:

 

And if you go for the thermostat, you might as well replace the O-rings in the coolant connections to the front and rear cylinder heads, and replace the short hoses that connect to them, if you don't they tend to start slow-leaking when you try to go cheap by reinstalling the old ones after you replace the thermostat.

I haven´t really had the chance to look "inside" the bike. Are they the ones which connect to "wax" unit and regulate cold start?

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Here's what I did to both of my 5th Gens when I got them:

 

http://vfrworld.com/threads/refurbishing-my-99-5th-gen.52488/

 

I got the '99 5th Gen in December of 2016, it was the first of my two 5th Gen bikes (I keep one here in Denver Colorado and the other one is in Huntsville Alabama where I spend a lot of time).  The thread I linked you to covers my refurbishment efforts on the '99 5th Gen.  A year later, in the fall of 2017, I found an '01 5th Gen and did most of the same things to it.

 

In the "refurbishing" thread you'll see pictures of the coolant O-rings.

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The VFRness is an excellent product but there's a thread on here somewhere called "the drill": nothing like having the original loom in optimum condition and the known typical gremlins future proofed.

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On 1/29/2018 at 4:59 PM, GreginDenver said:

Here's what I did to both of my 5th Gens when I got them:

 

http://vfrworld.com/threads/refurbishing-my-99-5th-gen.52488/

 

I got the '99 5th Gen in December of 2016, it was the first of my two 5th Gen bikes (I keep one here in Denver Colorado and the other one is in Huntsville Alabama where I spend a lot of time).  The thread I linked you to covers my refurbishment efforts on the '99 5th Gen.  A year later, in the fall of 2017, I found an '01 5th Gen and did most of the same things to it.

 

In the "refurbishing" thread you'll see pictures of the coolant O-rings.

Greg, I really appreciate your efforts. My newly acquired ‘98 is in a very similar condition and was planning on pulling it down and going through it. You addressed things I had questions about. Thank you. 

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On ‎29‎. ‎1‎. ‎2018 at 11:59 PM, GreginDenver said:

Here's what I did to both of my 5th Gens when I got them:

 

http://vfrworld.com/threads/refurbishing-my-99-5th-gen.52488/

 

I got the '99 5th Gen in December of 2016, it was the first of my two 5th Gen bikes (I keep one here in Denver Colorado and the other one is in Huntsville Alabama where I spend a lot of time).  The thread I linked you to covers my refurbishment efforts on the '99 5th Gen.  A year later, in the fall of 2017, I found an '01 5th Gen and did most of the same things to it.

 

In the "refurbishing" thread you'll see pictures of the coolant O-rings.

You sir are my hero. I have seen this thread before and I plan on using it as a guide.
So thank you twice!

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Hi everybody.
Thank you for the suggesions.

I have found "The Drill" thread and will do it over the weekend along with oil + filter change and chain clean up lubrication. Next comes the VFRness which should be on its way very soon.

I will do a coolant change and maybe an air filter change next weekend (depends on what I´ll find on saturday :) ) .

I have decided to use Repsol and Honda OEM products in the beginning apart from oil filter (which will be K&N).

Comming up are: Fork oil and bushings maintenance and tires.

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I have promised some photos so here they are.

btw: I know that is NOT an Akrapovic can. It is Viper (UK version) and the sticker had been put there by previous owner (and it looks kinda cool so I´ll keep it that way ) . The original exhaust tip is safely stored in my wardrobe for MOTs

VFRfront.JPG

VFRhandle.JPG

VFRleft.JPG

VFRviper.JPG

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7 hours ago, SportTouringCZ said:

Hi everybody.
Thank you for the suggesions.

I have found "The Drill" thread and will do it over the weekend along with oil + filter change and chain clean up lubrication. Next comes the VFRness which should be on its way very soon.

I will do a coolant change and maybe an air filter change next weekend (depends on what I´ll find on saturday :) ) .

I have decided to use Repsol and Honda OEM products in the beginning apart from oil filter (which will be K&N).

Comming up are: Fork oil and bushings maintenance and tires.

 

Keep that K&N junk away from your lovely motorcycle... especially the oil filters! K&N - Strong marketing, weak filtration :491:

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-product-news/kn-recall-oil-filter-due-leak-risk

https://www.google.com/search?num=50&safe=off&ei=kIl8WqioG5LM_Abh5KTAAg&q=k%26n+oil+filter+failure&oq=k%26n+oil+filter+failure&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.11701.13221.0.13348.9.4.1.4.5.0.91.344.4.4.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.9.356...0i22i30k1j33i160k1.0.TFpLPp_uXXg

https://www.knfilters.com/recallkn204

 

 

 

 

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21 hours ago, adkfinn said:

Than you for the compliment, I´ll tell her :)
I didn´t know about the recall, will check the batch number when I get home today. Can you recommend filters for future reference?

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1 hour ago, SportTouringCZ said:

Than you for the compliment, I´ll tell her :)
I didn´t know about the recall, will check the batch number when I get home today. Can you recommend filters for future reference?

 

Honda branded will be a safe bet. https://www.partzilla.com/product/honda/15410-MFJ-D01?ref=3df7684fa1d86c590364bdadaf9eb276024162eb

I have used the HiFloFiltro filters and think they are good quality at a good price: https://www.denniskirk.com/hiflofiltro/oil-filter-hf303.p303909.prd/303909.sku 

Not what what others are using, I haven't had my VFR long enough to run through a bunch of filters. Good luck! 

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16 hours ago, adkfinn said:

 

Honda branded will be a safe bet. https://www.partzilla.com/product/honda/15410-MFJ-D01?ref=3df7684fa1d86c590364bdadaf9eb276024162eb

I have used the HiFloFiltro filters and think they are good quality at a good price: https://www.denniskirk.com/hiflofiltro/oil-filter-hf303.p303909.prd/303909.sku 

Not what what others are using, I haven't had my VFR long enough to run through a bunch of filters. Good luck! 

HiFlo have been recommended to me yesterday by a friend of mine who uses them for years so I guess they are my next choice (both oil filters and air filters)

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Having purchased five fifth gens, one constant has been the steering head bearings. Every one required replacement. One needed them as early as 28,000 miles. Honda used ball bearings as oem. My experience is they don't last very long.

Test:

- put the bike on the center stand.

- have someone press down on the rear of the seat to elevate the front end off the ground. Or put a couple of concrete blocks on the back of the bike. I put a small piece of plywood down to protect the seat.

- slowly rotate the bars lock-to-lock (all the way one way then all the way opposite). If the bearings need replacing there will be a detectable "notch" in the center of the movement.

 

My local Honda shop recommended All Balls tapered roller bearings.

 

This seems to be a permanent solution. The tapered bearings have never needed replacement.

 

A little background: my first fifth gen (KIA'd by first deer crash at 105,000 miles) was experiencing front end vibrations at around 75,000 miles. My local Honda shop tech suggested it was probably a cupped front tire. It was replaced with a new one and the vibration remained. So he did the front end elevation and had me feel the notch. It was pronounced.

 

On the 28,000 mi. bike I could feel front end vibration in long sweepers at freeway speeds. Tested. Big notch. 

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Hi again, 

I started working on the bike today.

So far I have taken down the fairaings, finished " the drill" (all good except the idle volts are higher than mentioned in "the drill". Is it going to be ok?).

I have spent the rest of my time with VFR cleaning the chain ( you cannot imagine how bad it was)

...

I discovered three problems during the cleanup 

1) missing plastic clips on some fairings (no problem, will buy them soon)

2) when i was putting the rear sprocket back on the bike, I noticed one of the bolts was stripped  ( I will replace all the bolts and nuts during the chain and sprocket change)

3) the bolt I have circled on the photo has been turning freely...  I can pull it out but it doesn't fall out. Question is what happened? Stripped thread or broken bolt? What can I do in both cases?

_20180210_223723.JPG

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Possibility: the bolts are different lengths. It is possible you have them in the wrong holes. Suggest you take all three out, compare lengths and try them all to see if you can get all three to fit.

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/motorcycle/2001/vfr800fi-a-interceptor/left-crankcase-cover

look at part numbers 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 in this diagram. (I'm going from my infamous memory.)

Good luck.

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Fortunately it was the first case. MaxSwell should get a medal.

There are two long bolts and one short. I didn't even suspect that one of the bolts would be longer by a few threads. Well it is...

VFR now has fresh oil, filter and coolant so thank you for your help!!!!

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Btw : i did the bearing check when I was buying the motorcycle and of course the bearings were shot :-) 

Thanks for the recommendation of All balls tapered bearings I will definitely buy them.

They are next on my naughty list along with a few missing bolts and fasteners + possibly fuel filter (although the tank is as clean as new). In a few months I' l'l do chain and sprockets, tires and forks but that is material for another thread.

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23 hours ago, SportTouringCZ said:

Fortunately it was the first case. MaxSwell should get a medal.

There are two long bolts and one short. I didn't even suspect that one of the bolts would be longer by a few threads. Well it is...

VFR now has fresh oil, filter and coolant so thank you for your help!!!!

That's what we all here for; get a little help, give a little help. Good luck with your restoration. It will be worth it. 

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