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WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY TO YOUR VFR 6TH GEN ?


VFRUNNER

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31 minutes ago, Urbanengineer said:

RIP your distance vision. 

I thought they were better all round? They certainly have been a massive improvement on my car and the amount of light they put out over the old halogens when i tried them last night was much higher, admittedly one halogen was bust.

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On 9/17/2018 at 8:17 AM, Urbanengineer said:

Boy... the speeds you ride... please get some riding pants lol.  

Lol.  Those are ‘tactical pants’, I should be fine. 😐

 

I have a nice two piece A* suit, that seems to have shrunk. I’ll have to try and remedy that situation. 

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29 minutes ago, anth85 said:

I thought they were better all round? They certainly have been a massive improvement on my car and the amount of light they put out over the old halogens when i tried them last night was much higher, admittedly one halogen was bust.

I spend a lot of time retrofitting different light types into headlights. 

 

LED drop in bulbs still have too much foreground, and not enough distance hot spot or width to be used for night use. 

 

Issue with LED is the same with HID in reflector housings. To be best used these need specific housings to do well. 

 

Feel free to post some wall shots, but usually LED drop ins actually reduce your night vision 😞

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I tend to agree with you on drop-in LED bulbs, but for my money, most projectors (even OEM) have the opposite problem. That nice sharp line looks cool, but I'd rather have a more gradual cut-off. I've been thinking about a quad beam setup: a set of drop in LED H4's to fill in paired with a set of LED projectors for the depth, all with a slightly below stock current load.

 

Another less than useful trend I've noticed in vehicular lighting is the love everyone has for the "cold" hue. They seem brighter because the glare is more irritating to our eyes, but if you actually look at what they illuminate on the road, the only thing that is more visible is reflectors, road signs and the lines on the pavement. The further into the spectrum you go, the more it gets like a black-light: you can really see something white, but that black lab that just ran out in the road is entirely invisible. Just my own opinion with no data to back it up, but I'm fairly confident scientific testing would support me.

 

Edit: Oh, and I haven't done crap with my VFR today... this was a guitar project day instead. Gotta juggle the hobbies!

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12 hours ago, Marvelicious said:

I tend to agree with you on drop-in LED bulbs, but for my money, most projectors (even OEM) have the opposite problem. That nice sharp line looks cool, but I'd rather have a more gradual cut-off. I've been thinking about a quad beam setup: a set of drop in LED H4's to fill in paired with a set of LED projectors for the depth, all with a slightly below stock current load.

 

Another less than useful trend I've noticed in vehicular lighting is the love everyone has for the "cold" hue. They seem brighter because the glare is more irritating to our eyes, but if you actually look at what they illuminate on the road, the only thing that is more visible is reflectors, road signs and the lines on the pavement. The further into the spectrum you go, the more it gets like a black-light: you can really see something white, but that black lab that just ran out in the road is entirely invisible. Just my own opinion with no data to back it up, but I'm fairly confident scientific testing would support me.

 

Edit: Oh, and I haven't done crap with my VFR today... this was a guitar project day instead. Gotta juggle the hobbies!

Glad you are educated on the topic. I agree I only run 4300k which is as close to Halogen color as you can get... which is best vision. I do the rings and demon eyes and stuff for looks though I love that stuff.

 

i also have a similar belief that the sharp cutoff is too harsh for biikes. I swap my clear lenses out for fresnel coated/lined lenses so it’s more foggy but still amazing output. It’s super nice. 

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You have definitely had a struggle with your VFR. I haven't been able to provide any real insight on any of your troubles, but I have been following them. 

 

I've had a couple of issues with mine, but nothing beyond routine 12-year-old bike stuff and fixing Honda's underbuilt electrical system. I rebuilt the charging system earlier this year in response to a crispy stator connector. Nice heavy wires from the stator, wired straight to the connector on the series R/R, and heavy power and ground from there to battery and frame, all contacts doped with Ox-gard and all connectors sealed with dielectric grease. It's comforting to have it be the reliable machine it should have been from the factory. 

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I've put a lot of thought into the troubles that the 6th gen has with the charging system. The 5th was already on the edge, but then they did several things that made it into a perfect storm.

1)They added even more capacity to the stator. There is a reason GoldWings have a car alternator.

2) The VTEC motor has less oil flowing to the stator to keep it cool.

3)They moved the R/R up under the fairing in a much warmer location, which is extra warm on a VFR. Outliers like your bike notwithstanding, I don't see any particular mechanical problem with the temps our motors run. Honda runs most of their car engines at hotter temps because the ideal temp for emissions is a bit hotter than the ideal temp for power. If we didn't have an overtaxed r/r sharing a space with that big warm engine block, it wouldn't be an issue. 

 

When everything is in good condition, it manages to work... but there isn't much margin for error and a failure of any one piece (stator, r/r or wiring) tends to damage the other pieces. It would have helped if Honda had moved to a mosfet r/r, and to a series as soon as they were available. Better regulation means the stator itself stays cooler as well.

 

I also think that the VTR fan actually helps the charging system: rather than pulling outside air in through the left side radiator and bringing heat into that space, it pulls cooler air in from underneath. It's arguable whether it really cools the motor better (yes at one speed, no at another) but I'm fairly sure it cools the r/r better.

 

I also played around a bit with a lower temp fan switch, but I wasn't satisfied with the option I tried. I forget the temp I used (though it seemed to activate slightly lower than advertised), but it just fought the wax thermostat. I bought another one rated between that and the stock, but I haven't bothered to try it yet. It's more scientific curiosity than fixing a problem at this point.

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My two cents, for what it is worth: I don't really think straight water is a good choice... theoretically, water transfers more heat than coolant, but the whole system is designed to run above water friendly temps. Even with a good radiator cap holding pressure, you're just going to be fighting with steam pockets. I don't run anything particularly magical in mine, just the same Zerex Asian Formula that I run in all my rigs from that side of the pond. It's premixed, relatively cheap, has the right inhibitors and it is available just about everywhere.

 

I've read the Engine Ice marketing hype, but never tried it for myself. The reality is, if you can't get the stock system to cool in a relatively mild climate with a conventional coolant, there is something else in play here. These bikes run hot, but not that hot.

 

The VTR fan is just a drop-in that swaps onto your stock fan motor. Theoretically, it should cool slightly worse while not moving (because the stock version pulls cooler air from outside the left radiator) and slightly better at low speeds because the natural airflow should be from the center out through the radiators. That said, I've seen people assert that the shape of the fairings create a natural airflow that is actually in through both radiators and down underneath the bike. Since I don't have a wind tunnel handy, my gut says that the first one is accurate. Maybe I should tailgate someone in an extra smoky diesel and find out... Either way, I've ridden mine occasionally over the 100 degree mark and once I'm above around 35mph or so, the fan never runs. In fact, I had a stuck-open thermostat for a while and the reason I noticed is because at speed my temps wouldn't climb above 185 in what I consider reasonable weather.

 

I really do hope you work out what the problem is. It's frustrating to see you fighting so much with the same bike that has brought many of us so much joy.

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12 hours ago, Urbanengineer said:

Bought the VFR a buddy for winter 😁. Hopefully winter work gets the VFR fixed up and then I can resell this bad boy for a nice profit. 

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Cute. Even has racing stickers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding!  Dig it. I’ve always wanted one. 

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2 hours ago, VARIABLE9 said:

Cute. Even has racing stickers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding!  Dig it. I’ve always wanted one. 

Haha. Yeah a solid deal came up and I couldn’t pass it up. It wheelies it fourth gear. Quite the joy For an enthusiast... but you can barely have legal fun. 

 

Thats why I like the VFR it feels fast at lower speeds 😎. If only whatever I screwed up got fixed. 

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What is going on with your VFR @Urbanengineer?  The mechanic has had it for a week.  (I know, probably not enough time.)

 

I would agree on the VFR versus full bore sport bike. I could’ve gotten an average / used R1 around here for *less* than I paid for my VFR, but being able to hit 170mph on the interstate and not being able to see its handling potential on average backroads seemed both exciting and limiting. I’ve already gone stupid fast on bikes and in cars both on and off track, so being able to be comfortable (👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻), go decent fast (or to your point feel like I am 😀), and handle ok (for now 🤔) seemed to make a lot more sense. 

 

Good luck with the Yamaha. I’ve had a number of them over the decades and enjoyed every one. Wish I hadn’t sold most of them. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, VARIABLE9 said:

What is going on with your VFR @Urbanengineer?  The mechanic has had it for a week.  (I know, probably not enough time.)

 

I would agree on the VFR versus full bore sport bike. I could’ve gotten an average / used R1 around here for *less* than I paid for my VFR, but being able to hit 170mph on the interstate and not being able to see its handling potential on average backroads seemed both exciting and limiting. I’ve already gone stupid fast on bikes and in cars both on and off track, so being able to be comfortable (👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻), go decent fast (or to your point feel like I am 😀), and handle ok (for now 🤔) seemed to make a lot more sense. 

 

Good luck with the Yamaha. I’ve had a number of them over the decades and enjoyed every one. Wish I hadn’t sold most of them. 

 

 

They make a solid bike. I sold that R6 in the spring and really wanted to try more haha. I have a track day scheduled for Saturday this week now, but I’ll need to swap out the K&N filter (oil) because these orgs don’t allow them anymore. 

 

And yeah... it’s about feeling fast and the VFR does that well. It handles great for its weight. 

 

It really is incredible how quickly you can go from the speed limit to Triple the limit though, and small culverts (raises) in the road are now a danger! Like when we crest the hills in the back roads in fourth gear i’m Lifting at 5k RPM 😱. It’s joyous as hell, but I can’t keep it or I’m losing my license lmao. 

 

Honda has this deal near me where if you go by the $75 flat rate... you are placed last on the list. Fine by me no rush. 

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@Urbanengineer yep there’s an old racing friend that has a Crossplane. Regularly wheelies even small crests at speed. But my SV would outpace on backroads in the twisties. 

 

Hey I mentioned I had an SV for sale somewhere. You could’ve picked it up for a trackday bike. 💰

 

Send pics from trackday, have some fun!

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6 hours ago, VARIABLE9 said:

@Urbanengineer yep there’s an old racing friend that has a Crossplane. Regularly wheelies even small crests at speed. But my SV would outpace on backroads in the twisties. 

 

Hey I mentioned I had an SV for sale somewhere. You could’ve picked it up for a trackday bike. 💰

 

Send pics from trackday, have some fun!

I think when when I do get a dedicated track bike it will be a small one like the 650 Ninja. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I rode 100mi round trip for some errands today. Mostly slab. Still felt good though. Gave me a chance to put my new MZS levers through their paces and they seemed to work like levers.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Aired up the vfr’s tires, looked the bike over and took the NT700V for a ride.   Vfr needs tires, the contimotions still have tread but the front has become super sensitive to pavement seems and irregularities.    Time for a change, looking to try a set of Bridgestone t30 evo tires on the Vfr.   I have a set on the NT and they are great.    

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Yesterday I did a one day 945 mile round trip NJ to OH and back in my auto, and the whole time I was thinking I should’ve stretched it out to a thousand and done it on the VFR as an IronButt. 

So today I’m out on the VFR just for fun. It’s crisp out, but nice to be riding. 

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