Jump to content

Improving the quality of my ride


Recommended Posts

2001 VFR800. 24K on the clock.
For ages now I have been trying to find a more modern bike with better suspension, but has an equally comfortable riding position to my modified bike.
I've tried more bikes than I can remember now, and so far, nothing is as comfortable as my current ride.
Current set up is:-
Straight bar conversion.
Foot pegs lowered by 25mm with rear brake and gear lever adapted to suit.
Sargent seat.

Therefore I am considering spending a reasonable amount of money to improve the handling.
I am a moderately fast rider on the road, and spend about 40% of my time with a pillion. Therefore I want remote adjustable preload on the rear.
I want to ideally strip out the front forks and clamps and change them for something from another bike which will allow me de-link the system. The reason for this is purely to allow me a wider choice of donor bikes.

Currently I have tried de-linking the front whist keeping the original fork setup, but that has proved disastrous, so put the original lines back on, but there is a lot of sponginess in the front brake lever. All calipers have been stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with new pads. No faults found to the front or the rear. I am about to replace all of the original lines with a Goodridge system in their original line up. I have also bought a replacement kit for the rear master cylinder as my back brake is nothing short of 'crap', on a good day.
The rear shock was replaced about a year ago with a Hagon unit with remote preload, and although it is an improvement on the original, I suspect it can be improved again.
I'm led to believe that sports bike front suspension systems have more adjustment.

So that's the background to this post, and my question is this.
 
 
lowered peg and gear lever.JPG
 
 
lowered peg and lever.JPG
 
1. Who has manged to replace the front end of their bike for the better?
2. Which donor bikes are available for this?
3. And who can I contact to have the work done for me?
 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Any manner of forks can be made to fit, it's just a question of how much research and development do you want to do coupled with what is readily available. SP1 have been done to death, therefore there is lots of info on swapping! That's why I did mine with SP1, and I haven't regretted it for a second. There has certainly been a plethora of forks come out since the early 2000s, and with radial brakes. Other choices include 6th gen forks with CBR internals. I forget which model CBR though, F3, F4, F4i? Also a different fork lower to remove the linked brakes. [See Post Below] That would keep your VFR's offset, which some VFR people are concerned with. Since you consider yourself "moderately fast" and are doing a fair amount of pillion, that could be a better choice. Less offset on sportier bikes makes them somewhat less stable, I believe is how it works. Less stable makes for easier turn in, not that they are "unstable" per se. 

With updated front suspension matched to your riding style and consideration for pillion rider, you may find your current rear shock is working better. It's often the case when changing only one from stock it's overworked trying to compensate for the other.

Can't help you with who to help since I'm on the wrong side of the pond, but maybe the UK riders will chime in. Maybe you'll even find one close enough who is willing to turn a spanner or two to help you do it yourself. 

By the way, I've never tried to "de-link" the OE system but it sounds like it isn't worth it. Just my opinion, as I know it's been successfully done. I chose to replace it entirely, though I suppose I technically de-linked the rear. Plenty of info out there on that as well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

I did my front end change in three phases:

1. Installed new cartridge components and springs from Daugherty Motorsports, kept the brakes stock. This had the biggest impact on front end ride quality.

2.Installed VTR1000F fork lowers and fork caps/damper rods and kept the VFR uppers, all the modified damper parts. Fitted CBR600F4 calipers and master. Fitted rear master from 600F4i and kept the rear caliper and twin hoses to a double banjo at the master. Made a bracket to hold the stock mudguard (MelloDude makes a nicer adapter plate). This option gave me de-linked brakes and added external rebound damping adjustability. IMHO 600Fi brakes aren't the best choice (powerful and a touch grabby), and CBR954RR calipers +03 CBR600RR master are a better combo. 

3. Fitted 43mm 600F4i forks, into 6G VFR triples and bars, 600F4 mudguard.Transferred the modified damper components, bought new springs to suit the new fork diameter. This added external compression damping adjustment, and the 600F4 forks are a larger diameter (stiffer) and appear to have less stiction with a different bushing design. 

All of the above used the stock wheel, discs, axle, spacers.

 

If you want to delink and improve the ride quality, I'd go straight to option 2 and stop there. I'm a suspension tinkerer and made it to option 3 without over-spending, maybe there is a 10% improvement over #2, which is 90% of the improvement over stock. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could try contacting these guys (they are in Stowmarket) and have a good reputation for suspension setup:

http://www.mctsuspension.com/Home.html 

 

A couple of friends have had their 1200's suspension upgraded by them and are very happy with the results.

They re-built an OEM rear shock for me (and refused to re-build another because the damper rod had a small stone chip in it)

 

I have Hyperpro(https://hyperpro.com) springs and heavier old in my forks and a Nitron(http://www.nitron.co.uk/) rear shock setup to my weight and riding style I'm happy with the setup although every time I have to adjust the shock for 2 up work I wonder about buying the remote adjuster.

My front brake is stong(EBC(https://ebcbrakes.com/) disks and pads, braided hoses), I can lock the front wheel and you already know my rear brake works fine(not that I have done anything special to it apart from replacing the sliding pin rubber boots which had swollen due to oil/grease contamination)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

I'd like to comment on the linked-brake arrangement on fifth gens. Motorcycle Consumer News (best in the business) used to publish data on used motorcycles twice a year. At the back of the article was a list of ten-best bikes in certain categories. For 60 mph to zero mph, the VFR800fi tied for 6th best at 108.something feet. Most mc publications reviewing motorcycles consider 120 feet 60 - 0 excellent.

 

And I've experienced that on several occasions. Having to shift to the shoulder with unexpected braking in front of me, I anticipated stopping past the bumper of the vehicle ahead of me. Instead I stopped well short of where I expected to. Fantastic!

 

A Honda mechanic and racer told me to use both brakes together all the time to even out brake pad wear and to maximize braking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
1 hour ago, MaxSwell said:

I'd like to comment on the linked-brake arrangement on fifth gens. Motorcycle Consumer News (best in the business) used to publish data on used motorcycles twice a year. At the back of the article was a list of ten-best bikes in certain categories. For 60 mph to zero mph, the VFR800fi tied for 6th best at 108.something feet. Most mc publications reviewing motorcycles consider 120 feet 60 - 0 excellent.

 

 

I have also seen the same article, I have a copy buried somewhere on my hard drive... but the bike that came in 4th or 5th, beat the viffer and braked at ~104 feet was my fat assed, 725 pound, Honda Valkyrie with the very basic pin slider calipers, front and rear. Brings a shit eating grin to my face. - See? Low tech can do the job too.  -- - The thing does brake damn hard when need be. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MaxSwell said:

For 60 mph to zero mph, the VFR800fi tied for 6th best at 108.something feet. Most mc publications reviewing motorcycles consider 120 feet 60 - 0 excellent.

 

My Celica weighs 2650 lbs (200 lbs or so lighter than a typical Civic from the same time period.) It has 4 massive disk brakes and performs 60 to 0 in 110 feet. For the VFR, with two thin tires, to perform better, to me is nothing short of unbelievable.

 

Note that Daffy commented on the lever feel, the typical complaint of VFR brakes. I get it if people want a race replica ON / OFF feel to the brakes (I do not). The OP's need, though, sounds different from improving braking distance.

 

Mello, you know that friction is calculated via weight. A big fat heavy bike has an advantage there, just like a car. Your point is valid but is also obvious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

And with a big long bike like the Valkyrie you don't have to worry too much about stoppies, so you can 

pretty much hammer the brakes right up to locking up point. And don't forget that big ol' contact patch. 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Most riders obtain results beyond their riding skills by having the stock forks and shock reworked by a reputable suspension tuner.  The remote preload adjuster will be a challenge - possibly requiring some custom work.  AFAIK a 6th gen ABS shock with the remote does not fit the 5th gen.   As Maxswell points out, the linked brakes will bring a VFR (or a BB for that matter) to a stop far quicker than most bikes out there.  For the average rider it's a brilliant system that allows for at least some application of the rear brake without undue risk of lockup.  True, it can be a pain to bleed, but following the steps in the FSM I've never had any issues with it.  Personally, I've always like the system on both my 5th and 6th gens. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.