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Hello from Germany


lomitelj

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Hi all,

to be precise, Dortmund area. At the moment I am not driving any motorcycle but I am currently in a search phase for a VFR800 RC46 after a drove one from a colleague at work. I've heard a lot of nice words about this forum so I hope that I'll blend in without any knowledge.

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Welcome to the asylum and good luck with your search. You've come to the right place for information on Honda V4s, once you get past all the lies, brags, and bovine droppings.

We will be waiting in wild anticipation of your first picture. Good luck with your search. Just remember fifth gens are the best and red is the fastest color. :tongue:

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Thank you all. Yes, riding is a better term, I'll try to keep it in mind. It is a little bit cold in Germany, so I beg you all for patience for those photos. But now, seriously, why is the fifth generation the best one? I must say that the sixth one looks somehow nicer with those exhaust pipes under tail. Or it was just a joke and there is no "bad" or "better" generation at all?

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31 minutes ago, lomitelj said:

Thank you all. Yes, riding is a better term, I'll try to keep it in mind. It is a little bit cold in Germany, so I beg you all for patience for those photos. But now, seriously, why is the fifth generation the best one? I must say that the sixth one looks somehow nicer with those exhaust pipes under tail. Or it was just a joke and there is no "bad" or "better" generation at all?

There is good-natured joking among generations on this site. And fifth generations are all I've ridden so I am biased.

 

From my point of view it is the most aerodynamic of the VFRs, is the last of the gear-driven cams and has the 6th best sixty to zero braking of all motorcycles at 108-point-something feet. Between 5th gens and 6th gens, especially with the under-seat-mounted mufflers, they weigh more and the weight is in the worst place, high and to the rear, raising and displacing the center of gravity from where it is ideally placed. They also gets better gas mileage. These are the ones that come to mine now; there are probably some I've forgotten.

 

As for the red, while it is called Italian Red, they do not call it Arrest Me Red for nothing. :wheel:

 

P.S. And, in my particular case, they seem to attract deer with a vengeance. I collected two within 11 months. :wheel::3::3:  

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Well @MaxSwell you made me think about it. Again. 😒 But in a good way. Thank you.

 

I have one request more. Is there any way to get some information what should I watch out for? There are some general things to look for, of course, but are there any special thing with this VFR800 to be checked during first test drive, before buying it? Any special sounds, unusal movements for example...? Or such a topic already exists here, on forum? If it is so, I apologize in advance.

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6 hours ago, lomitelj said:

Well @MaxSwell you made me think about it. Again. 😒 But in a good way. Thank you.

 

I have one request more. Is there any way to get some information what should I watch out for? There are some general things to look for, of course, but are there any special thing with this VFR800 to be checked during first test drive, before buying it? Any special sounds, unusal movements for example...? Or such a topic already exists here, on forum? If it is so, I apologize in advance.

 

Depending on age, all VFRs are likely to suffer from electrical problems.  Specifically, charging issues.  If you have a voltmeter, and the seller's permission, you could test the bike's charging system before you buy it.  What usually happens is that the seller has experienced a charging problem, tried to fix it by fitting various new components, but failed, and is then selling the bike!  Also, the charging problem often does not occur when the reg/rec is cold, so the tests really have to be done after a test ride, when the reg/rec is nice and hot.

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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Depending on age, all VFRs are likely to suffer from electrical problems.  Specifically, charging issues.  If you have a voltmeter, and the seller's permission, you could test the bike's charging system before you buy it.  What usually happens is that the seller has experienced a charging problem, tried to fix it by fitting various new components, but failed, and is then selling the bike!  Also, the charging problem often does not occur when the reg/rec is cold, so the tests really have to be done after a test ride, when the reg/rec is nice and hot.
 
Ciao,
 
JZH
Thank you very much. This is a big point.
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6 hours ago, JZH said:

 

Depending on age, all VFRs are likely to suffer from electrical problems.  Specifically, charging issues.  If you have a voltmeter, and the seller's permission, you could test the bike's charging system before you buy it.  What usually happens is that the seller has experienced a charging problem, tried to fix it by fitting various new components, but failed, and is then selling the bike!  Also, the charging problem often does not occur when the reg/rec is cold, so the tests really have to be done after a test ride, when the reg/rec is nice and hot.

 

It's not VFR specific so much as the shunt/SCR reg/recs that everyone used until ~10 years ago when the MOSFET type ones started coming out. They all fail. Possibly VFR's are so reliable otherwise that they do more miles! 🙂

 

The SCR's run hot when shunting and heat kills electronic components. I suspect more so than inline-4's etc because of the rear cylinder head/exhaust location as well (don't know about the later bikes but you can feel the heat *though* the seat on the RC24).

 

So there are a number of things to consider.

 

1) Add additional cooling for the reg/rec. I've seen suggestions of PC fans and the like along with additional heat sinks. 

2) Keep the lights on. I know most of us do anyway but the less it has to shunt the lower the heat input.

3) Replace it with a MOSFET reg/rec or even better a series reg/rec (SCR again  but despite being an SCR design they flow less current and for shorter duration so don't get as hot as the "shunt" type SCR regulators.) The "series" reg/recs also have the advantage of reducing the heat put into the stator which can prevent local hot spots (which lead to overheating, breakdown of the resin and eventual failure.)

 

 

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37 minutes ago, Fastdruid said:

 

It's not VFR specific so much as the shunt/SCR reg/recs that everyone used until ~10 years ago when the MOSFET type ones started coming out. They all fail. Possibly VFR's are so reliable otherwise that they do more miles! 🙂

 

The SCR's run hot when shunting and heat kills electronic components. I suspect more so than inline-4's etc because of the rear cylinder head/exhaust location as well (don't know about the later bikes but you can feel the heat *though* the seat on the RC24).

 

So there are a number of things to consider.

 

1) Add additional cooling for the reg/rec. I've seen suggestions of PC fans and the like along with additional heat sinks. 

2) Keep the lights on. I know most of us do anyway but the less it has to shunt the lower the heat input.

3) Replace it with a MOSFET reg/rec or even better a series reg/rec (SCR again  but despite being an SCR design they flow less current and for shorter duration so don't get as hot as the "shunt" type SCR regulators.) The "series" reg/recs also have the advantage of reducing the heat put into the stator which can prevent local hot spots (which lead to overheating, breakdown of the resin and eventual failure.)

 

 

 

Right on the money. 

Triumph Sprints and Aprillia Tuonos were notorious for cooking stators as were many other bikes. 

The 5G wiring was very marginal at best which made matters worse. 

Plenty of info here on what to do to permantly fix the problem. 

The new SCR type are the best option, but the MOSFET ones found on many bikes will make things much better and will last years as long as the wiring is upgraded. 

I've got a few MOSFET RRs from various R1's and FJR1300's with low kilometres that I picked up for under $50. 

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