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New to me 98 VFR 800 questions.


Noveraker

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Hello everyone glad to be here,

 

I recently bought a very clean 1998 VFR 800 with 36k on the clock. Hard to find them for cheap in my area while also being this clean. Came with stock windshield, exhaust, Honda service manual, another slip on exhaust, race cover, and a few other goodies. Sound like a good deal at $2400? Looked at another for $2100 with less miles but it sat for 6 years and the owner had to have the tank fixed from rust. Figure fork seals and things of the sort would be dry and go bad quickly making it more expensive in the long run. I only noticed two things I was unsure of, 1 being the motor sounds a little ticky.  It does seem like the slip on may have a small exhaust leak so I will fix that soon but it does sound like I can hear some ticking from the motor. Would this be valves? Previous owner states valves were checked at 15k and 30k and were in spec. I used to own and rc51 which also has gear driven cams, I feel like it was a bit ticky aswell but I can’t remember. Should I be concerned, what could I do to further diagnose? Also the clutch seems to bite when the lever is almost all the way out, it is adjusted as close to the bars as possible already. Any ideas how to adjust the clutch or is it a problem with the hydraulics? Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for a clean 5th gen for a while and I’m in love with it already.

 

excuse the messy garage.

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Welcome to the asylum Noveraker from The Land Of Interesting Weather. You obviously have fabulous taste in mc's. Heck of a good deal. And it's the best generation in the fastest color.

 

Ride safe and have fun. In. That. Order.

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Congratz on the bike! It looks great! 

How is the front tire writing painted on?

About the ticking, I'm not sure what you mean. Does the ticking increase with the revs?

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For the ticking, I'd check the exhaust gaskets at the heads as well.

 

Not much you can do for the clutch aside from some basic maintenance; do a good flush with fresh fluid, and lube the lever pivot. You can also pull the slave off the cases (use a g-clamp to stop the piston escaping while off) then you can pull the clutch pushrod right out, give that a polish up with fine sandpaper, grease it and re-fit. These might help the clutch action a little.

 

I replaced the fibre discs on my VFR at 100,000km and that markedly improved the clutch, made the engagement point much wider and smoother.

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I have found my bike to be very sensitive to air in the clutch line.  It's definitely time to flush and clean the clutch slave and master, and when you bleed it you may need to bleed at the top banjo bolt to get that last bubble out.  I like to tie the levers down for a while and shake the bike to get bubbles up to the top and then pop some fluid out the top banjos.

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Welcome! 
 

I still consider myself a “new owner” in this group even though I’ve had mine almost two seasons now. You’ll find a ton of information here, the folks are super about answering questions and offering sound advice. Good luck and enjoy!

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Thanks everyone for the responses. I’ve had some time to work on the bike the ticking did seem to be solved by checking the exhaust. It does still tick just bit but it’s hardly noticeable.  Previous owner did not have the slip on properly over the gasket. I also found a crazy amount of chain wax buildup on the lower motor and in the sprocket cover. Few days of cleaning and a bunch of simple green later and she’s pretty clean. Not sure how I didnt see all that when taking a look at it, it was horrible. I put everything back together today including the pushrod for the clutch, nice and polished. I also pulled the piston out of the slave cylinder cleaned it and the bore in the slave it rides in. Reverse bled my clutch to get all the crud out of the lines. I even cleaned the return hole in the mc. Clutch feels better but still bites at the end of throw. I rode it 3.5 hours for work a few days ago and it started to slip under load around 8k or so on my way home. I will say, I got on it pretty hard during those few hours so it must have been close to going and after running her through the paces it finally started slipping. I have new clutch plates and springs on the way. All in all the bike rode great, once the clutch is in and I do an oil change all should be well. Fingers crossed. Anybody have any tips on other maintenance items I should check for or common issues, no signs of electrical trouble thus far. Also do I need a tune or power commander with my danmoto slip on? It does pop a little on deceleration, not too bad though, sounds very aggressive with the current slip on. Thanks again!

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A weak point on the 5G is the stator connector to the RR, a 3 pin plug left side behind the sidecover below the seat. It gets wet and can corrode, the corrosion causes higher resistance leading to heat leading to the plug melting and possibly the 3 phases shorting. Personally I think that has probably contributed to RR or stator failures on many bies. Keep that connector clean plus add dielectric grease, or if it already looks bad (blackened or crispy) cut the connector out and solder the wires permanently plus heat shrink to finish. 

IMG_2054.JPG

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It sounds like you are having a similar experience to me, I wasn’t really looking but a clean ‘98 came along with similar miles at a similar price and I couldn’t say no. I also found a ton of chain spooge everywhere and years of brake dust and spent several days cleaning the bike up. I’ve ridden it most of the summer now and every time I get off it or even look at I think ‘damn, what a great bike’.  I hope you enjoy your as much as I enjoy mine.

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I am still waiting on my new clutch, will be here Wednesday. After that she will be buttoned back up. I’ve not cleaned her spotless but I tried pretty dam hard. I figure as I do things like rebuilding the suspension and redoing bushings and bearings is when I will get into a serious clean. Just polished all the plastics and got the wheels, frame, and swing arm shining again. There something about this bike, maybe it’s the fact that she’s a more comfortable streetable version of my old rc51. Maybe it’s just the red on black, single sided swing arm, and ahead of her time looks that just gets me every time. I can say I’ll have her for a good long while, been wanting one since I was a kid. Can’t stop going out and finding little things to clean or try to fix, just waiting for this darn clutch. Electrical systems all seem good though when my funds have recovered I’ll be getting a new RR just for peace of mind. Very happy with my purchase.

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If you wish high mileage clutch life then you have to invest in some
good old sweat equity... because at the first sign of slip it doesn't
automatically mean your clutch is tired and worn out or that your
clutch plates are wore too thin because you can Mic them to
determine serviceability and within the factory specifications...

Under scrutiny you'll find that your slip was due to normal
glazing and contaminates...

 

Deglazing clutch plates ain't nothing new... no sir... back in the 70s
it use to be part of every savvy rider's maintenance plan... and for
some reason that all change during the 90s...

 

Inspect the friction plates for glazing... make sure you have plenty
of material to work with... your shop manual states clutch thickness
in thousands of an inch or mm...

 

First removed the contaminants with Acetone... pick a hard surface to lay
over a 600 grit black dry emery paper... rotate the clutch plate in a
circle... you're just busting the glaze... don't get carried away
remove too much material... You should end up with a friction plate
looks dull like a new one as opposed to a shinny glazed one... recheck
thickness...

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Next check the pressure plates for bluing caused by localized heat...
make sure they are not warped... consult the manual for a thickness
range... now removed the contaminants with Acetone and wire wheeled
them to erased the blue and also to generally scuff up the surface...
you should end up with a dull surface free of Blue marks...


PressurePlates2.jpg

 

Bike on its side is a simple way to shift the oil level to an angle in order to remove the clutch cover without spillage...
Have a new gasket standing by...

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On 8/27/2020 at 10:40 PM, Terry said:

A weak point on the 5G is the stator connector to the RR, a 3 pin plug left side behind the sidecover below the seat. It gets wet and can corrode, the corrosion causes higher resistance leading to heat leading to the plug melting and possibly the 3 phases shorting. Personally I think that has probably contributed to RR or stator failures on many bies. Keep that connector clean plus add dielectric grease, or if it already looks bad (blackened or crispy) cut the connector out and solder the wires permanently plus heat shrink to finish. 

IMG_2054.JPG

This is an example of the RR connector going bad.

IMG_20200506_160957.jpg

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Yikes that connector looks rough! Mine thankfully is still in good shape. Unfortunately my clutch spring bolts werent, one snapped installing new clutch. Got it out and new ones on the way. Can I just snug them down with new ones? I don’t want them to snap aswell, I was using a torque wrench and following the service manual step by step.

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