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Back on my 2002, nine years later!


ShipFixer

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So in an odd confluence of events, I repurchased my VFR today since it popped up for sale just two months before I move back to San Diego and California highways.  I sold it back in 2011 right before I went overseas to Saudi Arabia for a year...not because I wanted to, but because it made more sense to do that then have it sit in a crate somewhere.  

 

I'm sure none of you remember me from VFRD 1.0 and my Monterey days but I am itching to get back into the Vifferisti fold 😄  The person I sold it to (not the same person I just picked it up from) apparently left it outside a lot, so the plastic has a lot of fading in it and there are cosmetic things to fix.  But mechanicallly...all of my mods are still there and it feels like yesterday:

 

- WP 3-way shock with reservoir

- Race Tech gold compression and rebound valves

- HyperPro progressive fork springs

- All Balls roller head bearing

 

Definitely needs some new fork oil after 10 years or so but all in all, it felt really good to this suspension snob!

 

Not sure if I will stick with riding ten years later but I'm going to enjoy it for a bit, and will be asking some questions for sourcing plastic, etc.  One right away from the ride home...the brake pedal actuates the brake light, but not the brake lever.  I recall there's some kind of common fix for a switch in there?  

 

Also...giant ugly scratch across the tachometer.  Can I take apart the gauge cluster to just fix that?  So long as I "can" I probably will...

 

 

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Welcome back ShipFixer. Good story about getting your old VFR back.

 

Easy check for the brake switch. First is the audible click of the switch as you pull the Brake Lever in and out. Second just remove the two wires and pop your meter across the terminals of the switch, ohms or buzzer mode, check for continuity as you pull the lever in. You might even find one of the wires has come off.

Are the Brake and Clutch levers standard? Some non genuine levers don't properly activate the switch, clutch or brake.

 

You can take the Instrument cluster apart and hopefully you may be able to carefully sand and polish the scratch out. Another option, if the scratch is bad, you might be able to fairly cheaply find another panel on eBay or motorcycle wreckers and swap the front panel or Tacho outer or complete Tacho if need be across to yours.

 

Good Luck and enjoy your old ride!

 

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Welcome back, ShipFixer, and congrats on getting your old VFR back!  I remember you from "the old days."  :laugh:  I wasn't on the forum much for a few years because I wasn't riding very much.  Really got back into it last year, and this year even more.  Anyway, it's always good to see a familiar fellow VFRD member.

 

Good luck sorting out the bike.  I'm sure it won't be too tough.  And at this point, even if you ride sparingly, you know the bike will hold up and be ready to ride when you want, so hang onto it as long as you can!

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Thanks Grum!  I did some poking around and found the switch discussions...mine does click, I will check it electrically later.  I also think I ordered the right replacement for the instrument cluster...from all the pictures the "front cover" piece in the manual and parts diagrams seems to include the plastic lenses.  Hopefully it does, if not and it's stuck to the "print board" then I will either repair or replace it with an identical plastic circle.  

 

Meanwhile...I have a typhoon of parts from Amazon and Partzilla heading my way, along with a saddle from Sargeant.  Mechanically the bike was fantastic last night but even if it wasn't faded out, it still has the last set of grips I installed like 15 years ago if that says anything.  And they were pretty worn to me when I sold it...

 

These parts from China on eBay seem hit or miss? Are they "painted R157 and just need some love to help fit right" or are they "orange parts that seem related to VFR parts?"  I am thinking I will just attack the plastic with my credit card while parts still exist but if there are options...?

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, TimC said:

Welcome back, ShipFixer, and congrats on getting your old VFR back!  I remember you from "the old days."  :laugh:  I wasn't on the forum much for a few years because I wasn't riding very much.  Really got back into it last year, and this year even more.  Anyway, it's always good to see a familiar fellow VFRD member.

 

Good luck sorting out the bike.  I'm sure it won't be too tough.  And at this point, even if you ride sparingly, you know the bike will hold up and be ready to ride when you want, so hang onto it as long as you can!

Well, welcome back to VFR-ing to you too then!  😄 I am already thinking this bike has a "life time contract," just like my 2005 Pathfinder!

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All new front end plastic inbound...fender, upper cowl, little pieces, etc.  Eventually will do the sides but maybe after the movers have their way with it in their truck next month.  The suspension mods I would have to replace on a "pretty" sixth or eighth gen make the price work out.  I think.  🙃

 

Stuff that annoys me: aside from leaving it outside a *lot,* the second owner also put adhesive reflectors on the front fender and my saddlebags.  Removing them will be tricky after this much time in the sun.  For the saddlebags, I had picked up some silver ones on eBay and sanded/resurfaced them before handing off to a body shop to paint glossy black.  While I was in there I had removed the stock goofy looking reflectors and filled in the detent they fit in.  What does he do but put a sticker over it?!?

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1 minute ago, TriumphTraitor said:

Would be awesome to see a before and after(once complete) of all the restoration!

Indeed...it's on my list of things to do to get down there and photograph the bike up close, but, uh...it kind of sucks.  I'm used to it looking brand new, even up to the day I sold it, and it most definitely does not right now.  The tail is the worst it's very, very pink.  It looks great across the parking lot though...

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The pictures for some reason don't show the full extent of the fading...the side cowling pieces are more pink at the top than they look.  If this was not "my" bike and I didn't know exactly what was in it, dunno that I would have paid asking price for it since you don't know what's inside when it's clear it's been sitting outdoors for a long while.  But, at least the tank looks pretty good as do the frame, suspension, and driveline.  I need to tighten the throttle cable a bit but the engine is strong with no CCT clatter, etc.  Plus the previous owner did change the thermostat.  May do the cush drive out of principle but it doesn't feel bad.

 

New upper cowling is on the way, along with all the other front end pieces.  I am going to do that and the tail ASAP, plus whenever the saddle arrives.  But I may wait to do side panels until the movers have had their way with it.

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Oh...and Oury grips are the only thing I'll use on mountain bikes anymore.  Guess what I have from Amazon today...same grips for street bikes... 😄  Slightly wider diameter and really grippy...

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Welcome back to VFRD:fing02:

 

As for fading colors, who's watching the mantle piece while poking the fire??? :laugh:

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5 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Welcome back to VFRD:fing02:

 

As for fading colors, who's watching the mantle piece while poking the fire??? :laugh:

I'm just too used to what it "should" look like 🙃 It's responding really well to Formula 303 plastic protector on all the black plastic and vinyl bits, but I still have new stuff inbound.  What I thought was a scratch across the tachometer is actually a fracture on the inside of it.  Won't get better, so glad I ordered a new gauge cluster!

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Some more.  It looks ok from a distance, in person it's somewhat pink!

 

IMG_20200910_204905.jpg?width=590&height

 

IMG_20200910_204926.jpg?width=590&height

 

After looking closer, the chain and sprockets are indeed very new as the previous owner said.  Front tire is kinda low on tread and cupping a bit, but isn't terrible. Rear is brand new.  Overall not unhappy!  

 

He did fix something electrical and I think I found it.  It's not the RR, or the ignition cable where I thought it needed to be fixed.  Will need to investigate that one a bit more.  My bike never exhibited any weird electrical issues, or for VTEC surging for that matter.  But who knows.

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40 minutes ago, TimC said:

Do my eyes deceive me, or has the tank retained its original color compared to the faded plastics?  I can see why this would bug you.  😕 

You're not wrong!  I have a very slight red/green color vision deficiency so the pink kind of hides from me under certain lighting, but the plastic is definitely faded.  The tank seems to be the same old red color to me, thankfully.  

 

I have some brand new plastic in R157 coming along with "best I could get on eBay," will see what the difference is soon.  Hopefully not much!  There are certain things for which there is no "new" source, like the front fender and tail (you can get it unpainted, which helps me not).  My front fender seems ok and I have two tails coming from eBay...one for $50, and then I jumped on a $300 one assuming it must be awesome.  Hoping the $300 one is obviously new-ish.

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4 hours ago, Dutchy said:

If anything, the side panels' decals are missing....

Do you mean on mine, or replacement tail plastic?  The 2002 in the US did not have "VFR" on the fairings, that came later.  A couple of the rear cowlings I've looked at on eBay did not have "Honda" and "Interceptor" on them.  I can get those labels from PartZilla, but not sure if I will.  Probably the Honda label but I was never excited about "Interceptor" in cartoon script anyway.  

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Oury grips!  Love these on my mountain bikes, won't ride anything else.  Don't know why slightly wider diameter grips aren't common, I've never really liked what we could get for sportbikes.  Even the widest ProGrips available are pretty meh.

 

IMG_20200911_162754.jpg?width=590&height

 

 

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On 9/11/2020 at 8:02 PM, Samuelx said:

Cool chain of events!  I wish I could buy my 87 back but some idiot borrowed it from my idiot cousin and wrecked/totaled it on some track in Texas...  😞

Ahhhh that sucks!  That was of course my first question to the seller, has it been down since I've seen it?  

 

Rode around a little last night in Arlington and DC after installing a stock-replacement ZG screen.  Forgot how annoying the closed loop FI business is when you haven't done a starter valve sync, etc. in a long while!  Probably doesn't help that the plugs are 18 years old either.  So I have new vacuum gauges coming in (did I mention I got rid of a bunch of motorcycle stuff just a few months ago?) as well as new Iridiums.  And while I resisted the PC III before, now I'm very interested in this Rapid Bike business.  

 

First things first though...the plastic situation is pretty dire, I can't wait for the new pieces to start arriving next week!  After I get that done and the engine within baseline, then I'll look at how badly I want to try RB before I move to California.  

 

Those Oury grips are pretty sweet though, definitely a step up from the standard ProGrips.

 

 

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So I dumped a double-dose of Seafoam in the tank and rode around this afternoon to start getting the "sitting still too long" disease out of the bike.  I also tried this "on/off/on/off" business to defeat FI closed loop mode.  YHGTBSM...Honda had a cheat code to turn off closed loop mode this whole time?!?  🤦‍♂️No weird fights for dominance at cruise, I was able to hold ~4500 RPM and sit at ordered speed for looooong stretches.  No weird throttle transients mid-corner either. 

 

How was that a secret for so long?!? 

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57 minutes ago, ShipFixer said:

So I dumped a double-dose of Seafoam in the tank and rode around this afternoon to start getting the "sitting still too long" disease out of the bike.  I also tried this "on/off/on/off" business to defeat FI closed loop mode.  YHGTBSM...Honda had a cheat code to turn off closed loop mode this whole time?!?  🤦‍♂️No weird fights for dominance at cruise, I was able to hold ~4500 RPM and sit at ordered speed for looooong stretches.  No weird throttle transients mid-corner either. 

 

How was that a secret for so long?!? 

ShipFixer, would you please expand on this information? Does this apply only to sixth gens?

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I found it here and on VFRWorld in the last few days. Not sure if it applies to 5th or 8th gen, but basically turn your bike on (key and on button), let the FI pump charge the injectors (complete the whine noise), then turn off with the key. Turn on again and hit the starter *before* the whine stops, or right away (the injectors are still primed).

Someone stumbled on this and a bunch of other people have tried it. It's not in a manual. But it sure seems to work on my bike. The FI closed loop behavior is particularly bad right now because none of the things that would make it better have been done in 10 years or so. I was annoyed with the FI on Friday because I'd forgotten it was a thing and got tired of feeling like I was fighting the ECU in a low RPM ride around DC. Today, wasn't an issue at all. I was riding right in the range where closed loop normally happens and I never noticed it, not once.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

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23 hours ago, ShipFixer said:

I found it here and on VFRWorld in the last few days. Not sure if it applies to 5th or 8th gen, but basically turn your bike on (key and on button), let the FI pump charge the injectors (complete the whine noise), then turn off with the key. Turn on again and hit the starter *before* the whine stops, or right away (the injectors are still primed).

Someone stumbled on this and a bunch of other people have tried it. It's not in a manual. But it sure seems to work on my bike. The FI closed loop behavior is particularly bad right now because none of the things that would make it better have been done in 10 years or so. I was annoyed with the FI on Friday because I'd forgotten it was a thing and got tired of feeling like I was fighting the ECU in a low RPM ride around DC. Today, wasn't an issue at all. I was riding right in the range where closed loop normally happens and I never noticed it, not once.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 

Thank you for that explaination.

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