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Lorne, this is your fault… I convinced my spouse to move to Princeton NJ area for my job. Had a new kid. Took on debilitating adjustable mortgage. Saw that gp was coming to U.S. for the first time in forever at Laguna Seca. “Oh, most important woman in my life,” I said, “doesn’t your sister live in Marin?” (aka bay area) Yes, she said (knowing full well where this was going), "you know my sister and hub live there…" So we flew across the country. I found the cheapest rental car in the world, and drove the econobox south through SF, and arrived on a Saturday in April with another 100,000 fans who all just heard that we would hit 100F that weekend. Yeah, I was with my tribe! Never been to Laguna Seca before. End up in an endless car snake going over the bridge above T5-ish. Coming from the east coast I was blown away at how friendly the CA crowd was. Everyone was waving! The Mercedes ahead of me was crawling too, but the crowds were just so positive, waving and yelling. Finally the Mercedes driver pulled off to the VIP parking, and as he turned I saw through the driver’s side window I was behind Eddie Lawson! So yeah, I can always say I was on Lawson’s tail at Laguna Seca.

Hi everybody I'd like to say hello to this group: I just came back in the saddle of a VFR after having ridden a 95 model a quarter of century ago. I've been riding since late 80's, and I spent approx. 25 years running (or trying to, that's more corrrect 😁) in racetrack: I'm lucky enough to live 30km far from Mugello circuit. As written above, I've been riding a '95 carb VFR many years ago (DELICIOUS bike), but after this experience I've been bewitched for many years by the brutal force of the CBR1100 XX. I owned two of them, the first of which I've been tuned it a lot, transforming it into a sporty bike to have fun with in circuit: Now, after having passed 50's, I decided to embrace the old gear-driven cam V4 again. I found a '98 (Gen5) in good aesthetic conditions but needing a mechanical restoration. I paid it a few, spent some days in my workshop to restore it and now it's on the road again Engine and gearshaft are excellent, now, as well as (crossing fingers) the recharge system. Suspensions and brakes are awful. Just risen the tail by shimming the shock connection bracket, and lowered the front by shifting up the forks by 5mm. It's not enough, so something more drastic will come up this winter; I'll keep you updated Bye! Dr. Ergal

VTR1000F front wheel (to match the rear) with EBC rotors and a fresh tire. Replaced the valve cover gaskets (they were leaking) and re-set the valve lash, most were pretty loose. Had been planning to get in there sooner after rebuilding the bike and making sure it ran good and had all the gears. Fresh coolant since I had to drop the lower rad and did an oil/filter change. New brakes, wheel and tire feel great and the engine definitely feels crisper. Oh and I removed and restored the exhaust system collector, it was the last real crusty thing on the bike.

Hi guys and girls! Just signed up today, I found the site while looking for a pdf manual for my 01 VFR and thought it'd be rude to just come on, nick the file and then dissappear into the ether without so much as a hello. Gitzy - Old enough to know better, young enough to to care. So.. This is my intro and a shameless photo of myself on the bike.

After 1100km I decided the back PR5 was toast; a bit squared off and the blocks were starting to crack, so I levered a nice new T32 onto the back tyre. I decided to delve back into the starter valves as the clutch rattle was back with a vengeance. My first run through was not fantastic and I ended up with a surprisingly long cold fast idle, basically this was only settling back in the mid 70's, and the cold speed was sitting at 2500 which seemed a bit off. While I had been poking around I did a forbidden thing namely tweaking the reference starter valve, which was weirdly completely loose; I gently finger tightened this but also filed that away for consideration. Also notable was that the reference SV's vacuum signal was very low, and it was hard to get the others to match. So I cracked back into it having re-read the manual and the watched @Kaldek's useful video on how the system worked. Kal usefully showed the SV's moving via the lever on the back bank (when the engine was hot). When I tried that it was obvious that the front left SV moved only with difficulty, and the reference front right SV was jammed solid in the cold/open position. Freeing these up is probably easy with TB removal and complete disassembly but I did not fancy that so I used penetrating oil and patience until I could get the little blighters moving freely and snapping back with their return springs. This then highlighted that I had inadvertantly wound closed the reference SV so I needed to wind the nut in to open that SV until I had a "reasonable" level of vacuum, then match with the rest. I can now set the idle to any level I like with a steady idle, and the idle adjuster screw now works without a fight thanks to a bit of penetrating oil. And the clutch rattle is gone. So the lesson that I learned is that you need to be able to check the SVs are all free to move out and retract (which you won't see on a cold engine as the wax unit will be holding them open) otherwise the SV balance will be frustrating and other odd stuff will be happening. If you see any unusually small vacuum signals, this could well be an issue. SVs are fairly simple to understand when you step away from the heat and fumes for a moment. The throttle butterflies are 100% sealed when the throttle is closed, which you can easily check with the flat of your hand across the inlet. ALL of the air at idle is then coming in via the SVs, and I believe there are two for each cylinder, one is fixed open and the other has a plunger valve that can vary the opening. If you close the SV then the plunger moves in and seals more of the second opening, making the vacuum signal increase. If you screw in an adjuster, it retracts the plunger and allows more air to pass and lowers the vacuum signal. The wax unit does the same, pulling the 4 starter valves open via a synchronising plate and linkage. As the wax unit heats up it extends and releases the SV's back to the hot idle position, which is controlled by the idle adjuster screw. My only other comments are that the manual is a bit vague on some other bits. For example why on earth are we to put a cap on the PAIR valve spigots at the cylinder head? The other end of the PAIR system is sitting loose and unconnected so I simply don't get the point of that. Secondly why bother to reconnect the MAP sensor to the vacuum tube? I get why connecting the MAP sensor electrically is a good idea to prevent FI faults, but the other end of the vacuum tube is the 5-way T and that is connected to...absolutely nothing while the SV balance is in progress. And lastly; the vacuum tube that provides vacuum to the flapper could well be sitting wide open when the airbox is removed; it would be useful to recommend plugging that one at least. Moaning completed...as you were.

sa1713's recent gallery image of his 5th gen in full Rothmans livery reminded me of the great Honda NSR of the early '90's... The most successful racer on the NSR has to be Michael Doohan, winning the Moto GP championship 5 years in a row starting in 1994. This after a devastating crash at Assen in 1992 that nearly cost him his right leg. April 1995 Sport Rider article: Riding Mick Doohan's Honda NSR500 May 2020 Motorsport article: Mick Doohan and MotoGP’s greatest comeback The photo shows Doohan aboard his 1991 NSR:

Sorry for entering so late in the topic but I joined just a few weeks ago. Super duper view!! A superb and very rare NC30 400 (or so it seems) It reminds me a bizzarre experience I had in Indonesia, in a business trip on an industrial plant very close to Sentul raceway. Aside to the facility there is a nearly abandoned museum with many cars and bikes with no access limitation. So I took the occasion to ride the V4 dream.... ❤️

It's funny, I saw someone use a 'y' in the header name instead of an 'i" and I told Lance I rather like that spelling, so I started to use it. As for calling the VFRD headers, that works too, like you said, there were a lot of contributions from the members here on VFRD helping us get these built, so it would also be fitting. Regardless of what and how they are called or spelled, Lance really put his heart and mind into making this happen and as his friend I unconditionally offered my support. I feel very honored and proud to have been a part of it all and I would do it again in a heartbeat. All I can say now, I really miss my friend, RIP Lance (sfdownhill)

Yes I did and I spoke with the original pipe builder. He said that he gave these back because he needed room for another project and said he would be open to building more sets. I've been super busy at my new job so have not had much time to deal with much extra curriculum stuff. I'm going to reach out to the builder again and see what he feels the current cost would be and see what quantities he would need to do this again. I'll keep you posted. Cheers, D

@BusyLittleShop At the Manx GP. VID-20240822-WA0020.mp4 VID-20240823-WA0026.mp4

It all got started for me in the early 1980’s when I saw this guy ride that bike, Freddie Spencer and his NSR in Rothmans livery. Watching the GP guys ride those machines was incredible, their skill, daring and many times completely over the limit made them super-human. We can debate the cancer years but they delivered the most creative, artistic and indelible visuals we’ll ever see. Rothmans, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Camel etc. made the teams recognizable and clear. Today’s teams are fighting to fill every inch of space making for unpleasant sights. When Mick Doohan arrived, that was it for me. Have followed him ever since, even into retirement. Yes, I have attended US MotoGP rounds with his helmet hoping for an autograph, sadly no luck.

Could have been me, though my headers were passivated, I polished them to match my Staintune.

Well if I was doing it all again...... Strip and clean Fork rebuild New rear shock New head bearings Check and regrease rear shock linkage New chain set Brake clean and bleed Engine service (valve check, oil filter, air filter, plugs ect) New tyres I done mine over the last winter, very happy with the outcome 😁

First ride is made, fun So fun bike ! Had a nice bike along on the ride to, Friends RD350 YPVS, the "Race Dayly" bike 😅

Few more Hondas Riding the course at 6:30AM

A peak inside my man Cave 2in project stage, 2 running. Well FJ only wait for a friend, a Yamaha shop owner, to have time to come one evening over and adjust the valves whit it's special tool as chims. Main garage, then the room next to where the ZR7S wait for cam chain change And the CBX750 is pushed to the back of it awaiting restauration whit the 2 dirt bikes, a 92 Kawasaki KDX200 that is mine and a 1996 KTM 400 LC4 that is a friend's The KDX actually just needs a gearbox bearing change, but as I'm not in condition to ride a dirt bike it been staying un touch, guess I should do it and just sell it.....

I have owned this bike for the last 20 years and have truly loved it for its versatility, that great V4 with gear driven cams, plenty fast for most mortals (0-60 in 3.2 seconds) and yet comfortable enough for a 70 year old to knock out 500+ mile days on. It has been meticulously maintained and not one single thing is wrong with this bike at 61,000 miles other than a few minor nicks, etc. Following are some of the many things that I have recently replaced as well as some add-ons to make the bike better. All OEM parts are included. 1/ New Dunlop Roadsmart III tires with less than 1,000 miles on them. ($450 for tires + mounting) 2/ New EBC-HH brake pads front and rear. ($120 parts) 3/ Brake fluid replaced with new less than 1,000 miles ago. 4/ Sargent Saddle ($500) 5/ New RK chain in box never installed. ($130) The sprockets and chain on it now are good. I only bought the new chain because I got it on a group buy at a good price. The countershaft sprocket was changed about 5,000 miles ago as it was beginning to show some wear. ($40) 6/ Shimmed rear shock to raise the rear about 1/2 inch for quicker turn in. 7/ Micron Slipon for when you want to hear the V4 sing! 8/ Tapered roller steering head bearings for a much improved feel. (Lots of work!) 9/ 2001 mirrors for better appearance. 9/ Bar risers for a more comfortable riding position ($100+) 10/ Lowered footpegs for more relaxed knee bend. 11/ Mosfet rectifier to solve OEM rectifier problems. 12/ Full Shop Manual in great shape. ($50) 13/ New battery 14/ Givi E360 side cases and Givi brackets (Over $500 when purchased.) I turn 79 in September and it is finally time for me to slowdown, quit riding this kind of bike and find it a new home! $3600 without the Givi bags. $3800 with bags. Firm. Attached is one picture with the Givi bags installed and numerous pictures taken in my garage on 8/9/2024. If you have any questions, please ask. I'll be happy to answer.

There was a great race at Philip Island where Gardner had a near crash that saw him smash the screen and part of the fairing, but still win. There are some nice cancer-themed bikes at the Honda Collection at Motegi.

I had to have bought the rattiest wheel on the planet. Dude assured me it was solid, under the layers of ugly. Indeed, it was. As for the Staintune, I bought that from a motorcycle salvage yard. I asked if he had any VFR’s sitting around. He said he had what was left of one sitting in a wheelbarrow. As I started picking through the pile, I immediately recognized the muffler at the bottom. I couldn’t believe it, as I’d stumbled onto the holy grail in a junkyard. There were no brackets, so I had to improvise a bit. And, thankfully, there was no damage beyond scratches, which I polished out. I gave $50 for it.

With a range 0f 550km+, that could be an option. But TBH, I only ride significant off-road if I misjudged a corner's radius...

Quick mock-up to see how it will look.

A few pictures And a small detail I made, I like it better 😎

A few pictures from today's ride, bike still running like a champ! I really like it. Can't wait to also get the RWB out

So, a couple few things I want to throw by the group here. First, I have several pieces body work for 5 Gens, front cowls, rear cowls, side panels but all of them need or have been repaired, but they still could use clean up and paint. My question would be, should I get these cleaned and painted before selling? Yes, they would have to sell for more to cover the cost of being cleaned up and painted but it would also make them a straight bolt on process. A friend of mine said he is willing to help me get them painted but his question is, "Do you want to get OEM paint or a close match?" The latter would be cheaper but may not match 100%. BTW, I posted 2 pics of the paint work my friend did with the "close match" paint work he did for my new to me Hawk.. That said, based on time in the sun and age of most 5 Gens, newly painted panels, regardless of OEM or "close match", would most likely stand out more. The question would more be towards, paint them or keep them as-is and have the buyer deal with the clean up and paint. The secondary question would be, OEM paint or "close match? What say you all? Second, I am having trouble finding the data that sfdownhill collected on Power Commander/Rapid bike O2 bung setups for the "WyLD" headers. I thought I had that on my server but can't seem to locate it. Anyone here recall where that info would be found on the forum? The size of the original header thread is actually quite expansive, but I could use some help locating this info. Lastly, if you have been following the "WyLD" header thread, you might know that I am now in possession of the header jigs. After sfdownhill's passing, I was able to reach out to Wade and speak with him. My first question was why did he give the jigs back to us, was he done with these? Well, his response was that he needed the room for another project. Of course my next question was "Would you be open to building more headers for us?" His answer was, wait for it..."Yes, as soon as he gets his other project completed, I'll have room to build these again." Here's the big question group, do we want to give these headers another run? In the mean time, I'll see what Wade feels the cost and minimum order would be to do this again, as I know this would be a factor. Anyway, thanks for your time. Cheers, D

I've spent a few more evening messing with starter valves. I can definitely confirm that you DON'T want to mess with the fixed reference valve. If this is set in a slightly different position you can have either a very slow cold fast idle, or a rather fast cold idle. I now have it sitting at about 2000rpm cold which feels alright and I will try to resist the urge to fudge with them anymore. It feels like spring is here. I optimistically headed out yesterday but retreated after getting properly drenched; a good test for my Alpinestars suit (passed) and SMX-S boots (also passed). Today was a beaut, fine and clear with light winds, so I headed out and did the Coromandel Loop, a great 400km loop from home which takes in some great scenery and roads. The VFR did not disappoint and ran like a watch all day. At Ohuka Beach, Whitianga. There were even some keen souls in the water. At Kuaotunu, the water looked very inviting.

Hey there everyone, just wanted to pop in and say hi. Just picked up a 98 VFR that looks to be in amazing shape! I stepped away from riding for the last 6-7 years and recently started getting the itch again. Out of all of my previous bikes my favorite was my old VFR so I was pretty set on getting another one. I took my time and almost pulled the trigger on a 2007 with about 45k miles. But then I found this 98 VFR with only 16k miles. The previous owner was a 74 yr old gentleman that purchased it new and kept in a climate controlled garage its entire life. It is pretty much bone stock except the two brothers exhaust. Drove it to work for the first time today over the mountain full of twisites and it rode like a champ!

My friend actually have 2 of them He say RD stands for Race Dayly 😜

A friend visited today whit one of his rides, a Yamaha RD350 YPVS, also known as RZ350 in some parts of the world

Call me an old cynic, but five sentences, not one of which mentioned any specifics about anything actually to do with, you know, VFRs... ⚠️ But, welcome to the forum community, "Greg"! Ciao, JZH

That I did not know! And to think I came that close to switching from Coke... 😉 I was able to watch MotoGP on cable in the '80's/'90's, and was hooked. My 1st international trip by VFR was to the '94 USGP at Laguna Seca, the last GP race there for a decade. I remember riding to the track that first morning, first the sound then the 2-stroke exhaust smell - all before even seeing the bikes on track. By the time GP returned to the US no team was still racing a 2-stroke. ps. if you ever get the chance to motorcycle in California take it. There are so many great motorcycling back roads, and they're usually empty.

But did you know that Pepsi never sponsored the Suzuki Team !? The Team got permission to use the Pepsi logo, hoping that they would sponsor them. Hence the very short run of Pepsi bikes !

Don't forget Schwartz's Pepsi Suzuki. And here's a pic of the holy trinity: Schwantz, Rainey, and Doohan.

Starting to come together now, oil and filter changed, fresh coolant in, clutch fluid changed while the fairings were off, fitted a new headlight bulb as only one side had main beam, luckily I had one in my spares drawer! Just the tank to paint and we're all done, I hope. Oldred

I did not mean to denigrate the colour schemes...Rothmans is probably my favourite scheme, but Marboro, Lucky Strike and Camel were also very cool. As I understand it the tobacco era provided a huge single sponsor that allowed a clean and uncluttered graphic scheme. The current era sees multiple sponsors fighting for space on bodywork that is already a jumble of aero fins and slots. I sort of liked the British GP and the use of "nostalgia" schemes but really only HRC did it properly.

My photos, Laguna Seca GP 1988. Gardner was the defending champion so #1. Lawson won, but Wayne's ride on that (sorry VFRD fans, but true) horribly handling Honda was just amazing. I've watched the video many times since and his two wheels are never pointed the same direction the whole lap! Turn 7/8, aka...well, you know: Roughly Remy's age:

Good grief this is how Terminator started. How about you take the essay and clickbait and stick it someplace special...

I'm pretty sure the "wire wool" is intended to be there.

Does Skippy need a 22 litre tank? No. Mais je veux 😃

Hi all newbie here. Recently picked up a 6th gen. Adding my personal touches to it. Seat cans rack for box etc etc

And that right there is a problem. I can't, and I would think a lot of people can't either, actually ride a bike any meaningful distance and stay E-free. I don't even have E-free in my town. It's a 20-30 minute drive to the nearest. And it's not even on a route to good riding. I don't use any additives in my street bikes, but every single one gets their carbs drained (not just ran til it dies) every winter.

Hi Grum. Good points all. My experience with it was somewhat different and maybe unusual. By 2020 My VTEC at 10 years was about double the recommended interval so I dug in to a valve adjustment. I also made my own stopper pins for the VTEC buckets. I ran through the procedure and came up with measurements showing all 8 VTEC valves were way too tight along with a handful of the other 8. I had ridden it normally, maybe seeing 7k+ rpm maybe 15% or less of the time - by no means hammering on it. The VTEC exhaust ports were minty clean, showing how much less they had been exposed to combustion byproducts vs the other 4. My initial reaction to my measurements was "I must have made a mistake". I put it all back together, ran it and it seemed to run and sound fine, as before. So I took it apart again, meticulously going through the procedure, measuring everything again. I got the same numbers. Hmmm. So I once again put it all back together, ran it and considered its fate. I finally called a buddy who is a 35+ year A&P mechanic and long time Honda bike nut who's worked on more Honda bike motors than I can count. I offered pizza and refreshments to him if he would come over and see what he got for my valve clearances, making no mention of my prior results to avoid prejudicing him. I got everything stripped down so that all he need do was remove cams, make measurements, etc. When the day came, he went out in the garage with the printed procedure in hand and went to work while I went off running errands, etc. When I returned with pizza, he walked in and announced "ALL of your VTEC valves are tight. They all have some clearance, but all are well below spec". So it went back together for the 3rd and final time before being replaced in 2020 with GDC's. While unusual and not common, I seem to recall someone else on here having that same situation. While the logic of the VTEC getting less use is very sound, there also seems to be outliers defying convention and I might say, explanation. The cheapest VTEC buckets I could find were $32 each (none were able to be swapped to another position), so the cost of it was not much less than doing the motor swap. As always, YMMV.

As old as these bikes are now, I would be replacing a lot of things. Nothing worse than a failure on a road trip. About 2-3years ago, I replaced all coolant hoses, thermostat, radiator cap, stainless braided brake / clutch lines and rebuilt slave cylinders etc. I did not replace the thermal fan switch and I should have as it just failed on me. I also completely upgraded the suspension about 20k miles ago - best money ever spent. Happy riding!

Just to update, I removed the pins and cleaned the male/female connectors from the RR and stator (Thanks JZH for those pictures) and they are now pristine. Removed the original spade connector and battery fuse and replaced them with a Metripac 30 amp fuse using flux soldered connections with marine adhesive shrink tubing. Now getting 14.1v at idle, 14.3v at 5000 rpm, 13.3 with high beams on and 10+v when cranking. These seem like the numbers I should be looking for from what I have researched. After a high rev ride with the engine temp getting up to 205 F the idle voltage was steady at 14.1. The soldered connections were cool to the touch. Hopefully this will correct the electrical concerns going forward. Will now complete a permanent battery connected install of a voltmeter I purchased to monitor future performance. Many Thanks to all who chimed in, lots of great information and I learned a ton about electrical troubleshooting, maintenance and proper soldering. The beauty of pooled knowledge demonstrated in spades.

I usually don't even bother with that anymore. Unless it is totally dished out like an original oil pan drain washer and gets replaced, I just reinstall. Never had a leak.

Many of the Champions in that era came from dirt tracking, which seemed to adapt well with the light-switch, rear end steering power delivery, and backing it in to compensate for the not-so-great cornering chassis of the same machines. After the sweet handling 83 NS500R, the next decade plus, was mostly ill handling beasts. Read some stories with Doohan. The next era of Champions were Europeans that grew up riding mini road racing machines. The designs started to change, along with refining how the power was delivered.

Great shot Lorne. But whenever I see that livery I always think of Wayne Gardner, Doohan's Aussie predecessor as world champion.

Had a buddy who supercharged his... holy shit.

That's how it goes and where "It worked until it didn't" comes from! In my CB-1, I carry a spare R/R and have installed the spare multiple times while on a ride. 🙂