Leaderboard

Have had the bike for 5 days now, somehow i have been blessed with some warm/dry days just before winter kicks in! (Time to ride obviously) Having now covered around 500kms on my new VFR, my very subjective view on it is that it is simply awesome. I have owned some good bikes, (and have tried many others) but the VFR is simply the perfect mix of smoothness and power. The german that had it before me obviously washed the thing with some sort of heavy brush (heresy). So before i did anything i fully cleaned / decontaminated it and polished it up. Bike has all new fluids, and looks/runs like it should (only 7000km on it, so it better!) Being only 22 and owning this machine, i feel VERY very lucky that i found it. Sabsteef tuning has sent me a cable for remote tuning (will let you know how that goes). Planning on adding some tankgrips and a 2012+ seat. Will also be fitting one of these https://www.bikefarmmv.com/epages/79512538.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/79512538/Products/"HHLRHO VFR 1200 F SC63" (20mm tail riser) to quicken up the steering. Not massivly needed but easy to install and cheap, if i hate i'll just take it off again. Thought i'd hate the BT023's tyres, but they actually perform really well so i suspect i'll use them up and put on some Roadtech 01SE's once they expire. Ride safe those of you who can / do ride all year... I'll drool over my new VFR for the next few months.

Pascal's Law (P=F/A) is in effect here. But you are thinking of (A) as constant. In reality these three things are interrelated and change in reaction to one another. (A) increases in response to higher (P) as both the piston moves out and the cylinder lines expand (not to mention the caliper body bolts, or body in a single-piece). It diffuses some of the pressure you are creating through force at the master cylinder, and results in lower overall force at the piston. You can get to the same overall force with stretchy or stiff lines, but you will have to move the lever further for the softer lines until the forces are equalized and they are able to contain the force you want exerted at the piston. The more constant (A) is, or more accurately the more constrained the change in (A) is limited to piston movement, then the more the change in (P) will relate to the change in (F) at the caliper. We want (A) to remain fixed and change very little, except at the pistons. Another way to think about it is what happens when you have a leak, or you take the top off the reservoir, etc.? Well, (A) just went to infinity and at least in the static case, (F) is arbitrarily close to zero. We want (A) to change very little except at one or two places. So it's all about constraining (A). Very high end brakes aren't just SS lines, they are also very stiff "monoblock" construction calipers to constrain changes in (A). Think about the force exerted inside the caliper: in a two piece caliper, the force is essentially stretching the bolts holding the two halves together, whereas in a monoblock it's one big piece of metal that will be much, much stiffer and resistant to stretching.

I don't think folks are actually arguing with you Leon, only trying to explain why you're wrong.😀 😛 Actually, it seems they're mostly pointing out that the reduction in sponginess resulting from ss lines is probably a noticeable and good thing overall. VFR78 raises a good question about how they might affect ABS brakes.

Sure, Pascal's law is fake news. How could I not see thus.

Great looking bike and pleased you are so happy with it. I recommend the Techspec grips, I have the Snakeskin ones and they are excellent. My DAM end can sounds utterly brilliant and makes the lower end feel a little smoother too. Keep in touch.

Its a real subtle "smear" at least on mine, there could be worse ones. On mine, you really have to look hard to see it... maybe since I changed to a DB windshield the effect isnt all that bad. You cant really see it unless the light is just right. -- There's nothing on the other side.

Thank you for bringing this to the attention of the forum! You are correct, a properly staked nut will have a big dent in it. Glad yours didn't cause a catastrophic failure. I went out and checked mine and while the rear axle nut is not loose, no attempt has been made to stake the nut in place even though it is definitely designed to be. I am wondering if it came from Honda this way?! Thanks again.

Indeed - that is a DID CHAIN 520 VX3 CLIP TYPE MASTER LINK. When I took that pic I noticed that the black master link really stood out and instead of rotating the chain I left it as is to see who was paying attention - good job. I feel that a properly installed side plate and clip style is just as secure as riveting, it is a very positive fastener. I can only go by my personal experience, but in 35+ years of using them on everything from old school dirt bikes, KTM trail monsters, assorted 400-1000cc street bikes, I have never had an issue. If you think about it there is not a large side load on the link and again that steel clip is very secure. I would love to hear others experiences. For raw aluminum there is nothing better than Mothers.

https://youtu.be/VnPYdcbcAe0

Riveted vs Linked. From ANSI roller chain tech documents, a slip fit chain is 20% weaker than the riveted chain. Some chain designs it's less. Have to look at technical details from the MFG.

I mainly employ gas because its handy... I've used K but its goes bad and stinks... If there is one chemical our chains can handle its good old gas... petroleum products have no lasting effect on the X W or O rings because instead of rubber chain manufactures today actually use a highly fluorinated fluoroelastomer known commercially as Viton or Kalrez... very tough stuff... It has a excellent resistance to most chemicals including sulfur... sulfur chloride... sulfur dioxide... sulfur hexaflouride to name a few... most important it doesn't need protection from drying out... they will far out last a chain's life...

Mileage is a loose standard because wear depends on so many variables... A more accurate standard of chain wear is after the 3rd adjustment because that is undeniable evidence that the factory installed grease is beginning to fail to lube the critical pin roller junction hidden behind the X ring... the length of the chain is growing because of this metal to metal wear... I can not call a chain serviceable that is grinding metal... it's like saying that a dry bearing that runs ruff is acceptable... the net result is another 2 to 3% drop in RWHP as more energy is lost grinding metal behind the X ring... This is what we don't see behind the X rings... metal to metal wear every time we adjust the chain that eats into our engine's available HP... a new pin measures 206.5 and wears down to 205.5 at the 8K mile mark... looks good to the naked eye but multiply that 1 thousand of an inch times 108 links and you have 108 thousands of an inch wear or about the range of the green marks provided by Honda's wear gauge... 202.8 show the very visible wear at the 12K mile mark... the pins are turning red from extreme heat of grinding dry metal... a chain in this condition may consume up to 6 to 8% of our RWHP... not to mention it may snap into and cause case damage... Honda provided a handy guide to monitor chain wear... stay with in the green and you'll be looking for a new chain and sprockets at the 8 to 10K mile mark...