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5 th gen VFR's are my thing really. I buy them then rescue them but I always try and start with a bike that has good provenance / a verifiable history and certainly all its papers/books/service invoices as well as owners handbook and original service book etc etc . I don't know if its me, but the amount of bikes I come across that only have a log book ( the ownership papers for my American friends on here ) and nothing else. So many people seem to lose their other documents . I just don't get it. Personally , I won't buy a bike without supporting paperwork unless it is cheap. Im not scared of the many jobs that need doing , and whilst I look, inspect and renew parts as needed, if it is perfectly serviceable then the part gets cleaned and put back . In the case of this VFR , it was a 7 hour round trip. Half a dozen owners and just 15,300 miles on the clock with lots of history /paperwork and its not been got at . Where needed things are replaced or cleaned and put back . The original exhaust was in such good condition that I left it alone. The rear shock absorber although with a few marks is working remarkably well. A pictorial for you of the work in progress. This is how it came to me and it is presented to you after a wash. First job was to strip it of all its bodywork and give it a really good clean . There was 2 years of chain wax/grease all over the back of the bike and the front sprocket cover was oozing the stuff. All cleaned up . Chain guide removed. Old rusty bolts replaced with stainless steel items. Swing arm cleaned along with the entire back end. I used a lot of brake cleaner & degreaser. Back end looking a lot better, and the chain adjuster is nice and free. The next job was to clean the engine, replace the coolant, oil and filter , fix a coolant leak , couple of new coolant hoses and clips and replace the oil pipes with some better stainless steel items that are made for us over here at less than half the price of the Honda part. I also replaced the fan housing, as these rust and I had a freshly powder coated one so on it went. New oil line and clean engine cases. Cleaned oil cooler and new lines. New oil line, oil filter and clean engine casing. That exhaust is in such good condition. Radiator off and the fan housing has been replaced by a freshly powder coated one. It looks so much better and will be much more durable. Fan and rad back in place and being tested for leaks and making sure the fan kicks in at the right temperature. Next job was to change the air filter for a K & N item . All reassembled and everything here was inspected and cleaned . The VFR had heated grips that didn't work. They had to go and new grips were fitted. Then it was time to tackle the front end. Fork seals, stanchions were cleaned up. Lowers were striped, cleaned and repainted. I have seen much worse. After a repaint, waiting for the legs to dry . The front brakes were fully serviced. Cleaned and any internals where needed were replaced. I always replace the pad pins with titanium items ad Ti doesn't rust and use Ti caps. New brake pads from Mr Honda fitted all round and all the brake fluid was also replaced. The wheel was replaced with a white item , with new bearings, Ti disk bolts and Ti pinch bolts . Disks were in excellent condition and were cleaned up . New Pirelli tyres were also fitted . A different view in daylight so you can see the result. I think its come out very well . And not forgetting to clean up here either. Yes thats a dirty mark, not a flaw in the fork paint. Thats the front end done. Now took the back of the bike off. Everything was checked , cleaned and every connector removed and refitted to make sure it all connects as it should, especially the RR connections. New clips and bolts for the rear brake lines too . Its all good this side. And this side . And also in here. Then all the bodywork was put back and the whole lot was mopped and polished. Its easier to to on the work table. And there you have it. One 20 year old VFR , refreshed and ready to do another 20 years. There are lots of things I have pictures off that I have not posted. I didn't want to bore you . Overall Im very pleased how this one turned out. Thats the third one I have done. Those Ti bolts look so good. Out with its older brother today as the sun was out . Proof that you can have more than 1 VFR and get away with it. As they are both blue my wife thinks I only have 1 bike and its the same one she sees. At least thats what I tell her . Now looking for my next project VFR.

Strong smell of fuel and no fire suggest no spark... first I'd pull a spark plug cap and insert a spare spark plug to test for spark... also employing a screw to block a vacuum hose still allows air to bleed pass the threads... take an spare O ring to size and cut a section out and insert into the hose to block 100% of the air...

I wanted to add a few more things here. I ran across a couple riding the R1250RS. It was impressive to look at so I asked the pilot how he liked it. He said it was a great bike and his only complaint was replacing the rear tire every 3000 miles. I wasn't clear on if that was due to the fun factor or always 2 up riding. To be honest though my next bike is going to be a used Goldwing. I made the mistake test driving 2 different ones after testing an FJR1300. You can lean those a lot more than you think and the weight being so low was even easier to handle than my 02 VFR. Seating position was very close to the 1000SX, I could one foot it at stop lights comfortably, and they move quite quickly with a bit of throttle. The R1250RS would scare me trying to move it around my garage and the 1000SX could 2 up but my wife won't due the sport bike perches any more so I would always be riding solo. Throw in a Goldwing with a queen's thrown that is still putting smiles on my face in the twisties and I win. In the mean time I will just have to "settle" for my VFR.

With just one cylinder fuel-filled, that would seem to indicate you have one injector that's not closing or 3 that aren't working properly. Either way, that would seem to warrant more investigation. Fuel deteriorates with time and gums things up - electrical parts can sit for decades and still work just fine, so fuel is the more likely culprit. Your spark check procedure will work if you can hold the plug to the coil pack. You could probably tape it. Maybe an easier way would be to get a noid light you can plug in to each coil pack's wiring connector and see if the they blink. If the coil packs are receiving current and signal to fire, the plugs should be sparking. Your coil packs are 3 wire vs 2 so you need a compatible noid light. The FSM should show a test procedure. Regardless of how the spark turns out, the difference in fuel going to the one cylinder should be checked out.

Continuing.. Having a stash of spare parts/engines does come in handy As is having proper tools for the job What is wrong in this picture The channel for the clutch pushrod was filled with crud... See-sawed it clean Nespresso, what else? Next..... spoon in the engine

Well, I finally got the headers off this evening. I ended up just trying to twist them using towing straps (I was pulling vertically before) and that seemed to break it free. It still took quite an effort to get the two downpipes off after that (another hour or so) but the job is done. I ended up having to remove the right side rearset by removing the swingarm nut to give better access to the header pipes. One trick I did was to put the hook of the towing strap into the header opening and wrap the strap around my shoulders so that I could pull vertically on the downpipe while pushing down on the collector with my foot. This seemed to deform the graphite gasket enough so that the downpipe could start to slide out with a lot of forceful wiggling. I think the takeaway here is that you won't be able to pull the downpipe straight out, you'll need to deform the gasket to make room for it to be wiggled out. I actually had a similar problem with removing the muffler on my 58k mile bike, and unfortunately this also means that the gasket will be destroyed and you'll have to replace it. Thanks for the help everyone. One more question for you guys. Should I replace the exhaust studs and bolts with new ones or just slap the old ones back in there with the WiLD headers? All of them came off easily enough, but the studs have some moderate surface rust.

Here's where I got it: https://rapidbike.us/contact Don't know why, but the software link is in the contact page. The website has confused me on a regular basis. I'm just glad the physical install instructions they mailed with the device are pretty straightforward!

Plenty of use for the centre stand when you’re on a tour and need to repair/replace a tyre.

Oh, and the RB Master Free version software also asked to update something itself following download...there's that too. Have not installed my RB Racing or played with this yet, but the software appears to run.

I just loaded my software this morning. When I did, Windows prompted me to install a different version of .NET framework. I want to say it was 3.5, which is now present on that laptop next to 4.8. The desktop I'm on already has it, so this may not be the 100% answer... If you want to see what you've got, type "Windows Features" in the search bar and click on "Turn Windows Features on and off" when it comes up.

It might be that you need to download the correct RB drivers for w10. I'd suggest getting in contact with Yaman https://rapidbike.us/

Don't forget the left hand thread on the right hand side.

I haven't been on the forum much the last couple of seasons with a hectic job. Congrats on the headers they sound awesome. I read through about half of the numerous pages and still could not find the answer that I was looking for, so for that my apologies. Are these still available if I wanted to purchase a set for my 5th and 6th gen? Actually I have 2 Gen 5 and a gen 6. currently they all run great but why not modify if you can right lol. If not then maybe in the future if there is another production run.

I got her front end naked today 😈 fitted a rad guard on her took about an hour to do with a coffee and the kids comings to “help”

I have used both Braking and the Chinese knockoff rotors which I converted both to full floating in order to minimize rotor warp. I liked both. I only recommend the stock brake pads from Honda never had a problem. I did have problems with EBC HH pads and EBC race pads and Braking pads.

This is a good source of gaskets, O rings, etc at bargain prices .. https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/usaview?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 I got a complete 4 carb set of jets, washers, etc for less than $20 delivered Good luck .... my 89 RC24 was in a similar state, squirrelman was a great help setting the carbs up

This is a possibility this year. Will have had both COVID-19 vaccinations by then.

After riding my 6th gen VFR over 14 years and many thousands of miles, I bought my first BMW last fall, a new R nineT Pure with its air/oil-cooled boxer twin engine. I loved the V4's character, torque and hp. While bike shopping for over a year, I looked at a couple bikes with inline 4 engines, but they just lacked the character I wanted in my next bike. The boxer twin, on the other hand, had gobs of character, and it's a major reason I chose my BMW. The R1250RS is going to have character, too, but it's smoother, more powerful, quieter, and liquid-cooled. The low-end torque is great, but you can also rev these boxers up. Service intervals are also longer on the liquid-cooled boxers compared to my bike's older engine design. But either way, the valve checks and adjustments are supposed to be much easier than on most bikes. And the available technology on the newer R bikes is impressive, although I tend to be wary of some advanced tech, fearing failures and expensive repairs. Among the pros though, I really like the shaft drive. Also on the plus side, no more chain maintenance and no more buying expensive new chain and sprocket sets every 20,000 miles. I sometimes miss having a centerstand, which the RS has and the Ninja doesn't. The R1250RS is a great looking bike, but yes, expensive to buy, and dealer service is more expensive than at any Big 4 shop. I considered buying an R or RS last year, but the RS seemed bigger to me than my VFR, and I was looking to get something a little smaller. The Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX is also a great looking bike, sleeker overall than the BMW in my opinion, and could very well be more reliable than the Beemer. It's certainly much cheaper. But look at the smaller details of the two bikes and you might find the quality of the parts and the fit and finish is a step up on the BMW. Maybe not enough to justify a $4K or more price difference, but when I compare most Big 4 bikes to a new BMW, a few things stand out. Still, the Ninja has more than enough power and great tech, too. There's probably going to be some buzzy-ness to it, but you'll get some on the BMW at higher rpms, too. (Mine is worse, being the older design.) One factor I've always considered when looking at new or used bikes is the dealer network. If I'm on a long trip or tour and my bike breaks down, is the nearest dealer shop an hour away, or three to four hours away? Not a huge factor, but it's there. I'd bet there are more Kawasaki than BMW shops in America, so that's a point for the Ninja in my opinion. Sorry that was kind of rambling and long-winded. Like most bikes, these two have pros and cons. Also, please don't take me for a huge BMW fanboy. I wanted one for a long time and I really dig my new bike, but I'm not married to the brand. In fact, I bought pretty much the cheapest new BMW you can buy, excluding the scooter and the 310cc bikes, so it's not like I'm showing more love to the BMW because I need to justify having spent tons of money on it. Anyway, if it were me and price wasn't a factor, I'd probably buy the BMW R1250RS, mainly because I love the boxer twin engine, but also because the BMW is a little different. You'll see R's and RT's, but you don't see too many RS's, and I like that. Actually, it's another reason I bought the bike I did. But in real life, instead of one of the two bikes you mentioned, I'd be looking at a used R1200RS instead so I could afford one. The new R1250RS's are unbelievably expensive, upwards of $17-20K with options, and that's before you even add the OEM hard bags. In that respect, the Kawasaki starts making a lot more sense.

I am blindly hoping that KTM will soon add some nice sport touring type creature comforts to the 890..... it has ample power, light weight and nimble handing, and a good fuel tank range. The electronics are modern, and im guessing reliability will be pretty good too. Aprilia RS660 looks tasty too....... Here's to wishing on a star.... like a fully modernized 9th Gen. Viffer ! Ha!

These two bikes are also at the top of my "possible next bike" list. I have looked at the 1000 SX extensively. I guess my short answer is, if price wasn't a factor, I'd maybe(?) go with the BMW. It's a great bike with lots of "mature rider" refinements. In a moment when the sport-touring concept is somewhat out of fashion (and therefore under-represented in the new model lineups) the 1250 RS is a completely credible "upgrade" from the VFR. That being said, I've never owned a BMW, but spending my own money on one would definitely feel like a gamble. Everything I've read about the "total cost of ownership" for BMWs is either: a) Actually, they are rock-solid and reliable, or b) Actually, they are prone to expensive maintenance issues Which of these contradictory reputations to believe? Since I am both a pessimist and someone who believes that Japanese bikes offer better value to the budget-conscious consumer, I'm inclined to give a Japanese bike the nod in the event of a tie. But since, in the real world, price very much matters, I scratched the BMW from my short list. I haven't priced the BMW recently, but my recollection is that it was consistently at least $4K more than the N1K. Maybe $16K vs $12K or something like that? $4K buys a lot of noteworthy upgrades. That's an ECU re-flash (for smooth throttle response), plus an Ohlins suspension, plus an after-market seat. The knocks I've heard against the 1250 RS: pricey in the usual BMW way some people don't like the "tractor-like" boxer twin some people don't like the rider triangle ergos The knocks I've heard against the Ninja: IL4 can be buzzy at some RPMs insurance can be surprisingly pricey (on account of the Ninja name?) no center-stand fit and finish is a step or two off Honda I think the 8th gens (especially in red!) are just ridiculously beautiful bikes. I would buy a used 8th gen today if they had modern electronic rider aids. They do have TC and ABS, but both of those are (IMO) 2010 vintage technology. Both the Ninja 1K and the 1250 RS offer Bosch's latest commercial 6-axis IMU technology (aka "cornering ABS"). Everything I have read from the people who have tested these bikes is that the technology is a game-changer in terms of rider confidence and safety. In the end, I tend to be pretty frugal (cheap?) when it comes to motorcycles. That's one of the reasons I ride a 16-year-old 6th gen. In that spirit, if you're looking at new bikes, I don't believe anyone is currently offering more sport-touring motorcycle for the dollar than is Kawasaki with the N1K.

Nice 4th gen VFR750, 1995. 36000 miles, decent, very good plastics. Mods / upgrades 8 spoke daugherty stock rear shock rebuild Daugherty front fork internals tyga left exit full header exhaust system mra touring screen throttlemeister cruise control gen mar risers new tires fresh mobile one oil new stator and rectifier/regulator shorties adj levers elec outlet All original stock components available! Very nice example of a 4th Gen. give me a call to discuss if interested thanks for looking, panamawing

With 2nd hand huggers scarce and new ones silly money..... Still want to keep the new YSS free from muck.. Plenty doormat left to fine tune shape/position...

Thanks for the words of encouragement! Yes things are getting much better and we are looking at life from the best perspective possible given the circumstances. I try to make the best decisions, but sometimes life has other plans, and have recently learned to sail" through life, rather than "row" as it is much less work. Instead of trying to push life around, and fight the universe, I just use gentle nudges to try to guide it in the direction I would like it to go. Getting back on topic, I have a small electrical issue on the RC51 to sort, then back to the SF project. Also getting caught up at work, so I should be able to make my brackets in the next few weeks. Thanks again everyone for your entertaining posts, and kind words!

Thanks for the concern Jefferson! Yes, went through some pretty tough times with the wife (her health) and then loosing her job, and medical insurance. Things were looking pretty dark, and couldn't ride for awhile. I had to do some deep soul searching, and lots of medical assessing since western medicine seems to only focus on curing symptoms, not causes. We are on the right track now, and doing well. Because of some covid rules at her employer, we got the medical insurance re-instated for a few months at least. So at now I can continue riding ( my therapy ). Also been insanely busy at work, so have not had time to make the parts to continue on my project. I will still give you the part(s) you needed when I get back on the SF project and start working on the back of the bike. I was enjoying your posts as well as Pat's while I was in my dark place, so that was something I looked forward to - reading the progress of all the other projects while I could not work on the bike. I just have to make a bunch of brackets, and the front will be complete, as everything works, it's just not long road trip worthy. The rear is just mounting the tailsection and adapting the 929 shock. After that, just a decent coat of paint, so hopefully I will be done before, or right around summer time.

I'm selling my 1998 VFR800. The bike is located in Arlington Virginia. I'd love to keep it, but I've been in the habit of spending my summers in Greece and can't justify keeping it here unused while I'm gone during most of the riding season. I got the bike from one of my best friends who passed away last year. It had sat in his barn for most of his ownership. It had the alternator/rectifier issue these bikes are known for and I put in a new alternator and mosfet rectifier so the electrical system is all sorted out. I also put on a new x ring chain and tires, all that is about 2500 miles old. I also bought a full set of Givi luggage. Mechanically it is perfect, it starts up first time every time and it has performed flawlessly on the few trips I took last year. It has a sergeant seat which is amazingly comfortable on long rides. I also installed some super bike bars for a more upright riding position and have all the parts to bring it back to stock. Cosmetically it is not 100%, there is a scrape on the lower right fairing and the clutch cover is also scraped - it looks from a low speed slide. It couldn't have been too bad, because the title is clean and there is no other damage. Price is now $3100 with out the luggage, $3700 for everything together. The luggage itself is also on offer for $700.