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Hi again everyone! PICTURES! Seeing as some of you asked to see both bikes, here they are... Sorry it's been a while, but [not that anyone cares ] but have been reeaaally busy, running my business, keeping it afloat during Covid/lockdown, building my new shed, which developed into a new large 'man-cave' thanks to 'From Maine' giving me the idea to have more bikes later ....[Man-cave, aka: my wee home office, or shrine to my Blackbird... hehe - NO! she's not fully retired, but i'm preserving the miles 35k miles], .... ....and what else have i been doing? Designing my extensions for my wee home in Scotland and, looking after widowed Mum down in Wales.....every 6 weeks - no easy task (she's Italian and now 87, so you can only imagine the ordeal i have to go thru!! haha). Pictures! Couldn't do what mum said and 'put a leg over each and ride both out to a nice spot to photo them', so its on the driveway...but gives you the idea, for now. So far, since January this year when Dad passed away, I've been taking the Cat (car) down from Scotland to Wales which is a great blast - performance and handling in comfort with no back or bum ache! - but in a few weeks.....the first long journey on VFR, (some 500 miles) and I can't wait! It should dry and sunny in August!! Yeeeaah! And finally, check out the round silver plate the Bird sits on in the man-cave, in the last 2 pics. No need to struggle to turn it round . lol.

I agree with above. Quality costs a little more but I believe it is cheaper in the long run. BTW. I have ALWAYS changed sprockets at same time as the chain. Many others may not agree. Even if your were flipping it, when the potential buyer was to ask if the sprockets where changed as well as the chain, what would the answer be?

Thanks so very much for your help mate. A true gentleman. And I’ve learned a thing or three. Top work 👍 Cheers 🍺

Totally agree with using a top quality chain. But can I please have all your old sprockets you've replaced, assuming you keep the chain properly tensioned, lubricated regularly (mostly for the benefit of the sprockets), and haven't over extended the chain life!

That's the secret! I clean off chain with scrub-brushes every other tank and lube it. Inspect slack monthly. JT, long-time maker of sprockets, has introduced new line of X-ring chains. Just put one on my race-bike, will see how it compares to previous DID that lasted 2-seasons (flipped alloy sprocket after 1st season).

IIRC, it was actually never a law, but an agreement among the Japanese manufacturers towards having always-on headlights for motorcycles (and towards harmonising worldwide manufacturing). Having a switch on your headlights was never illegal in the UK (and still isn't an MOT failure, AFAIK). I doubt much changed between the 5th and 6th gens in terms of headlight wiring, so it would probably be fairly easy to "reverse engineer" that feature by fitting parts from the previous model. I converted a VFR750 and a CBR1000F from US-spec to UK-spec back in the day and I recall that I had to run only one or two extra wires into the switch pods in order to get the Passing switch to work. I think all I did on the other side was fit the lower pod from the UK model, which has a simpler starter switch. (I may have had to swap some of the wires in the connectors, too--it's been a few years, sorry!) In any case, it is very do-able. As Grum mentioned, however, the always-on bikes disconnect the lights when the starter button is pressed, thus allowing all of the battery's power to go towards starting the engine, so that's not really a concern. I like having control of the lights, however, but also bear in mind that you will have to remember to turn them on... Ciao, JZH

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Just leave it alone.

Found the 4 pin plug. It had a bit of gunk in it so cleaned it out with WD40 and a white cloth. Pretty grubby!! Re-connected. Then noticed on the diagram a hazard switch next to it. Did the same with that too. Ignition on - horn pressed…. WORKS!!!!!!!! Replaced the relay. nose cone not yet replaced. Hazard lights rear test….. WORKS!!!!! (Normal speed) Indicator lights test….. WORKS!!!! (although flashing faster than normal speed).

Double-check the Prestone jug. Most automotive antifreeze is silicate-free, these days. When you change your hoses, flush everything out of the system and start fresh. Replace with Asian automotive coolant, which is equivalent to Honda Type 2. As I mentioned before, you need to start out with a solid base, with everything at its best.

I don't think the Prestone will harm the fuel pump gasket, but it will definitely do bad things to your water pimp seal. If it were mine I would drain and flush everything out as best as possible before another ride. That dilute an amount may not be fatal to the pump seal, but a 50/ 50 mix most certainly is, the dilute amount just might take longer. You'll know it when you pull over for a break to discover that your rear tire is covered with coolant. If you're running a Gen 5, note that the water pump is NLA from Honda, so you want to take all precautions to preserve it. I've been using the Honda coolant for their cars. The dye is a slightly different color, but it works great and is a fraction of the cost of what's available at power sports dealers, about $20. If you find your water pump leaking, you'll wish you'd spent the money.

That's what I needed to hear. I'm cheap but for now, the VFR is a keeper so I'll break the bank. Thanks gentlemen.

Oh, I forgot to say I blocked off the grit intakes in the swingarm. Somewhere else online a guy used silver foil tape, so I just copied that idea.

Bikemaster is Tucker Rocky’s (parts distributor) house brand. If you’re short on money, flipping the bike, or don’t care about your stuff, run it. Otherwise, DID or RK are what you want, preferably in a coated or gold finish, so you’re not dealing with rust issues.

at only 23k miles the swingarm bearings should be fine. you're only making more unnecessary work for yourself and more expense and time. another case of OCD ?

Hi all, I've just bought a vfr 750 FK, pretty much blind, its got MoT, the electrics work and runs fine, it is however as you'd expect a bit tatty round the edges, so this winter its going in the garage and getting worked on. Looking forwards to reading technical advice as I go through the forums.

I got some colour swatches from Cerakote, its amazing how many ways you can do 'metal coloured', it's looking good for 'titanium' or 'glacier titanium'. I also received some smoked front signals from Herr Thurn, which really blend in nicely on a black VFR.

I stopped for gas last week and pulled up with the only available pump on the right side. I knew the guy at the next pump and was chatting with him while I opened the tank and hung my newish Shoei GT Air on the left mirror (I would normally have put it on the 'uphill' right side). I decided to put the bike on the centerstand to get a better angle for the nozzle, and as I heaved back and pushed the stand down it all went pear shaped and the bike fell away from me towards the pump. My friend and a random helpful stranger quickly helped me right the thing, which had stopped on the pump curb with the handle bar end. Nothing else touched the ground, except the bottom of the foot peg as it folded and the brake pedal which bent slightly. Not a mark on anything, my helmet stayed on the upside mirror and not a drop spilled from the open tank. Lucky or what? After the fact I found my foot had slipped off the stand at the critical moment because there was a wad of chewing gum (with a cigarette butt stuck in it!) on the bottom of my boot right where I pushed on the stand 🤬 .