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So I took a long hiatus from riding. Probably a familar story, I used to ride all the time but got married had kids decided I shouldn't be hooliganing around on my bike and sold it. So fast forward 15 years... I've always really liked 5th gen VFR's and always wanted one. Welp 18 months ago (roughly) I finally was like f'k it i'm getting a bike and I put search alerts up for a 5th gen vfr and bid my time. Finally I saw a deal pop up that I pounced on. A 1998, with 13k miles on it, the previous owner had an incident where it fell over in gravel 😐 so the fairing on the one side is scratched up. But I thought to myself at that mileage, for 2K hell I haven't ridden in 15 years maybe it's not so bad if there's scratches (barely noticeable from 10 feet away). So with cash in hand I came home with my VFR. At first I was unexpectedly a nervous rider, that only lasted a couple weeks as I got my riding instincts back. It probably took took a good 6 months before I was really second nature and was riding with my bike, instead of "on" my bike. But now, 5K miles later I ride whenever I can. Whether it's a simple hey we need some small item that will fit in my tail bag (I have a tank bag that I put over the pillion, which works really well) Or I just want to ride for the heck of it as long it's above freezing I'm good. Just other day I was riding though and I was really starting to push her through her paces. The bike is definitely still more capable then I but I feel very competent once more. But I just came away with what an awesome all around bike this truly is. It's one thing to know that you are getting a great bike, but another to experience and feel it in your bones. Anyhoo just wanted to chime that in... (Pic from day i brought her home)

Sounds like you need to get that starter apart and cleaned. Pay very close attention to the order of things and keep mindful of thrust washers that like to stick together, until they don't, and disappear. I do this on every new-to-me-bike and they are always FULL of brush dust. I rarely have to replace the brushes and usually just sand them a bit for a fresh surface. Once thoroughly cleaned with electronics cleaner and the armature cleaned up, they spin up so nice and fast, even when hot.

And it matters that you measure when the battery is 100% charged.

What is your battery voltage with the bike idling and revving? You might have a charging issue, especially if you still have the stock R/R.

I find some insect carnage on the inside of my screen when I remove it for cleaning, tho I don't know how much of that is coming up and actually striking my helmet, etc. It's not a big deal tho and since it's a dark screen, it's not visible.

Is that "The Yellow Peril"?

Stray, Sorry. I’m late to the party. I’m doing this flush the way you describe. I was not able to discern which one of the three bolt heads facing down (next to the oil filter) was the cylinder head drain bolt. I passed on that step. I am in the middle of the task 1/2 vinegar 1/2 distilled water on the warming up cycle and the radiator fan has already turned on. I will update after the procedure is complete. Thank you for your suggestions. j. Lawson Portland, OR area. I took the time to flush the radiator. I am using the Honda Type 2 (blue color) pre-mixed (50/50) coolant in my vfr. Tomorrow, I will check the mix at the filler cap with a suction bulb tester. Then I will put the fairings back on. I should change the engine oil and filter, too, while the fairings are off. I will attach photos. From left to right: 1st gallon jug: What came out of the engine. It was below the required 50/50 mix. 2nd gallon jug: After using 50/50 distilled white vinegar (5% acidity) and distilled water. 3rd gallon: After using 5 Tbsp of Soda crystals mixed with 0.75 gallon (3 quarts) of distilled water. 4th gallon: Straight distilled water. The bike didn’t like this one as it reached 250*F the digital temp. gauge started flashing at the 250*F. I turned off the engine and let it cool while I washed the fairings in the tub. After all that, I drained the distilled water, flushed another gallon of distilled water down the filler cap with the drain bolt removed. I plugged the drain hole and then filled the radiator(s) with the Honda Type 2 coolant.

A pic from the other day. I have since installed the upper cowl with lights and am just waiting to get in the paint booth to finish the right side panel, then it will be done.

Not that they could! Probably strip the plastic nuts.

I won't let a dealer tighten a license plate bolt.......

Noise at rest has to do with tank-venting. Perhaps they didn't hook up some hose properly.

Yeah, a photo is needed!

Sooooo....waht is it? Gotta photo? 🙂

Alright, you bastages....you talked me into it.

I uploaded one to downloads section.

Update: I bought some used OEM rotors from eBay, but they were in much worse condition (gouged, pitted) than what the seller described so I returned them and bought some EBC MD1176X rotors instead. After swapping them out and testing the brakes they feel 100 times better than before. The root cause of my problem was definitely the warped rotor, the wheel spins freely now and the lever has firmed up dramatically now that it's not trying to push on a warped rotor. Thanks again to everyone for the advice, I haven't bedded in the rotors completely so I'll reserve my judgement until then but they fit great onto the wheel. The takeaway? Even if you've flushed the brakes thoroughly and have checked over all components 10 times over, the cause of your problem may be nothing to do with the system you're servicing. Check your rotors!