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I've been spending the winter scanning some of my old slides & negatives and this week I came across these two photos. First pic shows my 2nd VFR800 barely an hour after taking delivery back in Feb. 1999. It replaced my stolen red '98 and this time I opted for superfast yellow instead of yet another red bike. I'd had it fitted with a 3rd gen 8-spoke and both wheels painted a glossy pearl white. Beacon Hill park, in Victoria, is my goto spot for new bike pics. The 2nd pic shows my '91 VFR750 on it's final long ride, near Courthouse Towers in Arches NP, Utah.

Hello! I'd like to introduce myself and my new (to me) 21,000 mile 1999 VFR! After riding vintage motorcycles for a while (1970 CB450K3 and 1969 CL350K1), I decided it was time to get a commuter that would be a little faster, more reliable, and most importantly.... FUEL INJECTED! After a lot of research and soul searching, I decided the VFR should fit my needs nicely. It's a substantial bump in HP, with a more comfortable riding position than a supersport, and it has that unique powerplant - apparently I have a thing for unusual valvetrains. Once I decided on a 5th gen VFR (it had to be fuel injected and it had to have that gear driven valvetrain), I waited until a clean one popped up for sale near me and pounced on it! A 1999 VFR in very nice condition, with all the OEM parts (muffler, signals, passenger pegs/grab handles) included, and just one problem - it doesn't charge the battery. Upon taking off the fairings, the reason why became quite obvious: Luckily, the stator and wiring seem to be good. No internal shorts when tested, 20V AC at idle and just over 50V when revved, even across all three legs. I just had to order a SH847 from Eastern Beaver with wiring kit and I should be ready in time for the season! So while I wait for that to ship, I've been cleaning, restoring it to OEM condition as best I can, and taking quick jaunts around town in an attempt to satiate my impatience. Thanks for the help - this forum was a great resource in diagnosing my charging issue and determining a course of action - and I hope to stick around!

Aside the obvoius engine differences, the 6th frame has thicker sections and therefore stiffer and also the front forks are 43mm and stiffer as well. That is why some guys have installed a 5th engine in a 6th gen.

I think you'll find there are some internal gearbox ratio differences between the 5th and the 6th. The crank is obviously different (gear vs chain sprocket for the cams) but AFAIK the bore and stroke are the same (so maybe rods and pistons?), and I assume the lower crankcase is too. I suspect the alternators are different. I know at least one person has swapped a 5th gen engine into the 6th frame so I presume the engne mounts are the same. So aside from the crank, upper case/cylinders, heads, gearbox, alternator...its all the same? Probably doesn't leave much.

You're correct... Honda did used the RC45 tooling to make the engine for the 5th gen VFR 800... specifically adding bearing support structure to carry a swingarm pivot... My friend Makota San previous job was Chief Engineer Honda R&D who invented Honda's VTEC... he calls VTEC "his baby" and recalls his boss being super skeptical of the idea working at all... Makota San down on cannery row...

The large fasteners are also available in titanium... Ciao, JZH