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Wow! sounds like quite a few of you have received your goods already. Have to say I got scolded the other day on Facebook when I posted about these being done and that I was helping get them boxed up. I was accused of being HIGHLY irresponsible for even leaving the house, let alone meeting up with someone. Apparently me shipping out "crappy" headers (the term they used) was a higher priority to me than the safety and well being of others. I retorted in my usual sarcastic tone but had to put on a serious face and explain the entire situation. It probably didn't help that I had said I ignored the "stay at home order". Which at the time was, you can go outside and walk/walk your dog, visit public places but no gatherings of more than 10 or more, maintain good distance and cleanliness discipline. All of which were complied with. Heck, I even brought my own packing tools (tape gun, gloves, etc.) so that SFDownhill and I would not cross contaminate. This was in addition to keeping 6 feet or more away from each other as well as being outdoors! Anyway, not a big deal, no one was harmed in this venture, everyone is getting their stuff and best of all I can now relax and know that I made some VFR folks very happy! I will add I did have a similar post here to the one I had on FB but decided to delete it, I'd rather not make any "enemies" on a world class top notch forum! Cheers, D

Look what BEAUTIFUL curves showed up at my house today! Box and contents arrived immaculate... thank you for taking such good care packing up my 5th gen goodies. I think these will become family heirlooms to be cherished by my descendants for generations! Lance and Darryl you guys ROCK!!!

a little update about the vfrDEAFNESS thread.... I AM NOW A CYBORG!! Got my head drilled and skull ground shaved and implant installed.. now..... holy crap! 30 years of music to catch up on... so.. anyone close to hagerstown who can teach me the guitar or bass in exchange for work done o their bike/ bikes ?

Hopefully things will be starting to improve by May! Thinking most of this year will be a challenge for most folks. Stay safe and rubber down! I think the pis is the 2013 Texas Mac, same year i turned 100k miles on the VFR.

While sitting at home today somewhat bored there was a knock at my door. My nephew sporting a rather excited grin informed me he had just purchased a new bike and it was sitting in my drive. A very new 2020 Yamaha R1 that he had only picked up that day and he had only put 35 km on the clock. Would I like a ride he asks 🤪 (he often asks silly questions) So on with the kit and away we go. For reference the most powerful bike I had previously ridden was a BMW S1000R (160hp) so this was somewhat of a step up for me from my VFR. As the bike was brand new, on brand new tyres, and we were only riding around town I took it very easy (plus of course it wasn’t my bike) Never the less the power was simply mind blowing. I didn’t get out of third gear and can’t imagine ever needing sixth gear. The brakes were excellent, the handling seemed good but having only taken it very easy I didn’t get a real idea of what it will be like at speed. (I did give it a few revs in third in a 100kmh zone it hit 150kmh what seemed like instantly, this was on a straight piece of road though). I envy him being young enough to ride this style of bike for any length of time, as much as I enjoyed it my 61 year old body would protest after about 100km I think. We are heading off for a 300km ride tomorrow and no doubt I will get another go. Will take a change of underwear I think.

Mine arrived yesterday safe and sound. I've just gotta make myself a link pipe now. I might have to sit on the bike and make engine noises in the meantime.

Miss Nosy was anxious to see what Santa brought in March! The adventure is about to begin!

😍Oooh that box and those curves, you're such a tease Never mind i can wait😆

Partzilla. Around $235 including a new radiator cap, thermostat and 5 o-rings... Description Price Diagram # Radiator cap $30.93 Radiator 11 Hose, Radiator (lower) $12.35 Radiator 20 Hose, L. Radiator (lower) $6.69 Radiator 21 Hose, R. Radiator (lower) $14.01 Radiator 22 Hose, Radiator (upper) $7.41 Radiator 24 Hose, R. Radiator (upper) $22.50 Radiator 25 Hose, Radiator breather $12.14 Radiator 27 Hose, Overflow, Bulk (into and out of resv. tank) $21.78 Radiator 39 Thermostat $28.19 Water Pump 2 O-Ring, 47.5x2 $1.59 Water Pump 17 Hose A $11.18 Water Pump 11 Hose B $7.02 Water Pump 12 Hose, Bypass $40.83 Water Pump 13 Hose, Fr. Head $4.61 Water Pump 14 Hose Rr. Head $4.61 Water Pump 15 O-Ring, 23x2.4 for Joint A (fr. head port) $2.05 Water Pump 16 O-Ring, 23x2.4 for Joint B (rr. head, port) $2.05 Water Pump 16 O-Ring, 21.2x2.4 for Joint (inside V to fr. head) $2.58 Water Pump 18 O-Ring, 21.2x2.4 for Joint (inside V to rr. head) $2.58 Water Pump 18 Total $235.10 The upper middle radiator hose between the two radiators is no longer available. I'm not really worried about that one, since it's easy to access from the front of the bike, and the hose has very little bend to it. It should be easy to replace using generic automotive hose if you detect a leak. Also, for 00-01 bikes, you'll need two more hoses that go to the throttle body assembly. I might have also replaced a couple of the small wire tube clips that were corroded. Most of the worm drive clamps were re-useable. For the hose clamps inside the V of the engine, I tightened them down onto the new hoses. Let them sit overnight to compress the new rubber, then tightened them down again. I don't want any leaks in there due to insufficient clamp tension! Also, getting the pair tube reattached to the front of the airbox is a MAJOR PITA! After I got everything back together and refilled the coolant, I left the side fairings off just in case. I fired up the bike, and it started right away but it would not hold idle and die after a few seconds. The FI light was also blinking. I had to run the FI self-diagnostic... two blinks = "loose connection to the MAP sensor vacuum tube" as per the service manual. And that's exactly what it was! In my rush to get everything back together after my "episode" with the front PAIR tube, I forgot to reattach the vacuum hose to the MAP sensor on the back of the air box. Easy fix, reset the malfunction light as per the service manual, and the bike was running perfect! I rode the bike naked for a couple days just to make sure there were no leaks or other issues.

Well PMs with tracking numbers have been sent out to all those expecting a header or headers. Please PM me if you were expecting a PM with a tracking number but did not receive it. CHEERS!

Brilliant and makes me feel really good. Why? I have a VFR750 I bought new in the UK in 1988. About 338,000kms, or 210,000 miles and I have couriered on it, raced at Brands Hatch, been all over Europe and then bought it with me to New Zealand, where I now live. Bought and engineering business afew years back and we do bike and car engine rebuilds. Classics, V8s, diesels, trucks, anything. And the guy who runs it is a mad biker, with 13 bikes. So who better to work on it? Back in the UK I had a bike shop specialising in VFRs are started the VFR Owners Club back in the mid 1990s. SO I know a little about them. Took it into be looked over and anything that needed fixing was going to be done. Like you, everything checked. Very slight wear on the barrels, just need a hone out. Rings fine, compression fine, carbs fine. Been dynojetted pretty much since new and got a race Renegade system on it with K&N air filter. So we'll do the hone, replace the rings, (be silly not to) and replace the clutch basket bearings as they are a little rattly. But apart from that, everything is fine. So moral of the story is use your VFR. They can take it and their reputation as one of the best made over engineered bikes ever made is well deserved. I'll do many more miles on mine, I reckon I'll stop before it does! And I had a new 1998 VFR800 as well. Much quicker, smoother etc, but prefer the old 750. Like a pair of old slippers, after 32 years, we're kinda mates now and can't see me binning it! Thanks for your story, makes me feel that we haven't missed anything on mine. These really are frigging good bikes......

I have decided to prune the membership of anyone who has not logged in since 2015. They can always sign up again.

The mid 90s days of the RC45 were ones that in my personal feeling will never be equaled. Seeing (and hearing) those V4's on the track was magic and I loved (and still do) having some of that Honda DNA in my garage and at the command of my right wrist. The V4 experience is like no other and if I have to explain it to someone, they simply cannot understand. No other formula is its equal.

Also on the topic of "alternative" choices: I present to you my latest acquisition, a 2001 Honda Silverwing 600. The water-cooler FI twin cylinder head is just like a VFR, but this has a belt-driven CVT transmission. 70,000km, and another example of "it looked better on eBay...". Going to have my work cut out for me with this one, the PO rode it till it started giving grief I think, an oil leak and also burnt stator (hey, it is a Honda!) for starters, and it has been left in the elements for a few years so the corrosion levels are epic. Then there are the incorrect fasteners all over, missing fasteners, or (shock!) using silicone sealer to glue body parts back on....bleurgh.

I picked up another project just in time, and it seems like many of the same parts from my 86 VFR 700 rebuild are compatible if not very similar to what is on this 86 VFR400R. The previous owner road it around while teaching in Japan, and then imported it with a bunch of other stuff a couple of years ago. Lots of function over form type of fixes on this thing, like the wrong color scheme tank, weird custom brackets with welds and stuff to keep mirrors and the shifter alive, i sort of dig the ingenuity honestly. Shortly after picking it up: The idle is about 4500 rpm's, the battery is shot, fork seals gone, and lots of cosmetic issues, but otherwise not a bad start. Story is he took it to a shop to get the carbs "tuned up" and that was botched, so he got a refund and lost interest. My plan is to pull these carbs off and rebuild em using a viton o-ring pack assortment i've got coming, or if none of those fit order a bare bones nc30 kit as the float bowl gaskets are the same supposedly. Quick test tide before taking this thing apart. Little sketchy thanks to the high idle, no rear brake, and front brakes covered in fork oil. Apologies for the vertical video, gf took that one and i had the thing inoperative before i could get a do over on it 😛 Never seen this before, some sort of foam jammed in to these bolts, my assumption is to stave off rust. I haven't pried it out yet because no need, just weirded me out and thought it was cool: Kickstand mod, it is actually pretty easy to kick this puppy out thanks to this contraption: Mirrors are being kept alive by Frankenstein-esque methods: As she sits now: I actually did the last bit of work while on a zoom call for work. It was a non-mandatory happy hour video chat, so what better way to enjoy than in my own garage. I wheeled the laptop out on a standing desk i've got, and enjoyed their company while yanking this old thing apart. I just got this thing a day before the stay at home order in my town, and have already ordered a ton of parts that are rolling in about now. Using many of the same ones i've used before as i know what I can trust. NGK's, Motobatt AGM battery, mosfet reg/rec to get wired straight to the battery bypassing that damn red connector, clean and dielectric grease every ding dang connector, OEM fork seals, wheel bearings just so i can take that stuff apart and call it good, and the rest i'll order as needed because it seems good. Still on the hunt for either a muffler silencer for this weird JDM can or a stock one cause this thing is LOUD, as well as a front brake lever and windshield. I tried signing up over at 400greybike.com as searching that site has been hugely beneficial, but their admins are not responding and there is no contact link, so i'll keep twiddling my thumbs and install what I've got coming already. Shooting for a goer that I can start up and ride around at will, and one that isn't so pretty that I can't ride it around in any weather.

If there is a member here by the name of Beau Sampson, can her please send me a PM? It seems that your headers have mistakenly sent to my MyUS account, and they are querying it (as the ultimate destination address isn't recognised). Naturally, I'm happy to receive a second set, but thought I'd "do the right thing" by letting you know where they are. Let me know if you no longer require them... 😉

How's this for a good start? Keep in mind, this engine is over 200,000 kilometers old. I started into it, over the weekend, and was going to go to town on it. Something this old SHOULD be showing signs of wear, right? It'd be in need of major work.....right? Well.....no, actually. The next time someone says to you that your VFR is getting a bit long in the tooth, keep this entry in mind. The cam lobes are literally unmarked. All of the warranty yellow marks are uncracked, and there's no real need to go any further, as far as i'm concerned. If I were made of money, i'd go for it, regardless....but i'm not. There are much better things to blow my hard earned on, than speculative rebuilding. The engine has no pair valves (none, as in the castings are left unmachined.), so that's off the list. The carbs are perfect, and all I need to do is hit the whole thing with some glass bead, to make it all shiny, and that's about that, for this bit. If it ever goes pear shaped, i'll drop it back out of the bike, and play with it then. For now, though, why fix something that isn't broken?

OK folks, my bad but I'm sure I will be forgiven shortly. I was supposed to update everyone who bought headers yesterday that their package was dropped off at FedEx and should be on its way to them. Unfortunately this applies only to the domestic shipments, as we use the USPS for international shipments (much cheaper) but getting to the Post Office has been a challenge (see below). Rest assured we will do our very best to get ALL shipments out this week. I'm multi-tasking at the moment, as I'm working from home, like I typically do ironically, but for some reason today and yesterday got real busy with conference phone calls, emails and support calls. So I may not get you a PM with your tracking number until later today. That being said, stay safe and healthy and let's hope this pandemic will blow over soon! Cheers, D

Veefalo You are a good man. Many thanks for what you are doing on our behalf

Along the same lines, I took this last summer, Laguna Seca WSBK: edit: Corkscrew ;-)

Bringing a bit of color into dull days...

I have a set of 6th Gen boots on hand (Loaned from MiniCarver, Thanks!) to see what, if any, differences there are. Best I can tell is that the 5Th Gen boots have MBG molded into the top, and 6th have MCW. Fit nice and snug to a 2000 TB, interior contours match up from TB to boot. MiniCarver is running 6th Gen TB on 5Th Gen engine, with a new set of MCW boots (which is why he has a used set spare). Ron Ayes shows MCW at $10.11 each, MBG has no listed price.

Nothing wrong with the PR2; German mc mag Motorrad pitched them against the PR3, 4 and 5 and found very little real life difference. Especially for the price. So if the DOT code is 18 up, that is a good bargain. The PR2 has over the years been updgraded so it is in a way the PR2+

True... Balls 1 RC45 was sold out a shop in Lambeth Ontario... It was listed in Cycle News for $37K and Daniel who only collects Balls 1 motorcycles sealed the deal... I got to know Daniel back in 98 when he offered me 24K for my Balls 2 thinking it was the lowest VIN RC45 available to the pubic... surely Honda has Balls 1 RC45 on display in the Honda museum... boy were we wrong... Daniel still pressures me to sell my RC45 personal plate... no can do Partner... Owners ship their prized RC45s to the Busy Little Shop to get sorted out... All 500 production RC45s have two engine management maps inside their ECU no matter origin: one map is limited for emissions compliance and the other map is for full power. It's a simple matter of cutting 3 wires and rerouting them to the other map. So modified the rear wheel power will rise from 97.8 @ 10,000 rpm to 110 @ 12,250 rpm. Officially Honda states RC45 rake is 24.5 with 92mm of trail... perfect numbers for perfect handling but for some reason they rolled onto the dealers floor with an error in trail of 95.5mm... we add 4mm to the ride height to experience the best from HRC.... Daniel and Jay Leno...

With all the bars closed, there won't be any Harley's on the road :)

Some pics of the last ride before total lockdown in Italy few weeks ago

Nice acquisition! Doesn’t the bank of V look so much nicer with fresh hoses? This post is déjà vu as I did the very same job last year after discovering the water pump was weeping. Leading up to that, I new I needed to replace the thermostat and a quick evaluation of the hoses’ condition led me to add the replacements to the parts list. I found the o-rings to be in exactly that condition. Additionally I removed the radiators to clean the fins with compressed air and HVAC evaporator cleaner. It was a great learning and familiarizing experience part of which was an understanding of the coolant circuits’ flow. I too went with Honda Type 2 auto coolant. The job was a success; no leaks and the coolant temp consistently runs about 100 degrees over ambient at speeds over ~30-40mph. The other memorable aspect of this job was I performed a valve clearance check/adjustment concurrently so that added some time. Good stuff - I think you’ll enjoy the piece of mind knowing the good condition to which you’ve restored that system. So, good job.

Hey Flya - Vfr800witdawaffle is here...I just started a new PM and for recipient typed in vfr800wi and before I got to ‘waffle’ his username popped right up. Let me know if you have further difficulties tracking him down and I’ll see if I can get the two of you connected.

Said the Bishop to the actress...

Is this what you are looking for?

What's the condition of your clutch hydraulic system? Have you tried cleaning / lubricating the linkage? Does the transmission jump out of any gears on acceleration? Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Since 2013, I've been commuting back and forth between Phila, PA and Brooklyn, NY. Motorcycles are better suited for long distance on the highway, but lack the luggage carrying capacity. Additionally, once I get to Brooklyn, bumper-to-bumper traffic pattern occurs more often than I like, clutch-n-shift become old really quickly in the gridlock traffic. Most of my commute within NYC metro have been done on a maxi-scoot. My Burgman 650 was purcahsed under $2k, with 6k miles on odometer back in 2013; now over 23k mi. Triple digit speed capable, plenty of underseat storage, twist-n-go, no-clutch-shifting; not to mention that my wife gets to sit on a much comfortable seat than my other motorcycles, even has a backrest. Sure most motorcyclists don't consider much of scooters, but in reality, I prefer the Maxi-scooter over many of my other regular motorcycles. 2-wheel vehicles are about maneuverability in traffic and efficiency, scooters are better in both.

What a great article! I think this sentence describes how many of us feel about our machines, no matter how common or rare: Like many, I develop irrational sentimental attachments to fast mechanical objects. Sounds and smells bring back memories, and every time I ride this bike. Thank you St. Stephen

Grum The date stamp 2019 actually means it was made in the 20th week in 2019. First two digits is the week and the last two digits is the year. All tyres have this means of identifying when they were manufactured. I always check this stamp when I have new tyres fitted to any of my vehicles. You can find some tyre shops sell off cheap tyres and you think to yourself “they were a bargain” until you then check the date stamp and found you’ve got 3 to 4 year old tyres. Tyre manufacturers recommend to change tyres that are over 7 years old.

You talk'en to Me? LOL

You're very kind about that description......

Listen to MaxSwell. He knows of what he speaks.

Interesting - December last year I went from the Road 5 back to a Pilot Road 2 and as Cogswell states the Road 2's have also been my go-to-tire. For my riding, the Road 5 offered no greater benifit over the PR2 and the PR2 was a fair bit cheaper. The manufacturing year of the Pilot Road 2 I had fitted is 2019 and made in Spain. Seems clear to me Michelin are still manufacturing the PR2 and not just flogging off old stock lying around. Check the manufacture date before having them fitted or ask what the date is before buying. Cheers. P.S. Michelin Australia web site still shows them. Rang Michelin and was informed they are still getting supplies of PR2's especially the 120/70/17 and 180/55/17, however he made the comment the American market could be quite different!!!!!

Hi guys! I'm guessing I'm not the only one who suddenly realized what they've been missing when HispanicSlammer's email arrived last week. After getting this week's newsletter I took the time to really dig in a bit and visit with y'all, so to speak. Lol DAMN! It's been way too long and I miss you guys! I'm down for a bit after some minor surgery a couple of weeks ago, but i'm itching to chat bikes and looking forward to planning some ride time! I'm in the process of relocating from one side of town to another here north of Atlanta (Alpharetta to Kennesaw). Please hit me up for a chat, coffee, whatever so er can plan some ride time in another month or so. Hope everyone has had the chance to enjoy the nice days we've had!

One of those 6th Gen headers is mine and the centre stand was one of the first things I removed from my bike, so I won't be needing a stop.

Got a bunch of things done all at once: New DID chain and Sunstar sprockets despite everything still being in spec, with the OEM chain and sprockets still looking good at 40,150 miles (!) (I only use Honda spray lube on the chain) New adjustable billet levers from Japan New NGK iridium plugs Coolant flush Brake and clutch fluid flush and replacement with Endless RF650 Endless PRO2 front pads New Honda OEM quickshifter (busted the peg on the first one) Honda synthetic oil and OEM filter Honda OEM air filter Then I went for a ride!

Damnit that is one sexy bitch! Nice job Capt!

With weather turning cold, used bikes are cheap.. Picked up a nearly stock 2001 SV650S, minor body work scratches, needs carb sync, oil/filter/coolant/brake fluid change, 17k miles. $1250 cash. Lots of potential.

Camping in Shawnee State Park, Ohio