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When I bought the VFR I was hedging my bets slightly, deciding to run it alongside my Street Triple 765RS for a while. Anyway that worked out really well - I love the VFR. But I still felt like I wanted to change the Triumph. I had owned it nearly 4 years, and generally prefer faired sportbikes. Originally the plan was go full Honda and find either a Fireblade 954 or a 2007/8 600RR - something less practical to go alongside a great all-round VFR. Even started to shop for a 600RR, but then I saw a really nice R1. 2004, very low miles, Akrapovic exhaust and decat, Power Commander, Gilles rearsets. And all the original parts retained, in boxes. The seller even included a paddock stand and a dust cover, couldn't believe it. Here's the collection:

Less practical? You can travel the world on an R1 😁 Nice addition to the stable.

could be master cylinder leaking pressure past failing seals. to test, pull slave off the bike and clamp the piston back with a C-clamp, then squeeze clutch handle to see if it holds pressure or sinks down.

That’s awesome Leon, I’m so happy for you. I loved the Redslut and I was sad to see it torn to pieces. I’ve a soft spot for 4th gen VFRs and this one looks great. I guess I’ll have to go back a few more pages than I did in this topic to see the story. Here’s my new V4 which I bought as a retirement present to myself; a 2021 Ducati Panigale V4S:

Clutch system flush and adjust to spec is in order if you haven't. You definietly want proper movement down below. Have you tried the normal up-shifting without the clutch to separate the systems? My bikes have been finicky about oil; the KLX seems to be less pleased with the Mobil 1 4T that all of the other bikes love. Easy enough to swap oils and save the Shell for later if there is no change in symptoms. Other things might be bent shift forks or beat up gears. Both seem unlikely for a VFR owner to create. 🙂

Is that what they do? Wouldn't it be easier to sell you a gallon of fuel and get you on your way?

Didit, It was a pleasure to ride with you, hang out with you, and party with you. You organized fabulous SumSum's. Best of fortune in your new pursuits. Take care Didit, Terry

Yes, another VFR750F came my way.... Stood idle for some 5 years., so it needed some love and money.... I posted the progress on prevoius pages

Front end refresh at 73,500km. New tapered roller headset and fork seals etc. Nothing wrong just felt it was time. 9,000km ride coming up in October.

Taxes are getting ridiculous. Medi-care doesn't really work here anymore. Climbing interest rates & pending recession. Pending Gov't home equity tax. Nothing really keeping me here. No kids. Recently divorced after 24 years. I'm in good to great health for a mid 50 yr old. I love my work & do ok and have great equity in my house which I'll probably never pay off here. When I took a good look at where I was, where I am and where I want to be, given I have all the means to do it . . . . . the Universe told me, "If you don't follow the signals I've been giving you, you'll never get what you've been asking for." It came to me, it would be a HUGE DISERVICE to the opportunity not to do it. Oh and ya . . no more snow tires / shoes/ shovels/ jackets/ furnaces/ outrageous taxes/ and I'll be mortgage free with $$$ in the bank. A great job waiting for me with opportunity to start fresh. It's a great, invigorating feeling that really charges the neuro-pathways. New friends. New relationship options. New challenges (I'm fully aware there will always be challenges).

More opinions: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/do-motorcycle-tires-have-shelf-life/ https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/debunking-the-tire-age-myth In this brief search, there are a lot of lies out there.

Storage conditions would be the largest factor not age.

Put my seat back into the lower position to lessen the extreme ergos to the bars, which only aggravates a right hip pointer. Bar risers definitely in my future. Even with clip-on adaptors on my Ninja 400 it is less uncomfortable than the viffer. Yeah, I'm probably in denial of my degenerative discs or probable stenosis. Once the ibuprofin kicks in I'm ok

Didit a pleasure to have you as a friend . Sumsum's were such a great experience and a lot of fun . I wish you all the best and hope you still have my email as I want to come for a visit . You are at a time to enjoy life and embrace a new adventure . Take care my friend and hopefully we can meet up again .

It's been a long time since I've been on the site, let alone posted up. Many things have changed over the last 3+ years and I won't bore you with my challenges (which I've managed to overcome). However, I'm preparing for a major life transition. Selling EVERYTHING and moving from Canada to the Dominican Republic. I'll be starting out, working as a PADI instructor & Dive master - then working with a business partner (my instructor) and opening a new dive shop. Building a new home which will feature an AirBnB - so if you know me, then keep my contact and let me know when you want to book the room! I have experienced so many incredible rides and trips with the people I've met from the VFRDiscussion group. Oregon | California | Colorado | Villa Rica | Deals Gap | South Dakota | Idaho | Washington Sum Sum meets were a personal passion that brought many of us together. Anyone know where the Flaf is? From my first PNW VFRD meet in Newport OR, hosted by Keithbob to the last Kootenay Hootenany and SumSum 4 in Custer. I'm posting up my 2004 VFR for sale later today on local classifieds. This is tough, as I've had this bike for 17 years and over 116,000 km. She's gotten me there and back, even with a stator-ectomy in California (with the help of some talented co-riders) Miguel, thank you for the laughs, the site (of course) and some new music (still on my play list). CVVFR, 12 years+ of riding together are the best memories I keep. I'll be winding things down in the coming 4 months, departing in mid October. Putting the house up for sale. Running the estate sale. Purging to minimum items. I will keep my personal email (those that have it) and check in here once I'm settled. Not sure I'd find a VFR in DR? Thank you to so many I've ridden with, learned from, laughed, drank, recovered, explored, travelled and especially to the many who've hosted us when the long, cross country adventures brought us to your back yard. I'd be thrilled to catch up with you, but understand we're all busy. Until next time. . . . Keep the rubber side down, ride your own ride, smooth before fast and keep the dream alive! Cheers

Did a "Britney" this morning... Oops I did it again Riding on a motorway, thinking I could make it to the next petrol station... Contacted the ANWB and like 10 minutes later, the directorate of public works had my spot secured Followed shortly a flatbed to take me to a petrol station near the next exit

I've moved pags back on the 400, only because I needed to to match the lower bars. All other bikes have stock rearsets but higher bars. One VFR has Helibars, the other risers from Belarus. Even my track bikes are stock for both.

Installed the Givi Wingrack for an upcoming camping trip. Took a lot of muscle to get this to fit, bolts and washer combos, either the rear subframe is crooked or the rack is, because the gap between the rack and fairing on the left-hand side was non existent and rubbing on the paint. Got a new key cut so i can remove the rear seat with the rack installed. Finally went the bike with some plastic and metal restorer (do it once a year now and it makes a huge difference, oil-based but leaves absolutely no residue) Love this product and can highly recommend Owatrol Polytrol Before After

Doubt that you would cause any issue by not replacing it asap. You may find you're not getting the best fuel economy, and the oil may not be working to its optimum at lower temps.

Thanks for posting in celcius and fahrenheit DSA! I agree with my learned colleague. The thermostat should close down around 78C, so anything lower while running indicates a stuck open thermostat. My test is to start the engine from cold and keep a hand on the radiator. If it slowly heats, the thermostat is stuck. If it stays cold then suddenly gets hot, the thermostat is good.

If you are noticing the engine taking longer to come up to temperature, as well as lower than normal operating temps, then thats a good indication of a jammed open thermostat. Their most common fail state is to the open position, fortunately! Just like this.

it's been mentioned already, but wear boots or hard soles or you could hurt your foot.

I turn the front wheel all the way to the left. With left hand on left bar & right hand on left grab handle & right foot on center stand, I then pull back with both hands & it lifts right up.

Great write up! Does not look like they made it easy, I appreciate you pointing out the hidden bolt! I will have To undertake the same procedure soon. 🤙

I tried your technique of turning the handlebars fully to the left and pulling on that bar as you lift with your righthand on the rear pannier bracket while pushing down on the center stand peddle today. Worked GREAT! Yes, I know that every video will tell you NOT to turn the front wheel in any direction, but I'm telling you it felt much better for me to do than leaving the front wheel straight and not using that handlebar as some sort of leverage. I will definitely be turning the handlebars to the left and using that bars side to help pull the bike backwards and onto the stand!!!! Thank you so much for the advice on using that technique. A real confidence booster.

I noticed poor shifting on my 5th gen with Mobil synthetic motorcycle 10w-40. I switched to Rotella T6 synthetic 5w-40 and it shifted much nicer. Might be something else, just a thought though.

Good afternoon, VFRdiscussion.com rookie here, even though I joined in May of 2013 when I bought my VFR. I don't know why I haven't posted here before - I've enjoyed the VFR all these years. It's been my daily March-November commuter bike, and done a few trips when doing university business. However, I want to try a different bike. This one runs great, and has hit the deck only once - in march 2017, when a front brake lockup on a slippery hill found me sliding down the street on my side, and under the distracted driver's car. So I rode it home, and spent a year finding, and restoring the replacement fairings. Honda OEM parts were used, and were painted by an automotive restoration shop. They almost match the tank, which was painted the year before due to MSU student mischief. Graphics were re-created and installed by me. I broke off a foot peg mount on the right side, and replaced it. Added new counter balancers to the Helibars. Once done, it looked better than when I found it in 2013. ... They say you can't crave what you've never experienced. Now a friend just dropped off an almost-new Hayabusa for me to "get rid of for him", and Damn, I shouldn't have taken it for a test ride. So, it's time to let someone else enjoy the VFR for a while. There are two small dings in the top of the tank from my teenagers, along with one small crack in the paint. No other mechanical issues. There are about 300 miles on the new tires. 56,000 miles, still has the original (and fully functional) voltage regulator., valve clearance last checked at 40,000 miles. Battery is three years old. Bike starts instantly, every time. $3600.

When I did mine, I removed the valve covers before reading the manual, and never took off the throttle bodies, or fuel rails. It would be good to clean down in there though....

Americans have gotten...impressive in size. Part of why I don't fly anywhere is that I got tired of having to give up one or both halves of my seat.

Magical. I'll have to try that one! I think he has ~200# on me...

Shoes matter here, FYI, I've seen folks try our method with s%$t shoes or flip flops and you can imagine what happens next...

Not a dumb question at all. We all struggle with this until someone shows us how to do it. All good advice given so far. To reiterate what's already been said - the most important thing is that you shouldn't aim to be "lifting" the bike, I've hurt myself trying to do that on various bikes before I worked that out - the key is to roll the bike and use its momentum to get it onto the stand whilst anchoring the stand with your foot - it's a bit of a dance but you get the hang of it. I've got better at it, but I still don't enjoy putting the bike on the centre stand. I understand your fear of dropping it. With the sidestand down it's not doing to fall that side - if you do it with a wall on the other side and something to protect the bar end on that side whilst you're practicing, it's not going to fall far that side and damage anything if you do drop it. Lots of how to videos on YouTube of not particularly big or strong people putting bigger bikes that these on centre stands.

Finally got round to replacing the manky generator wires. 2nd kick after 4 months standing idle... VID-20220613-WA0002.mp4 VID-20220613-WA0003.mp4

Never liked the idea of a resettable circuit breaker......I'm running a 40amp Metripack 630 fuse holder, I purchased from CycleTerminal. Then also I prefer to do my own harness work and use marine grade wiring....source....Del City.....another good electrics company. (Jeez, dont use any wire from AutoZone)

Mostly the adapter plates are for 6th gens, although it could be used as a heat sink for 5th gens...... I have traded notes with Cogswell on the 847, and left me head scratching with the voltage behavior totally weird...... Other charging notes........I changed out my OEM stator for a rewind, by Custom Rewind last November......it didn't need it, but I wanted to see waht it was like...sometimes I do stuff just to satisfy curiosity... The stator wires have no connector except directly to the R/R.......no solder, crimp or anything. I have a few good rides on it, and as a comparison, roughly OEM range was range was 13.7 to 14.4 volts. (I have a voltmeter mounted up front by the tank bolts) I am finding the rewind stator range more like 13.9 to 14.7....does it mean anything....dunno, I won't claim it.... More fodder......so before the SH847 came to be, the FH020AA was the go to... and lots of guys installed it...including me..... I hadn't heard of any problems with it.....and I'm probly on 5years on mine....maybe it's still the better choice.....

1. Yes, you can, but it is really not the best way to do this. As others have mentioned already, there will be small particles of metal and other contaminants mixed in with the fork oil (how much depends on how long it has been since the last fork oil change), and the only way to get that "sludge" out is to fully disassemble the forks and clean them with a solvent like kerosene. Early bikes do have the drain bolts mentioned above, but using them does not result in the removal of the sludge. (Also note that fork oil drained in that way spurts surprisingly far horizontally--DAMHIK.) The most effective "easy" way to change fork oil is to remove the wheel, brake calipers and the forks from the bike, open the top caps, remove the springs and dump the old fork oil out from the top. You could then add some fresh oil shake it around and dump it out again, and each time you did this you would remove a bit more of the sludge. Then put everything back together (except the springs--oil is measured without the springs and with the forks and damper rod fully compressed) and add new fork oil up to the OEM recommended level. 2. Adding oil by volume is not as accurate as measuring the distance from the top of the oil to the top of the fork. Once the levels are correct, pop the springs in and tighten the fork caps. (The OEM oil level is 175mm on the Euro-spec 1990 VFR750FL.) Ciao, JZH

PAIR systems are perhaps a little misunderstood... they passively let air into the exhaust ports post-combustion to help burn unburned gasses, and usually only on deceleration does the solenoid open. Should have no effect on performance, only emissions.

Spring is approaching and a mans (and woman's) thoughts turn to motorcycles. I was able to get some parts I have been needing and now I have hope that I will be able to ride the VFR for the first time soon. Here are some quick but exciting for me updates. First off, some of you may remember this: Not that attractive and half-ass functional, my plan was to tape it up properly and make do. Well @RC1237V saw that and was like I can help this person, so without my asking RC1237V offered to send me an airbox lid that did NOT have 15 holes drilled it....we would swap and I would send him the holy one. His thoughts was since my bike was mostly stock and was likely going to remain that way it deserves a nice factory piece. What a great way of thinking and I was like heck yea, thank you. Now I have this: I did finally figure out what the holes in the lid are for.....they are to hold spanners 🙂 The key piece I was missing though for this bike was a windshield, you see mine looked like this: That stain is on the inside. While I had the screen off fixing things I tried wet sanding with some 600 grit and it did not even touch it, that is when I gave up. Then I remembered that RC1237V had one or two bikes that were being converted to naked street fighters and that he mentioned somewhere about having extra parts. I reached out and we came up with a great deal on a windscreen, heck he even threw in some dash surround parts for free which was really nice. I think this is much better: Just a couple of things left to do. The first is taking another swing at the gas tank, I'm going to clean the inside again and then seal it. I bought this recently. It looks to be pretty time consuming to do it right so I need to blank off most of a day, as good a reason as any to take a vacation day: Then it will be time to replace the 12 year old tires with these Metzlers that I found at a great price ($205 shipped). I will post up when I do. I have a home made bead breaker that has served me well for years. For mounting the new tires on the rims I have found the zip tie method to work amazingly well. Get all that done and I just need something to put here: I have an appointment with the Virginia DMV next month. I wonder if the state safety inspector will say anything about the red turn signal lenses? They are hooked up and work but are not amber. I do have the add-on set of amber turn signals that bolt so if I have to to pass inspection I can put those on. Thanks for reading, good luck with your riding, bike builds and 2021.

Fitting body panels back on the bike. Having to repair and glue a few places, touch up the red paint which isn't easy. Also put a coat of black on dash surround pieces because they were badly stained and not looking too good. Tires soon, saving for dead last, I bought a set back in October when I found a good sale.

I recently bought a new voltage regulator/rectifier and installed it. I went with a genuine FH020AA from Roadstercycle. When I got the bike it was not charging the battery at all, nothing. It was also ooozing a bit of its insides, outside from probably overheating. It was the original style regulator/rectifier. While you can buy inexpensive (read as cheap) R/Rs, from what I have seen in the reviews they are a waste of money. I went with a product that is known to be excellent quality with quick and easy customer service. Copying what Hingley did (March 2019 post on this forum), I chose to not mount my new Shindengen R/R at the stock location, instead I made a bracket and placed it behind the rear brake fluid reservoir. Great idea Hingley! The FH020AA is quite a bit larger that the stock style R/R and while you can fit it at the stock location it is a tight fit and rubs the body work. I tried it several ways and did not like it, in the end decided to move it back where there is a ton of room. I mean it is a cavernous space comparatively. Mounting further back mirrors the location of the ECU on the other side. I cut a bracket out of 1/4" aluminum and while it is overkill for holding this electronic part in place I wanted it so that I had adequate thickness for tapping M6 size holes to mount the R/R. The bracket itself bolts into the 2 existing M8 size holes already tapped in the subframe. I have not fired the bike yet to see the voltage being supplied yet. I did test the stator before replacing the R/R and it is believed to be good. Will report back when I do.

Enjoyed your story and pictures, nice friend giving you that bike for your B-Day! Someone gave me a free complete motorcycle as a back-up parts bike which I ended up using everything from the wiring harness to the engine on my high mileage unit. I have two of these generation 3 bikes. My 93 has the same pipe you have, interesting front brake set-up with the master cylinder. I have some EBC full floating rotors on my 91 that I bartered off labour on. Had my 91 since 95 bought with 4500 miles for $4500 and it has 82,000 now. 93 was bought for $500 with 15,000 miles and has 32,000 now (93 was brought home like your bike, on a trailer.) It takes labour/love/money to properly resurrect a neglected or just a 30+ year old motorcycle period. I took my 93 on a 250 ride for my 55th birthday during the holiday Thanksgiving Holiday and it rode like a top, 90mph cruising with passing 135mph, maxed out for a little way 150mph. I still have to tell myself they are old bikes, but Honda did give us the beauty of the engine Rev range, so why not indulge it sensibly? Good luck and keep on posting.

I think that catches me up to where I am today. High level list of things left to do to the bike: install new K&L fuel pump just received install the new FH022AA regulator/rectifier I received from Jack Flemming install new Yuasa battery install auxiliary power cord off of battery replace neutral switch clean gas tank and install repack Yoshimura muffler sync carbs mount and balance new tires repaint lower valance / body panels And I'm still looking for a stock looking windscreen. I ordered an ebay special but never received it, requesting a refund. Thanks for looking! Stay tuned.

Removed right side case cover and inspected clutch.....and the gasket did not tear! Stayed 100% stuck to the engine side so I am expecting I won't need a new gasket. Anyway, on some of my other bikes (can't remember which), you measure the complete stack of fiber and metal disks to determine wear. On the VFR you just measure the individual fibers. All were in spec, as were the springs.

Brakes only slow you down! So this bike was bought at auction with no contact with the previous owner, so what you see is what you get. This bike came with the stock front brakes minus the master cylinder and lever assembly in a box. Instead it had a set of Brembo 320mm rotors and Goldline calipers with matching axial master cylinder installed. The lever feel when I got the bike was horrible, very short and firm, seemed like it would not provide good feel or modulation. Good thing I wasn't planning to just ride it. I flushed the system then removed the calipers from the fork to make it easier to inspect their condition and operation. Turns out other than a lot of brake dust they were in good shape. Pads were good, just needed grooves cleaned out, all the fastening hardware cleaned and everything put back together. I also gently pushed the pistons back in the calipers about 1/4" just to see if they would move freely and they did. Put everything back on the bike, flushed and bled system and now the lever feel is quite good! I like it. I also sanded and painted the brake fluid reservoir cup lid because it was in bad shape from fluid leakage. It does appear to seal correctly and is not leaking, I think it was just some lazy sloppy mechanic behavior. I will watch for any leaks when I ride the bike but I already bought one of those sweat band looking covers. One of the interesting parts of this bike for me is the full-floating rotors, this is new to me. These calipers are not floating so the rotors have to be. When I first pushed the bike around the driveway to load it on the trailer I thought there was something broken in the fork because when I would hit the front brake I could hear something loose, I thought it was a spring issue. Turns out it was the rotors and this is normal. The rotor design looks the same as my other bikes, the ZRX for example, but that bike has floating calipers and non-floating rotors, the same two piece connected with buttons design though. Here is the ZRX, non floating and 6 buttons: And the Brembo's, floating, 12 buttons: When you grab these rotors you can move them with your hand. Anyway, pretty cool I guess, supposed to be lower drag and full race. Here is good video showing the results of the two types of systems - The rear brakes are all stock and in good enough condition for a couple of test rides. I did go through them the same as the front, cleaned them, inspected condition and flushed and bled the fluid. I can see a new rear rotor and a set of pads in the future.

One of the things on my list for this new to me bike was to CLEAN it, I only own one other full-fairing bike and I forgot how dirty the frame and components get under all of that body work. When working on things I tend to clean as I go, but then you make a clean spot and end up spending the next 3 hours with a rag and some cleaner and sore the next day. I knew the VFR was easy to work on, just unclip the fuel filter and the entire rear fender assembly comes out with 4 bolts.....(makes cleaning easier). A lot of the work was cleaning up old chain grease while changing to new sprockets and chain. Ended up taking the shifter and side stand assemblies off the bike to clean them because they needed a more serious degreasing. Bike is pretty clean now. Will just need to clean, wax and polish the plastics and tank when that all goes back together.

Re-torqued the head VID-20200913-WA0009.mp4

Itsa labor of love Time is what I -unfortunately still- have plenty of.... Next on the list is take the rear shock out and refresh; it's clarty as F.... **Update: just scored a good as new YSS rear shock... ***