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Hey Y'all, Picked up my VFR about two to three weeks ago and let me tell you, what an improvement from my old ninja 400! Already put on about 600 miles and now getting to know the bike. Somewhat newer of a rider as I've been riding for about 9 months now. Picked up the VFR because I needed more power for commuting on the Dallas highways, plus who doesn't like some more horsepower😆Had about 5000 miles on the ninja before I switched bikes so I'm making sure not to get too confident and outride skill. I've already done some mods to the bike such as a puig windscreen (improves aero and looks), trex sliders (was concerned about these but has worked out well for other members here and so far are great), a DIY tail tidy (it actually looks good), and added tank grips. Something I love about the bike so far is the center stand which makes maintenance very easy. Been reading all the VFR literature I can get my hands on to learn everything I can about this bike and how to take care of it properly. Was having some issues with it being jerky down low, poor transitions on the quickshifter (upshift), poor transitions on engine braking downshifts, and running what seemed to be hot and lean. But since I knew it had been sitting in a garage for most of the past two years with the previous owner, I gave it some fuel system cleaner and its fixed all the issues I was having, and the butt dyno seems to confirm it has a bit more pull now, it sounds a bit better as well. Hopefully I didn't proceed to violate half of the forum rules on my first post 😂 Anyways, here she is:

Make note...don't buy pottery from VFR78. 🙂

I have just purchased (received in 8 days Naples/Sydney) a full set of Fren Tubo Type 2 braided brake lines and front Brembo pads, for the Viffer. After 8 plus years, and over 90,000 kms, I figured a refresh of the old lines could not hurt. The cost was about 20% cheaper than buying OEM in OZ. The brake lines include replacements for the rubber lines to the rear caliper and in the ABS circuit, so the whole replacement process going to be a bit of a faff. Any advice regarding possible “bear” traps would be most appreciated. My biggest concern is with the ABS modulator circuit and whether it will end up with air in it and get out of sorts or should a simple bleed fix that.

Fitted.

Ive been pre-filling filters since college (let's just say a long time). I actually learned it while working at a Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change. All turbo cars had their filters pre-filled. You'd be surprised how much oil you can get in if you keep adding and letting it sit while you do the rest of the oil change. And if you are ready and somewhat quick, no spillage. And if so, very little and not anymore mess than you just already made anyway.

not so messy as u might guess if you let the filter sit for 5 minutes before mounting it. no race engine builder would fail to pre-fill. the idea of running for a few seconds with zero oil pressure scares the crap outta me, and when working in a professional shop, i did hear rod knocks before pressure built up.

this rider gets extra points for pre-filling the oil filter, something i've always done on both bikes and cars.

I went through https://japan.webike.net/oem_parts/ STATOR 31120-MCW-D03 34,255 JPY with shipping, about $271 US. It was 6 days from order to delivery on US west coast. Partzilla for example was a little over $350 with tax. Flywheel was used just off of eBay.

Arguably, you shouldn't re-use bearings you've driven out by the inner race. All those hammer blows went through the ball bearings to the outer race. Even if they still roll, I wouldn't trust them again. Ciao, JZH

ha ha, 14533 members and likely 14533 opinions. Good luck!

Grum, Danno and Co. are a wealth of knowledge. Let’s hope they outlast our bikes!

I've just returned from a 3 week, whirlwind tour of a number of European cities. The motorcycling scene is certainly different to what I am used to in New Zealand. Paris was dominated by big, fast scooters, Burgmans and Tmax's and the like often with loud pipes and being ridden assertively through the traffic. Also notable were the electric scooters, and these are surprisingly intimidating when they bear down on you in near silence when you mis-timed a pedestrian crossing. There were few small capacity road bikes to be seen but plenty of large bikes like R1250s, FJRs and Goldwings. I saw one poor neglected VFR parked up. Even the police ride their FJRs and R1250s with complete authority and you'd better be prepared to jump clear when they run red lights while the pedestrian crossing lights are on... The Italian cities were full of smaller scooters and given the traffic density, narrow streets and overall slow pace, that makes some sense. I saw very few Ducatis although naturally the Bologna police had Multistradas for patrol, and in Rome I saw the Guzzi V85TT in LEO guise. The Netherlands is bicycle territory, and in one city I stayed in (Delft) the car was definitely lowest man on the totem, the order being bicycles, pedestrians, scooters and then cars. That's what you get when there is a terrific public transport system and compact high density towns. I spent a day in central London and saw more mid-capacity bikes than anywhere else, but the bizarre thing was how light the traffic was. There were very few cars, and what there were, were predominantly electric or hybrid. I guess this is the result of the congestion charges and the low emissions zone. I'm glad to be back home now, but not really enjoying the heavy traffic where I live. I am already missing the high speed trains (best speed I saw was 314km/hr between Paris and Zurich); it is insanely satisfying looking out the window when there is a motorway alongside and whispering past all the traffic like it is standing still. IMG_4211.MOV

^This. Part of the process is cycling the forks up and down. Once the air bubble squish noises are gone, the circuits are full and the air is at the top. Can't just go by the volume you put in, either. Have to check oil height below the top cap one way or another. MotionPro makes a spiffy tool just for this purpose: https://www.motionpro.com/product/08-0742

I'll add this... If you are doing fork fluid, you are likely doing your own oil changes. Do you just add what manual says is the capacity and not check your dipstick to verify oil "height" to ensure it is in the ideal range? I'm being a little dramatic, but the oil height (which also means remaining air volume) affects how the forks feel and act quite a bit. You can really dial in the front end for your weight and riding style with just a few millimeters less or more of oil. Right now you can't know how much oil you actually got out and where your oil height is. Sometimes manuals even list "after disassembly" and "after draining" amounts to get you in the ballpark.

As Stray says we had a little meet up at Mallory, a place I have never bern to before. It was great to meet Stray he has an infectious enthusiasm for all things two wheeled. Was good to put a face to the name & meet some other folks. Here's a pic of our intrepid hero on a Cough Cough, XJR1300, sorry still taken from a video. He had a long car drive the next day, I said he would be driving with both hands on the bottom of the wheel going "Ooh me arms" after muscling that thing around all day. He was doing well chasing down a guy on a Duc 916/996 thingy. Luck for him there were many enforced breathers as fellow enthusiasts repeatedly swapped bikes for undergrowth or gravel traps, with many thinking race rubber with tyre warmers would cut the mustard on the cold track surface ! If anyone does go to Mallory watch out for the off road excursion that Sally Sat Nav will take you if you are unlucky like me 😂 Was interesting to see how my F-pace handled the deep water filled ruts on the badly cut up lane 😳 Was good to meet you Stray & Lee. Next time will be on 2 wheels. And thanks for picking up the lunch tab 👍 Now get that MoT

With spring officially here. Weather is quite not there in T.O. but I'm already thinking my first ride. VFR has been asleep for 5 months. I change out my oil before I store the bike with fresh synthetic. Question: Do you change oil before or after storage? I prefer clean oil and then run it for 2 min before yanking the battery and storing. Here's to a safe riding season to all vfrdiscussion members. Ride safe.

I like before storage. Just use it in spring. Oil hasn't changed since you've put it in right? Doesnt matter if it sat inside engine during that time or inside plastic jugs on shelf. BTW - Nice looking bike!

OOF

Have all the fluids been changed? The front brake pistons are poorly plated and could do with a clean, mine were so bad @16k miles I put some stainless steel ones in, but I very much doubt that they put salt on the roads around you

Yep, I was doing the same, for some reason before the fuel additive it was just lurching back a bit, using same clutch and throttle input. Old gas getting crusty in the injectors is my best guess, because it is very noticeable how much smoother it is now. The person I bought it from only put 8000 miles on it, and it was a garage princess most of the time after he moved to Texas, he didn't like the roads so he basically stopped riding. Now I hope to give this bike a full, mile filled life, with obsessive care 😆 Going to keep using fuel system cleaner every now and then since it seems to have worked well.

I always give it a little throttle blip on downshifts. Never been sure if there is any real need to, just a habit. I had a slipper clutch in my previous bike, so banging it down a gear, without a blip, was not a problem on that bike. Ideal for the racetrack.

Yep, just worded that a bit weird, fixed it lol. Had wanted to change to GP shift but sounds like its impossible with the push type quick shifter, and would rather not give it up 😂

Try to ignore it, it is (very likely) normal with the KMs you posted (if accurate). All of my bikes (12 VF/VFR/Interceptor) do it to some extent, some more than others. It's the clutch basket rumbling without a load. That Gen seems to report it a little more than others it seems. It was a VERY COMMON question when I worked at the Honda Dealer. Oh, and your clutch lever is bent.

Hi Duc2V4. Fan not coming on just over 200degF (93degC) is possibly nothing too concerning, for a 6gen fan switch on is anything between 208 to 216degF. Wonder if you have some air in the system, did you purge and top up the system? Just make sure the body of the fan thermoswitch is in fact bonded/grounded back to the battery Negative terminal, zero ohms to the negative terminal. Make sure the "Ground Eyelet" for the left side radiator is clean and tight, and making a good ground connection. (Again referring to 6gen?? 5th is probably much the same). Hope this helps. Cheers.

Surely you have a temp gun. Check temps at the radiator in just below the cap, cylinder head outlets, fan switch, and the water pump outlet. Don't trust the gauge. I had a a fan switch go bad on one of mine. Ordered a new one, and it was bad too. No return on electrical parts so I just installed a manual fan switch on the left handlebar.

The front calipers have three pistons each. When you "delinked," you hydraulically linked the one of three formerly linked to the rear master cylinder to the other two pistons. So now it's just a three piston caliper. But... Look at that photo, and where the center nipple that would have bled the LBS circuit to the Secondary Master Cylinder is. Good odds there is air in there. So bleed it the same way you did the main nipple (top of the caliper, or right hand side of the photo), by pushing fluid from the front master cylinder. You should get the remaining air out and lever feel should get solid. If you are having trouble after bleeding all four nipples, then you might be getting air in through the threads. Try teflon thread tape on the nipples, and/or speed bleeder nipples, which only let fluid go one way...out.

I've never used any there, for the 5th Gen it's not in the service manual.

Sounds a little muted but will need to hear it wot. She's back in the road 1 Apr, though the forecast is for rain so it will have to wait. 20230325_131529.mp4

Install your caps and finish assembly then. No need to let air "escape", cuz it's not a thing. Get out and enjoy. But a little more time spent on set up can reap rewards.

I think a VFr has a feature, if you flood the engine with fuel. It wont spray fuel and run sparks if you crank it throttle fully open, to force fuel out of cylinders.

To get grease behind rollers heat it until fairly thin & apply with soft clean toothbrush or similar. Good luck reusing that pair of ball bearings, they’re likely damaged even if you can’t feel/detect it…

Hi - I have a bunch of these R/R mount plates for 6gen left over.... PM if interested. https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/95120-6th-gen-rr-mounts-for-fh020aa-and-sh847/

When a stator dies it causes excess current in the system. If not caught right away it will likely cook the R/R. This is why you want a voltage monitor of some kind. The battery may or may not survive depending on it's type, and condition.

BEFORE storage so acid doesn't attack metal or bearing surfaces, like this........

Yes, oil can only get contaminated by use. It gets more contaminated by combustion gasses and wear particles when the engine is running. So sitting for months or years doesn't matter, save for wanting to baby our VFR's : ) I've never had to prepare my vehicles for storage before....wow 5 months off!

Well I got those sprocket side bearings out…eventually! Honda calls them one bearing but it’s actually two bearings joined together by a little plastic spacer that clips in and holds them both together to form a single bearing. Used a socket extension with a socket fitted on backwards. The back of the socket has a wider surface area than the front and is slightly sloped, so fits into the bearing inner race without damaging the seal. Ideally bearings should be driven out using the outer race by this is completely hidden by the hub, so had to use inner race. Big f’n hammer helps as you’re driving out two bearings, not one. Luckily didn’t damage the needle roller bearing or it’s seal (wheel side) with a miss hit. The bearing halves look OK. Move smoothly and seem to have some grease inside. Not sure how “stiff” these things should be and what to repack them with? I was expecting wheel bearings to spin freely with a slap downwards, but these only move while the hand is making solid contact. They stop immediately when not being pushed. Is this normal? Could the bearings be shot and still move smoothly, or am I expecting too much? Also, I’m starting to think the axle should be dry in the sprocket side bearings. It should fit tight and make the bearings spin. We don’t want the axle spinning in the bearing inner race, no? Perhaps it should even be Loctited. Again, am I overthinking this? Tomorrow I’ll clean out the old grease and repack with some Redline CV 2 Red Molly (says it’s good for wheel bearings) unless someone tells me otherwise. Also, I’ve heard they shouldn’t be packed full of grease - too much apparently causes churning and high temperatures. Half-full is correct (apparently?).

Best of both worlds... Wire in a parallel toggle. Prime the system after storage or sitting for a while. Also gets your ass home when the relay fails. (Twice now, one in the middle of a floating bridge)

Was going to post this on one of the various “remove rear axle” threads but they’re all archives so it’s going here. The commuter 5th gen was project was coming along nicely but becoming hard to wheel froward, almost like brakes were binding. Turns out they were, but the rear hub was a bit stiff. Also could t spin it to adjust cabin no matter how much force I applied. So I decided (reluctantly) to pull it all apart and have a look. Changes tyres and wheel bearings in the front so why not got he extra mile? Used a block of wood to hold the axle still and a rattle gun on the sprocket side nut. Came off OK. Couldn’t slacken chain tension (even with pinch bolt all the way removed and a screwdriver jammed in the bearing holder split). So o removed the sprocket to get the chain off. 12mm socket on one side and the Allen wrench leaned against the swingarm on the other (to stop the axle spinning). Sprocket and chain came off OK. Removed brake disk circlip with needle nose pliers and everything came out easily enough. You can see the grit and filth on the hub carrier and on the hub itself. These were probably causing the hub not to spin. There was some alarming damage to the sprocket side of the axle bolt. Looks like rust and the plating seems worn through. Possibly from spinning in the bearing race? Other side of the axle doesn’t look much better. Fearing I’d need a replacement axle (cost is more than the bike!) I tried rubbing the buildup off with an abrasive brush…and it came off! Although the plating is still worn… Then moved onto a hard buffing wheel and it looked a bit better… …and then a final polish with a soft buffing wheel to look better still. Quick wipe with some brake cleaner to remove buffing compound and dirt. Looks half decent, although it’s not going to bring back the lost plating. This is the same angle as the damaged section further up this post. Looking much better. Bearing inner races look decent. Have them a wipe. They turn smoothly without notching but are a bit stiff. Could be what caused the problem in the first place. Think they’ll have to come out and be regreased. I’m starting to fall out of love with single sided swingarms…

Hello All! I picked up a new to me '05 VFR800 ABS last week and wanted to introduce myself. This is my second bike after a few years off, last bike was a Duke 390 sold in late 2018 to support a house purchase. It's been a long 3 years without a bike. I've been browsing this forum prior to purchase and have found a wealth of good information here that made me comfortable with the purchase and the maintenance/updates after sale. I believe the previous owner has posted this bike here before, he was lovely to deal with. The bike was custom painted pearl white with lots of fleck in it, gorgeous in the sun. A couple driveway pictures below and a shot of it's new home in the shed for a few weeks while I give it a once over and some pre-season love. It looks like spring has started here for us here in southern Ontario so with any luck I'll get out for a first ride in the next couple weeks, I'm very excited. Looking forward to future discussions on here and hope you're all getting out riding soon. Cheers, lucwilride

There's lots of regulations around shipping paint and its VOC levels. Oil & solvent-based paints are considered hazardous material, they can only go via ground transport. Latex and water-based paints can use any shipping. Try some of these. I haven't used them, so not specific recommendation. https://tcpglobal.com/ https://spraygunner.com https://www.autogeek.net/ https://retro.paintwithpearl.com/index.mobi.html Depending upon who you buy from, you may be able to use freight-forwarding service (some paint suppliers won't send to them): https://www.myus.com

Well after having the old Shorai abruptly die on me mid-corner in December I replaced it with a...generic lead-acid battery (whatever the local shop had in stock that day) and moved on with my life...I had not ridden since but the bike sat on a Battery Tender since and the other day I decided to start her up after adding some Techron while I washed my wife’s car...bike was idling fine, then died and would NOT restart. Ran the battery down so I gave up and left her to charge overnight...next morning, still no dice. Uh oh. Came home from work and tried again and realized that I was NOT hearing the fuel pump whine...but after checking the terminals and starter relay it turned on and fired up...but would die the moment I put hi-beams or grip heaters on. Nuts. Using the internetwebz and my marginal wrenching skills I checked the R/R - the harness was extremely difficult to separate - explained once I managed it and found it utterly scorched (no pic). That’s when I decided to wipe the slate and replace the R/R, stator and battery. Opted for Ricks and a Yuasa AGM which I installed over the weekend - bike seems happy and values all in spec...13.85V at 5k RPM (was hoping for 14+) but it’s still within limits. Still irked by not knowing if the stator harness was the symptom or the cause, but nearly 20 years with the factory bits is fine. Gave up on LiPo batteries - I had tried a couple but when they die it’s far more abrupt than I’d like...not worth the weight savings (and I wonder if the voltage might have contributed to the electrical woes...dunno).

Thank you... as a whole, it sure was a lot of work. But, most of the little jobs that make up the whole could be accomplished by most with simple hand tools. Honda greatly over complicated the wiring harness. The simple way is yellow -> yellow(3x), red -> battery positive with an inline 30a fuse, black -> battery negative. Done.

If the rest of the harness is still intact, you might want to simplify it by running the r/r outputs directly to the battery with a fuse. Delete all the extra monitoring crap. Also, have a peek at my "Ultimate VFR" thread where I detail how to add an oil cooling circuit to the 6g stator.

They look way too legit to be a scam. I'm calling now before it's too late. cc# ready...

Here's a few pics. I mounted the 6G PLX166 side racks to my 257FZ top rack for the 5G. The PL257 side racks are the standard for the 5G btw. The PLX166's come close to bolting right up. A couple notes; the small heel loop on the right passenger peg needs to be cut off, the ears on the 166s where they attach to the 257 needed a little bend to match the angle of the 257 main strut (a very little), and the supplied bracket to tie the 2 sides together is too wide for this install. I need to make up a simple strut about 15cm wide. This will sit behind the license plate if the fender is trimmed high like mine and tie the left & right together. My exhaust is midway between high and low mount and with the bags it may need to sit a little lower. The only real pain is the seat release is right behind the bracket and there's no way to get the key in. I'll either need to space the racks out or probably just relocate the seat release.

Good Day fellow VFR fanatics! As of January 2022 I am the proud owner of a black VFR 800 vtec from 2009. It's my first bike and it still brings a big smile on my face everytime I ride it. On the Dutch VFR forum I came accross a crosspost from this forum from Seb Speed and his incredible ultimate VFR build. So a good reason to join up and be part of the more international VFR forum. My VFR 🏍😃❤️

These turns have no banking, or camber, so if you are not careful you can drift to the outside...

My buddy John in Reno is quite the cook, so we gave him some cash and he made us Rib-Eyes, Filet Mignon, and Lobster Tails 😋 We had a few beers each night too, but kept it to a limit of 3, since we were riding in the heat all day... 😀

Cool to see this decade old thread still going! Thanks all.