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Well, my idea of one, anyway. aka, I collected parts for 10 years and finally installed them all... (a year ago, sorry ) aka, my bike needed a refresh after almost 50kmi and sitting unused for the last 5 years. I started this work early December 2021 and finished just shy of 6 months later in May of 2022, so this story has been a long time coming. I bought this 2005 VFR800 brand new 17 years ago in February 2006, and I started with some light modifications right off the bat. Mostly good practical ones like a throttle lock, comfy seat, mirror extenders, suspension work, luggage, etc. Being a member here prior to purchase and of course ever since, you get a lot of ideas and sometimes even some good deals on gently used parts and unique parts made by other talented members. Over the next series of posts in this thread I'm going to highlight the bucket list of parts I collected & fabricated, plus the modifications I made to my bike to make it into my dream VFR. Here's a pretty comprehensive list of what the build is comprised of: - 2005 VFR800. Bought new, now 48,xxx + mi - Powdercoated frame and subframe satin black - Wheels powdercoated "Wet Charcoal", added angled stems - 2005 Yamaha R1 forks upgraded with: ~Racetech 1.0kg springs ~Racetech G2R comp valves ~Traxxion rebound valves ~cartridges tuned by Traxxion ~Maxima 7wt 125-150 oil @115mm air gap - R1 front fender painted R258 Winning Red - Sebspeed triple clamp set, 35mm offset, integrated bar risers & custom riser bridge - Handlebar conversion to Superbike bar - Brembo 16RCS clutch master - Oberon billet clutch slave - Brembo 19RCS brake master - Tapered head bearings - Carrozzeria front wheel, 6lb - Custom billet rotor adapters - EBC Vee rotors, blue carriers - Titanium rotor bolts - 08 CBR1000RR Tokico monoblock calipers, Cerakoted "Stainless" with black lettering and rebuilt with oem seals - EBC HH pads - Titanium caliper bolts - Mirror extenders - 06 oem windscreen (?) - Dash lcd update film/led converion - Heated grips - NEP throttle lock - Oem CBR900RR grips - Sebspeed windowed clutch cover - Factory Pro shift kit - Throttle body hoses replaced with silicone - Fuel injectors cleaned and matched - A&A Torocharger kit, modified with: ~ added sc oil cooler and custom reservoir ~ modified cooling system to delete right side radiator, added 2014 VFR800 lower radiator with fan - Boost gauge - Knock sensor - Rapid Bike Race fuel & ignition management - VFRD Two Brothers replica big tube stainless header, RC30/8th gen VFR style to accomodate lower radiator - Remus carbon fiber slip on pipe set - Sargent seat - Oem luggage, full three bag set, side racks powdercoated - Ohlins shock with: ~1300lb Eibach spring ~Traxxion 1" spacer ~tuned on Traxxion dyno - Ducati 1098 rear wheel swap with: ~Sebspeed adapter kit ~1098 hub/drive parts and brake ~Braking Wave Fix rear rotor ~titanium rotor bolts ~JT quick change carrier ~titanium sprocket nuts ~Marchesini forged 1098 wheel, 9lb ~Superlite sprocket ~DID 520 chain ~geared -1, +1 (15/44) - Roadstercycle SH847 Super kit - Oem stator replaced with new - New battery - Core Moto custom brake & clutch lines

I took advantage of some sunshine the other day to do some pre-season checks. I addressed a fuel stumbling/ground issue and looked everything over since I had literally this entire bike apart last year. I added a heavier ground cable back to the frame from the front subharness, updated the Rapid Bike tuner firmware, reset the fuel and ignition maps 1 & 2 and turned off the autotune. Tightened up 4 of the 8 header studs. Tightened and added loctite to the horn mount. Cleaned and adjusted the chain. Checked fluid levels. Wiped down the forks. Going to save a bath for nicer weather. Put about 30 miles on and temps hovered around 170°f on this 41° day. Pretty fricken stoked at how this bike turned out after the massive work I put into it.

Hey all, I know some of you had read about my latest "adventure" from the header thread posted by sfdownhill. Just wanted to chime in directly, as it was truly an ADVENTURE! I should first say, thank you to both sfdownhill and shotgunz, these two are some of the best people you can have on your side. Even if they could not contribute to my betterment medically, just their presence and their visits really helped me recover mentally. Knowing I have such good people who care about me really made a difference, so thanks guys, I really appreciate you stopping by! As for my story, well, that started 16 years ago I guess, when I went to the Dr. to see why my upper arms seemed to be going numb every once in a while. Well, after being poked and prodded and quizzed and scanned, we did determine a pinched back muscle was the cause BUT they did find something inside my head via an MRI that really shouldn't have been there. Yep, some little "tumor" like item that was beneath my forehead and just behind the left eye. Well, of course that brings up a whole other topic of what to do about it. The Dr. I had did not think it was something overly threatening and felt that it had been there awhile and based on what he saw in the MRI, felt I was probably something we could keep an eye on. That is, unless I wanted to remove it then. After a few conversations and feeling good about it, we decided to just keep an eye on it, meaning take MRIs of it every 6 months or so, so that's what we did. Fast forward another 15 years and BANG! The tumor decided that it needed a little more room, so it grew a CM and that's all it took to trigger a seizure! Yep, 1AM or so in the middle of December 28th, 2022 my wife wakes up to me "snoring". Well, so she thought. The normal process is to poke me in my side and tell me to roll over on my left side so my snoring stops. Well, that didn't work. Let me shake him awake and see if he'll turn...hmm, that didn't work either. Wait a minute is that snoring? Realizing that what we normally do did not work, she listened more carefully, note that she had lost a lot of her hearing some years back, so somethings don't always sound like what they are. Well, on comes on the bedroom light and low and behold, yours truly was having a full-on seizure. She sees me biting my tongue, blood coming out my mouth and me in full on seizure mode! BAM! runs straight to the phone, calls 911 and low and behold, within minutes the ambulance is there ready to rush me to the hospital. She literally saved my life folks, had she not been there or reacted as fast as she did, I would have most likely drowned on my own fluids. So, if I say or do anything here on the forum that upsets you, you can blame her 😉 What was so weird and odd about this happening, I had no recollection of anything up until I wake up in an ambulance strapped down to the gurney. WTF! As I start to come to, I start looking at where I am and what condition I'm in..."Wait, I'm in my pajamas strapped to a bed, holy s#!t, they've taken me from my bed! Where's my wife, please tell me she's not in this same predicament????!" Well, the crew start to let me know what exactly is going on but I'm still a little slow to process but ultimately demand I be released from the bed, unfortunately, I wasn’t, and I finally get to the hospital. Here is where I finally become more myself again and learn of what had transpired. This is also when they start to really quiz you to see exactly where you are mentally. Gratefully I am answering their questions well and accurately BUT one of the crew decides to quiz me on when I was married. I let him know, "October 17, 1998", he then asks, how long have you been married? I say 20 years or so...He snapped back "It's 24 years!" Oh no you didn't! I raise my head look him in the face and say very vocally "At least I got the F#cking date right!" Oddly, this is where I felt I wanted to smack him! Alas, I didn't. Probably for the better. 🙂 Well, a week later I'm talking to the surgeons and getting ready for my Craniotomy. When did that happen? Friday the 13th! Yes, you heard that right, all good though, everything went well, could not have asked for a better outcome. I have to say that all in all, I been through a lot but can honestly say that I feel really good and have very little to NO PAIN! Can't ask for better than that, right? Unfortunately having this surgery means a few things, #1, No riding of motorcycle for quite some time ☹, #2, No drinking for quite some time, but that's not always a bad thing. #3, get healed up! What can I add here, for sure 2 more things, #1, you can never have too many friends and family to support you while you are in the hospital, whether that's before, during or after surgery. And ultimately...IT'S GOOD TO BE ALIVE! Cheers, D

Hey guys - great news! Darryl (Duc2V4) is recovering well from his surgery. Visited him in the hospital yesterday. He’s walking and talking and mostly his normal flippant happy self. Pain meds are keeping him comfortable and he will be going home today to begin the rehab process. Heading down to the hospital now to see if I can help with the move. He grilled me about whether I’ve been paying close enough attention to the header project and sends his best to everyone here. Cheers!

Teardown continued... without a doubt the dirtiest part of the bike was everything in the vicinity of the left radiator... it had sprung a leak in 2008 at the base of Blood Mountain... caused by a bent fan mount which allowed the fan to cut through the cooling fins as it ran. I was able to tear the bike down in a gas station parking lot at the base of the mountain with the oem tool kit. I used some steel epoxy to patch the rad and refilled the system with pure Georgia Mountain Tap Water. Over the years it developed a new leak and ended up making quite the mess. Elbow grease works wonders at loosening up that old baked on crud The frame and front end were in my way, so I took them off too I went back and forth for a bit before committing to powdercoat the frame, but I was already doing the wheels and subframe, and there'd never be a better time, so off it went. I always liked the way the black frames looked on the newer models. Wheels prepped for powder The front wheel was made by Carrozzeria and came with spacers to fit a Ducati 748 or 916 I think... it is very light at just 6lbs. It was an interesting puzzle to make the wheel work and fit properly with the R1 forks, fender and rotors I had collected. I started by measuring everything and making up cad files for the new triples, rotor carriers, and wheel and caliper spacers. This puzzle is always my favorite part of a project - taking a handful of select parts from various sources and creating a homogeneous result. I designed the triples with R1 fork spacing and a custom offset that is less than the stock 40mm. I've retained the ignition mount, ignition shroud, and steering lock in my design. I also added bar risers and a bridge to adapt a Superbike bar. I sent the fork cartridges and the Ohlins off to Traxxion for a full rebuild and revalve. The forks got Racetech G2R compression valves, Traxxion rebound valves, and Racetech springs. The shock was dyno'd and tuned after installing the new Eibach spring. I was really spoiled by the Brembo controls I had installed on my 750 naked build, so I got myself a set of RCS masters for the brake and clutch on this bike as well.

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

She's back on the road (Apr to Sep) and as it was such a beautiful day here, I took her out for a short blast. Soooooo smooth, esp at low revs, brakes excellent and handling refreshingly solid after the Crossie. And a chance to show off the new hi-level. Some photos.

Finally installed another thing I got from @SEBSPEED: I also installed a new black plastic ignition ring (covered in Cerakote trim wipes), and wet sanded and polished the ignition switch face while I had it all apart. Twenty years of key scratches gone! Got a new key ring with a soft lanyard so I can hang my fobs and whatnot over the front, and hopefully prevent future damage. But the Cerakote should be waaaaay more resilient, I tried to lightly scratch the underside with metal and its not trivially easy like the original silver paint over aluminum.

Rock around the block... euh clock!!

Yup, as a matter of fact, I just texted w him and his recently operated-on right hand is doing great. Wade has the hard cast off and is ready to begin signaling fellow motor vehicle operators: He goes in to have the left hand done this week, and he says he’ll be ready to build by the time we get 15 or more deposits collected. Duc2V4 and I will get the order system set back up and report back at this location.

Today, in preparation for my trip to the MotoAmerica race at Laguna Seca I did an oil & filter change (Motul 4T 10/40 + oe Honda filter), and cleaned & lubed the chain. Of late I've been using DuPont Chain Saver, a wax based product w/teflon - or so they say. I also replaced the left hand switchgear because cancel function of the turn signal with is hit & miss. Anyhow, it is a good excuse to show another VFR pic. This one on California's PCH at the Willow Creek vista viewpoint, south of Big Sur.

30 years ago today I bought my first VFR, a low mileage ’91 VFR750. Picked it up on a dreary Friday evening and stopped by my folks place to show it off. Saturday morning I headed home to Victoria, taking a long roundabout route to get to know the bike. It was quite a change from my ’81 Kawasaki GPz1100. Rode down past Seattle to Bremerton, Wash., before backtracking north to catch the Tsawwassen ferry back to Victoria. Sunday morning I showed it off to my friends. We met for breakfast most Sundays, riding our bikes to some place or other - at least in more pleasant weather. That day was dull & overcast so I was about the only one to arrive by bike. But afterwords I headed out on a well trodden route up to Duncan, but got caught out on a sand covered junction and dropped my less-than-two-day-old VFR. The right side got pretty scarfed up, but only cosmetically, and insurance covered the majority of the cost. As for me, I scraped my knee cap and had a separated AC joint, both on my right side. Not particularly painful, but it took a few weeks before both bike and rider got back on the road - here is is on a ride to Genoa Bay. I rode the VFR for almost 4 years & 85K km before trading it on a brand new VTR1000F in early 1998.

As many of you know, it's rough when the kids leave the nest. The Tyga VFR was built over several years, with the finishing touches (wheels/rearsets) done by a friend who helped get the Tyga 4th gen stuff made. He is now in full possession of it and I don't see it ever returning to my garage. There are still two 4th gens, and a 5th, but this was pretty special.

More VFR800 headers will be built! First off - as always - thanks a metric ton to Duc2V4 for all he's done to suit up and show up on this thread and throughout the header project. He is and always has been a stand up guy for anyone who owns a VFR [or any motorcycle that's not a Harley] and has been helping me get through this late fall - solid as a rock. Second shout out goes to VFRD member Ziffer for posting the latest list [see above] of people interested in headers for their 5, 6, and/or 8 gen VFR800s! I dropped by Wade's shop last week, totally unannounced because I was nowhere near the neighborhood, 12-pack of 805 ale in hand, and saw him building exhausts. No more hot glue experiments, he's back to cutting and welding stainless steel tubes together. And he's willing to bend, cut, and weld some for VFRs [Those of you who were along at the beginning of this thread recall Wade's rather - shall we say - 'gruff' nature]. Syntax error - my apologies because I just fumbled at the 5 yard line when I went to copy/paste the list above and accidentally deleted 35 minutes of writing I'd done for this post. Sorry but it's late and I'll post again tomorrow with more details. Part of the self-deleted post was me realizing I failed to ask Wade if the price remains the same as it was two years ago when we placed our last order. I'll text him to death tomorrow and get accurate details and instructions posted here.

She's all done (for now). In no particular order: · Full brake caliper strip & clean · New caliper seals · Fit braided brake hoses · Clutch bleed/braided hoses · New brake pads (Honda) · Front & rear suspension service · LED lights conversion all round · Blue LED dashboard lighting · Fit voltmeter · New Iridium spark plugs · New oil/filter · New air filter · Coolant flush · PAIR delete · Snorkel & flapper mod · SV’s · New Metzeller Roadtec 1 tyres front & rear · Techspec tank grips · CF-look chain cover/hugger · SS bolts (fairing, axle + pinch bolts, brake disc bolts) · Mirror extenders · CF-look fuel filler, tank pad & key cowl vinyl · New number plate Still to do/considering at some point: · Hi-level end can + VFRD headers · PC III · Mosfet r/r · Find & fit clear LED indicator bulbs (flash orange) · New number plate · Comfort seat (Top Sellerie) · Brake levers · louder horn · 16-tooth front sprocket · Oxford Products sat nav mount on steering stem Most of the above is blingy, very little has made the bike lighter or more powerful but that wasn't the aim, mainly because I have neither the knowledge or skills to accomplish the sort of things Mohawk and others have managed to do. The main point was to refurbish a bike that hadn't really been ridden for 16 years and keep it such that it will still be as rideable in 20 years time. I've yet to go on a decent ride with her as it's been 34 deg C / 90 deg F yesterday and today so a little too warm for my liking but I will be getting her out for a good run soon. Massive thanks to all those who have proffered advice, you know who you are, this was a big thing for me and she's pretty much turned out as I wanted, so thanks.

Would be shame to have site go away. I've PMed Miguel and volunteered to keep this site going. Would need some training and help to get up to speed.

So then I noticed a bad thing more The rear rim had cancer as well... and also noticed the front sprocked started to snap on the splince of outcoming front sprocket axle..... bummer did I mention I also did put a new chain on, the old was cracked, even sprockets like new, been standing outside? Anyway at this point I parked the bike, last week I started it up, did start after all the standing! Amazing engine! So I have scored a better rear wheel, got a sollution for the front sprocket problem aside splitting engine, a spechal front sprocket! But now I´m moving to a other city as house, so will be a time untill have time to work on this Transalp. It has moved to my bigger garage already whit my other bikes, the last 2 in the row is a friends bikes thro that I slowly try to make runners thro...... A pic from last summer whit my plated bikes So I have spent way more money on the Transalp I would have liked, but frankly I like the bike, even a ugly tatty old bike, very much! So I migth just keep it and ride on, I have things to sort still like I mentioned, and have a nice header as small stuff to change, clutch still a bit odd feeling so might need some attention still..... as I move where I live will ride less offroad more on road, some gravel so likely like to get more road focused tires? we have to see what time as money allow To be continued.....

Greetings gentlemen. The holidaze have been everything they are cracked up to be - intense, fruitful, and busy. First of all, let's all send whatever thoughts and prayers we can to Duc2V4 and his wife Katie, especially over the next few days, but also over the next couple months, as he went in for a serious surgical procedure this morning. His spirit is strong and he has prepared well, but what he's facing is much more than a tuneup, and getting back to regular life won't be quick or easy. Godspeed D. Visiting Duc2V4 a couple times has been a priority lately; he and I have connected on several critical topics, some even more important than headers, so please allow me to beg your forgiveness here for the delays in getting this order under way. I am back home in Las Vegas after logging a ton of miles over the past two weeks. Most of the miles have been in the car or on one of the bicycles, which doesn't make me sad, but am missing the motorcycles. Thinking about riding down the baja peninsula next month. Not sure if I'll rent an adventure bike to keep up with my friend on his BMW GS - he wants to do more dirt and ADV than my 5 gen will tolerate. D and I have gone through the details, checking pricing on the pipes and passivation, etc. I stopped by Wade's shop unannounced [But brought him a 12 pack of good beer to soften the blow of my surprise visit] and found him grudgingly welding stainless steel - woohoo! He's really building! I wish I had taken a photo of the manifold he built for the monster of a Razr side-by-side that was in his shop...that thing appeared to have 20 inches of suspension travel! The primary headers Wade built all elegantly wound and twisted together to the point where a new turbo was perched. Beautiful work, as usual. That is about $2500 AUD, about half the value of my bike as it is, not including shipping to Oz. It would be great to have one, but it’s a bit much for this retiree. So here's current pricing: Headers are $85 more than the $830 they used to cost and passivation is still $90. [Passivation is acid dipping the finished headers for strength and a beautiful appearance. Please refer to the opening pages of this thread to learn what passivation means for exhaust systems like ours that are made of welded stainless steel]. From here on out, passivation is no longer an option - we are passivating all the headers for several reasons: 1 - everyone who ordered headers has opted to have them passivated [Except two guys back in 2019] 2 - passivation improves strength and longevity 3 - passivation makes the pipes look great 4 - due to external forces, we can't be sure Duc2V4 will be able to monitor the orders as closely as he usually does, so having a single price for every set of headers will help us keep the details straight and deliver a better product to every person who orders headers. Net result is that a set of headers for 5 gen, 6 gen, or 8 gen VFR800s will cost $830 [old price] + $85 [price increase] + $90 [passivation] = $1005.00 plus shipping [CA residents pay 7.75% sales tax - sorry]. The deposit to order a set of headers is now $300. Duc2V4 and I will be getting PMs out to all the folks on the list that Ziffer has so helpfully posted here, so if you're on Ziffer's list, expect a Personal Message in your VFRD inbox. The PMs will include instructions on steps to take when ordering headers and a request for info like shipping address, etc. In a nutshell, in case you're not on the list yet, to purchase headers, here's how you do it: Send your $300 deposit as 'SENDING TO A FRIEND' via paypal to the paypal account of vfrheaders@gmail.com. SENDING TO A FRIEND will always be capitalized here so it doesn't slip past peoples' perceptions. In the 'note' section of the paypal transfer for your deposit, please include the following information: -your VFRD username -your actual name -how many headers you are ordering -what gen VFR your headers are for -shipping address More to follow shortly. Onward and upward!

* Intro Thanks to @RC1237V for the route from Starbucks Livermore to Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside, excellent ride! I broke my ride down to 6 stages and have Google Maps links for each stage with a short description. The original plan was for a few VFRD members and others I invited to come out and ride. Work and family obligations dwindled the group to me. Overview of the 260 Mile / 418 Km loop around the SF Bay. * Stage_01 Home to Starbucks Livermore (43 miles / 69.2 km) The day started late. I wanted to stick to the original group ride schedule and leave my house by 8:00a. I got sucked into MotoGP qualifying and left at 9:45a. My 5th Gen warming up. The ride from my house to Livermore is nice for the first 5 miles as you ride along the semi rural San Pablo Dam Road adjacent to San Pablo Reservoir. Though, you gotta be mindful of deer, coyotes, turkeys, skunks, possums and foxes that frequent the area. Once I get to Orinda and Hwy 24, it’s all freeway riding to lovely Livermore. * Stage_02 Starbucks Livermore to Alum Rock in San Jose (69.4 miles / 111.69 km) via Mt Hamilton ( elev 4,265′ / 1,300 meters) https://goo.gl/maps/FW53DAYYkgcQNdGM7 I was looking forward to a few sections of the day’s ride as they were new to me. The first section was Mines Rd from Livermore to The Junction. The majority of the curvy hillside road runs parallel to Arroyo Mocho. Sections of the road are just wide enough for 1 full sized American Pick Up truck and 1 motorcycle. Other than two trucks that appeared from a blind curve, I saw a few bicycles and no motorcycles on the road until the next stop. At The Junction Cafe parking lot, there were about a dozen motorbikes with the majority being KTM Adventure and BMW GS models. I went inside the cafe looking for a snack but they only had Lays Chips and burgers. Neither were appealing so back to the ride. Mines Rd. outside of Livermore to the base of Mt. Hamilton is a beautiful remote area. There are a few wineries early on Mines Rd, but soon you’re out in the sticks. And yes, there are mines out there and you can also go hunting for “deer, pig, and upland game”. Love me some upland game. It wasn't till I got closer to the eastern base of Mt. Hamilton that I stopped for a photo op at one of the many cattle ranches out there. Cows in shade, VFR in sun. One of many hairpins up and down Mt Hamilton. Work is required tossing your bike around Mt Hamilton. Great views up there but you have to focus on the road or else. * Stage_03 Alum Rock San Jose to Mount Umunhum (38.7 miles / 62.28 km) Mount Umunhum (3,489' / 1,063 meters) https://goo.gl/maps/xumnhLwajdT78TLx6 The ride from the Alum Rock to New Almaden was in San Jose’s suburbs. I keep my android phone in my pocket and rely on Google Maps unmuted for directions. Generally this works well except I forgot to disable “Prefer fuel-efficient routes”. Google Maps kept directing me to the most fuel-efficient route which took me away from the original route provided by @RC1237V. The next section of road I was looking forward to was Mt. Umunhum and it did not disappoint. You turn left off Hicks Rd and up you go to Mt Umunhum. The road was great! The pavement is generally smooth with limited loose gravel. Though not narrow, you have to watch for on-coming traffic as I ran into a few young men channeling their GTA skills (lack thereof) and folks not used to driving on tight winding roads. “Sierra Azul Parking Lot At Mount Umunhum Summit Area” * Stage_04 Mt. Umunhum to Hwy 39 / Hwy 9 Junction (29.5 miles / 47.48 km) https://goo.gl/maps/xHL3HibRGZK6mZ2f7 I rode Black Rd from Lexington Reservoir to Hwy 35 (Skyline) instead of taking Hwy 9 to 35. The detour was beautiful. A hairpin in the redwoods on Black Rd. While I was taking this picture, I saw motorbikes on the road for the first time: a large BMW touring bike followed by a VFR 1200. Another angle from the same spot on Black Rd. * Stage_05 Hwy 39 / Hwy 9 Junction to Alice's (13.7 miles / 22.04 km) https://goo.gl/maps/59CsdSnxAWRPqUe49 Skyline (Hwy 35) on the Peninsula (SF Bay) is very popular with the motorsport crew. On the north, the Skyline is bound by Hwy 92 in Redwood City. On the south by Hwy 17 40 miles later in Los Gatos. Skyline is a beautiful road that has access to other great roads to take you down to the coast. My short 13.7 mile trip was pleasant. For safety, I kept my speed within reason. Not on this trip, but in the past, I’ve seen cars and motorcycles fly on Skyline. The road surface is in great condition and the turns are for the most part sweepers compared to my local 60 mile out and back. By the time I arrived in the area, Alice’s Restaurant was super busy and decided to have lunch across the street at Skywood Trading Post. With the fog coming in from the Pacific, I had to get moving. I thought of riding the 57 miles home but the only way to end this ride report was to go via The Golden Gate Bridge and add another 13 miles. * Stage_06 Alice's to Golden Gate Bridge (Ft Point) (39.6 miles / 63.73 km) https://goo.gl/maps/PaX2GrnQC1CuNpiSA Without traffic, Google Maps says the 40 mile ride from Alice’s to Fort Point at the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge is about an hour. With weekend traffic gridlock, this 8.5 mile stretch on Hwy 1 (19th Ave) can take an hour. The only way to handle this stretch, fold your mirrors back and lane split the route. The lights are well timed to the speed limit +5mph. If you can keep the pace, you can get through the gridlock in good time. On weekends and holidays, this area is full of people and traffic. I had to wait for a clear photo op. Note that on the right side of the picture you can see blue skies a few miles away in Tiburon. * Conclusion Great day of riding and thanks again to @RC1237V for the route. Next time, I’ll ride it counterclockwise!

***Dyno numbers are in*** Michael Dixon me this morning to run both of our bikes back to back. He has a slip on, but otherwise stock. He went first and his 07 Anniversary pulled 96.06hp. Mine went up next and pulled 152.86hp! Unfortunately, this was with the tire rubbing on the table(see video), but that just means there's still meat on the bone. I guess I'll have to find some race fuel and go back for another run! Roughly 60% or almost 60hp gain is not bad for a little old VFR800 🙂 We did very basic runs, hp only, we didn't connect to the ignition to pick up torque and rpm numbers. I had 91 ethanol-free with a splash of octane booster in the tank. Not sure what fuel Mike had. This all goes to show just how important doing a baseline run is. This same exact unit pulled 202hp on another dyno on the previous owner's bike, but no baseline had been done. I am using the dyno map from that run in my bike. This is 3 of my pulls on top of one of Mike's: Mike's best vs my best: My best (Map 1) vs my other best (Map 2)

current status:

Whoa!!!! Who are you?! In the minority, that's for sure. I'm a little surprised that a rebuilt slave would leak after 3 years with all fresh fluid. But usage is better than sitting on those systems for sure. I'm going thru a 92 VFR right now that sat outside for 3+ years under a lean-to, and (the non-rebuilt for sure) clutch system is still working fine and not leaking... shit... I should have never said that. I'm fucked.

Ah, yes... I love my mountains at home but these are so much more exciting! After arriving at the infamous Chateau Noir, the 190 was quickly mounted and axle covers installed... I have yet to fine tune all that fancy suspension, but I have to say, this is by far the most composed, best handling, best braking, best shifting, most comfortable and outright fastest VFR I have ever ridden. And I rode an HRC-built lightweight Ohlins equipped RC30 just prior to boot. This lowly VTEC knocks its socks off in every department except static weight. The new tire wear says more than I can, after a lap on that road everyone loves... And especially after a few laps of my favorite section of road, the top of 28 before the old closed Texaco, aka the shitty gas station

No minute like the last minute... I could have sworn I had a brand new right side panel in my shop attic... apparently I used that one already... so mad dash to get my old one scrubbed down and sprayed just in the nick of time! And then another little disaster... extremely inaccurate packaging... what a piece of garbage. It took almost 5 months, but I did end up getting my money back from ZG. I ended up going with my oem 06+ screen for the trip. Mileage correction recorded... Hey @Rivcyko ... remember these? lmao So, here is why a 180 on a 6" wheel is a bad idea... Check our front "chicken strip"... looks like it hasn't really done much more than a lap of a showroom floor... But! What do we have here? Nothing! Beyond margin for error! This was the first ride, not pushing anything in any way as I was just doing brake checks, cooling system checks, etc. I was out of time to order a new tire to my house, so had the proper 190 I needed shipped ahead to Maryville, TN where we'd be staying for a few days prior to the spring ride in NC. Left side buttoned up... Yummy... Right side almost there... One more thing I felt needed doing, was some protection for the lower radiator. I got some metal mesh from amazon and worked up a screen: And then modified the 6g "V" inner fairing to delete the middle section. I trimmed it out and left myself some extra on the bottom edge to roll over for an oem look. Final assembly: I got a new filter sock for the intake as the old one was torn and dirty And then a nice little wax job And a quickie camera mount for my son's gopro I had just enough time for a few more short test hops before packing up for the big ride

Just realized I didn't post any update or my latest news. First the update, had a post surgery meeting with the neurosurgeon and he felt that I was doing very well and as long as I didn't have to be in an office to work, he was giving me the OK to be back at work, albeit, working from home. Luckily, for my role at the company, I have the luxury of doing just that. So starting on Feb 1st, 2023, I was back at work. The company let me bring "my desk" home, meaning 2 monitors, keyboard/mouse and laptop docking station, so I didn't miss a beat, didn't have to deal with a lot of bureaucratic BS by being away for a long time, so whew! So what next? A waiting game. When I had my seizure, the neurologist that saw me reported the seizure and I guess the California DMV suspended my driver's license because of it. When I went to the neurosurgeon and asked him if they were the ones to give the OK to get my license reinstated, he said no, that would be the neurologist who saw you at the time you had the seizure. So met with them the following week and asked what I needed to do in order to be able to drive again. Long story short, I had to agree to be on anti-seizure medication for 2 years and wait 3 months from the time of the seizure without having another one and without suffering side affects or complications from the first seizure. WOW! OK. Although this might seem extreme, if I didn't want to be on medication or to be off of it sooner, the wait time would have to be 6 months. So I said, "Two years and three months it is!" onward and upward. I'm just hoping after the three months is up, that the California DMV will be kind enough to reinstate my drivers license without a huge hassle! On that vein, I do have to see both the neurologist and the neurosurgeon in April, the former should be able to give the OK to get my license back and the latter should be able to say when I can go back to riding a motorcycle again, or at the very least when I can strap on a helmet without any issues. Ultimately that's my goal, to be back in the fray with the lot of you on the roads riding to our hearts content. We'll see how that goes, but I'll update you all for sure when that happens. In regards to my latest news, I had my yearly physical on Feb 9th and all was great. My regular DR. said she was impressed on how fast I recovered and that all my vitals, heart rate, lungs, etc. looked great. Did my bloodwork and just about every category we monitor, I was in the range we were aiming for, prior to the surgery. Essentially, I'm better now than before surgery, can't ask for more than that, right? Anyway, thanks for reading this and I hope that this info is helpful, if not inspirational to anyone else going through health issues. Cheers, D

For those following this thread. I met with the Neurosurgeons last week and got the OK to go back to work Feb 1st., albeit from Home for now, but none the less, they gave their blessing on my returning to a more normal life! Have to see the Neurologist this Thursday to see if/when I can get my DL reinstated, they suspended it due to the seizure. Also want to know if/when I can stop taking meds twice a day. I know it will be sometime before I can ride again, let alone even put on a helmet but when I do get to do both, I'm going for the longest ride I've taken in some time! Anyway, thanks all for the well wishes I have to say somethings going right, as I still have no pain! Maybe the wife is right, I just may be a numb skull 😉 Here's a more recent pic of me feeling and getting better. Cheers! D

Will do skids. Duc2V4’s surgery was Friday and went according to plan - he woke up in the recovery room and spoke with his wife and sister same day, albeit groggy from anesthesia. He’s not up to talking on the phone yet, and we don’t know the results of the follow up MRI, but the surgical crew believe they removed all of the tumor from between his brain and his skull - it’s very good that the malignant tumor was not in or among his brain tissue. Member here shotgonz and I will be visiting him Tuesday and we’ll report back.

Went all out and ordered a Harris hugger. Wanted one of these for a long time after the crappy Red Fox, which never fit properly anyway, ate itself on the rear tyre. Slightly disappointed with same aspects of it though, namely; 1. I had to drill out some of the hole to the correct size 2. it´s not clear from the website that it doesn´t extend down to cover the linkages like a lot of huggers do, this is my biggest disappointment with it. 3. The aluminium strap is held to the hugger with rivets with the heads on top and the shank below. This leaves sharp edges from the rivet shank - I just powder coated my swing arm - but also pushes the hugger higher up making it more difficult to properly fit the strap and the supplied washer which fits around the linkage bolt and allows the linkage to move with the suspension. I drilled out the rivets and rivetted from the underside going up and it made fitting easier and no scratches. Look at the 2nd photo and you´ll see what I mean. 4. delivery time was quite long as Harris don´t make them themselves and didn´t have any in stock. I think about 8 weeks until it was in my hands. All in all a very well made piece with well thought out fixing positions. Very sturdy so I´m pleased with my purchase on the whole. Did I say how light it is????

For those who aren't on FB and haven't seen this video. This is what the VFRD Headers can DO for you! The VFRD Headers are Well Worth the Pennies... FYI, My YT channel has many other videos.

Just saw this on cycle trader....

So got word back from sfdownhill, looks like builder is ready to move forward...:)

Hey Group, I have a 98 VFR800 with the A&A Performance SUpercharger that's been running a bit hot in slow traffic, and to some degree when moving along ( around 30mph) on the street. Gave the cooling system a few good flushes with THERMACOOL cooloing system flush, it's much easier on the seals of older cooling systems. Rinsed out good with water until clean after each treatment, didn't lower the temp problem much. Checked the cooling fan, sure enough it was dead. The cooling switch was working fine. The VFR 19030-MBG-000 cooling fan is no longer available, unless you want to try your luck on a used 24 year old one on eBay. After a little searching I found the cooling fan from 2005-06 from the VTX1800 P/N# 19030-MCH-003 is a perfect fit, the motor and housing are identical, the only difference is the two pin plug on the end. The VTX fan has some other type of connector. Popped the pins out, used my own two pin MOLEX connector and problem solved. The new VTX fan motor set me back $141. Just thought I'd share this with the group here in case anyone else's fan quits on them.

Sorry for taking so long but I had another trip to make. It was a weird year. Perfect weather but we ended up with eight riders and no VFR's. I had to ride up for the ride this year because of the @MiniCarver wedding. Packing for ten days on a motorcycle is a lot tougher than four. The plan was to ride to Knoxville and meet TheGirl on Thursday morning for the ride to Little Switzerland. I chose a lovely Motel6 for my accommodations on Wednesday night. I realized that I had packed my walking shoes in the bag my wife was bringing for the wedding. Had to run to Walmart. I had hoped to find some cool yoga shoes like Jay wears but instead found a pair of size 13 WHAT ARE THOSE! Finished the day with a great meal. Thursday morning, I met Donna and we rode out to meet Curt for the trip in. No pics? Friday morning started with a flat tire on the fancy Italian's rear loafer. It looked like someone at the hotel had been doing maintenance under the carport. Again, no pics for the day. I shot tons of video but haven't had time to edit. Saturday, we had a visit from long time friend of VFRD Ken who took some of us on his top secret local roads tour. The Italian super models prefer to sun bathe at the lunch stop while the Tigger prefers to rest in the shade. Ben made a return to the group after buying back his Tiger1050. Here he is making a beer run. We had a visit from our buddy Klim. He and Jay are pretty tight. The two greatest route planners in the world. Tomorrow is looking good! After four days of riding, it was time for new loafers. He has spares mounted in the trunk. Donna couldn't be bothered with parking her bike. When we came back from dinner, some old drunk guy had moved it. Aaron joined us that evening and rode with us a couple of days. The obligatory shot at the natural bridge. We loaded up to prepare for meeting Steve on his WR250sm. A short time later, my tire had feathers. The Oak Park Inn and six days worth of bugs. Another B double E double R U N. Rode through the Dragon on Friday afternoon with Donna and Kimball to finish off nine days of riding. It's about done! Met my wife at the hotel in Townsend. That trailer was neat as pin when I left it with her. Attended the best wedding ever on Saturday. Klim and Timmy both were there. One last pic with @MiniCarver and his bride. I'll work on video when I can and share them here.

VF1000R has had quite a lot of work since I picked it up in July 🙂Enjoying every minute of owning “Big Bertha” (formally known as Rhonda!). What a beast! Having owned a Ducati Sport 1000 where all the power thumps you immediately before running out of steam the VF1000R is only getting into its stride - Totally different beasts but enjoying the feeling of the big VF which is approx 50-60kgs heavier. Few things done so far: - carbs ultrasonic cleaned and Dynojet stage 1 kit fitted. - K&N air filter with airbox snorkels removed (great upgrade for those seeking some intake 🎼 🎺 ) - YSS rear shock (F model) with ride height and sag set for rider weight. - Hyperpro springs, cartridge emulators and new seals. (deletes original anti-dive and top rebound adjusters, but they did nothing anyway.) This setup F&R is firm and progressive. - New brake lever, master cylinder rebuilt, b calipers rebuilt with Brembo sintered pads and braided lines. - Rear brake master rebuilt, braided line and Brembo sintered pads. - New clutch lever, master cylinder rebuilt. - Braided clutch line from HEL. - Clutch slave cylinder rebuilt. - New thermostat. - New (85 degree) rad fan switch. - New rad cap. - Kerker end cans relocated to original position to accommodate passenger rear pegs. - Pirelli Sport Demon. 120/70 front and 150/70 rear. Huge improvement! big thanks to @Captain 80s for the tips and points in an earlier post 👍 Next up is -1 front sprocket (16t) with 44 rear & have the fork air balance pipe plugged & deleted to lower the front by approx 25-30mm. The new spring preload has raised the VF quite a lot and it seems the only way to lower it down is deleting the air pipe so forks can go through triple clamps. No big deal really as the air pipe is now obsolete anyway. Still on the hunt for a RHS mirror, and a 4-1 exhaust manifold if anyone can help. Kerkers will then go up for sale - along with the pair of interceptor mirrors I’m now using. Cheers, Ian

Getting closer to the 100k goal....

A small "meat & greet" gathering of V4 lovers.. Fresh breadrolls expedited in 🙂 5 meters below sea level https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flevopolder

My best pal and me got interviewed for an article in a classic mc magazine at some time in the future. Here some of the money shots 🙂 But first a V4 on commuting duty piccie to fool the mods! Are they gone? OK! I hope @muff is still keeping ok..... Pals since 1972....

Somebody brought rubber chickens. @MiniCarver took a "rooster" to the face. IMG_9153.MOV

Fully understand where you're coming from Miguel, can't thank you enough for all your efforts in running VFRD. It's a sad sad day for VFRD and its core members, a huge melting pot of knowledge, experience, and information I've been so grateful for. To all the wonderful members out there, cheers, good health, and safe riding

https://youtu.be/aOTz0Ol8fLA

Stayin' alive.... Just into year 6.

Nice! This is "Chrissy" reloaded after camping for the weekend with the family outside of Winthrop WA at Lake Pearygin. From our campsite the night before I left. Crossed over into Canada for a week long solo trip around NE British Columbia. Had such a great ride.

I used up my placeholders... not sure what the limit is for each post, rather not find out, so I'll just continue here. So yeah... modifications to the left side rad to make this work... I had to cut and plug the fittings that didn't work, and create new ones. I cut all the plugs and new fittings from 6061 tube on the lathe and welded them on as needed. I cut the new fill spigot from a spare CBR radiator I had kicking around, and stuck it on top of a short extension to aid in filling properly. The astute among you may have picked up on the fact the 8g lower has a fan... and the 6g left has a fan... and they are both still employed here. The 8g VFR fan is controlled by a temp sensor via the ecu, but a quick bench test revealed the motor is a simple 12v connection away from working. I wanted the 8g fan to be automatically controlled as it is much more efficient than the left side wrong-way blowing 6g unit, so I wired it to the temp sensor located in the 6g rad. The stock fan is wired to a manual switch located on the handlebar for easy access in traffic or low speed situations. It was around this time I had developed a pretty good idea of what these complex systems needed to look like, so forged ahead with excitement... Here's the link from lower to upper rad taking shape Rotrex cooler hose nipples and reservoir in creation Did I mention space was tight?!? Oil flow = Reservoir > filter > Rotrex > cooler > reservoir Rotrex oil capacity is now a full liter, more than 2x what it was before. Yes, the reservoir is funky... but it'll be hidden, and I'm more concerned about it working than looking good I added the chimney portion for air expansion under braking, vented at the top. Small hose section for return flow/air exchange at the base of the stack, and another hose loop at the back end for a visual fluid level indicator. How do you excite a lathe? You turn a nipple... On the CBR the oil cooler came from, the hot side coolant returns to the block. I decided to route it directly to the lower radiator for convenience, and because I had no doubt this motor didn't need help warming up. With that solution in mind, it was time to weld up the cooler fittings And here's the link connecting the lower & upper rads

Knew I had a pic somewhere

Here's the final look - so much better. Cerakote and caliper overhaul by @SEBSPEED! Arashi rotors up front, Galfer lines, and new Cerakoted plastic pieces including the chain guards. I have a new rotor for the back but that requires taking out the rear hub. Have the parts for that, will do it next time. Rear brake is waaaaay better than it was, including the front linked piston. One observation that will probably be common to a lot of VFRs that have "unknown" maintenance for years: there was a whole lot of rust both in the parts and the fluid, that never went clear regardless of how much I tried to clear it. The large junction on top of the battery side proportional valve is ferrous and rusts in addition to the banjo bolts. Galfer provides a stainless steel replacement for that part. I don't think anything inside the valves is ferrous but the contaminated fluid will sit and gunk up the insides. In the end, I probably pushed at least 40 oz of brake fluid through the whole bike to flush contaminated fluid out. I used a C clamp on the front left caliper to activate or half activate the SMC, and then some circus tricks to get a pretty good flow of clear fluid from the rear reservoir all the way through. Took a while but necessary. Of all the changes the increased braking up front from the rear pedal is probably the most noticeable.

My nieces partner purchased this recently, I would like to think that I had something to do with it but I don’t think that’s the case. The bike is in excellent condition and seems to run well. I haven’t been offered a ride yet ☹️

Aloha everyone! It has been more than a minute since Duc2V4 and I have been present here. We apologize for our extended hiatus, but have both been absorbed by and focused on significant life changes, both to geographic location and professional situations, but are happy to be back on VFRD and the header project. Lo and behold - Ziffer has taken up the cause and compiled a real world list of VFR folks who want headers. Thank you a metric ton Ziffer for going back more than a year and compiling this list! When Duc2V4 pinged me to point out this level of interest, it seemed that service to the community was definitely warranted, so we checked with Wade to see if he is still up for building VFR headers. Here is where the real world runs headlong into our objective of beginning a new production run of headers: next week Wade is going in for surgery to his right hand because over the past year he has been suffering from increasing pain and numbness in both of his hands, to the degree that he hasn't been able to work the past couple months. We all hope the surgery is successful and will stay in touch with him to learn if and when he might be able to go back to work building exhaust systems.