DDO-VFR

ZG touring for the cold weather and back to stock when it warms up. The touring screen takes the wind off my shoulders and reduces long distance fatigue somewhat. I've got to keep my head up as high as possible to keep the buffeting to a minimum. (5'10" 170lbs.) On the flip side the stock screen allows upper body support due to wind pressure. Overall I prefer the stock, but after a COLD tour around Newfoundland the first year I had the bike I added the touring screen for early season touring. Brian

This is confusing to me. My fan blows air from underneath the fairing to the outside of the fairing. It pushes air through the radiator rather than pulling air through the radiator. If I am reading your description correctly, it is going in the wrong direction. Ah not the 'wrong' direction, but rather the 'opposite' direction of the natural flow during riding. Brian

It might be splitting hairs, but the PP/PR2 (or 3) combo FTW...maybe put it as its own line on the poll? Otherwise if I vote for both separately it skews the results. Brian

And that is one reason I have mine done by my dealer. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I think the filter, oil, and crush washer came to something like $48+. Having it done came to about $54. I didn't think I wanted to mess with it, possibly bust some plastic, maybe screw up a few fairing clips and still have to dispose of the old oil and filter for $6. I hear ya...I think I saved 10-15$ doing it myself. What I did save was driving to the shop, waiting an hour or two until they got around to it, and then having to stay a couple of hours later at work to make up for the time I missed. The bonus was a brief moment of pride at a job well done. Brian

Well folks, I finally did it...I actually changed the oil myself, as in didn't pay someone. I hadn't up to now because of laziness, figuring it was easier just to bring it in. Using the 'BR method 355' it was as easy as pie. The secret recipe is the oil filter socket and a 7" long, 1/2" drive extension. Following BR's instructions, I was done, putting the tools away in 30 minutes. Turns out it is WAY less hassle than bringing the bike into the dealer and waiting around. So I'm living proof that VFRD works. I used the recommended Shell Rotella T6 synthetic, a Honda filter and a new crush washer. The oil was a little pricey @ 37$ Cdn for a jug of the stuff at Wally World. Now to clean and lube the chain for umpteenth time... Brian

I'd hoped for a better outcome, but I'm gonna miss the ride this year, mostly due to obigations at work, and if I was gonna piss off my boss the weather had to be a sure thing. So all things considered I had to let it slide. I'll cross my fingers (and toes) for a window of good weather for the Saturday ride. Place safe! Brian

If you tweaked the ones I sent, I'd like to see what you ended up with. Brian

Pat, We're really hoping it works out and you can join us! Joe & I will gladly share our room... I don't think they have rooms with 3 beds but they did say they had "air bed" avail if we needed... that is unless Joe doesn't mind you spoonin' with him... then in that case you won't need the "air bed"! Your call! And ya, what's with the Canadian connection? Any word from Poncho, Tumbles & crew or DDO-VFR? It just won't be the same, eh? Take off eh... I can't commit either way until next week. Life sometimes gets in the way of my riding! At this point it is still 50/50. Good weather (dry) will definitely make it hard to stay home (tires are approaching end of life, so riding in seriously wet weather will be dubious). BTW, last year I plotted out Seb's routes into Garmin .gdb format. If it helps, I can do it again, but I haven't noticed anything posted on this thread. If it isn't already done and somebody PM's me a route (google or whatever) I'll give a go again. Brian

Why would he change his oil more now than before? The silver ring you see in the pic is fastened to the cover with all those small screws, and is sealed with a large o ring. The ring can be removed and replaced in just a couple minutes. I'm guessing it might not look as cool if the window is covered in brown sludge What sort of oil would you use anyway? Brian

Most (if not all) torque/hp runs on dynos are done with full throttle (come to think of it why would one do anything else), but what it would be really interesting to drive the 2-4 valve conversion at normal throttle openings to FEEL the difference in the bottom end. It's the responsive feel to minor throttle openings that really impress (to me). For example my 750 Shadow had less peak torque than my VFR but what a great push at initial throttle openings.... My hunch is that the light throttle grunt and the lower noise are the prinicple reasons for the VTEC (might even throw in pollution in the mix, if I was guessing...come to think of it I AM guessing.... ). Brian

Ahh yes...brighter bulb syndrome.... For the sake of this discussion, I'll assume you are staying with Halogen type bulbs. The long and the short of it, the brighter the bulb, the shorter the life. I know some people may disagree but as I understand it ALL incandescent bulbs run hotter the brighter they are. So if you want more lumens (light) you have to burn more power, which means more heat in that tiny, itsy, bitsy little filament. So those 'extra bright' bulbs (Silverstar et al) don't last long because they reduce the filamet resistance slightly to burn brighter (and hotter) and as we all know lifespan is ferociously tied to heat in all things electrical and mechanical. After saying all that, I think running 100W units in place of the standard 50W (I thought H7s were 50, H4s are 55W) will result in lotsa light but at a cost of extreme operating temps around the bulb and local wiring, not to mention taxing our 'fragile' electrical system. A little off topic but 210W of running lights is not enough for you (2x H4 + 2x H7)? Have you verified the aim of you lights? Each one is adjustable for left/right and up/down. Also remember if you change your pre-load the aim changes as well. Brian