toro1

Hi all, Machining the plates right now. I hope to have them completed today and sent down for anodizing first thing next week. Everyone who ordered will get a shipping notification when they are ready to go! --Dan

John, I looked and looked for similar problems online, and I found a decent number of people who have nearly identical problems to you, but they were never solved. I did come across this thread which might be of interest, though. Also, have you checked all the fuses? One guy I found traced his starting problem to a bad fuse pertaining to the HISS system. Did you pull any plug to see if it was wet? I'm starting to wonder if something isn't connected properly with either the pump assembly or the fuel rail / fuel lines. Obviously the pump is wired correctly (and sounds great, btw), but something is still amiss here. Who did your injector cleaning? They didn't insert some kind of protective cap into the injector entry, did they?

Red is 6th-gen, green is 5th-gen. 5th-gen has a better cam drive and seamless power delivery, 6th-gen has a beefier clutch and an almost (but not quite) seamless power delivery. 6th-gen makes more power than the 5th-gen across the board (except between 5500-6500 rpm), but the heavier weight negates some of that extra performance. You can't lose either way, but swapping engines would not be worth the effort in my opinion.

If you want some wild colors, Black Gold sells House of Kolors in spray cans. I painted my RC51 front fender using their products and the paint was an absolutely perfect match. As has already been said, prep and finishing work is everything, so if you're willing to invest the time, you can do it. Also, if you have a friend (or a friend of a friend) who does paint work, see what they'll quote you for the whole job -- it might end up being the only way to go (I had my entire bike painted for $250, including materials).

1) No, keep the pipe. Any aftermarket pipe will give you more power across the entire powerband; once the gases have joined in the collector, you want to get them out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Do not confuse backpressure with exhaust gas velocity -- backpressure = loss of energy, and the stock pipe will just add power robbing backpressure. When I added the Staintune on my bike back in the day, power did not drop at any point in the powerband. 2) You can try if you want, but the gains are very minimal. Remove the snorkel if you want a deeper intake roar, but altering the actual airbox itself too far from stock can be very detrimental to performance. 3) Yes. A good map will smooth out power delivery and allow you to richen up the lean spots in the powerband, which in turn frees up some ponies and makes the bike feel more responsive and powerful. If you want more bottom end grunt, and you still have the stock gearing, swap the sprockets to a -1/+2 setup. -- it will really wake the bike up. There is only so much 781cc can do for a 500+lb bike, so unless you want to add forced induction or nitrous, you'll never get the feeling of big-bike torque. Your old 750 had different cams, gearing, and a much lower rpm limit, so comparing 5000rpm on both bikes is not apples to apples. The VFR likes to rev out to 12k, so use gearing to make better use of the power available.

Gavin, I know what you are trying to do, and it won't be easy. First off, without knowing what size turbo you have, it's impossible to say what speed it needs to be run at. You have to look at the compressor map for the specific turbo you have to figure out the operating range and final power output. Then, assuming the turbo is actually a good match for your engine, you have to figure out how to drive the thing and keep the bearings sealed. The Rotrex I use in my kits has in internal step-up ratio of 12.67:1, and even though I underdrive it by 13%, the impeller still spins to 130,000 rpm at redline -- unless you are using a monster turbo, you will have to step up the ratio much more than 4:1. I'd say to shoot for 5psi peak initially and see how it goes, but even with your old 750, it should be able to handle 7-8psi peak (if everything is in proper working order, and detonation is avoided, that is). I have no idea, though, if the stock clutch and transmission can handle the additional load. The carbs will have to be prepped for boost (that is, the bowls must be pressurized and you have to ensure everything is sealed), you'll have to redo the jetting, and your fuel pump will have to cope with the additional fuel demands. It's a major project, but anything can be accomplished with enough time and money. In my opinion, it would be easier to adapt the turbo to the bike as a turbo rather than converting it to a supercharger, but it's your project, so do what you want to do -- just be prepared for a lot of work either way.

True, true, but for all intents and purposes, they're the same. Same flow rate, pickup, bolt pattern, fuel line fittings...I was just trying to save Ranger some cash -- there'd be no issue running the 5th-gen fuel pump setup with the 6th-gen injectors. No need for the big bore or 5th-gen engine, Steve. If you were willing to tear apart your engine, I'd install a thicker head gasket to drop compression to 10-10.5:1 or so, then crank up the boost. I bet you could crack 200-210whp pretty easily, with much greater torque, too, as you're spinning the blower faster and generating more boost down low. It would be a monster. The 6th-gen, with it's chain driven cams, can accommodate a thicker head gasket, and it also has a beefier clutch setup. Plus, on boost, anyway, the 6th-gen with VTEC actually outperforms the 5th-gen in the power department across the board.

It will drop right in -- Honda didn't change a thing dimensionally. The fuel pump assembly is identical as well, so no need to swap to a 6th-gen unit. Fuel pressure is the same, injector flowrate is the same...as long as the MAP sensor and TP sensor are the same, you'll be in business. The starter valve setup is different, but you should be able to make it work.

The bore spacing is identical. Other than doing it for the sake of doing it, I don't see any benefit performance wise. Keep in mind that the newer injectors (with fine multi-hole diffuser plates) get gummed up a lot quicker than the 5th-gen's single pindtle design (just ask Kaldek). If you have to yank your current TB for some reason, have a complete 6th-gen unit with airbox assembly laying around, and have nothing better to do, then sure, give it a shot. The tuning may be slightly off during part-throttle situations (due to the finer atomization of the newer injectors), so be prepared to fiddle with your fuel map a smidge if you want it perfect.

To be fair, the bike in that video had brand new, cold tires, which is pretty much like riding on ice if you give it any gas. I also have an '08 GSX-R1000, and believe me, you have to do something very stupid for the bike to get out of shape that badly with the tires in normal operating condition. I once watched an ex-racer dump his ZR-7 (hardly a fire-breathing monster) in the middle of the road after turning out of the parking lot to go home for the day. You just have to be careful... Whether Honda is trying to save the drivetrain or the rider is anybody's guess at this point, but if I owned the bike, I would definitely want it unrestricted.

Actually, it does -- Black Gold. It's how I painted my RC51 front fender and did touch up to other areas. The color matched perfectly as it is real HOK paint, and every HOK color is available -- kandys, pearls, metallics. As long as you don't need too many basecoats, use a good clear coat, and take the time finish it properly, it can turn out very very nice.

Guys, he didn't ask about riding technique, he just asked about shedding some weight off his bike. When I was on the Formula SAE team at PSU, we had the lightest 4-cylinder car by a huge margin, around 50+lbs IIRC. Our car fully fueled weighed 380lb, and to get it that light we used titanium in every possible location, and eliminated absolutely anything that wasn't crucial to performance. It could have been lighter, too, but full titanium frames weren't allowed. The key, though, and the reason we were so much lighter than everyone else, was the elimination of unnecessary weight on every component on the vehicle (down to drilling out the titanium bolts and running aluminum - yes, specially coated aluminum - brake rotors) -- little by little, it all adds up. This approach is what allowed RV4 to get his VFR750 down to 300lb, and taken on a more moderate scale, can allow you to shed some decent weight off your own bike. If you don't ride 2-up, yank all the passenger controls. Get rid of the centerstand and any extra emissions components (EVAP canister, solenoid valve, PAIR system). Eliminate the rear fender, chain guards, heat guards, and any extra brackets. Delink the brakes. In other words, all the stuff TimC said earlier. After that, you're going to have to start spending money: '98-'99 header or aftermarket catless setup with some aftermarket pipes; lightweight front wheel & rotors; 520 chain & sprocket conversion; fastener replacement. If you're looking for more, fab work & megabucks comes into play: single nut conversion & lightweight rear wheel (or a complete swingarm swap somehow), lighter weight rear subframe, carbon body panels, lightweight solo seat, exotic materials, engine lightening, etc. etc., the list could go on forever, and the further you go, the less and less your bike is a VFR. Unless you go all out, you'll never get it down to what the new superbikes weigh in at, but if you are just looking at dropping a few pounds, it can be done, and it can be done cheaply, as long as you're willing to put in some wrench work.