CitizenOfDreams

Does the VFR spanner wrench work on the 929 shock??

If you are talking about the spanner that you use to adjust chain tension, then no. You need to buy (or otherwise procure) the CBR pin wrench (part number 89202-KY1-700, $11.28 at Honda Direct Line.) It's a fairly straight shot on my 4th gen, don't know about 5th.

Like I said, making 20 is just as easy as making 1.

:biggrin: You could make several brackets of different length in 5mm steps!

As for me, my aluminum spacer seems to work fine. But somebody else may be interested in those brackets. The only issue that I see is liability. Should something go wrong, not necessarily because of a bracket failure... it could turn ugly on the road and even uglier in the court. One thing is posting your designs and ideas, entirely different thing is manufacturing safety-critical parts for someone else.

Let me rephrase: I will be happy to have a shock that does not make the rear wheel bounce like a basketball. :cool:

While I've got easy access to the new shock, what base line settings are people using?

Baseline? Sag? Preload? Rebound? Spring rate? Don't talk that advanced jargon to me, I will be happy just to have a shock that works. :goofy:

+1 on lifting the swingarm. Here is an easy way to do it without a helper - a small $10 bottle jack from Harbor Freight. Absolutely essential tool when it's time to install your new shock and align the bolt holes.

When you were removing the 4th gen riginal shock, did you get any clearance problems?

The 4th gen shock WILL NOT go out from the bottom, even if you take the triangle and the dog bone off (which you should do anyway to clean and lubricate the bearings inside it). The hole in the swingarm is not big enough.

You need to remove the ignition coils (easy), the starter relay (easy), the battery (easy) and the battery box (not so easy). Then the shock will happily slide up and out.

Yep, I have a 100% 929 shock. It does not interfere with the battery box, but _reinstalling_ the box (getting the metal heat shield between the shock and the fender) was a pain. Had to bend the shield, put it in place, then un-bend it.

Another progress report...

The new shock is in place. The battery box was a pain to reinstall. The ignition coils did not fit (the oil reservoir occupies a part of their private space) and had to be relocated. I was going to take pictures, but I lost my camera somewhere. Oh well...

More ride height helps on these bikes. I usually suggest at least 5mm but you can run up to 10mm if desired.

Thanks for the advice, I will make a taller adapter if I'm not happy with this one. Or maybe I should make them for sale in various sizes.

The VFR shock should be 325mm and the CBR929 one is 287mm for a difference of 38mm.

My actual measurements were 324mm and 288mm... and it's too late now, the spacer is already made (yes, I've decided to go the easy route and make a spacer instead of a bracket). We shall see what it did to the riding height when I put it back together.

Progress report... I bought a replacement bolt (100mm, which is 30mm longer than stock) and made the aluminum spacer (see the drawing below; unfortunately, it does not look as good in flesh - made with a hacksaw and a file instead of a milling machine). The 929 shock seems to fit, I will probably try to put it all together tomorrow.

I just thought of something... The rear shock does not sit vertical. So if you measure the VFR shock, then measure the CBR shock, then add the difference to the _bracket_ rather than the _shock_ itself... your suspension geometry (namely, riding height) will be quite different from original.

Anybody got measurements and/or AutoCAD drawings of 4th gen rear suspension? Or do you just "add shims till it feels right"?

So... I decided to follow the trend and replace the rear shock on my 4th gen VFR with a newer CBR929 part. Here are the measurements I got:

- 4th gen VFR shock, eye center to eye center fully extended - 324mm

- CBR929 (yellow spring) shock, eye center to eye center fully extended - 288mm (36mm shorter)

- 4th gen VFR shock bracket, eye center to top surface - 25mm

- New bracket to be made, eye center to top surface - 61mm

Any corrections and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

what generations does this list cover Kevin? I'm sure this covers 6th Gen bikes, what I really need to know is whether or not the same filter fits a 4th gen?

I'm using Mobil One M1-110 on my '95 VFR, so I assume the list is good for 4th gen. By the way, Honda oil filter wrench fits the Mobil One filter, don't know about the others.

I now have 98% of the parts needed to make my own R/R, and test some theories. More to come on this topic as I actually do something.

:cool: Patiently awaiting for more details (description of your experiments, schematics, photos of buckets full of smoked FETs...)

but you're probably going to be looking for beer cans anyways, no :goofy:

After I park my bike, maybe. But I prefer bottled beer. :biggrin:

Here is my "low cost" modification - a piece of metal angle welded to the side stand. Allows me to park anywhere from hot asphalt to wet sand without looking for a beer can.

I would like to know what causes the stator to overheat and melt.

Excessive heat - which is caused by excessive current - which is (as I understand) often caused by a short circuit in the rectifier/regulator.

Bravo Tightwad, nice explanation.

How about a crash course in thermodynamics now (for those of us who tie-wrap a CPU fan to the rectifier/regulator thinking it will drastically help cooling it)?

I personally think Bar End mirrors are about the ugliest thing there is...

and convex mirrors mean depth perception is off.

The price you have to pay for the wider angle of view. It takes some practice to judge the distance to an object in a convex mirror, but it's still better than not seeing the object at all.

If anyone from VFRD doesn't like them, I would be happy to provide a refund if you send them back.

You are not getting mine back, I'm keeping them! Thanks again for the quality product.

About black bolts... My usual source for weird hardware is McMaster-Carr. Unfortunately, they do not have the bolts in question.

I got a package in the mail today. Inside the package, carefully wrapped in paper towels, was a set of Lobstenders - mirror extenders designed and manufactured by a VFRD member known as Lobster. Needless to say, I immediately jumped to my bike and installed them.

The extenders are really nicely made, their shape 100% matches the shape of Y2K mirrors. The finish has slightly different texture, but you have to look really close to see it. There is a splice line between two sheets of plastic - Lobster warned us about it - but it is barely visible. The drilling is a little less than perfect, but nobody will see it once the extenders are mounted. Longer than stock stainless bolts were included. Would be nice if they were black, but nothing's perfect.

For about the same price I might hold out for some magnesium wheels. This is a new company so no VFR version yet.

Mag wheels for less

Oh gawd... now this forum is going to get its own 300-page Durrani thread...

...also, before this thread goes tankslapping and gets closed... How to choose the proper viscosity of synthetic oil? The service manual recommends 20W40 or 20W50 for temperatures above 32F (which is all we get here in Florida), is that what I should use? Or are there different rules for synthetic oils?

Recommended filters. All Fit our VFR's

Does the same filter fit all VFR generations?