VFR Capt.Bob

meep meep!

VFR is a great bike stock. Aftermarket exhaust will lighten it up and make it sound nice. Stay away from full race canisters. Too loud. Other than that the suspension is pretty good especially when new so unless the springs are all wrong for your wieght I say invest is awesome boots, helmet, and riding gear. That's the stuff you really interface with the bike with. Makes the experience that much better. Worth every penny.

I would say the pyramid plastics hugger on my 5th gen. It didnt mount up all that straight and hit the tire sometimes. To get a handle on it, I cut about 7 inches off the thing so that the tire coverage is about half. Still does the job of keeping crud off the shock, but doesnt bounce around like it used to. More better funtionally, but not much on esthetics.

MD

I was about to bag on my powerbronze rear hugger. I hate the heavy gauge steal mounting bracket and plan to re fab a new smaller one out of aluminum. Once I do that it will go back on. Does a good job of keeping road crud off the rear of the engine and shock. I'll probably bob it a bit like you did to get rid of some of the monkey motion.

Race only slip on. Way too loud. Vibrations and back firing from the lean condition.

Interesting. Maybe you can post the link or some pictures. As long as they aren't leather with beaded pony tails hanging down on the ends, I'll keep an open mind.

LMAO. That guy is sooooo going to jail. :biggrin:

Looks like a great touring mod. Does the brake lever contact the upper fairing at full lock? My Heli bars I agree are just enough difference to notice but for touring yours would be much more comfortable.

Now all you have to do is powder coat the upper triple to match like I did. :blink:

I'm guessing a few of those who voted synthetic are actually synthetic blend users. I used regular automotive oil one time. It was the only time I noticed a difference in clutch performance. I like Motul synthetic blend cause it's easy to find on sale.

Just use your brakes when you are coming to a stop. They're a lot cheaper to replace than the drive train and transmission parts you are stressing by down shifting to stop. I can't think of too many city braking situations where I have to use race style down shifts to stop for the red light etc. Don't give Honda anymore wild ideas for the next VFR.

I say you nailed it. Looks as good as a Bimoto almost. Bike flows very well. Some of the part interfaces aren't perfect but mixing and matching you got it very close to perfect.

Seems like someone could make a piece that could go under the bar, like a really thick washer, with a slot for the bar tab and a tab to go where the bar tab used to go on the tree. Just a thought.

Thats what the Genmar riser is basically.

I like your kind of crazy genius. I'm way out of my leaque to try and offer some oppinion on this. Make it happen and keep us informed. I've seen engines go for pretty cheap on Ebay and the like. Take lots of pictures so it's easier for some of us to follow along. Baron Von Fankenviffer I presume?

I replaced the comp. and reb. with racetech on my forks and they seem to work great. Had Race Tech do the work. Wanted to do a F3 transplant on my 5th gen but no time and cheaped out.

My only comment was you seemed to be rushing this swap compared to the proceedures recommended by race tech for doing your own work. Should have taken the forks out initially and flushed them out real good before putting them back together.

My wife is a nurse so we have a lot of these large syringes used for flushing wounds. I added a peice of aquarioum tubing to the end that corresponds to the proper fluid level(from top of fork) and used this to remove excess oil from the tubes.

By the way I did the same kind of rush when I added stiffer springs on my own bike. Ended up having to take them apart again to make sure I tightened the jam nuts on the pre-load adjusters. :cool:

Hopefully the length is a non issue.

I ran a AFAM Al hard anodized rear sprocket with no complaints on wear. Sprocket still looked good when I took it off. Replaced it with a steel rear this time and do notice a bit more drive snatch off throttle to on. My guess is the 520 would be fine and maybe make the bike shift and accelerate smoother.

Is it worth it? For my riding I think I'd go with the stock fitment and lighter tri-metal rear sprocket next time. VFR is a street bike first and not the best track toy. So unless you are trying to convert it to a pure sport or track bike I'd steer away from the lighter/weaker setup.

Then again I'd like to see you do it and give a ride report to us. :cool:

Read this article when it came out in Motorcyclist magazine. Reading it again for the first time in the many years since, it makes even more sense today. Everyone who wants to increase their skill level should consider a track based class or just do track days to make strides in cornering and braking confidense.

I've seen too many innocent low sides on the street that could have easily been fatal had a tree, power pole or on coming vehicle been there. I do lean off the bike when I ride but it's mostly for practice and not needed for the speeds I ride. A lot of times I just sit in my seat while the guys in front of me are dragging a knee through the really tight stuff and smile at how little ground they gained by each exit.

Another great thing is how relaxed and ready to still ride I feel when we arrive at our familiar stop and B.S. locations. I ride with faster guys on better equiped bikes and to feel the slightest twinge of competitiveness with them or trying to impress them would surely land me in the loser column.

IMO if you ride for any reason other than the sheer love of riding a motorcycle, commuting and proffesional riders aside, you are likely riding for the wrong reasons.

The Air Guide as you call it is also called a shark fin or chain fin; it is there to keep things like your foot from getting caught up in between the chain and sprocket. A friend of mine had a get off at a track day and his foot ended up being mangled because he didn't have such a fin; he recovered after several surgery's and a lot of rehab but he now has a fin on his track bike now.

Helped a guy riding an old Duc load up after he crashed and had a similar injury. They cut his boot off at the track, we helped him load up and he drove off with a bloody cloth wrapped around his foot. I'll keep my shark fin.

As for the chain guard, where else am I supposed to keep all that nasty black crud between quarterly whore baths? :fing02:

Ouch! :biggrin:

So the key is not to crash. Check. :cool: :cool:

I still think Ill leave it off. I saw one for sale made out of carbon fiber once. If anyone knows where I can get one Ill put it back. For me it is just WAY too much plastic on the back of the bike. Its a motorcycle not a snap together Revell Model. On the note why is it soooooooooo freaking hard to get any parts for the VFR made out of carbon fiber? Are there any carbon masters out there that can make me some parts? I know it won't add any speed I just like the look. And foe-carbon doesn't cut it.

I'm in the process of making custom parts for the VFR and other bikes. What you ask?? :dry: :sleep: :dry: Cant tell you right now but as soon as I'm done Ill post.

If the air glide is that shark fin looking thingy then I agree with Lee. Looks like it does a great job of keeping things out of the moving chain and rear sprocket. Like the cut outs on the chain gaurd itself. Looks good and makes lubing the chain easier too.

Very nice adaptation. You can probably fabricate some sort of covers for the area aroung the tank and subframe.

I've been riding VFRs since they were VFRs. '86. I love the power qualities, sound, handling, comfort and style. I have been frustrated by the lack of out right horsepower when trying to safely pass slower riders on faster bikes who redline it in the straights while parking it in turns. This is exactly the kind of power I've dreamed of. I'll start the rationalization process now in the hopes i can over come the sticker shock.

i am interested to see how this holding up, fiberglass insert in ABS may develop cracks around the perimeter due to bond issues and different flex characteristics. I would try ABS panel repair backed with some mesh or screen.

I hope it still looks this good!

Maybe I'm selfesh but I like to go moderately fast on certain parts of the ride, and since I don't know any of the new riders I tend to position myself at the back. Then I see who the faster riders are and enjoy following them for a while. I don't want to offend the slower rider, so how do I go about passing to ride with the quicker group of riders? If I don't pass in a turn then everyone accelerates in the straights making it equally unsafe. I think there should be a group leader signal toward the beginning of the ride to allow the group to re-order themselves.

I totally beleive evey rider should establish a pace they are most comfortable with and never push themselves or let the abilities of faster riders prod them to try and go faster. That's why I'm in favor of two groups.

Is there a signal that ask for permission to pass? I don't like the feeling that I am pushing anybody and would rather move to a group of riders closer to my speed. I'm not that fast but like to ride a good pace.

JC Whitney? My first thoughts were actually,"Kill it!" Looks kind of Cruiser like. Hey like they said in the 70's if it feels go do it. Yeah baby. After seeing your seat I'm feeling groovy all over again. :laugh: :biggrin: :ohmy: :cool:

Nice clump of bondo, or tape. I can't tell.

I think it looks better then the Ducockie. We all know it sounds better too.

Now THAT would be a cool 2009 VFR.

:fing02: Especially if it whines!