Ryanme17

Hey Ryan, How you doin man? Saw this thread come up and it got me wondering. How do you feel about being on the bike after the rest of this past season? Just kind of looking for an update. Let us know. :blush:

Funny you should ask that, I was just thinking about this, actually.

Well, I ride differently, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing. The main problem was that I would get tense. Too tense, tense to the point that I couldn't react as quickly or appropriately. This has mostly been solved with saddle time, but not completely. Also, I haven't enjoyed riding quite as much because I'm worried about crashing and my insurance going up. Not about dying, mind you... I have focused on my riding a lot and I'm more smooth, but there's still just a little bit of that tension left.

Also, I feel like I ride at a much slower pace, but perhaps it just feels slower because I've focused so much on technique.

And on a difficulty scale of 1-10 how hard is grip replacement??

Alumitech Grips

Maybe a 2, the only hard part is sliding them off, and that can depend, so it can vary anywhere from a 1-5 difficulty depending on that.

I'm not familiar with those, but they seem expensive, and I don't quite understand what the metal does?

Was shopping for a grip with a little more girth and cushion and came accross these. They claim the little metal indention ads to the comfort somehow, I just thought they looked cool.

May just go with some grip puppies (?) I think I saw mentioned in another thread until I figure out what grips to go with. Just want my left hand to not go numb after 30 minutes, though I do not death-grip the handlebars at all...

If the difficulty is below a 5 my limited mechanical prowess should allow me to pull it off with some good instructions. Thanks!

They do look to be good quality, and I know people who've paid a lot more for parts that only look cool.

As far as installing grips goes, it's pretty basic. Do a search on here for instructions, but a little compressed air can work wonders.

And on a difficulty scale of 1-10 how hard is grip replacement??

Alumitech Grips

Maybe a 2, the only hard part is sliding them off, and that can depend, so it can vary anywhere from a 1-5 difficulty depending on that.

I'm not familiar with those, but they seem expensive, and I don't quite understand what the metal does?

First post - hello.

I recently bought a beautiful '97 VFR from an individual that took wonderful care of it.

Thank you, Dave!

Link to bike pic

I'd like to upgrade the stock grips to try to calm down the slight buzz I get a highway speeds.

I was hoping to get recommendations from experienced VFR owners.

What have you tried and liked or disliked?

Thanks.

Heavier bar ends can help with this a bit as well.

You can try new sprockets, won't technically add horsepower, but will make the bike feel more zippy at the expense of a few more revs on the highway.

Yeah but that isn't what i'm looking for,

my other bike has like a million caburateur options, it also has 3 or 4 cylinder and piston options, even has ignition options,

and this is a bike from the 70's!

why isn't there anything like that for my RC24?

You can rejet your carbeurator, a slightly richer mix (especially with aftermarket exhaust) might run SLIGHTLY better...

no bolt on carbs, cams, pistons, etc, though. Sorry.

You can try new sprockets, won't technically add horsepower, but will make the bike feel more zippy at the expense of a few more revs on the highway.

Well I don't think it's a bad idea. My only concern is that I like to be able to flash my brakes in that situation.

Well now that I know what is involved, I have shelved the idea. I was expecting a quick swap of oem parts. You know, 2 screws, pop off one lens, replace with a new one. NOT! I got enough half finished projects already to work on.

One option would be that we each just chop off the bulb harness and send it with the housings, then splice back in and we're good to go, not ideal, but more along the line of a quick swap of parts.

Ryan, you were THAT close, and then . . . . .

Almost a free white gauge cluster from ThrottlePimp, then almost exchanged my turn signal housings for clear... It's almost turning out to be a great week for me! :beer:

I have a spare amber rear AND fronts, and would like to trade as well...

Dibs! Haha, but seriously, I should clarify. I do have both, but I'd have to take them off of my bike to trade, and I don't really want to do that for a few more weeks, at least, to avoid missing the last days of riding. And Seb almost certainly has more knowledge of what is required to switch over the wiring for the bulb change. If his are available right now, and you're in a hurry, go with him. Otherwise, I can figure out whatever is needed to make it work for you.

I'm actually surprised 12 people haven't jumped in offering to trade, most prefer the clear signal look. :biggrin:

04 came with them.

Thnaks

OUCH! $300 for the rear....I don't like the look that much!!!!!

Oh, do you want front or rears? I don't have an extra set of rears, but would be interested in trading, as I prefer the clear look to the amber. Not sure if it is simply a new socket, like in front, or not, but I can find out what is needed to switch if you'd like?

04 came with them.

2002-2005 came with Amber. I believe they switched to clear in 2006. I just so happen to have a pair from a 2003 for sale in the classifieds section. Are you interested? Or I'd be more than happy to trade straight up. :blink:

And, the bulb is a different type, so you'd have to find the correct socket and rewire to this.

Do any of the PC's give you the ability to control the ignition timing on a VFR?

There are a few other posts on this as well, but only the old PCII's allow you to adjust ignition timing. They intercept the signal before the it gets to the ECU, and so it can tell the computer that the timing is mentally challenged, and the computer will advance it. PCIII and PCV's intercept the signal coming from the ECU to the fuel injectors control module (or something like that).

A few users have done this, none have reported huge power gains, but as far as I know, no one has dyno'ed before and after to find out. Also, you'd need to use higher octane gas. This is another mod that would only help when WOT in the upper RPM range.

So HIDs are getting really cheap and ya'll know my luck with head lamps. HIDs are supposed to be longer life and I'm hoping the electronics will cancel any electrical grimlens I either have or have not on my bike. My question is this...

Main lamps are H4s and the single beam HIDs are really cheap. High beams are H7 (right?). So, I'm thinking of changing out both and really light up the night. Since the new digital ballists are plug and play I should be able to simply plug the H4s in and then the H7s in and everything should work as is..... right? I mean but a butt load brighter. Right?

Very few people update the hi-beams to HID. The reason is that HID takes several seconds to fully turn on. I've seen 1 bulb set ups with a switch that changes the angle of the bulb (and thus the beam) to simulate hi-beams from HID, but I think that's when you buy a full HID unit including the reflector.

Ok, question, if you're lifting the bar high enough for the lug to be free of the slot, can't you just rotate it without swapping sides??

+1! Or just dremel the tab off and rotate it as you please. I really don't understand the advantage to switching sides. The bars are not offset, so all you're doing is sliding them back a bit farther, seems like a lot of work for something that could be done by loosening the pinch bolts, readjusting the position, then tightening the pinch bolts...

Do we know for a fact that having them at the CBR angle would be bad? The reason I ask is because the adapter your describing would be shaped like a very thin wedge of cheese, and how would you have enough area for the mirror screws to thread into?

You could permanently glue it to a set of Lobster extenders, perhaps, and then tap threads through both?

Only problem is, all you'll see is your elbows...

A mount to correct the angle combined with some lobster extenders should help.

Just got done reading the Fatty McGee thread here:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...51678&st=30

There were some comments about how losing weight makes the bike handle better, inputs are more readily felt, etc. That got me thinking. The average American is let's say, 50lbs heavier than your typical Japanese or even Asian person. I'd venture to say this is Honda's biggest market, in Asia.

I have a hard time believing Honda won't fit uprated springs and such because of the logistics involved, but I think this is the case. Which is crazy when you think about all the man hours that goes into R&D for these bikes. How about more of a middle ground Honda? Why not set it up for 175lb rider instead of 150lb?

I'm sure the folks in the East love their Hondas and the way they ride, but isn't Honda concerned with what their customers think? I think the consensus is ALL of our bikes, even the 929s and 600RRs can use some suspension work, unless your a female and then you're more inline with the Asian males :biggrin:

Our market is obviously a lot smaller than the Asian one, but I don't think small enough to not warrant a different setup.

Thoughts? Talk amongst yourselves, discuss, discuss.

The factory set up is for an Asian rider, yes, but that's how Mother Honda does it, and so that's how our bikes are. Honda isn't the only manufacturer to do this. At the Lee Parks Clinic he went through and took a quick look at all of our bikes, not one was really set up well. Some of the more expensive options (like the BMW electronic adjustable suspension) were the worst. Not many bikes even have compression and rebound damping adjustability, pretty much just GSXR's and Race Replicas.

Why don't they do this? It wouldn't be cost effective, because, as others have pointed out, the average rider doesn't think about this. The average rider, given a test ride, isn't thinking how well the bike performs, he's thinking how it feels. And, even though a softer suspension isn't better, given a short test ride over a bumpy road, it feels more forgiving. That's what sells.

Magazine reviewers, in particular, seem to not care about a too-soft suspension, but seem to hate a too-harsh suspension. It's a vicious cycle...

I gotta ask why you store your VFR in a large frig? Or was the air temp sensor just on the blink?

:blink: :ph34r:

I was about to say, "my temperature sensor doesn't go down that low!" when I realized it's in degrees Celsius...

And don't ask me how I know...

As far as your wrist discomfort, and the turning you may really want to concentrate on your posture more.

!! 0 weight should be on your arms, hands, and wrists. Next time you ride, consciously think about pulling your elbows in and making sure that there isn't any weight on your arms. Instead, weight the balls of your feet, squeeze the tank with your knees (this takes most of the weight off) and straighten your lower back by kind of pushing your stomach forward. It takes a while to get used to, but this posture should take ALL of the weight off of your hands. And, it sounds like helibars probably will help in your case getting you a bit more upright.

The VFR is actually fairly upright for a sport-bike. If you think the VFR has a handstandy, racy posture, don't even try to ride a R1/CBR/GSXR/etc!!

What's a rapidbike module? Same thing as a Power Commander?

Yes, it is the equivalent of a Power Commander module. Mine is a RapidBike 3 Module, which has the possibility of on-the-fly change between two seperate maps. The link is below:

http://www.rapidbikeusa.com/cgi-bin/shoppe...key=1146KRB3005

hey guys does anyone know whether or not the 6th gens ignition can be advanced? im not familiar with the rapid bikes, but im pretty sure with the power commander usb you have the option to add the ignition module where applicabe... are vfr's applicable? thanks

No, they are not. AS of yet you can't adjust ignition on a VFR. Unless you get an old Power Commander II.

What's a rapidbike module? Same thing as a Power Commander?

So.... The line runs on the behind the triple tree (between triple tree and the tank) instead of in front (between triple tree and the fairing)?

No.

Plenty of room, as you can see. But again, these risers are different.

I also put Helibars on my '06 ABS and my clutch line came up a little short. I had to order a longer one to get full height. If you have the same problem, PM me, and I'll send you the info to get the right length. Other people have not had this problem, I think it's how the hose runs on the ABS model or ????

I got around this by rerouting the hose so that the fork didn't get in the way.

Humm..... Don't understand, got a picture?

I'll try to remember to get a picture up later. But I had to take the banjo bolt off to do so. In stock form, the cable runs from the back of the engine to the inside of the left fork, and underneath the triple clamp. I routed it to the outside of the left fork, and have plenty of clearance. However, my risers are custom one-off's, not helibars, and they move the bars at least two inches towards the rear of the bike. I'm not sure if you'd get the same clearance with Helibars, now that I think about it. Do helibars just add height, or do they move them back as well?

I also put Helibars on my '06 ABS and my clutch line came up a little short. I had to order a longer one to get full height. If you have the same problem, PM me, and I'll send you the info to get the right length. Other people have not had this problem, I think it's how the hose runs on the ABS model or ????

I got around this by rerouting the hose so that the fork didn't get in the way.

Did you say 1400 miles in one day?

Wow.