FJ12Ryder

A washer helper is always a great thing. Do you use pipe tape, or pipe dope to keep the air from leaking around the threads? I tried using my MityVac a few times but couldn't stop the air leaking around the threads, and taping all the fittings was just too much of a PIA. But when it works, it is a great tool.

If there's corrosion I would also put a light coating of anti-seize on it before reassembly. Hopefully you won't have to disassemble again but if you do...

But just imagine how fast he would have been if he'd been all in red. Scary to even think about. 🙂

I wonder if the area that is burnt and shorts out is the particular part of the stator that has the most voltage shunted back to the windings. Perhaps that, and the lack of cooling oil, may explain why it is usually in the same area.

I can see why you'd be unhappy with the bulbs, but I've had the Cree brand in mine since 2015 and they still work great. They don't strobe though, just work like regular bulbs. I couldn't find the dealer that I bought mine from on Ebay, but there's a ton of them out there.

Just curious why you don't just replace the bulbs with LED's, the 5th generation uses the same bulbs. I've used LED's for many thousands of miles with no issues. Or am I missing something here? Which is very possible, it has happened before.

Yeah, those bulbs are 1157 base, but won't work in a 5th generation OEM tail light. At least they sure won't work in my '99.

Okay, I'm done, you obviously don't have anywhere near an open mind and are not willing to discuss without getting very confrontational. I have my opinion, and you have an opinion. They don't agree and I can dig it, but you just can't seem to get along with someone not agreeing with you. So take your hyperbole and I'll go my merry way. I thought you might be open to a discussion, but I was wrong. Have a good one. Maybe see you down the road sometime. I sometimes make it out through Denver.

I've been around motorcycles for many years and watched the industry struggle with noise control issues. Very few companies allow unrestricted intakes due to noise issues, same with exhaust systems. The VFR is a noisy motorcycle due, in part, to it's gear driven cams. I figure the restrictive intake is one of their efforts to lessen the overall engine noise. JMO of course. But I also think Honda put a positive spin on it, just because that's what they do. Have lemons? Make lemonade. Have to restrict air intake for noise purpose? Make it sound like you're doing it for a reason other than that. No, I don't want to discount the information in Chapter 21, but there's only about 2 pages of that chapter that refer directly to the operation of the flapper valve and snorkel. I'm not discounting any of the information in Chapter 21, I'm just saying the info about the flapper valve and snorkel may not be the complete reason. What would be the purpose of explaining that it's there for mostly engine noise abatement. If they said that, the first thing anyone would do is pull it all off. Look at what happens to quiet exhausts. Again, there's lots of good information in Chapter 21, but very little mention/explanation of the flapper valve and snorkel. And the reason there's not very much, is, IMO, because it doesn't really do very much.

From what I read Chapter 21 only serves to "explain" why Honda did what they did. No mention is made of noise reduction, which I believe is the main reason for it. On almost any engine improving air flow to the engine is one of the first things done to improve performance. That, basically, is what removing the flapper valve and snorkel do, allow more, and cleaner, air flow to the throttle bodies. I am curious why you think improving air flow won't help the mid to upper range power. Or is your contention that removing the flapper valve and snorkel won't clean up and increase air flow? Or do you feel the ECU can't compensate for increased air flow? Helping get more air into the engine, is as important as getting the air out of the engine, as with an aftermarket freer flowing exhaust. We may never agree on this, but I don't mind discussing it.

Yeah, that's about it. Removing the flapper valve and snorkel, which is what several of the modifications basically consist of, gets rid of any obstructions to air flow into the airbox. With fewer obstructions to the airflow into the airbox, you could get more air flowing at higher rpm's, possibly resulting in more power at higher rpm's. IMO regardless of the verbiage in the HSM, Honda did the snorkel and flapper valve to help lessen intake noise, and touted it as a "good thing" for power. Maybe, maybe not. Personally I don't think it makes much difference either way...which of course is why I've never messed with it.

I hadn't read the pertinent pages mentioned above, so I got the ol' HSM out and read them. I don't think "counterproductive" is necessarily correct. I also haven't disconnected the snorkel and flapper, just because I've never bothered. From what I read the benefits of the snorkel is very minimal since it is saying that restricting air flow slightly at low speeds will help the smoothness of the power output at slow speeds. So if you remove the snorkel and "flapper lid" or "variable intake duct", you may cause the low rpm response/power output to not be as efficient. But looking at the difference between the snorkel and the "variable intake duct", the difference is pretty minor all in all. To me it's similar to putting a free flowing intake on an engine: you lose some low end, but gain it back, and then some more, at the top end. It's pretty much a non-issue IMO.

Are you referring to 5th and 6th generations? If not, what is a 6.5 generation?

Oh man, I'd just about talked myself out of the whole thing, but that thing looks so cool...