swimmer

On 4/19/2024 at 9:46 PM, Skids said:

Looks like a lovely, well kept bike, congratulations. 

 

You could consider suspension upgrade, ECU flash, crash bungs.....there's loads depending on your wallet and needs and you didn't tell what had already been done.

Who is still doing flashes?  I believe Guhl no longer does them?  Sold my '12 about 5 years ago, thinking of getting another one.  Had a Guhl flash done.

3 hours ago, BiKenG said:

Just seen this and wondered about the final outcome. I cannot now remember the cam cover to head seal on the VFR1200, but I do remember many years ago after a service on an RVT1000 (RC51 / SP-1) when I noticed it smoking on the overrun. As has been mentioned above, it was a missing PAIR oil seal. Allows oil to get sucked into the exhaust although I don't recall any oil leaking out of the engine. Once I took the cam cover off I could spot that the seal was missing and once replaced and all back together, no more problem.

 

So that sounds like the exact same problem.

OP never posted about what he found, though the thread title seems to have changed. @HispanicSlammer, did you find the cause?

Hi swimmer,

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Thanks VFRDiscussion

@Marsman99  , do you think that might be your problem as well?  That you are missing the o-ring seal on the valve cover after your valve inspection?

Yeah, mine has just under 47k miles as well and burns no oil that I can notice between oil changes which are about every 5k miles.  Not to hijack the OP but, let us know if/when you find the cause.

On 9/10/2017 at 9:38 AM, Marsman99 said:

Very interested in anything you've come up with Miguel.  My 1200 has been puffing a small bit of oil smoke on start up. Been doing this over the last 2 oil changes.  Oil level drops in the sight glass between changes but has never dropped below low mark...so I've carried on.  Two days ago after a bit of twisty road, the oil pressure light came on.  Pulled over and saw no oil in sight glass.  Had Mrs. Marsman bring out a few qts., and it took 1 3/4 to fill.  I'm still 1500 miles from next scheduled change, so it has gotten significantly worse.  Not absolutely sure, but seems to have started roughly after I ran through a valve check/adjust.  Can't think of anything I could I have buggered up, but looks to be the "smoking gun".  Unless we're seeing early stage of a mfg. defect.

How many miles on your motorcycle and what is your standard oul change interval?  That's a hell of a lot of oil to lose.

On 6/21/2017 at 2:37 AM, HispanicSlammer said:

Went for a long ride Monday with my usual crew. They tell me the 1200 is puffing blue smoke out of the exhaust when it decelerates.

 

OK

 

1) crankcase ventilation malfunctioning?

 

2) valve seals, valve guides.

 

3) bad rings?

 

I suppose I need to get to the heads and do a pressure test. I'm gonna need a proper adapter for my pressure guage. 

 

I'm notrying even sure if there is a pcv or pair valve to test, well there has to be. 

 

Ideas suggestions?

Any more info on what might be wrong?

I just did my 200th tracked fill up.  My lifetime mpg avg is 49.6mpg and my average distance per tank is 205.5 miles.

1 hour ago, HRCules said:

NO , not joking at all .  The mechanics in your area may be great , but the ones at the very few dealers within a 2 hour radius of me are not stellar , so handing over a complex bike like the VFR12 for them to tear apart is a little disconcerting .  They'll inevitably screw up something else .  And I agree that Honda is standing behind their product , as they usually do .  Notwithstanding these two major issues , the bike seems to be reliable like all the other Honda's I've owned .  I'll get one soon ; just a little concerned , that's all .

I understand about not trusting the mechanics, neither do I but, the shaft replacement is very easy.

On 6/27/2016 at 1:50 PM, HRCules said:

Another recall for Big Red's flagship ?!  I want to believe and buy this bike b/c it seems to have much of what I'm looking for in a daily rider so that my more dedicated (read : uncomfortable) RC51 can sit until Sunday mornings , but man o man , first metal filings in some 2010 engines and now this .  I don't know if I want to spend this kind of coin on a bike that's been torn apart by some green service tech .  There are a couple of new 2014's left at premium prices , and used 2010's are still around $10K here in Canada , so I'm really going to have to think about it . The bike is gorgeous and the DCT , which I want , innovative enough for me to take a chance and buy a non-current model before the snow falls .  Decisions ... decisions ...

You're joking right.  The repair is a simple 1 hour job. They did a complete recall for an expensive (~$1400) part that had few failures.  Great move on Honda to stand behind their product.

11 hours ago, CandyRedRC46 said:

 

Its is pretty widely accepted that the optimal engine operating temperature for safely making maximum power is around 185-195.

The cooler that you make the the engine (to a certain point), the more aggressive you can tune the fuel and ignition maps, with out worrying about causing detonation.

 

A 225F engine will suffer preignition with less timing advance on the same octane fuel, than an engine operating at 190F.

The more timing advance that you can safely run (to a certain degree), the more power you can make.

 

There are down falls to lowering the engine operating temperatures though (which I am sure honda took into consideration).

An engine operating at a higher temperature will allow the fuel to vaporize and combust more readily (which is also why it detonates more easily too)

If the fuel burns more easily, you have cleaner emissions and better MPG, with a more mild tuning.

Also the oil temperature should be over 220F to ensure that all condensation is burnt off.

 

So basically engine temperature is a compromise.

A 225F engine will need a more conservative tune and make less power, but it will be cleaner, more efficient and have longer oil life.

A 190F engine CAN be tuned more aggressively, to make more power, but it will have dirtier emissions and need more frequent oil changes.

 

 

It was my intention to also not have the fan temp setting changed.  I guess Don will second guess me as well.  I ride much of the year in hot temps, prefer not to have the fan constantly running.

9 hours ago, CandyRedRC46 said:

 

No, the Power commander only does fuel mapping. It will not remove restrictions. Sounds like the previous owner hacked up the Gear Position Sensor.

 

 

Modern motorcycles do not have alternators, they have stator and Regulator/rectifiers. The stator is always putting out 100% and the RR simply shorts what ever current is left over to ground. Having a fan running while stuck in traffic will not effect the stator and it will actually help the RR as the RR will have less current to convert into heat, provided that you aren't sitting at idle, with the high beams, brake light, hazzards and fan running for an hour, you will be fine. It is always a good idea to to install a voltmeter, to keep an eye on things. As far as the factory heat management, its not going to do anything at low speeds, thats the fans job, the only problem is the fans factory setting is around 225F which is way too hot. Around 190F is more optimal.

 

What makes people think the factory fan setting is too high?  Honda have a long history of making reliable engines of this type so I am inclined to think they had a good reason(s) for choosing that temp.

3 hours ago, marriedman said:

 

Dude, how?! Downhill with a tailwind?!

That tank was only commuting to work which is about 6 miles of in town riding with a few stops and about 18 miles of highway at ~67mph, each way.  Flat terrain. Hot temperatures, OEM touring screen and the ECC all help with getting good mpg.

I set a new record yesterday for me, and probably the VFR1200 universe with a 230.4 mile tank.  MPG was 51.8 with .3 gallons displaying as remaining.

4 hours ago, HondaEd said:

I have a 2012 Honda VFR 1200 XD DCT and my transmission makes a knocking noise at low RPM. Is this a normal sound? Can someone with a DCT transmission  test?  lift the motorcycle on the center stand and place it in D. As the rear wheel starts turning you will hear knocking sounds coming from the transmission. IS this normal? Here is my audio recording;

 

 

 

Seems normal to me for an unloaded rear wheel. 

Not to derail this thread but you guys having your fork seals replaced should do some searching online about how to clean your seals without taking anything apart. More often than not the seal is fine, just dirty. One of my seals was leaking a few weeks ago as well. Spent 10 minutes cleaning it and leak gone. Not the first time this has worked for me.

Had my recall work done yesterday. Much less backlash/slop in the drive line.

I had my local Honda dealer order the recall kit and schedule a service appointment.

I visited the dealer yesterday, and the new shaft was installed in about two hours.

I now feel more healthy, wealthy, and sexy. And the bike goes twice as fast.

P.S. I was wondering: has anyone ever heard of this universal joint failing? What prompted the recall?

I had only heard of one failure prior to this recall and that bike had a lot of miles on it and had been launched hard and often according to the owner. After the recall I could find a couple more Crosstourer failures but overall pretty rare. There was one VFRD member claiming people(s) had been injured because of drive shaft failures but he never backed up his claims and no one else was aware of this.

Called my dealer today. They are expecting parts by the end of the month and will call me when they come in. Already had one other guy on their waiting list.

On the Australian website, item No 1 is a new prop-shaft, I can't see that being any different on the American or Canadian re-call.

The North American version does not have that table showing which new parts come in the recall kit. On the other hand the title of the bulletin is "propeller shaft replacement" so one would assume you get a new shaft assy.

I have over 187,000 KM, could I be denied due to high mileage?

They should be impressed more than anything. No way they can deny for high mileage.

Its on the USA Honda site as well.

your final drive oil will get changed during the recall service

So bring along some good oil for them to put in instead of them using the Honda stuff.

Dunno, seems ok to me. Just a robotic response to ary. I wouldn't take it personally!

+1. Seems very reasonable. Honda loaner bikes in the US is almost unheard of, especially if your bike is out of warranty.

When I called my dealership, they said don't ride it. Evidently they've heard of the rear wheel actually looking up. Which is odd since they only sold 3000 of these bikes world wide it looks like, according to the Japanese recall posting. I had to buy a car to drive because I'm not taking the bike. I wonder if I can make honda pay for that...hmmm...anyway, my dealer said early Feb is when I should expect my parts. Then again, living north of Seattle, parts won't be here until July, HA!

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I think if the situation was urgent Honda would have notices to owners ASAP. That isn't happening so I will keep on putting as many miles as possible on my VFR.

VIN: JH2SC6317AK000775

• YEAR: 2010
• CATEGORY: MOTORCYCLES
• SUB-CATEGORY: SPORT
• MODEL: VFR1200F

• NUMBER OF OPEN RECALLS: 1

• LAST UPDATED: DEC 14, 2015

NHTSA RECALL NUMBER: TBD CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION: 10-13 VFR12 PROPELLER SHAFT MFR CAMPAIGN ID: JW2 RECALL DATE: 12/04/2015 RECALL STATUS: Recall INCOMPLETE

SUMMARY:

AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. (HONDA) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 AND 2012-2013 VFR1200F/FD MOTORCYCLES. THE DRIVESHAFT UNIVERSAL JOINT BEARING MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY ASSEMBLED AND, EVEN IF PROPERLY ASSEMBLED, MAY NOT HAVE SPECIFIED DURABILITY AS THE RESULT OF MANUFACTURING ERRORS.

SAFETY RISK:

IF THE UNIVERSAL JOINT SEPARATES, DRIVE FORCE WILL BE LOST; IF THE UNIVERSAL JOINT BREAKS, IT IS POSSIBLE IT MAY INTERFERE WITH THE SWING ARM AND LOCK THE REAR WHEEL WHILE RIDING. EITHER OUTCOME INCREASES THE RISK OF A CRASH.

REMEDY:

HONDA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS. AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVESHAFT, FREE OF CHARGE. WHILE AMERICAN HONDA EXPECTS TO RECEIVE THE FIRST SHIPMENTS OF THE REMEDY PARTS IN LATE 2015 TO EARLY 2016, CUSTOMERS WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS OF THE DEFECT BEFORE THE REMEDY PARTS ARE AVAILABLE CAN BRING THEIR VEHICLE TO A HONDA MOTORCYCLE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. IF THE DRIVESHAFT FAILS THE INSPECTION, THE DRIVESHAFT WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW PRE-COUNTERMEASURE PART, FREE OF CHARGE; THE CUSTOMER WILL BE ASKED TO RETURN TO HAVE THE DRIVESHAFT REPLACED WITH A REMEDY PART ONCE PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. ONCE PARTS ARE AVAILABLE, HONDA DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVESHAFT ON ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES WITH A REMEDY PART, FREE OF CHARGE.

Good job on Honda for addressing this issue properly.