tdmp

Thanks for posting. I have an 02 with only 26,000 miles on it and I was considering getting it done but with this and other posts I've seen, I think I won't touch for now.

Am I reading this correctly that this is a new 2013 VFR1200F for $9,999? https://champion-honda.com/Motorcycles-Honda-VFR1200F-2013-Hicksville-NY-eb0d6b66-f858-498e-909e-a5f300f108a4?utm_source=motohunt.com

Thanks. I ride in dry conditions so not that concerned about the traction control. I have a PC-V for my current bike but it sounds like the ecu re-flash is the preferred upgrade?

I'm the current owner of a 6th gen VFR 800 and previous owner of a 4th gen VFR 750. I have been eyeing the VFR1200F for a while now and thinking I'll be making an upgrade this year. I've have been researching the various VFR1200 years and it seems the 1st gen VFR1200Fs were the 2010 model years and then the 2nd gens were the 2012 + model years. I haven't read of any changes after the 2012 + model year. Going through ads, it seems that most of the VFR1200s for sale are 2010 model years (mostly red) with the 2012s + much less common. A list of "upgrades" to the 2012 model years include "Honda Traction control, increased torque between 2000-4000 rpm, larger fuel tank, revised seats, new colors and Honda accessories". As someone buying used, are the upgrades enough to make it a more capable bike over the the 2010s? Comparing stock bikes with condition and mileage being similar, would a back to back ride between the 2010 vs 2012s even be noticeable? I understand the fuel tank increase was small. Trying to figure out if a 2010 with an aftermarket ECU and seat would essentially be as good or better than a stock 2012 in terms of comfort and ride-ability.

Here is info on trickle charging from the Shorai website: Q. Should I use a battery tender? A.The short answer is "only if you really need to". Most powersports enthusiasts have gotten used to hooking up a tender to their lead-acid batteries, all the time. Shorai LFX have much slower self-discharge than the best lead acid do (1/6 to 1/7, on average), they do not sulfate as capacity drops, and they are the ultimate "deep cycle" battery, which means that they can still crank your vehicle even if the remaining capacity is quite low. Therefore most riders will not need to use a tender at all. Even a charger or tender uses energy you have to pay for, and there is always the possibility that a charger or tender can fail in some way, so if not really needed the best practice is to not use one. A fully charged LFX can sit for a year or more and still retain adequate starting capacity, without damaging the battery. As such, any vehicle which has no current flowing when the key is OFF should never need a tender. At most it should be charged every 6 to 12 months, depending on the average storage temperature (cool storage is much better for any battery). Many older vehicles and most dirtbike/atv fall into this category. Newer vehicles may have a significant draw even when the key is OFF, to maintain clocks and computers, etc. In this case we expect that a few hours of riding per month will be all that is needed to avoid tending. If you know that you will go a number of weeks or months without riding, you can either attach a tender, or disconnect the negative cable from the battery. In any case, during storage you may use the voltage chart above and an accurate voltmeter, and consider recharging when the battery is around the 50% capacity remaining mark, or above.

They look like they use the same battery chemistry as the Shorai batteries so I would imagine that they will have similar performance. Only time will tell.

I don't have any electrical outlets in the parking structure at my complex so a trickle charger is not an option (although I did connect it to an inverter and my car battery from time to time). The manufacturer claims that trickle chargers are fine. The only exception are those DeSulfate type of chargers that apply a quick high voltage charge and then step down. Those can cause damage. Other than that, no differences. Todd

Hi, I own an 02 VFR and have been having problems with both a slow electrical drain that I can't find and a battery that didn't seem very strong. I got tired of charging it every week so I started looking for replacements. The stock Honda battery is pretty expensive, and the auto parts store batteries have been tried before but are slight smaller and don't seem to have the same juice. After researching the topic, I decided to try out the Shorai Lithium Iron battery. I didn't find too many comments or reviews of the battery online but couldn't find anything negative either. The Lithium Iron batteries hold approx. 14% less capacity than the Lithium Polymers in your laptop. However, they don't suffer the fire hazards issues and have much longer recharge cycles. These are the types of batteries that are going into new power tools, the Chevy Volt, etc. The Shorai website lists two batteries for all VFR 800 models, the LFX14A1-BS12 14 amp hour and the LFX18A1-BS12 18 amp hour. Compared to the stock replacement battery, lead-acid YTZ12S rated at 11 amp hour. I decided to pull the trigger on the larger of the two. I settled on BatteryStuff.com after reading good reviews and couldn't be happier. They shipped it out quickly an emailed tracking numbers as well. When I received the battey, the first thing you notice is how light it is. This think is a little over 2 lbs, more than 7 lbs lighter than stock! It is the same length but about half the width. Shorai includeds several foam inserts with double-sided tape that allows you to fill up the extra space. This is a drop-in replacement with no other changes necessary. I installed the battery and cranked it up. The bike fired up quickly! The starter spun up noticeably faster than with even a new lead-acid battery. No more holding the start button for several rotations now. The bike even seems to idle more smoothly as well. The main draw back to this battery is the price. I paid $180.00 for the battery, shipping was included. The smaller of the two sells for around $150. For people who are on a budget and are fine with there current battery, you may want to hold off. However, this battery is said to last 7-8 years in normal operation. Essentially double what the "average" motorcycle battery does. If you figure the YTZ-12S goes for around $75 and you would have to replace it twice during that 7-8 year period, you would be paying the same as the LFX14A1-BS12 14 amp hour in the end. So, if you need to replace your battery soon, I would highly recommend the Shorai. Light weight, plenty of juice and (theoretically) twice the life. Now if I could just find that damn short..... Todd

Spiegler Performance Parts (spieglerusa.com) now offers a front-only kit for the VFR 5th and 6th gen. It includes 3 lines. I believe the part number is VFR-800KIT and the price was $138.55 U.S. If you email them, ask for Dave, as he was the one who put together the kit for me. I wanted to do the whole bike but I've got ABS and it sounds like a real nightmare (not to mention expensive)to do the whole setup.