Cogswell

Ok, so I'm late to this - brand me a failure . . . ! Just a few random thoughts from my experiences with a 6th gen . . . On the ticking sound, that does sort of sound like the 'ticking time bomb' - LOL! I have never heard that from any bike. Very odd. Is there some accessory the p.o. would have added? Re surging, that's a well documented 6th gen issue - thank your elected representatives for urging the EPA to tighten their regs to save us from ourselves (leaning these things out to ridiculous levels). Generally, a PC or Rapid Bike will smooth those out. Also, sending the injectors off for a bench cleaning where flow and spray pattern are verified can also be helpful (easy on a 6th gen). Re the fan, either a single pole double throw (SPDT) or a double pole double throw (DPDT) switch can be very useful. The wire to the thermo sensor on the left rad is hot with the ignition on. All the thermo sensor does is ground the wire. Remove that wire and connect it to the center connector of the new switch. Then connect a second pole of the switch to ground and the 3rd pole of the switch to the thermo sensor. Now you can force the fan on, off or route current from the power wire to ground allowing normal automatic operation. It might seem odd to switch the fan to "off". The trouble is that when the fan is running it's sending air through the left rad in the opposite direction of the normal flow from moving forward, stalling flow over that rad. Once the engine gets over 220 and you get to speed, the fan continues running but works against the ram air flow, not knowing that you're moving. So turning the fan off can get ram air flow going again and cool things off faster once temps climb above 220 deg. If you get a DPDT switch, there will be two sets of connectors, you'll just use the connectors on one side, the others remain unused. As for 6th gens with issues, I didn't think there was such a thing as ones without! It's just all about dealing with them, which you seem to be well on your way to addressing. Eventually you'll probably have cam chain tensioner issues, but that's not a big deal - there are some threads here about that, too. Cheers.

I'm going to guess that if someone figured out a way to retrofit that 8th gen design to add the forced oil cooling to the 6th gen alternator that spares for 8th gens would quickly dry up. I don't think it's simple - there seems to be some plumbing involved and maybe drilling of the block in to an oil passage that it's likely not practical. Stators on 6th gens are likely to remain a wear item that owners replace periodically so as not to be stranded with a dead battery. Just one of the quirks of owning those bikes.

I'll start off by saying I've never expeirenced any of that with my 5th gen. I'll offer my $.02 - YMMV. 1. If you believe it to be the brakes, do not confine your search for answers to that. I would go over the bike with a torque wrench, checking all components' fasteners for correct torque, from front suspension attachments, swingarm, engine mount bolts, everything including caliper mounting bolts, etc - eliminate all possibilities. It's free. Then get a dial indicator and check wheels for runout as well as brake rotors. If no improvement look for worn components - steering head bearings, front wheel bearings would be top of my list. Finally, what pads are you using? Are they glazed? A.M. pads can be of any unknown compounds. Complaints abound about cost re: OEM pads, but I always use them and have never had a problem. If still an issue, it will need other diagnosis. 2. CBS or not, the rear can fishtail with forward weight transfer. Generally mine has hunkered down and not lifted the rear wheel with the CBS, I've never had that happen no matter how hard the braking. Even with CBS, both wheels can skid - I've witnessed it. A sudden rate of brake application can unsettle any chassis. Maybe chat with a track instructor about that or have an instructor ride your bike and give you an opinion. 3. No opinion on that. Mine's never done it - tho my 4th gen sure did. 4. I've seen very few complaints about 5th gens with that issue, particularly the early ones with no cat. 6th gens are another matter, they seemed to be tuned very lean and a PC or Rapid Bike helps them significantly. On my 6th gen, removing the injectors and having them cleaned made a huge improvement in that. The ECU has no way of knowing if the injectors are not flowing per specification, so provides what it thinks is the appropriate fuel amount but when the engine does not get it, performance suffers. These bikes are now over 20 y.o., there's bound to be some varnish / fuel residue in the system. Injector bench cleaning would be a good maintenance practice. It is a PITA tho, b/c the throttle body must come off to do that. On 6th gens that was revised and all that's req'd is to raise the tank and remove the airbox. YMMV.

I can't think of a better way for a 5th gen to crack the 100,000 mile mark than being ridden flat out by an IOM champion!

When was the last time the brake fluid was changed? The SMC on the left from caliper has a tiny opening that can cause the rear brake to drag - fluid goes through under pressure, can't come out if the system is gummed up with degraded brake fluid. There's a post somewhere in the maintenance threads about that.

The sound being more prevalent on the right side would be consistent with the location of the CCT's. The pic is of a 6th gen motor out of the bike. The green arrows show the location of each. The front is a bit more difficult to access due to the throttle body, thermostat, etc. If you remove the center bolt, be careful of the crush washer under the bolt. If you drop it in to the V, you won't retrieve it with a magnet, it's aluminum. DAMHIK . . . Be wary of videos on line of people showing how to "rebuild" a CCT - generally by over tightening (and stretching) an already tired spring. Seems there has been good success with replacing the CCTs with new ones and they seem fairly reasonable to purchase. Best of luck with it.

Once you have an on-board voltmeter, you'll wonder why Honda did not include that as standard equipment. The link is to an old thread where pics are posted of how owners mounted them - there's a ton of creativity in it. Some of the pics are gone, but there are still a lot of good ideas here. And, it doesn't need to cost much. Definitely a worthwhile mod IMHO. https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/70384-post-your-voltmeter-mount-pics/

If you do a compression or leakdown test, the cylinder you suspect of having a valve not fully closed will quickly reveal itself. If one or both tests are good, then your valves are likely seating correctly. You mite check to see if someone has been in there before - look at the thickness of each shim and see if they are similar. If one is way, way different, then that could be the issue with it being loose, someone screwed up when they did a valve check. Oddly, when I checked my VTEC valves, all were very tight. That problem was remedied using a 5th gen motor . . .

I put a Road Cycle 847 on my 6th gen. Generally it is fine, returning 14.6v - until things get warm. A hot day and / or idling in traffic I'm getting battery voltage, and that's with HID's in place of the OEM headlights. Even revving up past 5,000 rpm or so does not change the voltage. Once moving again and it cools down a bit, things return to normal. Not really a big deal unless stuck in a montster trafic jam. Then it seems a dead battery isn't far off. Jack says "eh, it's your stator". Well, let's see, the issue didn't exist until I made the swap and the stator has less than 10,000 miles on it. Anyone else with a Roadster Cycle 847 having this issue?

I'm not tracking with how this could be a hydraulic master / slave cylinder bleed issue. The default with the clutch lever at rest (out) is for the clutch to be engaged. Air in the system compresses and prevents the clutch rod from applying force to the clutch stack to dis-engage engage the clutch (slip). He's saying the clutch is out and the clutch is slipping, so air in the hydraulics cannot be the problem. If the slave cylinder is maybe partially seized or somehow the master or combination of parts are not allowing the system to release the pressure on the clutch rod, that could be an issue. Since the fluid was nasty when you changed it maybe there are some corroded parts or plugged passages in that could be the source. Since your clutch was slipping before it was serviced, that could warrant further investigation. Just to be clear - I think it's a matter of semantics or language translation, you mentioned clutch "oil". Did you mean hydraulic fluid? The master / slave system requires the correct fluid, an oil is not specified for that application. Once the hydraulics are sorted and known good, then it's probably worth going back over the clutch pack installation. Leaving a disc or steel out of the stack, or getting them out of order could be the problem - I'd be inclined to take it back out and double check your work, comparing to the factory service manual to see that everything is as it should be. I don't believe you mentioned - did you use OEM parts, or aftermarket? If the latter, it would be worth measuring them to be sure they match OEM specs for the components.

Is that "The Yellow Peril"?

Is the lower chin fairing in the "V" going to fit over the 8th gen rad? Mods for that in store?

She really bulked up and got a tan between thumbing the starter and riding off . . .

I did . . . it isn't that I don't like em, it's just that I'm smitten with the SSSA formula. Particularly the 3rd gen. I do respect the earlier gens and enjoy seeing them and am always pleased to see when an owner is preserving / restoring one.