MBrane

Sweet! Every little bit counts when putting one of these girls on a diet.

Rode a few bikes as a youngster, but didn't really start riding until '98. Oldest pic I have of me & the '87 ZX600 is from '05. First VFR was '09.

Was on a big group ride on some awesome roads, and suddenly there was no 3rd on a downshift. The bike did fine for the rest of the ride other than having to go from 2nd to 4th. Dodged a bullet.

Those 3rd gear engagement dogs on the 6th gear flange for the shift fork are the weak link in the 5th gen trans. Been there done that. Everything else in there looked good so I buttoned it back up only to discover later that I likely had cracked heads as it was losing coolant, but no leaks. The bike has since been retired to parts. It was a good 80K. RIP.

Yes those are gear dogs likely off of 6th gear as those engage 3rd. I found 3 of them in the sump of my '98 after losing 3rd completely. Lucky they didn't get jammed in the trans gears.

i agree the amount of rust in that tank is concerning. If that gets past the filter you're gonna have all kinds of FI issues. Not to mention the sealing surface for the sender O ring doesn't look very smooth. A couple different ways to approach that rust: electrolysis, and Evaporust/vinegar. I did my old Ninja tank with Evaporust, and a handful of drywall screws.

What tire was that? Last set I got for my commuter/touring bike was over $400 for the cheap option. I swap 'em myself on my modified HF stand.

You must be making more power than it was designed for. Glad you found it before it found you.

Yeah the washer is there. AFAIK the rear eccentric has never been apart. Stock brake rotor. Bearings felt good before & after re-torque. I've done a rebuild on a 4th gen eccentric. I'll keep a close eye on it. There was a member here some years ago who had one come apart at speed. Not tragic, but not exactly fun so heads-up.

Factory stake. I could wiggle the nut with my fingers. Stake was the only thing keeping it from backing off completely. Re-torqued, and staked. It moved more than 1/4 turn. Bought the bike with 37K. Now has 68K.

In the process of installing a new chain & sprockets. Discovered that mine is loose. It hasn't moved past the stake, but it was only a matter of time. Don't want that assembly coming apart! Need to put this on the gas stop checklist.

I don't post that often these days. Life & stuff other than my 2 now officially vintage 5th gens which I love dearly, and will never part with. Best bikes Honda ever made IMHO, and this place is an invaluable resource for people like me who drank the V4 cool aid. It would be a shame if it were to disappear. Happy to kick in some cash to keep the lights on.

Hi MBrane, Thank you for your donation of 100.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

From what I can see in the pics looks to me like the cat is to blame for shock length issue. That thing is huge. Never had a 2000+ out of 4 VFRs so no personal experience there. That doesn't explain the ride height though. If that was the case it should be less than the 98. Something doesn't add up. I would be measuring things down to the MM to figure it out.

IME the first things to interfere with swingarm down travel is the dogbone against the exhaust (varies by what type of pipe), and the chain guard mount boss against the L peg mount. The ONLY thing that can change ride height other than major mods to the cushion or swing arm linkage mounts or the swingarm pivot (highly unlikely) is the shock, and the linkage itself. I once bought a 4th gen track bike project from a member here, and in the pile of parts was a variety of traingles, and dogbones from many different Hondas. Some appeared to be identical, but if fact were slightly different. The nature of the linkage on the the VFR is it takes very little to make a large difference in ride height. I would double check all your bolt to bolt measurements on the linkage to be sure.

The Pirelli Sport Demons I ran ran on my '87 Ninja 600 never did that, but they didn't make it close to 7 years either. I would ditch those without hesitation.

Sweet! The original v-twin 650 naked sport bike.

Fail. I swear their recent Moto GP struggles are karma related.

Headers on both bikes are VFRD customs.

Not much I can add as you are in the Euro market so your options are different than here in the US. I can say that I have a GPR high mount on one of my 5th gens, and it is a good piece of kit. I eliminated the extension bracket, and made my own custom mount off the subframe since this bike has no more passenger pegs. Wether another manufacturer's mid pipe will line up with a different muffler is kind of a crap-shoot. Depends on dimensions, and attachment methods. You can see my GPR if you zoom in. 6F569765-5845-43E6-8DB6-D4D2D1FE618D.heic

I've never seen any for 3rd gens. They did make some for the VTR1000 Superhawk. Their mounts suck. I've had to fix nearly all of mine. Once something is discontinued you are on your own.

Haven't checked in here in a while. What a drag to hear about Lance. Never met him in person, but we had some email contact when I bought my pair of headers. Seemed like a stand-up dude with a good sense of humor.. Wear your helmets kids even if you're just screwing around. Hope you're doing OK Darryl been a rough year for you.

Very cool! Always thought those were the inspiration for the SV650.

I've had that BBQ before. It doesn't taste very good. The last one when I removed the carcass the wires just fell off.

Never seen those heel protectors before. Spacing the stock passenger peg mounts out with washers or shims is the way, but they can still rub on the rear bodywork. They wiggle quite a bit on bumpy roads. If you try to make them too rigid you will start breaking subframe mounts. Lining them up with the bodywork is a never ending quest. Best to leave all the mounts slightly loose when mounting then tweak, and tighten. Granted I've loaded them pretty heavy, and ridden hard on less than smooth roads. YMMV.