daffyduck1962

2001 VFR800. 24K on the clock. For ages now I have been trying to find a more modern bike with better suspension, but has an equally comfortable riding position to my modified bike. I've tried more bikes than I can remember now, and so far, nothing is as comfortable as my current ride. Current set up is:- Straight bar conversion. Foot pegs lowered by 25mm with rear brake and gear lever adapted to suit. Sargent seat. Therefore I am considering spending a reasonable amount of money to improve the handling. I am a moderately fast rider on the road, and spend about 40% of my time with a pillion. Therefore I want remote adjustable preload on the rear. I want to ideally strip out the front forks and clamps and change them for something from another bike which will allow me de-link the system. The reason for this is purely to allow me a wider choice of donor bikes. Currently I have tried de-linking the front whist keeping the original fork setup, but that has proved disastrous, so put the original lines back on, but there is a lot of sponginess in the front brake lever. All calipers have been stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with new pads. No faults found to the front or the rear. I am about to replace all of the original lines with a Goodridge system in their original line up. I have also bought a replacement kit for the rear master cylinder as my back brake is nothing short of 'crap', on a good day. The rear shock was replaced about a year ago with a Hagon unit with remote preload, and although it is an improvement on the original, I suspect it can be improved again. I'm led to believe that sports bike front suspension systems have more adjustment. So that's the background to this post, and my question is this. 1. Who has manged to replace the front end of their bike for the better? 2. Which donor bikes are available for this? 3. And who can I contact to have the work done for me?

Right, I've stripped the rear caliper apart yesterday, and checked the condition of the following parts:- Pistons - very good,clean no burrs, scratches. slide inside the chambers. Piston seals - intact Slide pins - cleaned and a light covering of copper slip grease applied. No burrs or rough edges. Rubber boots - intact, no splits. The spring retainer clip which sits over the pads was slightly bent. straightened out. There was a collection of oil around where the spring pad clip sits which I think must have come from the scottoiler. Cleaned. Pads appeared glazed slightly, so roughed them up with a metal file. Cleaned anti squeal shims. Caliper body cleaned. Caliper rebuilt, Hel lines reattached,and system bled. Firm pedal, brakes not binding. Went for a test ride. Result,slight improvement but it's never going to lock the back wheel up!!!! Could it be the pads; master cylinder or disc? Stumped, and pissed off.

My 2001 VFR800 has always had a very shoddy rear brake. (Had 10k on the clock when I bought it and is now just under 21k) If you want it to hold you stationary on a hill it will do that, but once the wheels are turning it would be more effective to use the soles of my boots!So I decided to convert to a delinked system with Hel brake lines. It took me all weekend with a the help of a friend. Very involve dwhen it comes to removing all the link pipes.Anyway the job is finished and the bike is back to it's original glory, so I took it down the road to test the brakes. Front brakes are great, as they always have been, but the back is exactly the same!!!!!!!!!Plenty of pressure, very little movement in the pedal under foot, but it doesn't slow the bike down any better than before. Rear wheel spins freely when brake released.I'm guessing there must be a problem with either the rear pistons in the caliper or the rear master cyclinder.But how do I identify which area to start checking first?I had always intended to delink the brakes as I thought it was an over complicated system when it came t bleeding the brakes with so many bleed nipples.The new set up involves a double banjo on the front master cylinder, and a single line to each of the outer piston feeds.The rear also uses a double banjo and two lines back to both feeds on the rear caliper.This system is the same as that which is used on the Blackbird, and I spoke to John (he used to run Jaws Motorcycles), and he talked me through it before I began.Any ideas, anyone?

Forks cleaned and fitted with new oil to spec in Honda service manual. preload backed off completely. Straight bar conversion just fitted. I feel every bump in the road. Why???

No it's not a VFR but was looking for ideas as the principle behind the problem could be just as applicable to any bike

This is not on a VFR but I'm looking for ideas as I'm stuck, literally and metaphorically.There is no inner lip to strike form above.I've heated the head-stock but it will not move, I've adapted a tyre lever to try and get a purchase on the bearing but it will not move.

I need to hear your views on what you would do if in my situation? My bike is a 2001 VFR800. Since owning this bike I have raised the bars by raising them by 19mm, and lowered the foot pegs by 25mm. This meant having the rear brake pedal lowered by the same amount. No alterations or reroute get of cables, hydraulic lines or electrics required to raise the bars. For several years this has been enough to asking riding the bike comfortable for all day riding. Over the last few weeks, it appears that this is no longer enough, as I am experiencing a pain between my should blades after riding for less than an hour. A couple of years ago I had purchased a handlebar conversion kit (ABM) which is claimed to be straightforward. The reality is after 2 days, the master cylinders hit the screen on the fairing when the bars are on full lock, the front brake does not secure to the bars as the external diameter of the bars are smaller than the internal diameter of the clamp. The throttle cables are not long enough, and the brake line from the master cylinder is pulled tight when on full lock. In other words, it is not fit for purpose without spending more money and time on it, hoping it will come right. As I see it, my options are as follows:- 1- Keep spending money on the existing kit, and assume all will come right in the end. 2- Spend even more money on a different kit (Helibars - £275 - might need extended cables and lines as well - but could be easier to install) 3- Repeat option 2 as above with an LSL conversion kit approx. £260 4 - Put the bike back to the spec it is currently in and put up for sale, or return the bike back to the original factory spec, and put the bike up for sale. 5 - The only other bikes which might be suitable are:- Suzuki GSF600S (2002-2007) Suzuki GSX650F (2008-2013) Both can be bought for under £3000 with less than 25000 miles on the clock and in good condition. I would expect to get between £2500-3000 for my bike. There is no guarantee that any of the above options would alleviate my aches and pains, at which point I might have to consider from riding bikes altogether. That's almost as bad as loosing my wife, not good. I can't decide which is the best route to pursue as money is not in great supply for now.

Tried everything, no joy. Succeeded by taking air box off (bloody complicated) then loosened the clamps on the throttle bodies and raised them about 1 inch. Success. Now the front master cylinder is loose on the handlebar even when tightened up! Any suggestions???

I have bought a similar kit (ABM-German made). i managed to re-route the clutch line around the the outside of the left fork tube by dropping the forks and then putting them back together. How do I dismantle the small plate that the throttle cables are attached to under the air filter? See attached photo. The chassis beam is in the way to place a Phillips screwdriver onto the screw heads. Is there another way to disconnect the throttle cables so they can be re-routed over the air box? Thought this was going to be easy. So far nothing but a pain in the arse, but mother is the necessity of all inventions, and current setup has been too painful to keep riding. Dont want to sell the bike, but if I can't sort out the riding position it will have to go . Any other tips you have gained will be great fully received as the instructions here are crap at best. i have now managed to re-route the cable but cannot get the opening cable back into the throttle body connection. I have slackened off all the adjust Rd and it's a little bit too short still. Any ideas? I have included photos of where the cables have been redirected, it they are currently still on the original clip one so I can move the bike in and out of the shed. Anything else you can advice in advance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Quote Edit

Is it possible to take one of the above from an existing bike, and fit to my bike?

I use a Zumo 550, with Windows 7. Avast anti-virus free version installed. Express finds the unit but then fails during the update every time. I have had an ongoing issue updating my maps, and have raised a case with Garmin Europe about this problem. This has been going on for several months now, and all they ask me to do, is update to the latest version of Garmin express, and sent them logs of my unit. Their last suggestion is to turn off my anti-virus software, update to the latest version of Garmin express, and then try to update the maps. I am concerned that if I do this my laptop is open to attacks. Would you recommend this course of action as being safe? Has anyone else had a similar problem, and how did you overcome it? I am not that clever with a laptop so if there are any instructions, please could you explain in 'baby' steps so I can follow your suggestions My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1545.

Is there a link to the handlebar conversion the rearsets for the 02-07 model you mentioned?

so my old bones must be catching up with me finally. My 2000 VFRis becoming uncomfortable as the footrests are too close to my arse. I tried buyong adjustable pegs but that left me struggling with engaging gears and despite adapting the rear brake lever, using the rear brake, as it was still too high for a comfortable position on the pegs. Does anyone know if adjust rearsets that will incorporate mthe changes necessary for the gears/ rear brake can be bought anywhere. I need my knees less bent than they currently are as after 100 miles intotal it all becomes too much for this ageing fart. I have found an alternative, a BMW K 1200 or 1300, but they are bloody expensive by comparison, and you need to pay a mechanic to look after it for you ( bloody stupid). Considering tje alternative is over £5k I am happy to spend a bit if it works. Otherwise it's goodbye Honda as I can't sit upright. Old arse hurts too much so have to lean forward a bit.

I was sober the camera was pissed!