Terry

It is probably a dirty clutch microswitch; you could check that by disconnecting the wires at the clutch switch and see if your mice go away under the test circumstances. Why? The ECU commands the flapper valve in the airbox to be open in neutral, or closed in any gear with the clutch released (below 5500rpm), or open with the clutch pulled in, in gear. Don't ask me why Honda set it up that way. If the microswitch is a bit dirty, the vacuum solenoid flickers and the vacuum signal fluctuates so the flapper intermittently operates. On my VFR it sounded like electrical arcing, which was more alarming than your mouse noise. The microswitch can be cleaned out with electrical contact cleaner and a bit of working; if that doesn't help, the microswitch is cheap to replace.

That metal rack is made right here in New Zealand by a company called Ventura. They sell bike-specific L-brackets that bolt to the frame, and then various universal upper parts depending on your need. That looks like a general-purpose rack, you can also buy just a passenger grab rail, a top-box mount, or a taller version of the rack you have that fits a pack. https://ventura-bike.com/collections/kawasaki/products/kawasaki-zx-9r-02-03 There's no truth to the rumour that all New Zealand bikes have to have these fitted but I may have been there and done that.

That is in beautiful condition, I recall the later ZX9s were a real weapon and pretty comfy.

A clutch problem that starts slipping when it heats up may be due to crud in the master compensation port; that is meant to allow fluid to release pressure from the clutch line, when it gets blocked you start to build more and more line pressure and eventually the clutch starts to slip. When you let the bike sit for some time the pressure bleeds off and you are back to normal for a while. I'd suggest disassembling the master and slave for a thorough clean.

This sounds like a typical earth block problem to me. There is a common earth point in a block taped into the loom on the left side below the seat, if this gets some corrosion then weird things happen to the electrics. If cleaning the block doesn't fix it, then soldering all the green earth wires together and connecting these to the frame has been a permanent solution. A new wiring harness would also be a fix if money was no object!

Well that's something I never considered, great idea.

Sounds like you met a sensible cop! I hope he enjoyed your tunnel concert.

There is usually a specific installation sequence for the bearings, where one gets driven home fully into the wheel, then the distance collar is inserted, then the second bearing gets snugged up to that. When the wheel is clamped by the axle, the bearing inners and spacer get pressed together and ideally you don't want any side load on the bearings. By driving the first bearing home fully, the final position of the wheel on the axle is positively known, without which you can have a small misalignment of the front and rear wheels which causes a bit of pull to one side or another.

I left the wheel in the forks and just pulled the brake calipers clear; the dial gauge can be mounted on the fork leg, i modified a g-clamp for this role.

I'm not exactly sure but I do know that F4i forks are compatible with the VFR800 wheel/axle so the disc diameter is common, as is the axle diameter, but I don't know about the disc spacing; that last bit is critical as it needs to broadly match the fork spacing. Easy enough to run a tape from disc to disc through the spokes to check.

I've put EBC HH pads in all of my recent bikes. On my 800, I had them there from 76 to 105,000km, the rotors were still well in spec, and I can't say I noticed extra wear at all. Many more modern bikes come stock with HH rated pads (not necessarily from EBC).

If you like the stock brake but want more power, the best path is to upgrade the pads to something with a higher friction coefficient. The EBC HH pads will provide a good level of all-round power even when cold or wet. Yes my comment was about brake feel; at one end, like squeezing a brick with little brake power, at the other a squishy brake that throws you over the bars. The difference is mainly hydraulic ratio between the master and the slave pistons. As the master gets smaller you get more squish, if it gets bigger you get less power. Personally I found the 954 calipers and CBR600RR master to be just right.

Once you have the infrastructure in place, the suspension upgrade parts can be added later, although to change the damper components (eg Gold Valves) requires a complete disassembly of the fork. There's no functional benefit using stock VTR damper parts in place of VFR parts, barring the damper adjustability. VFR brakes are sliding caliper design; the ones I mentioned are 4-piston opposed. My recommendation is the CBR954 calliper with early CBR600RR master, my pick for best feel/power.

The simplest way to do that is to buy some VTR1000F Superhawk forks; use your VFR uppers and the VTR lowers and innards, that adds adjustable rebound damping and allows use of the Honda 4-piston brakes off CBR600, CBR929/954, SP1/2. This way you keep your stock geometry, bars, wheel/axle/discs. You can use the stock fender with some simple brackets to adapt. However...using stock damping parts and springs is missing the point, these need to be upgraded to some decent stuff like Racetech or DMr.

Looks remarkably concentually similar to the new Triumph that was leaked today...motorcyclists must be getting older and less flexible. Personally I like the direction these are headed in. https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/triumph-tiger-sport-660/