Terry

Good suggestion about releasing the tension for storage Graham; can't do any harm, although they were supplied fully wound. Need to find time to get a WOF inspection, then I can get properly road legal.

Spent a fun hour in the Mancave this evening with my Morgan Carbtune gauges and had a good tweak of the starter valves. They were miles out with the rear two cylinders much higher than the front, and it took a bit of fiddling to get them all even, but what a great result. The clutch rattle is nearly gone and the bike sounds SWEET. So different to the clattering monster that I rode home a little over two weeks ago. I get the odd small backfire when I blip the throttle which is quite similar to my ST1300. https://youtu.be/xxLCWHVN_vM In other news, the new camchain tensioners that I ordered 10 days ago from Webike Japan have arrived. I compared pricing to Partzilla and Webike was a clear winner. US$48 each for two tensioners, plus freight. The big decision now is whether to leave my "tweaked" tensioners in place or swap in the new ones?

The clutch engagement point can be set relative to the bar by adjusting the lever. However...the speed of engagement, i.e. whether it is gentle or grabby, seems to be affected by the age of the clutch fibre discs. I know on my last 5th gen at around 90,000km, the engagement was abrupt and made it hard to be smooth with a takeoff. On that bike I replaced the fibre discs and the clutch was transformed with a much more progressive take up. My latest acquisition is a 6th gen with 82000km and that has an abrupt takeup as well; I will be swapping out the discs in the next week or so.

I thought I would have a go at the camchain tensioner pre-loading. I gave both tensioners two additional turns, as expected the back one was easy, the front was a little challenging as I left the tank in place and just pushed the hoses aside. A little nerve wracking as it took a little manoevering to get it clear of the hoses, but we got there. And guess what...it is about 95% better. I'm wondering if a decent starter valve synch might get rid of the last bit of clatter? I think that the front tensioner spring end had come out of its slot in the end of the tensioner. Did a bit more polishing on bolt heads polished the heat shield and repainted the passenger peg brackets. Not sure the PO would recognise this bike now. Don't tell the missus, but the Mancave is looking a little crowded now...

Thanks gents, yes I'm really happy with my purchase. I gave the bike a thorough polishing last night and it shone up beautifully. There's no truth in the rumour that I bought a bike to go with my wheels... I do use Armorall on black plastics and unless there is a lot of sun damage, the plastic absorbs the treatment and eventually it will come back to near new. I have also used a different restorer on my ST1300 from Cerakote and that has done a great job.

And this is what I have ended up with. I have even been out for a sneaky run around the block, and the bike is now handling, braking and running sweetly. The camchain rattle disappears after 2K and I am left with a lovely induction bark and an appetite for revs. The clutch remains quite grabby and also has a decent rattle, so I think I will get some new fibre discs next. I also checked out the plugs and they look like they may never have been changed, so will order up some of those expensive little blighters as well.

At least when the CCTs go slack on the VFR they don't allow the pistons and valves to make contact, unlike the VTR1000! Lest we forget, these bikes are getting old; my 5th gen is 25 years old! Bits wear out, and maintenance is to be expected.

I'm with Presson on this, there is literally no connection between the gearbox and the electrics. In the gearbox, a really bad shift can bend the shift forks or cause some damage to the gear dogs. If you keep doing it, the shift forks can fatigue and eventually break, and the gear dogs get rounded over so they will be more likely to jump out of gear under load. Both require an engine-out, case split and a few fairly cheap new parts. The fuse melt/fire and battery cooking sounds like a regulator fault which has sent excessive voltage through the 12V bits. Time to get the multimeter out!

Thanks, those are some helpful suggestions. I think I will give the discs a light sanding to remove the surface corrosion before I give it a test ride. I know all the slidey bits are slidey and properly aligned so corrosion is my last likely drag cause. I finished off the back caliper last night, then did the dreaded linked brake bleed starting from empty lines. Actually not as painful as I thought, I followed the manual which (unless there is a typo) goes PCV --> Rear Centre --> PCV --> Rear outers --> Front left centre. The repeat on the PCV was interesting, not sure if it was needed, but the brakes bled up like a charm with great pedal feel. I'm expecting a new Aliexpress screen to be delivered shortly, and I have some new grips to go on (the old Hot Grips had been worn to slicks). Then I plan to swap the 50% worn Road 5 onto my nice gold rear wheel, and then move to a coolant, oil and filter change. The new CCT's have been dispatched from Japan so should see those in the next 7 days I hope. That gold wheel certainly makes the stock silver wheel look a bit dull! Good thing I like cleaning though...

I have spent a few more evenings working on the VFR, getting the front end reassembled and testing the brakes. The dealer that sold me the 90 degree stems was decent and swapped them for the correct size, and I was able to shame them into physically swapping them from my wheel, so well done Auckland Honda. The brakes have been a little frustrating as there is an inordinate amount of drag between the new pads and new (old) discs. So far I have disassembled and cleaned the master (in perfect condition apart from external dirt) and then did the same to the calipers. I had the seals out and the grooves were spotless and the seals perfect to eye and feel, and the pistons are unmarked, so it has all been cleaned and reassembled with some silicone lube, including the sliding pins, and the pistons slid in smoothly with no binding. The result is about the same; I can get about 3/4 of a revolution with a good shove on the wheel. I suspect the discs have got a bit of surface corrosion (they sat in my unheated garage for 5 years) and I have some assertive new pads, so assume this will correct itself with a short ride. Anyway...on the bright side, I know they are all clean now! As I had to break the SMC line to get the LHS caliper off, I carried on to the do the back caliper and will repeat the full strip and clean process (it had a great coating of chain lube and other grunge), and then get into a decent bleed. I learned my lesson with the clutch slave, so I am carefully adding some thread tape to all the bleed screws as I work. The back pads were just about worn through so intervention was timely.

You are a good man Graham. We are humbled by your kind help. If I get to Sunbury I will buy you a beer!

See, I told you Grum is the Man!

Grum is The Man in this instance. But I know that relays need power and a decent ground to function. Do you have 12V feeding one side of the relay, and do you have continuity to ground on the other side? VFR800's are know to have ground circuit faults from time to time.

+1 on the tyres comments. Personally I find the Michelin Road5/6 to have a more "eager" turn-in which I like. Continental and Metzeler have tended to be more "steady as she goes" tyres which can calm a frisky bike down a little.

When I bought 1997 VTR, the first thing I did after getting it home was to change the tensioners for manual items. More time consuming to maintain and I had to learn about tensioning them correctly, but it got rid of my impending doom feelings.

From my reading it seems that the CCTs are a weak point on the 6G, fortunately they don't look too hard to swap, and aside from getting noisy there don't appear to be any consequenial effects. The same issue occurs on the VTR1000F Firestorm, but on that bike the front CCT failing is often catastrophic resulting in valves getting bent by piston contact... I took the fairing strip slow and steady; the only bits that were difficult were the small panels either side of the instruments, probably due to the grommets being very dry. I make a practise of adding a smear of silicone grease to these which should make it an easier job next time. Other than that and the multitude of the weird plastic push-connectors it was easy enough. I reassembled the front end last night and the gold wheel, black fork and red fender certainly do pop! Unfortunately my front brakes are now not releasing after application so I will be stripping the master for a clean soon... My wife observed that I was spending a lot of time on the bike too...she has suggested that if I keep at this pace, my "project" will be over too soon. Women, eh?

I actually bought the wheels off Highside, a member here, who put a 5G motor in a 6G chassis, and then (I think) put an R1 front end on, plus sexy wheels. These don't look to have seen much use and have been living on a shelf in my garage for 5? years. Good tip on the valve length, I had a small issue with 90 degree stems on my 86 750 but could rotate the stem for clearance. The ST has been starting on the button since I changed the switch. To be fair, the weather has not encouraged to many rides lately...

The great clean up has commenced. I picked up some bits and pieces and set to work on Saturday stripping all the bodywork and cleaning. A new bike is always an interesting puzzle to solve when it comes to bodywork and the different fasteners used. Only found one chewed out fairing bolt, but someone had kindly cut a slot in that for a big screwdriver. The level of gunge was amazing; the PO had been a motorcycle courier in UK back in the day and had treated his VFR like a dispatch bike, where cleaning wasn't a priority... Seemes to be well maintained under all the dirt with evidence of antiseize on fasteners and none over-tight. I spent all of Saturday with degreaser and a scrubbing brush transferring years of oily mess from the bike to me. Great clumps of dirt were washed out from all nooks and crannies, but I can see i have more to do around the suspension and swingarm. I removed some bodgy combination numberplate light/bolts; the PO had not realised there was a standard light (new bulb needed)!. One H4 headlight plug was completely absent and evidence of burning on the loose connectors; new socket fitted, back to two headlights. The forks disassembled easily and were predictably nasty in side, obviously was some water mixing in the oil and a deep layer of gunge in the fork bottoms but near-new bushings, and no tube nicks. Fitted some new seals and refilled with clean oil, then set to prepping the legs for paint, which I did on Sunday. I did the dreaded brake caliper clean yesterday, and the right caliper was hideous, full of a mix of fork oil, brake dust and dirt, and took a LOT of scrubbing to get it all off. The pistons were nice and clean and moving well, so I buttoned them up with new pads and called that done. A full brake flush is in the plan. The bike has a K&N air filter which was a little manky, but responded well to cleaning and re-oiling. The airbox was nice and clean but there was some emulsion in the breather tube; I think this bike needs a good thrashing to dry out after a few years of neglect. The engine oil window shows a little evidence of this too. Then I pulled the sprocket cover off, and yet again there was a gritty, greasy mess around that area; it needs a deeper clean, but for now I have scraped all the big lumps out, and so far avoided tracking any of that onto the carpet...I disassembled the clutch master, seal was good and I polished up the piston, and I cleaned and greased the pushrod. The cutch was complete PITA to bleed, even with my vacuum bleeder there was too much air leaking around the nipple until I wrapped that in thread tape. The clutch master had a layer of grey goop in the floor so all of that was removed. I bought a nice new T32 front tyre and some 90 degree stems from the dealer. When I fitted the stem, it seemed kind of small for the hole and I wondered how it would seal, but found that out after fitting the tyre and blowing it up. Apparently there are 8mm and 10mm holes, and I needed the bigger one... Bugger! I have taken Grum's sage advice and orders up new tensioners from Webike in Japan; great prices, hopefully decent shipping times too. Anyway, she's all coming together pretty well.

Thanks Graeme. I bought as a bit of a project so I am not fussed if I have to tinker from time to time. Do I take it that you did the CCT re-tension on your 6G and it did not work? Or just not for very long? Did you also increase the oil feed hole size?

I'm going to repaint the fork legs in satin black when I fit my new/old gold wheels, so I end up with this. I must admit that I really do like the 6G's lines, even my wife commented what a nice looker it is.

I have been a confirmed fifth gen owner for many years, but recently a 2009 which had sat on the local auction site reached my "buy now" level. The bike has 85000km, and the PO had parked it in 2022 after an inspection failure due to thin front discs. I just so happen to have a complete set of near-new lovely gold wheels with discs that I bought speculatively 5 years ago. The bike also has the dreaded cam chain rattle at low revs, a cracked windscreen, leaking fork seals and very minor stationery drop damage, but the seller put zero effort into resolving any of those or even cleaning the bike for photos (or possibly at all, during his ownership...). His loss, my gain! I collected the bike last night and survived a chilly ride home which did not reveal any unexpected faults aside from weird handling due to low tyre pressures. I'm looking forward to peeling off the covers and giving this dirty bike a good scrubbing, and then setting to rectifying the faults. I am planning on trying the "two turns of extra spring preload" fix for the CCT but replacements don't look too expensive. I will also check out the valve clearances; as I don't want to buy the small dowels to lock the VTEC valves, can someone tell me what diameter rod I need to get to make my own? And no new post is complete without a photo...

Just as a counter viewpoint; a hotter brake mean that disc is doing more of the stopping as kinetic energy is converted to heat through friction. So you should be asking why the left disc is colder, as this is not delivering as much braking force as the right. When you clean the pistons I recommend removing the seals (if you're careful they are reusable) and cleaning their grooves carefully as corrosion and dirt get in there and increase the friction on the piston.

Is the horn loose? On my current VFR the front subframe came loose where it bolts to the headstock. Another possibility is the flapper valve in the airbox. At revs below 5500 the ECU holds it closed, unless the clutch is pulled in. A dodgy clutch switch might cause an intermittent action of the flapper and that can sound like a knock or sometimes a buzz from the solenoid. I've never heard it riding but at a standstill it is quite obvious when my clutch switch was making intermittent contact. You could quickly test that theory by pulling off the spade terminsl at the clutch switch; you won't be able to start the bike in gear but in neutral all will be normal. Sometimes the secondary master cylinder can make a little rattle on bumps. Noisy mufflers would fix all of the above...

Gear driven cams are the easiest things to deal with if you have to swap out shims. No chains/tensioners to mess with. Practice on the easy-to-access rear bank first.

I did a poor job of changing my rear pads once and got the edge of the pad caught on the pad spring. Assembled OK but the spring would shove the pad away from the disk. That gave huge travel and little braking, even though the lines were properly bled.