Terry

50 minutes ago, Cogswell said:

If I won the lottery, I'd be a collector of 3rd though 6th gen and 8th gens, and would have one in every color.  If I count correctly that would be 19 in all.  My favorite is the '91 with gold wheels and ironically one of my least favorite is the '08 silver that I own.   That would be some significant MBD . . .

Sounds like a pretty sensible life goal to me. I see you left out the 2nd gen, I recently bought and lightly restored one of these but fell out of love with it quite quickly as while very pretty, it just felt kind of old. I started riding in the era of tube frames, crossply tyres and single piston callipers, things did get much better with the advent of alloy frames, decent forks, 17" wheels, and the 3rd gen onwards would fulfill my criteria for "modern (ish)".

Oddly enough I've never ridden either the 3rd or 4th gen, but have owned a VF750F, multiple VFR700/750 RC24s, two 5th gens, and I have ridden the 6th and 8th. I still think a gently upgraded 5th gen is the sweet spot. 

My last 5G was a red 99, and I really wanted to find another just like it. However, at the time I was shopping, there were no decent red ones, only this one in yellow. I wasn't sure that I wanted a yellow VFR, but I am now absolutely smitten and think it might be the best colour ever. Actually called Pearl Shine Yellow, it has a very fine pearl mixed into the yellow, and looks awesome in the sunshine. On the downside, it sure does show up any bugs that are magnetically attracted...

AFAIK the reasons forks seals leak are:

1. Sinple wear and tear, but you'd expect 10's of thousands of km from a set

2. Rock damage to the stanchions, they cause craters with raised edges that cut seals, and cut new seals quickly if not addressed

3. Time sitting still; strangely enough, for bikes that don't get used enough the seals maybe dry out and stop sealing. Hasn't happened to me yet...

4. A piece of grit getting stuck and holding a seal open; these can be dislodged sometimes with a really fine feeler gauge inserted between the stanchion and seal

But you need to find out why the seal is leaking first. 

According to an good online source the stock valving should be as follows:

Front forks

HMAS Compression valve

12 x .1
17 x .1
17 x .1
16 x .1
16 x .1
8 x .2 clamp
11.5 x .4 spacer

HMAS Rebound valve

17 x .1
16 x .1
15 x.1
8 x .2 clamp
11.5 x .4 spacer

My personal opinion is that the stock valve bodies are a poor starting point for mods as they have restrictive ports, so the shim selection has less of an effect than on say Gold Valves. I run a stiffer compression valve set up on GVs and yet the ride is much better on sharp hits, because the shims can deflect and allow faster flow though the bigger ports. 

2 hours ago, Cogswell said:

Same here.  IMHO the wax unit was a solution in search of a problem.  The lever actuation was much simpler and IMO works better and is more reliable.  Probably some sort of EPA reg . . .

The wax units are ubiquitous across lots of early FI Hondas, I know the ST1300 and SilverWing scooter use the same set-up, and have the same issues with blockages to the coolant passages from time to time. Not sure how else you can provide an auto cold fast idle system prior to the introduction of RBW throttles that allow the computer to drive the fast idle sequence. 

17 hours ago, ShipFixer said:

Seconded...my Road 5's are amazing!

BT023's were great on my ST1100, but I moved to 31's on my ST1300 and they were awesome. Currently running PR5's on my MT-10 and they are great, this is after 6000km of enthusiastic corners, wear is very even across the profile and they still feel good.

I don't recall exactly but my gut feel is that there quite a bit more preload on the stock springs than you would want with 0.9kg/mm items. Racetech's standard advice is to set the spacer length so you get 10mm of preload with the preload adjusters backed out fully. To work that out put the springs and washers in place and extend the fork fully, then measure down from the fork top to the top of the washer. Back the preload adjuster in the cap fully out and then measure the distance from the point of contact with the fork top to the underside of the cupped washer. Subtract one from the other and that is the no preload spacer length, and add 10mm to that. Then check the sag when you sit on the bike which should be around 1/4- to 1/3 total travel, adjust with the preload adjuster or change the spacer if needed.

Changing the oil level won't make much difference to the fork feel excepting bottoming resistance. With decent springs you should also at least consider replacing the compression valves with a set of Gold Valves or their equivalent. That will make the biggest difference to the ride comfort and take the edginess off the bump absorption.

1 hour ago, Dangeruss said:

You could sift through an online parts fiche such as www.ronayers.com and make a list. They generally list the bolt sizes, or it is implicit in the part number.

Like this...

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/motorcycle/1999/vfr800fi-a-interceptor/frame

2 hours ago, vfrcapn said:

Can't you just bolt up an entire VTR front end? Uses same bearings I think?

 

Oh look....

 

 

The VTR and 5G definitely use the same bearings, but the steering stem length could be different, as could the yoke offset. I put 6G yokes and CBR600F4 forks onto my 5G as I was confident the frame/geometry was largely unchanged between the 5 and 6G, and the only issue I had was getting the steering lock pin to align with the socket in the frame, which required the 5G lock mechanism to be shimmed down off the 6G triple. 

15 hours ago, Dangeruss said:

I wasn't aware of the wider fork spacing, so thanks for that one. I've got a brand new CBR1000 (not sure year) rear MC that I bought for another project and never used but I think it's ⅝" (16mm) so it might be a bit touchy.

A bigger diameter MC should give you a more wooden brake as there is less hydraulic advantage over the calliper pistons; not a bad thing for a rear brake in my view. 

The axle and spacers do not need to change.

VTR cartridges/fork caps are much the same as VFR certainly from a dimension, threadsize etc perspective, and the damping parts are just the same (with an added adjustable rebound bleed) so just as poor, and you ought to at least get a GoldValve for compression. VFR springs would be OK but you may need to adjust the spacer length, some PVC pipe is perfect for this. Or buy some decent springs from Somic, Racetech etc that are specific to your weight.

Use of CBR calipers requires removal of a little of the lower mounting bracket on the fork, a few minutes with a hand file. They also need to be spaced off the fork by something like 2-3mm, I used a couple of SS washers superglued in place. You should definitely get a master to match the calipers, to keep the correct hydraulic ratio.

You can't use a VTR guard as the fork leg spacing is different on the VFR (wider) so use your VFR guard and make up some small brackets to mate to the VTR legs.

I've had stock 5G, modified 5G (replaced springs and Gold Valves) and then modified 600F4i forks on my 5G. Bang for buck, the modified 5G fork is pretty good and maybe 95% of what the 600F4i fork offered. The latter seemed to have better quality/design bushings that made for lower friction and a better ride, and the 43mm vs 41mm stanchions were definitely less prone to flex. I never got a lot of value from the external adjusters as they fall into the set and forget category. Using VTR1000F caps/damper rods will get you adjustable rebound if you wanted that for not much $$.

3 hours ago, klugu said:

The viffer suspension is shite.

 

After much t'internet research I'm just about to give half of what I paid for the bike to Maxton for an NR4 shock & SD25 cartridges.

You will get value from the suspension upgrades every time you ride. It will be safer, more relaxing and more comfortable. I have never regretted suspension $$ (and I've done them on all my bikes). Ducnut was 100% correct: "You’ve had decent suspension and, now, have that experience to compare to something stock. You’re never going to be happy with stock components, from now on. "

On 7/11/2020 at 1:07 PM, Stray said:

Out of interest, does anyone know which way round the oil flows on a VFR 800? 
 

 

 

Stray

With a K&N oil filter fitted, the answer occasionally is from the inside to the outside....

I agree with JZH, the ring is the antenna only, and the ECU has to be instructed to accept the code transmitted from the IP46 chip mounted in the key. I'd be very careful buying an ECU UNLESS it comes with at least one known-to-function chip/key. To program acceptance of a new key, you first need to have an accepted key. I presume Honda will sell you a new ECU plus keys as a set. 

20 minutes ago, Searmonkey2k18 said:

I have an 02 cbr600f4i. It blinks "F1" 6 times. And the blinks are long blinks. Any ideas?

I've got the manual for that and there is no code for 6 blinks (nothing for 3, 4 5 or 6). A long blink (1.3 seconds) is equal to a value of 10, and if there is more than one fault then it blinks for the lowest number fault first, then second etc. My guess is you have more than one fault. You could clear the fault register and run the bike and see what new fault occurs. If you started the bike with any sensor disconnected during maintenance then it will record that as a fault. I can give you a link to the manual if you don't have it. 

Just my opinion but I think that would be a Bad Idea. On an exhaust system the wrap gets hot and dries out, but on a frame I'd expect it will trap water and accelerate corrosion. 

Hope you got an A+, I really like those. Good choice on the logo/font. 

The springs are typically 35mm OD so you need tubing that is close to that; make sure you use the washer between the spring and the spacer otherwise the spring will chew up the spacer. The fork tubes are 41mm OD and (my guess) about 1 mm wall thickness so they would be close to 39mm ID. At 35mm the spacer would fit with 2mm clearance all round.  

I think the most significant difference between those two is the extra 0.1 x 17 shim, this will make the shim stack slightly stiffer but not by much as a 0.1mm shim is less than 1/3rd the stiffness of a 0.15mm shim. 

10 hours ago, Zarquon said:

Gotcha on that, thanks Terry. I spent 12hrs cleaning the carb rack just to make it run and I still have some issues with it. Damn bike has standed me twice, flooding on deceleration. I have dropped the needles one stop and it got better. I now have an optimised needle and jet kit on order hopefully this will set things right along with a heap more time in the ultrasonic bath and some new carb seals. I will check those tubes again when I get back into the carbs. The bike is for my girl, its got a low seat for its size, good for her... I like making old things new again, so its good for me too! Needless to say her mum hates it?

 

You can't please all the people all the time. (A Blue Gen5 VFR pleases me!)

Factorypro do a good info page for CV carb setup, and are where I bought the emulsion tubes for my 900. You should be able to pull the carb tops off and the slides out, and just look at the brass tubes in the carb floor. The tubes can be replaced from inside the float chamber.

On 1/5/2019 at 4:09 AM, Zarquon said:

The big one is still to come. I believe that a circuit of Australia is about 14000km. But the first job is to restore an RF600R (barn find) for the girlfriend to ride. Her old GS500 was reliable but couldn't keep up!

I had an RF900 for 18 years, they are a good solid machine but a little uninspiring next to a V4. Have a look at the emulsion tubes in the carbs, mine wore oval over 50,000km and the fuel economy went to crap (plus fowled plugs at low revs) but it was an easy fix. 

I have a 99 (no cat) with a bit over 100,000km on it. It has well-balanced throttle bodies, well-maintained K&N filter, new plugs, correctly working thermostat ( usually sits at 78-80C except in traffic) and in-spec valves. I typically see 270-290km before the last fuel bar starts flashing, and that equates to 16-17 km/L. I thought that was a bit low and have replaced the FPR but that made no difference. It is pretty sensitive to riding style, lots of point and squirt will see that drop, and highway droning would make it a bit higher (but less fun). 

That's another 5km/hr added to your top speed right there MD. Take it easy on the first test ride!