Mohawk

Hey Rush, Sigma in the UK make these 🙂 Been around for ages, as per Gig's note they are about $1000 (£650 here) last time I looked. They are fairly simple to setup.

OK, so the 01 & ALL later VFR800 have a closed loop mode with 2 x Narrow band O2 sensors in the exhaust. The ECU monitors 2 functions per O2 sensor, #1 Hot wire active, this is the 12v flow to the heater element in the sensor to get it to operating temperature from cold, this is what your O2 eliminators fake. #2 is the lambda sensor reading which is only RICH or LEAN based on a target ideal AFR of 14.x-1, if lean ECU adds juice, if RICH is reduces it. This only happens at idle & steady throttle settings, i.e. cruise mode ! If you run O2 eliminators, then the ECU does NOT light the Fi light on the dash, as it assumes the sensor is in place as that line is drawing power & either it's not up to temp (initially) or faulty (the rest of the time) so it adds a fault code to the ECU fault log, but does NOT turn on the Fi error light on the dash. This is because all ECU systems use a base map to control the fuel injection, then trim the base map based on sensor inputs. Once lambda sensing is lost, it defaults to a RICH base map, as it has NO sensor info to verify the engines operation. So if you replaced your headers with 98/99 Catless headers with no O2 lambda sensor ports & thus I assume added O2 eliminators (or resistors, same thing) then your bike will always be on the RICH map which will be approximately 12-1 AFR. So your auto tune will have to pull a lot back to get 13.6-1 AFR. Depending on how a PC map was made, they rarely do a cruise setup, because DJ dyno's, can't maintain a constant load/speed state ! So they do a slow acceleration setup, which works well for setting EFI to match a predetermined AFR (usually 13.2-1 for DJ/PC) but the ECU uses constant throttle to activate the cruise mode closed loop, so it NEVER activates on a DJ setup 😞 I didn't use O2 eliminators on my Y2K model, when I had a PC3 on it, with a custom map it had perfect fuelling on the dyno, & when I was in cruise mode I got the benefit of closed loop, plus the benefit of better fueling when on the gas 🙂 I hope that explains it 🙂 Literally now YMMV due to AFR ! 🙂

If the generator power is good as indicated, then the battery should NOT be called on to supply any power during normal use, EXCEPT when at idle ! Most bike circuits don't have enough capacity at low revs, so this may explain the "1st Junction" scenario ! Just load test the battery, any bike/car center should have a load tester. Just take it out of the baike & down to your nearest friendly car service center & it takes about a minute ! If the battery tests good, the lack of power will have caused a complete ECU/ABS system reset, which would be advisable before trying to diagnose further anyway. If either wheel sensor was faulty, the ABS light would NOT clear when you set off. Tyre pressures would have to be well out to cause a wheel speed sensor discrepancy. Some of the newer systems use the wheel sensor as the speedo input which can cause issues on chain driven bikes if you change gearing, but not an issue on shaft drives. Because the wheel speed at both ends stays the same, but the speed registered per ABS Ring rotation goes out, when compared to the presets in the system. Pointless, as ABS really should NOT need a speed input, wheel speed at each end is relative & all that really matters.

The outer roller has nothing to do with the chains length only the side plates (stretch) inner pin (wear) inner bushing or tube (wear). I'll have to pass on that project as I have neither the time nor money to waste on two new chains, a fixed drive system & the power to run it 20-30k miles !

This was NOT any kind of recommendation, but just a crazy idea that popped into my head, it happens sometimes ! :) If we look at the construction of a modern chain, then the outer link side plates & joining pins are fixed. The inner link, has a bearing tube which rides on the outer links pin. The tube also has the seals to keep lube in the inner pin/tube bearing surface. The tube also has a roller on the outside effectively as a sacrificial surface, that contacts the sprocket teeth. Now we know the anatomy, then a chain can only stretch through wear on the pin & tube of the joining links, wear on the outer roller does NOT contribute to chain wear, but does to sprocket wear ! The load path through the chain means that one side of the pin & tube has all the wear ! It also generally appears on only one side of each component & ONE outer edge, as the chain always runs in one direction. By outer edge, I mean the side loaded as the chain changes direction around the drive sprocket. So if you reversed the circulation direction of the chain BEFORE its worn out (as in 50% life), then you effectively have the same wear in length, but NOT on the outer edge which should in (my crazy) theory reduce the wear rate ! As I said a crazy idea & more academic than practical, but I'd love to see a test result to see if there was any noticeable difference in wear or smoothness of operation. YMMV :)

The 6th Gen is 20mm longer in wheelbase & as all other components appear to be the same, I think you will find the swingarm is 20mm longer !

As an aside & talking dimensions, I was looking at buying a Ladybird Ti RC45 HRC copy . On discussion with the vendor, it turns out they used the same primary pipe do ensigns as the TBR full system I have now. The secondaries are narrower, but that is because the HRC system is two times 2-1 where as the TBR is 4-2-1, so for peak flow with no losses in the midrange th3 TBR is a well developed system. oK it was made to suit a stock 95hp engine & adds about 8hp with nothing more than fuelling mods. It suits my 120hp engine well & Highside NZ is using a cut RC45 system he made himself on his 825c. 140hp motor, but with basically the same dimensions. HRC took the RC45 to around 190hp on those same dimensions, al be it with the afore mentioned 2x2-1 system, with 40mm secondaries. what actually stopped the Tyga build ?

I can confirm that the 929 calliper pistons are alloy with some kind of low friction costing & they are very light. You can now get replacement Titanium pistons in common sizes, which is a great material for brake pistons, as it does not transmit heat well thus keeping the brake fluid isolated from the heat. It’s lighter than steel (-40%), stronger than alloy, thus les distortion & does not corrode so ideal for brake application.

OK just had a crazy thought, has anyone ever tried turning there chain over ? By that I mean one side is always in contact with the sprockets & they never get bend the other way much past the straight position ! If you removed the soft link & flipped the chain so it was inside out & put a new soft link in what would be the result ? Just thinking out loud here, this is not when its worn out, but maybe half worn ! the wear should all be on the inner surface of the chain so now there is sort of new or at least little worn parts inside the rollers ! Would the chain last longer, would it be smoother. Re the gearing commander wear characteristics, simply removing chain from rear sprocket & rolling it forward a dozen links would reset the wear point ! Just a crazy thought !

OK so the cross over on the front pipes is a just a confusion caused by Honda messing with the rear pipes. On a 5th gen the #1 exhaust goes through the outer loop pipe by your right foot, on the 6th gen they realised that that made that primary pipe much longer than the rest, so they swapped it to the inside loop pipe, but that would have merged with the wrong front cylinder, so they had to add the crossover to the front pipes to keep the cylinder pairings the same for best flow. so basically its the same cylinder matching on the 2-1 headers as the 5th gen. But it is what causes the different vacuum settings on the 6th gen to the 5th. One 5th gen cylinder has a much lower vacuum setting (#4 IIRC) because of the exhaust flow. the 6th gen has equal balance, as in theory all the headers are very close to the same length. On the exhaust manufacture, 5th+6th gen use the same basic exhaust layout, the only difference being the rear pipe connections & front cross over. I can't see it making much difference, as many people have put 98 pipes (or stainless copies) on their 6th gens with no issues. Be nice to know if they kept the 5th or 6th gen rear headers though ! On the O2 issue the stock ECU only issues any error warning if BOTH narrow band sensors lose their HEATING line voltage. You only need ONE O2 eliminator to avoid this, does not matter which as the base map has different setting for front & rear & all fuel modules add a +/-% to the injection duty cycle. So if #1 has say 55 & #2 has 50 as stock, then adding 10% more via PC/RB/Bazzaz etc only corrects the totals, so #1 now has 65 & #2 has 60. The AFR differences are still maintained & the closed loop cycle only does the same thing as a PC, by trimming the fuel delivery by a small amount whilst the engine is running in steady state because the narrow band sensor only sends a Rich or lean signal NOT an AFR like a wide band sensor. So if it says RICH, the ECU reduces the injector cycle a bit, until it says LEAN, then increases a bit & continues to chase that around the ideal AFR. If you use a wide band sensor for a PCV or Rapid Bike fueling module, then I just tapped into the narrow band sensors power supply via the stock connectors so that BOTH feed power to my wideband sensor, thus no need for O2 eliminators nor additional power cables to the wideband sensor ! NOTE;- You must USE BOTH power feeds for a wideband sensor, as they draw twice the power of a narrow band sensor & may melt a single feed ! Neat & avoids Fi fault codes. But please NOTE the ECU still logs a narrow band sensor failure as its never receives a signal from it, but that is a secondary fault code, so does NOT activate the Fi warning light ! Only primary fault codes do. YMMV 🙂

Thanks Guys, I thought I'd ask before I strip the fairings off to access the instrument cluster. Yes it could be any of those, will try to get some time in next week or so to check it.

None supplied. I used GSXR750 ones as they open the port fully & seal better on the TBR Headers wider pipe, with less lip so it still fits the header port. The GSXR washers are the same size squashed as the VFR ones not-squashed. The TBR headers added 8hp all other mods were left the same, just added the pipes & manually adjusted the fueling using a wideband sensor & gauge plus my memory whilst riding to tweak it before the dyno run. Plus I was looking at a Ladybird RC45 HRC copy in Ti from Japan, but when I checked the pipework its the same ID/OD as the TBR, so apart from being 2x 2-1 compared to the TBR being 2-2-1 its about the same the. the HRC would be best for ultimate power, but the TBR is pretty close & the RC45 left exist will NOT fit without some monification. YMMV.

Hi All, has anyone had an intermittent Rev counter. To explain that it’s more on or off at startup. Some days when I start it & set off Rev counter does not work. Other times it’s fine. On the days it does not work immediately it starts working after a few miles ! I suspect a wiring fault. Any wisdom or ideas ? Thanks mohawk

I've not used the Healtech yet, I'm going to put one on my other bike & see how it goes. But have to say that quick shifters are even better when touring than when giving it the beans ! Seamless changes are great regardless of your speed or rate of acceleration. The Honda unit does look very old world tech, compared to the latest strain gauge units.

Try looking here Or there was a European version with RC45 paint job, it does look good. I can't find a picture at the moment, but it was a real Honda Europe scheme that was a copy of the RC45 scheme.