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I might just be interested...

I agree... My experience is that Honda can be trusted... if they recommend in writing a 8K oil interval then it will meet and exceed your mileage expectations because I believe after talking with the engineers at Honda that they do thoroughly test the oil... in fact it doesn't matter to your engines longevity if you run Dino or Synthetic... or even 50 40 or 30 weight.... no one is wearing out their engine... but it does matter in the amount of rear wheel HP is wasted in unnecessary oil drag... between a 30wt and 40wt is 2 to 3 HP in unnecessary oil drag... between a 30 and 50 is 4 to 6 HP in unnecessary oil drag... choosing the freest flowing viscosity of 30 as prescribed by the official Honda manual over a 40 50 is smarter because it will: 1)increase HP at the rear wheel 2)quicken the throttle response coming out of the corners... 3)decrease over all operating temps... 4)increase the oil flow at the critical bearings... I admittedly popped in on the last page of this discussion, but I'm under the impression that the above weight oil is not good for wet clutch bike engines. "Energy conserving" circle = not for bikes I've always read. Or should I be quiet and read the whole thread? You have some reading to do.

That oozes awesomeness!

This is a total thread hijack, but I would love to here your thoughts about the FZ-09. And maybe even a comparison between it and the VFR.

Wow! That's a masterpiece!

That's the hyperspace adjuster. Use with caution. ;-)

Thanks for this write up. Between this and a couple of YouTube videos I was able to install new seals and oil, and raise the tubes in the triples. Wow, what a difference!

Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound like I was busting your chops, ohlarkid. I wasn't. I was just amazed to see a thread on the subject with so many posts.

Wow, 12 pages of posts just to realize that 1200 RPM idle is too low and provides a lot of engine braking. I realized that on the ride home after buying my bike. The previous owner had the idle set to 1100 RPM and letting off the throttle was pretty abrupt. As soon I got in the garage I set the idle to 1400 RPM have have been as happy as a clam since.

I know the front turn signals on the 5th gen are the same 7443 bulbs. I had a burnt out front marker light, but the turn signal still worked fine. I hadn't seen this thread before, and didn't even think about swapping it with one of the rear turn signal bulbs. Good info to have for the future.

^ LOL

OK, the 17/45 combo have been installed for about a month now and the verdict is in. I love it! It gave me a noticeable boost of torque in the lower gears. I used to have to ride the clutch up my driveway, and now I can just leave the clutch engaged until the very top when it's time to stop. The front wheel will come up in first on full throttle acceleration, where it didn't with the original set up. Relaxed first gear starts are much easier on the clutch. Hwy speeds around my location were about 75mph (according to my speedo) before the change, and now my speedometer reads 80mph to keep up with the flow of traffic. So, that is about right for the calculated gearing change. The few radar/speed-check trailers that I have passed indicate that my speedometer now reads about 8mph fast at 50mph (the radar indicates 50 and the speedo says 58). I haven't had anyone pace me at Hwy speeds, but my guesstimation would be that the speedo is reading about 10mph fast at around 75-80 actual speed. I have only observed about a 3 or 4mpg reduction in fuel economy. (This is based on actual distance traveled, not the skewed speedometer/odometer readings.) I can live with that trade-off. The increase in torque and performance is well worth it!

I just ordered the 17/45 combo. After they have been installed, I'll report back with my impressions...