sa1713

Hello. My name is Jim and up until about 1 hour ago I was in EDD (electrical dysfunction denial). You see, I thought I was ahead of the electrical curve by adding a digital volt meter stashed neatly into the mirror. I thought that since I'd be able to monitor the bike's system, I'd be able to ride worry free until I decided to get off. Well, you know the rest. Constant focus on the mirror led to an obsession with how well, or in my case, when will the system fail. So, after almost 3 years of watching my mirror give me readings of 13.4 at speed and a roubust 12.9 while doing most everything else, and a very disappointing 13.1 above 5k, and when I revd it, the volts would most times if not the vast majority of the time drop, I decided to do some digging into the board. I first swapped an OEM RR which showed the same output. I recently swapped the battery only to obtain about the same v figures as well. I did all of the electrical diag test minus the load tests. All that checked out. I didn't want to crack open the stator cover only to be reassured. So, I read 007's and Chris' write up on the R1 swap. Well, swap is complete and I'm in 14.4/14.6 heaven. I only did the wire upgrade to the RR for now. I just wanted somequick feedback. I'll add the ground-to-battery-to-frame next. I touched the three phase wires coming from the stator which were nice an hot. I touched the RR harness and it showed no heat. The R1 RR was not even warm. I could not do that with the OEM unit. For specs here they are: 1st observed low volts at about 6k miles, I now have about 11k (I know, get out there); OEM unit has "SH579A-11" and "7.D" in white; I neither had any volt spikes nor any on road failure; All connectors/wires are fine with no signs of heat stress; R1 RR and associated connectors - about $35 I'm stoked to belong to the VFRD community that has contributors who share their experience, troubleshoot, and publish fixes. Thank you for all your input and a big :thumbsup: to 007 and Chris. Jim

Cpn has made contact with a local fabricator and he is trying to see if they can be made out of stainless. Also to be considered is the outlet diameter. Rob's Devil cans measured approximately 1 5/8" and the Wolf's are at 2". I'm checking into using dual Laser Xtreme cans for the underseat application. I'm working on the overall dimensions to pass on to Cpn'. The Wolf's pipes (2 piece) are chromed. Cpn is working on a single pipe application. One other consideration is the diameter of the inlet at the collector. I like Staintunes' application and I'm hoping Cpn is able to match that. Cpn has been extremely thoughtful and considerate for those of us itching to grab a set. :thumbsup: Hopefully after the holidays have settled down we will be able to inundate Cpn with mail..... Jim

That's correct. The compression will sit at the bottom of the fork with the rebound attached to the rod itself. I'd be concerned about the shims from the F3 not matching the need of the VFR. Jim

Welcome Jan. I did the F3 swap w/Race Tech valves on my 5th gen and I know that the F3's and VFR's are interchangeable. You can install the VFR's compression valves on the F3's rods, but the F3's rebound valve stack may not be just right for the VFR. Save up a little bit and get the whole system done. You already got some of the hardest parts, the fork caps/rods/pistons. Jim

Thanks Fixer. One less thing I need to address before the final thaw.....

Happy New Year to all. I searched available posts and could not find an answer for it, sorry to bother all with this newbie question. A few months ago I picked up an all stock 98 with 4k. I've changed oil/coolant/hydraulics and all this talk about forks has me wondering. Should I be concerned about the original oil enough to flush it? I could not find any info in the shop manual. Is there a shelf-life or is it rather a function of miles/use? If it needs to be changed, should I jump into the F3/gold upgrade HS did? I'm still getting used to the machine, and have not noticed any unusual bounce/push. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Jim