fabio222

Any further updates?

How'd this go in the end @ShipFixer? Things all good again?

I have an Excel sheet on my Google Drive which works fairly well. It's better for "official" maintenance schedules, it's not as accommodating for things you'd do in between the scheduled services but it's workable and easy to access from your phone. This is what I use for my NT700V.

Fellow Irishman here (well, Corkonian). Have you taken a look at YSS shocks and springs? They get good reviews and aren't bad, price-wise. They're rebuildable too. On my VFR 750, I replaced the factory forks springs with springs from Progressive Suspension USA (I can't find the ebay store I got them from, it was about 6 years ago or so). YSS and Hyperpro also do progressive springs and are easy to find. Anyway, I replaced the oil (which was like water) with Motul 10w fork oil (different brands have different viscosities, Motul's 10w is different from, say, Castrol's...it's a weird thing with fork oil.) That change transformed the front end of the bike, it doesn't dive uncontrollably, braking is better, it steers and feels nicer. Note that you might need to make up a new fork spacer if the new springs are shorter or longer than the originals. Mine were longer than standard so I'd to dump the steel spacers which were in there originally and just cut some PVC pipe to act as new, shorter, spacers. I had the original Showa rear shock rebuilt by MCT in the UK for about €220 back in 2015. They did a fine job, although I don't think the shock was that bad in the first place. I don't know if there would be import duties on used parts which are being refurbed - check that out. As for PVC pipe, just go to a DIY place and look for white PVC pipe like you'd use to connect up a sink/basin - cut that in half, use a couple of hose clamps to keep them together around the upper fork tube and then use those as a slide hammer to pop the new fork seal into place (use the old seal as a cushion so the PVC isn't hitting the new seal directly). I'm not a huge fan of this guy's videos but this explains the process pretty well with home tools, nothing fancy: This one is also good:

Nice collection. I also have an NT, it's the Deauville over here. 60,000 miles up on it through all sorts of weather and some touring on continental Europe. It ain't fast but that's not the point with it. It starts and gets me where I need to be every single time. And allows the VFRs to stay dry 🙂 . Also, this Yammie guy on Youtube, he's a fool.

I'm guessing I can't just wipe lemon juice over the pipes then haha!

This explains the colour of some parts of my NT700v exhausts. @Magneto - What is passivation? Can it be done at home?

Hey all, Been a while since I've posted here but am glad to see some of the familiar usernames from over the years! I hope you're all doing well. I bought a 2003 VFR 800 a year ago, haven't been able to put up many miles on it really and was just wondering what the story is with the stock exhaust pipes. Are they stainless or are they mild steel?

This is a great idea. Last February, as I was tackling an issue with mine, I didn't realise that you could leave the tank bolted at the back (the hinge). The tank fell... I think people heard me shout for miles around. Thankfully, somehow, the tank was only barely scratched on a bit you can't even see really. Miraculous.