Beck

Thing is, most VFR models do not look as good naked as these BMW (and Guzzi) airheads do.......

I tried to move over to iridiums from platinums last year when I was experiencing some intermittent misfires with my engine last year. The local Honda dealer did not have iridiums in stock, so I just bought myself some "standard" NGK plugs to tide me over. I eventually tracked down the problem to a bad battery/weak spark that was causing the misfires.. Forgot all about trying to get new iridiums for the bike but heck, the bike is running really well now so I decided it will just be a waste of money to get iridiums when the regular plugs are working so well.

LED vehcle lighting technology is moving in leaps and bounds and many new designs had come up since this thread was started. Have you guys noticed the new LED "light tube" lens designs that car makers are now using for their DRL's and tail lights. Pretty good stuff with in most cases, just one or a couple of LED bulbs providing all the needed light that is usually even more intense/brighter then the older, multi LED designs. More efficient, less cost to replace and much better lighting performance than multiple LED designs. Definitely the way LED lighting evolution is going.... Hope to see such in many motorcycles soon..

Yes, the CF pipes sound good out of the box, but once a Staintune's packing "carbons up" enough, the raspy, tinny sound it has when brand new pretty much goes away and the pipe sound as good as the best sounding, non-Staintune pipe you can find, plus you will never have to repack it, and it will look brand new even after 20 years on a bike..... and the can will not deteriorate from heat and UV exposure as many CF cans do, over time.

Thanks for the great info JZH, Seb,! Nice to see the interior of the petcock valve in that pic too Seb, so at least I might get to figure out how the petcock works. I might just replace the whole assembly, but if it costs too much I'll try the re-build route of drilling out the rivets as a plan "B".....

Last time I took the tank off the bike to do aome maintenance, I notice that the petcock was not sealing completely on the off position and fuel was dripping from it at a quite alarming rate.. I noticed that the petcock is riveted together and there is no way to get to the valve innards to possibly rebuild it with new seals/orings(?). Other than replacing the whole petcock fuel strainer/inlet assembly on the tank, is there any other way to fix this leaking situation? I think I asked this here some time ago and unfortunately I don't remember getting any relies..... asking again, as I'm expecting to remove the tank soon to do some electrical maintenance and possibly a carb balance....

I think the problem could be that if it breaks, it will be hard to remove the saddle if you cannot find/ reach the end of the cable to pull at it.....

If you did not hear a lot crunching noise from your gearbox, I think you might have killed your clutch.......

Only thing I don't like when I wash out my helmet padding is the water, even with the mildest detergents, tend to fade out the padding textiles a bit after just a couple of washes...... I wish the manufacturers would always use non-colorfast dyes on their materials.....

Uhmmmm.... maybe BLS??

5.5K Pounds does sound like a lot for "mortals" like most of us that never had an opportunity to own an RC, but there's definitely a few on this board that must be seriously considering buying all that "unobtanium" from George to supplement their stash for their RCs, for what sounds like, I very much suspect, is a reasonable price for RC owners. Good Luck with the sale George. I hope it all eventually works out for you, your house and most important, your family......

Doubtful is the cluch pack will "Asplode" on you while riding with that one bad bolt. If anything would be of concern, it would be any collateral damage a loose bolt head will cause in the surrounding areas..... In the least, you might dent up, crack or hole the clutch casing if the bolt head somehow gets jammed between it and the clutch pack end and maybe cause you to lose some oil.... not so nice a picture either..... If it were me, i would have not ridden the bike till it is p[properly repaired. JMOs.

Even with no can, the end of the S pipe for most high pipe setups will be far enough below the plastics on the right side of the bike. as it will be about the same level as the right passenger peg..... Unless, maybe, you tuned your bike so rich that flames regularly come out of the pipe, I would not be worried about melting anything.....

I'm wondering whether playing around with different bar end weights might help minimize the vibration. When I changed over the bars of my 95 VFR to VTR1000 bars, I was surprised that the different bars and weights pretty much eliminated all the hand numbing handlebar vibration I was experiencing for years since I first got the bike. I figured that the different bar end weights (heavier?) is mostly the the reason for it.

I've been running a high mount Staintune on my 95 VFR for about 19 years now......and it never melted any plastic on my bike yet.......

Did you already sell the 4th gen WP shock? If not and will be selling it, I could be interested.... Beck 95 VFR

Be aware 5hat some oils do attack plastics, so you do need to be careful what you put I don't think all are petroleum based. I bet some of them are water based......

For many years now, I have heard that show car detailers had used Vaseline to restore the black on their plastic bumpers and trim....... I myself would be apprehensive of using Vaseline on plastics, being that it is a petroleum based product, but it seems like it works good and does not hurt plastics, if detailers continue to use it.

That sponge used for a filter is totally inappropriate.I suspect that it's just mattress type foam which is too dense and most likely closed cell so that it is prety much impermeable to any usable intake air flow for the motor. Your first step should be to get a proper OEM air filter for the bike THEN, start form there to tune it back to roadability.....

I'm kinda confused by the OP's post as there seems to be confusion on what the choke position is when you pull on the lever or push it back to it's normal running position.First lets get it straight on when the choke is closed or open. It is closed when you pull on the choke lever (as it will minimize the air going into the carb and increase the gas flow. A "rich" condition.) to start the bike when it is cold, It is open when you push it back away from you (more air into the carbs for a "normal" lean condition.) when the bike is warmed up and ready to ride. On my 4th gen, I do not have to close/use the choke at all when the bike is still warm and I restart it. If I do use the choke when the bike is warm, the bike tends to flood. When the bike is cold, I usually only need to shut the choke about 3/4ths of the way and the bike will start OK. Then it only takes about a minute to get a good idle then I push froward on the choke lever to fully open it.

I was just going to say "electrical" is what you need to watch out for, but the 4th gen now going on 20 years, you really need to watch out for rubber components like carb intake boots and coolant hoses, dry rotting and cracking. Even internal seals and gaskets will start to become suspect (my fuel petcock started to not completely shut off the last time I took the tank off) We have been seeing more and more 4th gen starting to have leaky carbs and similar problems in the last few years, eventually all owners will need to rebuild such components with new gaskets and seals. Really just part of owning a two decades old bike of any kind....

I dunnio, but the lower cowl does not really have a shape that is complimentary enough to the bike to emphasize. I don't think it hurts to paint it, but I think keeping it black is not bad either, especially as a dark lower will relate to your dark front fender. You can't go wrong either way IMO.

That looks fantastic! The wheel looks great but that that new cush drive assembly looks so exotic! I wish I had the skills and resources to do such mods...... It looks like a lot of work, but the product is worth it!

What also drags me down these days is how much time and effort it now seems to take to do to start each ride and to be ATGATT.... In my 30's I'd be off on my bike in like10 minutes, max, Everything just kinda easily fell into place like muscle memory, it seemed, Now it's more like 20, at least..... It's really not more gear that is causing it but stuff like wallets, cell phones, keys, gloves, helmet, glasses....etc.... that just slows me down, add to that the trip to the gas station before getting on the highway.... on and off with the gloves, helmet, glasses.....wallet, tank bag, by the time I'm on the highway, a lot of the fun and excitement sometimes went away already.... then after the trip you just feel really beat up after all that. Maybe this is the real reason (in addition to the ever worsening traffic in SF) I quit commuting to work on my bike..... blehhhhh......I'm feeling ooold....

Roo crap catchers.......??