Fritzer

I have not needed to remove the filter yet, but I am pretty sure the silicone will stay in place when the filter is removed.

I purchased my 5th gen with a k/n filter installed. I decided to go back to stock filter but found that the gasket at the airbox was missing. Needing to remedy the issue right away I decided to partially fill the receiving channel with silicone rtv. Before installing, I misted my air filter edge with silicon. Worked out to be a perfect seal that let the air filterto be removable.

This technique might be helpful.

A free VFR engine is offered in the Portland Oregon area. https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/mpo/d/oregon-city-1986-vfr-750-engine/7454770016.html

Oddly I didn't write down the clearance specs and archive. Usually I do. All I remember is that most of the exhaust under spec clearances were a bit concerning. They had to be on the edge of failure. Glad I got to them when I did. Not a big deal to do if you have the basic skills and the time. Procedure is pretty well documented in the shop manual and here in the forum. I was hesitant to do the check but the local Hillsboro Motosport honda shop won't work on anything over 10 years old, so ended up doing it myself. Glad I did, another maintenance mystery unshrouded.

AT 51,000 miles, I did the first valve check of my 5th gens life. All exhaust valves were out of spec on the tight side. A lot easier to adjust than to replace burnt valves.

Would you happen to have the part numbers for the taper bearing switchover?

This place could be Aberdeen in Washington State, It is right on the pacific coastline (salty) and the place I think Kurt Cobain grew up in.

My left front fork sprung a leak about a month ago. I caught it pretty early so it didn't make a big mess. While I had the bike apart, figured that rebuilding both would be the wise course to take. I am very luck to have friend that was a dealer mechanic for many years and his knowledge is amazing. I took my forks out and he did the rebuild on them. One of the things he pointed out to me was the micro pits in the fork tube from encounters from rocks. The tube guard blocked most of the impacts, but not all. One of the things Jim recommended was to install some fork boots. His arguments were very compelling, so I ordered up some Polisport fork bellows to fit a 40mm fork tube to a 60mm housing diameter. They were only $20 and good quality rubber material. However, they were too long so I just cut them to length. Zip tied to the fork tube at the top, and covered the entire top of the lower housing, including the existing fork tube guard. Zip ties bellows to the lower housing (with the vent holes rear facing). This effort does a couple of things. Stops contact between seals & dried bug remains Stops rock pitting Dramatic reduction in dirt making it past the seals into the fork oil. Way less wear on bushings. There is a caveat here however. The bellows are wider than the fork tubes and enter into the airflow pathway to the radiators a little bit. I have noticed that moving thru un-turbulated air, my cruise temperature is about 4 f degrees higher. Turbulated air makes a +7 degree over normal condition. I live in Portland Oregon area, so it is usually not super hot here. Mostly dealing with slow or stopped traffic around town so when it gets to fan on temp, there is no difference in cooling ability. So if you are needing to rebuild front forks in the future, this might be something of interest. This was my solution for fork boots a couple years back

No time like the present when dealing with charging problems. I've seen worse in here before but looks don't mean much.

Thanks Cogs. My '99 has 61,000 miles on her and I think the stator is original equipment. I've been nursing the charging system for some time. Love the guide bolt idea, thanks.

I really appreciate all the input generated from my plea for R/R replacement help. I was ready to order up a new one when I thought that doing a double check on the stator health would be wise. I had done a continuity check to see if there was a short in the stator before I posted my plea for help and everything was good on that front. However, I thought maybe a voltage output test would be worthwhile before I ordered. Here are my results at idle, 3k, and 5k with the stator leads disconnected from the R/R. I gave each stator lead a color so I could tell them apart, green, white and black. Green/White 0.5 ohm 2.3v/3v/4v Green/Black 0.5 ohm 10v/30v/55v White/Black 0.5 ohm 14v/35v/58v I think the outputs should be the same for all so I pretty sure the stator is the culprit. Any recommendations for stator replacement. I see they are no longer available from Honda. Is there a trusted aftermarket brand or is it better to have mine rewound? Stator removal. I have a workshop manual to guide me in the removal/install process but wondering if there are any special tricks to make it easier. And also, I came across a video on how to check the rectifier. I looks like the diodes in the R/R are still good. Thanks for all your help in advance.

After nursing along my old r/r for a few years, it is finally time to replace. Barely getting 13.2v at cruise now. I thought I had seen recommendations for a SH775 but wanted to get opinions on choices before I purchase one. Also wanted to know of any preferred suppliers. Thanks

I like the drain in floor. Easy cleanup.

My friends press was a harbor freight at around $140. It however, came with a ram that was not perpendicular to the platform. He easily fixed the issue but you could take it back. Could probably find used ones cheaper.

I feel that inspection of the rear axle and related bearings is an important but commonly overlooked practice. I wanted to do this earlier, but getting into this kind complicated assembly was a little daunting for me, so I put it off. I was in need of a new rear brake rotor install that would require the rear axle to be removed from the bearing block. While everything was out in the open, this was the time to closely inspect the axle/bearings for wear. Bearing removal from block for cleaning and repack also was on the agenda. Examining the cleaned axle, I see that the wheel side needle bearing axle race (the axle itself is the inner race) was in great condition. I had added grease to that bearing 24,000 miles earlier, so everything was good at that end. Taking a close look at the axle where the radial bearing lands, I see signs of the axle spinning in the race (SITR) of the radial bearing. It was not a horrible spin out, but not good. After rotating the bearing, I see why this happened. It was very stiff to turn, like the grease was petrified between the ball bearings. After 22 years/60k of service, it’s not surprising the grease is hard. It looked like, if left alone, an axle failure was in my near future. Lucked out that I found this issue before it all turned red hot and possibly seizing. An option at this point if the damage to the axle is too extensive to overcome, you can buy a new axle from Honda for about $180. Wheel lug studs are included. This is a deal when you look at how much machine work there is on it. Also, the bearing block loaded with bearings and seals is available for about $230. For $410 your problems easily fade away. Decided to move forward and disassembe the bearing block to see what it needed to be safe again. If you decide that inspection is something you want to do, the following may be helpful. The manual describes the disassembly/assembly procedures well, but here are a few things that may take a little mystery out of the process. You will need access to a press for removing/installing the bearings into the block. Luckily I have a friend that has one in his shop. The problem with pressing the bearings in and out is finding the correct drivers. Getting creative here is helpful. There are two different size drivers for removal of the bearings. For removal of the smaller radial bearing we found a socket with correct diameter. The other, larger needle bearing needed a driver slightly larger than any socket we had, so we belt sanded a 3mm washer to correct diameter & a close diameter socket to push the needle bearing out. Before you can press the bearings out, you will need to remove the dust seal and a bearing keeper ring. The ring that is holding the bearing in the bore creates a space between the bearing and the dust seal. Use this space to get a screwdriver underneath the seal and lever it out undamaged. Now you need to deal with the small keeper ring. The ring has no clip holes for a keeper removal tool. It requires the use of a pick or micro screw driver to remove. One came out with moderate effort, but the other one challenged more than a couple peoples patience. Before I put it all back together, I took my dremel tool with a micro round cutting bit to carve a tiny channel that will allow the micro screwdriver to get behind the ring. This access channel is still covered by the dust seal when it is installed. This just makes it easier to access next time. The first bearing to come out is the radial bearing. Once pressed out, you see it is actually two narrower ball bearings joined together with a plastic ring with one grease seal on each to make a sealed bearing when they are together in the bore. Being able to split them allows the bearings to be cleaned/inspected and repacked if deemed worthy. After cleaning the bearings, I think they are still good to use so I packed them both with some moly grease. Seals looked ok so they also went back in. At the bearing installation step, a 62mm driver installs both bearings. Since they are both the same diameter, make sure you verify the correct position of the bearings before you press them in. The needle bearing has a built in oil seal that needs to be facing the inside of the block. I have a 1 13/16” socket that was 1mm too big in outside diameter for use as a install driver. After belt sanding it down to proper diameter, I now have a installation driver that also doubles as the socket for the rear axle nut. Install both bearings in their respective bores, install the keeper rings, then the seals. There is a sealed bearing in the sprocket drive plate. If the bearing feels good, no need to take it out. This bearing deals with the movement on the drive plate interfacing with the damper plate. Not much movement here. And BTW, I put in a new rubber damper set while there. With the bearing block back in the swingarm, the axle got put back in for a test fit. Even though the radial bearings have been cleaned, repacked & are spinning easier, the axle still spins easy in the bearing race. This SITR condition cannot be tolerated. Bad things will happen if not resolved. I have dealt with this SITR condition in trailer axles in the past. One solution is to take a center punch and lightly install some divots. This creates a raised crater effect that, in my case, increases the diameter of the axle at the radial bearing landing. I just happened to have a spring loaded center punch that made the perfect size indents. I put about 25 divots for each of the radial bearing landing areas. Cleaned the inner races and axle area free of oil, applied blue threadlock to the axle bearing meeting area then installed the axle. The divoting made a fit that required me to use a mallet with light force to push the axle through the radial bearing. I think it is the perfect fit and coupled with the threadlock, I won’t have a SITR issue here again. I will have to use a little force to remove the axle if needed in the future, but not too much. At final install of axle assembly to the bearing block, the axle nut requires 148 ft/lb torque. Rather than using the brake to hold the axle from turning, a lever through the lug studs is much easier. I let it all set for a few days to let the treadlock firm up. It now looks like SITR issue now history. I can check the bearing block for heat at the radial bearing area occasionally without removing anything for hints of any future failure in progress. If you don’t need to wait for new parts and are able to reuse what is there, the time it takes to remove the bearings from the block, clean them, repack, and reinstall would take about an hour. While up on the rack, I also got around to… >Shock absorber removal, sent to Jamie for revalve & new spring. New pivot bearing & pin >Removed the swingarm for pivot bearing inspect. All good. Added moly grease. >Installed new rear brake rotor and pads >Removed counter sprocket cover and thoroughly cleaned the area. >Installed speedbleeders then replaced all hydraulic fluids. >Initiated Fritzers famous chain cleaning & maintenance procedure J >Oil and filter change Bringing an end to a very long story, it leads me to my final point. If you have a high mileage/age VFR, it might be wise to open the axle/bearing block assembly for inspection/maintenance. I think this SITR condition could be common on high age/mile bikes. Once you have gone through the procedure, you realize it is not that big of a deal to do again in the future. Major piece of mind knowing your rear axle is up to the task.

Hi Fritzer, Thank you for your donation of 25.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

I purchased my 5th gen in 2015 with the Stayintune already installed. Previous owner liked a louder sound so never used the baffle. I prefer a little quieter machine so I installed the baffle and I think it has a great sound. Very happy with it.

Mine has a Stayintune unit. I think they are still available for around $800.

Got pulled over today for moving past stationary cars for right hand turn in the bike lane. Got a warning. 4th warning in a row for miscreant deeds committed while on my trusty "99.

Hi Fritzer, Thank you for your donation of 50.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

Poor charging performance on my '99 led me to your post. After determining that the stator was in good working order, your solution made much sense. After a short time implementing your solution my charging troubles are a thing of the past! Thanks for your posting, it sure helped.