Marvelicious

You managed to get those under the fairing and make it look relatively stock eh? Niiiice! Puller fans are always more effective, without a doubt, and having fans on both radiators has got to really drop the heat in a hurry.

JT has them... uncushioned front VFR sprocket is JTF339, cusioned is JTF339RB I don't really see the point. It's not really a "cushion" in that it doesn't make the drive any smoother, it's just something to make the chain a little quieter. Still, if that's what you prefer, they're available.

I wonder if that isn't something that mostly applies to 520 sprockets (and maybe 525): giving them the same shaft engagement of a 530 sprocket?

Depending on your height and your helmet choice, you might try it with just the bars first. I converted my 6th gen to standard bars and at 6'2", I'm just at the edge of putting my helmet above all the turbulence. If I sit up with good posture, it's all quiet, clean air (good incentive...), but the windshield blocks the airflow on my chest... or I can hunker down to eliminate the drag if I want some speed. I'm actually thinking about bars with a touch more pull-back, just to make it less of a stretch. Different bike, different rider... YMMV, but I'd try it out before throwing money at it.

Your video didn't seem to load, but it's a pretty simple concept. The wider chain does net you a bit more contact area between chain and sprocket, so if you procrastinate on your chain lubrication, I can see the argument for 530... otherwise, game on! Thanks for the input Yep... I have the stock 6th gen gearing (16/43) and while the bike never really lacks for power (I went for a long loop with my buddy on his new Z900RS the other day, and I made him work to follow me all morning... 😆 ), I'm way too old, fat and slow to use top speed. I don't know if the 5th gens suffer as much from the touchy throttle of the 6th at very low speeds, but it seems like lower gearing would allow less throttle input at low speed. It's not a huge issue, and I've definitely adjusted to it, but this bike is always a bit of a chore to ride in town. Hopefully JimMoore doesn't mind my thread hijack... it all seems fairly relevant to his question.

That's about what I figured. I did a little searching, but most of what I found was the NEVER DEVIATE FROM HONDA FACTORY SPEC crowd recommending against it. Chain wear is such a non-issue with an automatic oiler that I won't need a chain any time soon, but I've been tempted to go for a gearing change (thinking 16/45) and I'm kinda thinking why not go 520?

Any thoughts on the 520 conversion? Have you had it for long? How is it holding up? I'd ask if you felt a difference, but I'm sure the gearing change was more significant in that respect.

Personally, I'm in the pro-VTEC camp. My only real criticism (6th gen experience specifically here...) is that it would be a more usable system if the VTEC transition point was on a curve... If I'm at 20% throttle, I probably don't need the extra valves until higher in the rev range. The one time I really don't like it is when I'm just easing into the throttle coming out of a curve and I suddenly pass the threshold and without warning I suddenly have more juice.

Agreed... No hesitation, just a sudden burst of power, though it can be a bit abrupt if it happens mid curve.

Well, butter isn't all that good for you... I can't find a down side to this combo.

In my mind that went without saying. For anyone unfamiliar with the concept of mechanical advantage... Yes: Keep in mind that no reduction of effort comes without a similar reduction in travel. I spent 8 hours on my bike today with the 6th gen master matched to a 5th gen slave. You couldn't pay me to switch back. YMMV...

I get it. I've learned my mechanical skills on my own and I still occasionally have to look something up. These days it usually comes down to finding that hidden bolt... Definitely better to be confident. Do the voltmeter sooner and plan ahead for the R/R some time when the weather isn't great. You're on the right track.

The trouble with packing spares is that the r/r, stator, battery and wiring all work together. One functioning poorly puts a strain on the others. These mods are both pretty simple ideas. The voltmeter is two wires and one is just a ground. Tieing into a hot wire is fairly simple. They make connectors designed to splice into an existing line, though I prefer to temporarily pop a contact out of a connector, then solder and shrink tube my splice to a stock wire. The Roadstercycle kit is pretty simple, but well thought out. In addition to the mosfet r/r being a better design overall, it adds a new heavy gauge power wire straight from the r/r to the battery. That takes battery charging duty away from the oem wiring and gives the heaviest current a clear path to the battery.

Well, "bad" gasoline is generally a matter of a few things... foreign particulate (which the filter would block), water (which the filter would block), or oxidation - which causes some of the volatile compounds to form gums and varnish (which the filter would block) and also lose a bit of energy (nothing a filter can do about that last part). I get the hesitance - fuel injected vehicles are pretty tolerant of water in fuel because of the elimination of the float bowl, the higher pressures, the steady re-circulation of the fuel, plus the VFR already has a fuel filter after the fuel pump. Still, there is regular discussion on here of having clogged fuel injectors rebuilt... a procedure that is roughly the same price as this filter. I like the idea of a pre-filter that can be removed without tools and cleaned in the field. I don't know that it will filter any finer particles than the stock filter, but all it has to do to be worth at least some money to me is block that crap from entering the fuel pump in the first place. I was sort of considering a simple nylon bag filter for exactly that reason when I ran across this, but blocking water is a pretty big upgrade. Also, I think you would be surprised at the crud that seems to find its way out of the gasoline you buy at perfectly legit looking stores. It's a lot cheaper to remodel the store than it is to replace those old rusty fuel tanks! Look, I'm not telling anyone else to buy one and I'm not asking if anyone thinks I need one. I'm asking if anyone else has tried one. That hundred dollar price tag is enough that I was hoping for some end user feedback. I guess I'll just have to take the plunge and provide my own.