bdouvill

On 12/14/2020 at 9:01 PM, mtnpat said:

I recently bought a new voltage regulator/rectifier and installed it.  I went with a genuine FH020AA from Roadstercycle.  When I got the bike it was not charging the battery at all, nothing.  It was also ooozing a bit of its insides, outside from probably overheating.  It was the original style regulator/rectifier.  While you can buy inexpensive (read as cheap) R/Rs, from what I have seen in the reviews they are a waste of money.  I went with a product that is known to be excellent quality with quick and easy customer service.

 

Copying what Hingley did (March 2019 post on this forum), I chose to not mount my new Shindengen R/R at the stock location, instead I made a bracket and placed it behind the rear brake fluid reservoir.  Great idea Hingley!

 

The FH020AA is quite a bit larger that the stock style R/R and while you can fit it at the stock location it is a tight fit and rubs the body work.  I tried it several ways and did not like it, in the end decided to move it back where there is a ton of room.  I mean it is a cavernous space comparatively.  Mounting further back mirrors the location of the ECU on the other side.

 

I cut a bracket out of 1/4" aluminum and while it is overkill for holding this electronic part in place I wanted it so that I had adequate thickness for tapping M6 size holes to mount the R/R.  The bracket itself bolts into the 2 existing M8 size holes already tapped in the subframe.  I have not fired the bike yet to see the voltage being supplied yet.  I did test the stator before replacing the R/R and it is believed to be good.  Will report back when I do.

 

 

 

 

Are you sure the RR will not be in contact with the tail fairing? At least, this sounds more elegant than my own version ;-)

19 hours ago, JZH said:

They are separate systems.  You can have both a reserve switch and a low fuel light, but you need a bunch of parts from the US model, e.g., the fuel tank sender and the tachometer.  Other than that, I think I just had to change the 2P connector for a 3P connector and add one wire.  I happened to have a US model in parts, so it was easy to combine the two.  Here's the two senders (US-spec on top):

 

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

Thanks again @JZH for sharing the thruth 😉

Will keep the reserve switch and keep relying on the odometer to determine when to refill.

Assuming the maintenance is not so bad- all fluids flushed, tires and chain in good condition then +1 on suspension for sure.

At least refresh fork oil and seals. 

Adding new straight rate springs and is super easy. Updating the shim stack is not super difficult either - see my restoration thread. 

I did all of that. I used 0.85 kg/mm because I had them with me and when I can, I'll go for 0.90 that should be more suited for the weight of the bike - I'm around 80kg in full gear, but Vivian - my VFR - is in the 240-250kg (damn she's heavy).

Here, we are talking about 200€ in material and again, this is not rocket science.

If you do that, then replace the rear shock or get it rebuild. When I can, I go for a Shock Factory one, this is very good quality and around 400€ so I guess there is nothing cheaper that is new and that quality.

Next, update the brakes. I completely rebuilt the front system but I kept the original brake pads. Not enough braking power for spirited riding. Still haven't chosen if I go for 4 pots VTR calipers or at least replace the pads with softer ones (CL A3+ or Brembo SA).

Forget about all the shiny and/or noisy bit, that's for kids 😉

8 hours ago, Gebruiker said:

 

Yes!

 

Yes! Unless you count Canada, then No... 😁

 

You're not missing much. I think I prefer the old fashioned reserve switch...which we don't get. My fuel gauge is so finicky, the light comes on when I have about 2 gallons left in the tank. So I've learned to just keep an eye on the trip odometer which I reset at every fill up.

I did not realize that was replacing the reserve manual switch. Having to switch to reserve while driving always happens at the worst time, so I try to stay away from that as much as I can. I try to refill when I reach 150 km on the odometer because so far, I have only rode it around town or near town so no exceptional gas mileage.

On 9/24/2020 at 12:15 AM, damionj said:

Putting on the base plate for the air box is a bit of a bear!  But I hooked up to a battery today and heard the motor turn over! All the electronics seem to check out. 
 

It sounded good. Just need to keep pushing along and find all my missing pieces. 
 

 

Hello fellow VFRists,

What the he... is that fuel warning light on the dash? Is that specific to US models? I don't think mine has one...

@damionj keep up the good work, this bike is worth it. I enjoy mine anytime I ride it even if it deserves some upgrades I cannot afford right now 😉

That's impressive. I look forward to read any progress 😉

I would be interested to hear a little bit the more the details about the Coil over plugs. I read several info on this forum and I thought the output was it did not work on 3rd and 4th gen for obscure reasons. I understood it works fine when idling then start making some weird thing (so unreliable) when hot. @monstar could you please elaborate a little bit more?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Hi,

Performed my first oil change after 1800 km and 18 months. Usually, I do an oil change at least once a year or at 5 to 6000 km max. 

At the same time, I mounted the fairing on the left side. I relocated the coil holders without issue (I jacked the engine just in case).  I also rebuilt the broken tab on the lower left fairing with Plastifix (damn that works well) but I forgot to take a picture. 

Now I have a mixed condition fairing parts with top heavily damaged, bottom damaged but ok and side panel in excellent condition... I have a bad condition right side panel (with missing air duct) but no lower part. I struggle to find it on Ebay (in Europe). But I'll find it (or I'll try to order a replica from LineaMoto in Italy). I also have a (broken) red V fairing but I need to mount the right side before repairing (and mounting) it.

Now I see that the combination of color is not original by not bad (I mean the silver rear is matching the silver bottom of the front fairing).

Cheers.

Thanks for the picture @JZH

Sure when you realize it, seems obvious I used the wrong holes. Just remember when you put it on, you're in the middle of mounting the engine in the frame which I did twice already and is not fun at all... I clearly remember now you have to put one specific bolt first (front right side) and I guess the frame twists itself for the rest to go. Otherwise, this crazy b... never goes in... There's something like 2-3mm between the hole in the frame and the engine mounting point.

I hope I can remove the holders one by one and put them back without issue. Will probably put a jack under the engine to support part of its weight.

I ordered some of the missing bolts from CMS. I know that's crazy expensive (look at the price of the fasteners for the side panels).

So far, I only have experience with Japanese bikes (all 3 of mine come from Japan, only missing a Yamaha and will have one of each 4 brands). What I can say is that if you buy a bike in spare parts, will cost you probably around 100k€... This is insane 🤥

@Gebruiker thanks for the notice. I knew that I had missing bolts and/or incorrect ones. I originally took some pictures of the bike to count how many I need to order from Honda. Then I noticed the wrong placement of the coil holders. 

Additional photos of the holders. The marks tell me my assumption is correct and I mounted them incorrectly. Can anyone confirm?

Hi guys,

I hope you are all fine during those troubled days.

Some update and also some questions. 

I noticed a small oil leak on top of the clutch cover. Seems like there's a cut-in the top crankcase so the pulse generator can get out of the case. It's leaking there. The plastic housing that fits in this cut is not available on its own, you can only get the whole pulse generator... So I will order a new gasket for the clutch cover and will clean and use some crankcase sealant. I will change oil and filter at the same time.

Then I have some fairing questions for you guys.

I found some decent parts for the left part of the bike. 

There are a few broken tab but I feel confident Plastifix will handle it. 

I went to look at the bike to evaluate which bolts and screws I might be missing and here is what I found:

Don't ask me why but it feels like the coil holder seems like it's not in the right place. I am writing this and I feel like the answer is in front of me. The holder bolt should go through the left hole that we can clearly see on the last picture, is that correct?

I hope this is an easy fix since this bolt is holding the engine and I remember well putting the engine in the frame is not an easy task. I am pretty sure I have the same problem on the other side of the bike 😞

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Stay safe.

On mine, the "-" was grounded to the lower triple clamp where I think the horn is grounded too. Not sure this ideal but so far it works great and never generated any hiccups.

In the past, I grounded a LED turn signal relay to the frame of my Bandit 400 (which is steel and not aluminium) and this caused the bike to stop working when I used the turn signals... Back to normal when I used the battery ground terminal instead of the frame. I learned the ground is connected to the engine case and not the frame) even if they are connected to each other.

Hi,

I got the same kind of setup on my bike. Voltmeter is a Koso mounted on the triple clamp (was there when I bought the bike). Removed the almost new RR (pretty sure non genuine Honda but similar) because everyone on Earth knows how crappy it is and replaced it with a Shindengen. I think it's a FAA20 from a 2012 ZX14R. I am still using the original fuse built with the starter relay. This is important to note since with direct connection of the RR to the battery, charging voltage should be around 15V (I have this kind of setup on my Bandit 400).

Here is what I got when running (approx):

- 14.4V when running and lights are off

- 13.6 to 13.7V when running and lights are on

Note that these days (I mean 3 weeks ago before everyone was locked down, damn Covid19...), my battery was 11.9-12.0V before startup (bike sleeps outside under an Oxford cover).

I hope this helps.

Which schedule did you have in mind? Sounds like nothing will happen until April and maybe May. Just read this morning Isle Of Man TT 2020 is cancelled and it was supposed to happen in early June...

On 11/13/2019 at 9:35 PM, Dutchy said:

Found these bikes that were flooded in 2014 in Italy

 

https://www.rpw.it/Riparazioni/MM250_ER/MM250monoalbero.htm

 

https://www.rpw.it/Riparazioni/ArielSQ4MKII/ArielSQ4MKII.htm

 

 

My wife just said...... nope 😄

Damn it, I am 4 days late to celebrate 4 years of this thread 😉

Here is my (late) birthday gift - pics taken today

Quick update on the gas consumption:

Down from 7.75L/100km - 30.35 mpg to 7.0L/100km - 33.6 mpg.

This came with the revised rear tyre (no getting in contact with the swingarm) together with me getting hand on the bike. Only back and forth to work, mainly in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear. 

I can expect to go down to 6.25L/100km - 37.6 mpg when I ride it on B roads limited to 80km/h - 50mph.

Some news again.

I got the rear tyre changed, or more accurately, I learned how to change a motorcycle tyre. With proper Motion Pro tools and plenty of information over the internet, I was able to put the new (old) tyre on my rear rim. I damaged a little bit the gold paint in the process. This is probably a mix of me learning and a no super quality paint job 😞

I need help from a colleague with a proper air compressor to put the bead in place. I did not balance it. It was not. I think the garage I went to put the original tyre back after the paint job does not have what it takes for single sided swingarm / automotive kind of wheel.

Result is tyre does not touch the swingarm anymore which makes me feel safer so I started using it again. Odometer is currently around 99800 km. I do my best to shoot it at 00000km 😉

Also, I removed the dark tainted high screen for an original one. Wind protection feels better. With the high screen, I had all the air deflected right into my helmet which made the situation super noisy. 

Last but not least, my whole stable. All are currently usable 😁

Did only around 500km on mine since restoration. Saw the temp gauge needle go over 25% (like let say 35-40%) but it was like 30+ degrees F here (something like 86-89 degrees F apparently) and I was stuck in traffic waiting for too long. Hopefully, fan works 😉 As long as I ride it, it never goes beyond 25%.

What a story! It reminds me plenty of time when you say to yourself: "But why???" Lucky for you you were able to solve it in the end. Also, rear cylinder spark plugs are easier to access than the front ones. I did not know how to changes plugs without removing the cooling radiator.

Let us know how she runs after you put a new plug in. 

+1 definitely on the tyre(s). Anything older than 5 years old (from manufacturing date) is a no brainer.

19 hours ago, JZH said:

Tyre widths can vary quite a lot.  I discovered this a long time ago when I was doing an NC30 rear wheel conversion using a 5" VFR750 rear wheel.  I measured a mounted 170/60ZR-17 Metzeler on a 5.5" wheel that was 1mm narrower than a mounted 160/60ZR-17 Dunlop on a 5" wheel!

 

But your Dunlop actually seems like it has been badly mounted or has been damaged.

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

Thanks @JZH for the feedback. This seems like the same story for me. For sure, the tyre is good for a replacement, it has been manufactured in 2011 and it's pretty dry. I already felt it sliding at least twice on quick change of direction.

I found a used Michelin Power 3 manufactured in 2017 in 180/55 size for 30€. Will get it and have it mounted then check that this one does not touch the swingarm.

I measured consumption over my last tank. I only run for 6-8 km to go to work, mostly in lower gears so consumption has been pretty high: 7.75L/100km. This corresponds to 30.35mpg (which is pretty low). I hope a correct tyre will have a positive impact on fuel economy.

I keep the bike parked until this is solved. I share the result with you, I hope during July 😉

TBC...

From my own experience, rebuilding almost everything on 2 bikes over the last 9 years (1992 Bandit 400 and a 1993 VFR 750 - visible on the forum), let me recommend this:

Caliper rebuild kit + fork seals:
Get Honda items, way better the generic replacements. I tried replacements but they don't last the same.
For caliper rebuilt - get the seals from Honda and find some red grease, 2000 sandpaper for the pistons and new fluid.

Brake pads front and rear
Go to Brembo website to find the proper reference and then buy them online.

From my record, go for 07HO30.SA for the front. SA is code for red pads which have a very good feeling for road use. I even run them on my Bandit 400 I made 2 track days with.

Air Filter
Find some HIFLO online. Equivalent to OEM but should be cheaper. 

I live in France so I try to source from Europe. Only from US when I find no replacement because shipping and custom tax make it no cheap. 

For Honda part, I use CMS and I am sure I already say the equivalent for US with way lower prices. 

For good online parts store located in the US, I am sure US based members can share their view.

Good luck.

New rear view mirrors from Thurn. VFR800Fi 2000-2001 mirrors.

I flushed the front brakes again and seems ok now. Not impressed with the stopping power but ok for now.

Next is rear tyre replacement. It's from 2011 (ouch) but there's something worse. 

It's a 180/55 which is supposed to be no problem on a 3rd Gen rear wheel bit I noticed again that on some part of the rotation (let say over 10 degrees), the tyre actually touches the swingarm which is really bad!!! It only happens for a small portion of the rotation but I don't like it (and it's not normal). I noticed again when cleaning/greasing the chain yesterday.

I measured the rear tyre width with a caliper and found between 188 and 189 mm (189 is where it comes in contact with the swingarm). I measured on a friend's bike and found 183 mm which seems more in line with the official 180 width.

This is probably linked to some shape change linked to time. It's a Dunlop (made in France BTW) and I hope this being pretty uncommon.

Did anyone ever face this?

Try posting a decent quality video of the engine running so experts can try to evaluate potential damages.

I hope you changed oil before starting it, didn't you?