bdouvill

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?

Hi guys,

I am not quitting, just got plenty of things going on for the last 10 months, including no more garage at my new place and an insane new toy (2009 Kawi Ninja ZX-10R) as a daily driver.

I just got to get my VFR back and ride it. It has been almost 4 years since I got it and "only" slightly less than 300 km. I probably rode around 200 km last summer, then I re-opened the engine to change the valve stem seals which proved to be efficient since the bike is not smoking anymore 😉 I did not ride it enough to measure the final oil consumption. Time will tell.

Next problem to fix is poor stopping power from the front. I rebuilt the calipers but I need to check I flushed them properly, might be some air trapped into the circuit.

Rear brake is working fine but lever is bent (from a previous crash?) so it makes it difficult to find with my right foot. Will have to find only the lever and that will be fine.

Also I am about to switch to late VFR800i mirrors from Thurn because mine are broken (both). Security first, look will come after.

To be continued...

It looks awesome, I love it. 

After being parked for 6 months, I will get mine tonight. I wish it looked like yours 😉

Don't hesitate to comment on the Thurn 3-part front fairing. I believe it's the best option out there but still thinking about it before spending 700€ on it.

Thanks.

I put (more or less) into the original location but had to drill some holes (if I remember well).

I did not ride it enough to have a proper feedback, this location is known not to be the best for cooling (God that engines makes heat...) but I cannot be worst than the original crappy regulator.

I hope this helps.

40 minutes ago, Dutchy said:

Gillet jaune!!!  

Nope Dutchy, this is just my rain suit. I would have never tought that I would be trendy one day with that suit 😉

Hi guys,

Plenty of things going on in my life recently like new house, no more garage (...), new job, same wife hopefully 😉

My Bandit is stuck with strange electrical gremlins mixed with carb issues since last November (more than 3 month ago), I barely finished my VFR restoration and rode it for something like 150 km just before I moved to my new place. My friend offered me to borrow his 2007 Triumph Street Triple 675 (he barely uses it) in exchange of good care (and catching up on the maintenance). My wife told me I would need to buy a more recent motorcycle (understand MY>2000 and fuel injected) since it would sleep outside (related to the new house - no garage thread). She told me to buy the Triumph, I told her if I was to spend like 3 to 4 k€ in a bike, that should rather be closer to my dream bike (one that would wake me up at night like my wife said). In the end, I found a Kawi ZX-10R would be a perfect daily ride to commute to work.

So here they are, all the bikes I currently own:

I repaired a center nose fairing. Fortunately, it was in dark green as well. I can't wait to get it back and ride it.

I have the custody of this one: 

And my new toy - that's the French 106 BHP restricted version, but I have the parts to unleash the  full 188 poneys (for racetracks only) 

As soon as I can, I try to make a picture with all 3 (4?) bikes on it.

I can't wait for better days/wheather so I can try to solve the Bandit issue(s). Also, that will be the opportunity to go riding with my wife as a passenger on the VFR. I 'll keep the Ninja for solo rides and have to register for trackdays in 2019 but with which bike - Bandit or Kawi? 

And I just noticed that I started this thread 3 years ago (and 6 days). It's definitely the time to ride it...

Because I don't want to accept easily the defeat, I dismantled the engine again... 

I removed it from the engine, removed the 2 cylinder heads to change the valve seals. I took this opportunity to lap all 16 valves properly with this tool which worked great. The seal I got from the Bay were fine. Some old one were ovals, no surprise they were leaking.

That was obviously before:

and after the lapping

The whole thing took me more time that I thought. Engine is now back in the frame and I synch'ed this bad girl. Fires like a charm and gone is the white oil smoke 😉

I am currently in the brake rebuild process: new seals and lot of red grease, braided lines, new fluid.

Let's hope I can run it again before Christmas.

I found what I was looking for. It's the item #19 on this page. Should be direct swap for 3rd gen.

On 8/1/2018 at 10:28 AM, BiKenG said:

 

I'm 99% certain the 4th Gen parts could be used on a 3rd Gen and I'm 100% certain that one way or another, using 4th Gen and/or similar parts from other Hondas, you'd be able to get a Honda electronic speedo drive on a 3rd Gen.

  

But there are other ways to pick up a speed signal with a small sensor attached by the wheel and picking up from a moving part, often a special disc bolt. The best method rather depends on what the ultimate goal is and what dash you intend to be using.

I only rode my 3rd gen for about 250km and I have reopened the engine so won't be riding it for a few weeks.

I have no clear view of which dash I 'd like to use but I noticed the speed indicated in the original 3rd gen dash is for from being accurate (at least on my bike). Seems like when I am riding at something that feels like 20kph, dash tells me something like 40kph. Not the best since I want it to be my daily ride to go to work and beyond. I need to put it back on the streets and do a basic speed comparison with any mobile phone app so I have a clearer ideas.

I really like what @douglasthecook did with his 4th gen because I really like the CBR 1000 dash (from 2008 to 2012). Also seems like @SoCal97VFR option to use 600 CBR dash is pretty smart since you can keep the fuel gauge. Will probably go for one of this two options. In all cases, I'd like to use Honda parts if they are direct swaps. 

So far, I quickly browsed the microfiche. Of course, sprocket covers have different references between 3rd gen and 4th gen like almost all engine parts but it does not 100% mean they are not interchangeables. My problem is that I don't see where the you'd connect a wire on the 4th gen sprocket cover to get the speed signal. Most obvious reason might be that I am not looking at the right place 😉 Any idea where this sensor might be?

On 7/19/2018 at 1:13 AM, JZH said:

Third-gen VFRs have mechanical speedometers, so they require a separate wheel speed sensor, which you have to locate somewhere next to one of the bike's spinning bits.  Fourth-gen and above already have electronic speed sensors, so it's just a matter of tapping into the wiring.

So I guess there's a difference in the engine accessories. Do you know if that specific part of 4th gen engine would make is way on 3rg gen engine as a direct swap? I haven't look at the microfiches yet.

The story continues...

So today was my 2nd ride. I went to work back and forth 2 times (I went back home for lunch) for an incredible total of 48km, yeehah!!!! 

It went smoothly, fires really quick at startup, no weird things, that was really cool... except for the temperature... This thing is so hot, I feel like she's trying to rost me 

Good thing is that white smoke really dropped even if still there, but that is less dramatic than during my first ride. I'll check the oil level tomorrow but I think I will barely notice the difference in terms of oil level.

I quickly bleeded the front brake last week-end (I know this should not be done quickly...). But they need a rebuild. Since I did exactly that last week on my Bandit (I have a track day planned in 10 days), I figured this is not rocket science and seals are cheap. Original brake lines will be replaced by braided ones. I see later for new pads (I like red Brembos).

Also, I need to address the front fork. I think the stem nut is not tighten enough so I feel (what I believe is) movements on bumps. Also, there might be some preload missing. I'll address that during the weekend.

Here are 2 pictures from work.

Note about the white smoke:

I bought from the bay a valve seal kit from a seller in Sweden (39€ vs 160€ at Honda) and received it yesterday. This seems good quality but I wonder why all 16 look identical when Honda has 2 references (1 for intake, the other for exhaust). The sellers told me his records says they should be the same. 

Anyone who know if they are supposed to be identical or not?

7 hours ago, sfdownhill said:

Just jumping in on the flooding part of this topic. How to properly flood a motorcycle:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EtHUzfdYqE

Sounds like I did all of those things including praying 😉

And this is finally time for my first ride report, like for real folks!!!!

Date:

01 July 2018 - not far from 3 years after I collected her. Seemed like an eternity.

Conditions:

Fu$%ing way too hot in full (summer) gears. It was 02:00PM and like 30 degrees C (86 deg F apparently), no wind.

General idea:

Go to the gas station, put some gas and put tyres to correct pressure, and ride it in the neighborhood so if it stalls for any reason, I can push it back to home (neighborhood is more or less flat, rather more than less if I have to push the bike).

Rationale:

My baby Bandit (she still has no name) failed for various reason in various locations, lots of memories I'd like to avoid repeating. That includes no more gas (classical), forgot to open the reserve (also classical), broken throttle cable (that is scary when someone might be right behind you), fuel tap closing for no reason... on the highway (super scary), bike stalling when hot (ring on one of the 4 spark plugs got crooked between the plug and the engine so air gap when hot),...

Previously in this thread:

Current state is that engine is smoking some oil. My friend (the ex-mechanic) told me to ride it so we can assess whether this phenomenon drops with use or not. Then we assess what to do next (probably open the engine again and change the valve seats). 

I rode only 1 km to the gas station, waited long in the sun to access the tyre air pump. Then I rode it for only 5 km and that was enough for the day.  Here are my thoughts on this first ride:

- It starts well, even if not started for something like 10 days. Idle is good considering I never synched it with an angled screwdriver (remember I burnt my hand back in September last year). Overall, this is not bad. 

- The Koso voltmeter in the cockpit is nice to have. For now, voltage stays in the 14.1V range when operating. I think I did a good job with the harness to adapt the Shindengen RR.

- The engine character is different from my 1992 Bandit 400 which is an inline 4. This is the only machine I have a decent experience with. I have it since 2010 and made almost 33 000 km with it (the odometer is currently around 99500 km). Next is 100 km I made with my friend 2008 Triumph Street Triple 675. I only rode Vivian for 6 kilometers this day and really slow (I only reached 60 km/h, in city), I don't think I went over 6000 rpm even once, more in the 2000 to 4000 rpm range and all l can tell for now is that is different. More vibey. I am pretty sure you might tell me this is Vivian's soul but I need to reset my mind because this is something else compared to the Bandit. Especially since I really like the smoothness of the inline 4 engine. 

- Brakes: this is a problem. Rear is ok but front is nowhere near decent. Was ok when moving the bike inside the garage or at very low speed when I tested her but now that's a real issue. To be honest, I did not even flushed them (neither from nor rear) because as always, I am torn between doing everything at once (new braided lines, new fluids, new pads maybe, new seals surely) and doing things step by step. But since I want more experience with it, I will flush the front at the end of the week so I can ride it again and longer (and faster maybe).

- Now the real issue: the oil smoke. As long as you ride it, it's ok because you don't notice but when you stop, it's smoking like crazy. You can clearly see white smoke coming out of the exhaust and it stinks. It's worse than any scooter from any pizza delivery guy around here (for US reader: in France at least, those guys are still running 50cc 2 strokes scooter). This is why I stopped after only 5 km because you never know the oil level before the oil pressure indicator pops out. I thought that was enough in terms of emotions so I put it back in the garage.

I checked the oil level the following day and it was still to the maximum. Next is new fluid for the front brake then I try to ride it to work (10 km in the morning, 10 in the evening) and will check the oil level to see how it goes.

To finish, a few pictures. She looks like I got it from a demolition derby.

The 2 bikes together, I am officially suffering from multiple bike disorder 😉

I only have the 2 main parts of the top front fairing, in very bad shape (but I paid only 35 euros for them). The mirrors are the original and both broken. The previous owner gave me 2 brand new mirrors which are not OEM but are officially crap (they don't stay in place). Screen is I think an Ermax - touring version in dark green. I don't like it but it's ok for now. I do prefer the kind of screen John (@750 ) has on his VFR. I believe it's a Skidmark double bubble screen. Shape is more modern and I like it when transparent of lightly tainted.

To be continued (again)...

11 hours ago, JZH said:

Is this what you mean?

 
I don't have the fairing (or the cables--they're attached to the fairing) on the bike at the moment, but it's not complicated to get them to where they need to be at the tank.
 
Ciao,

@JZH I figured how they connect to the lever as we see on your pic, but I don't understand the route around the coil that is managing the left rear cylinder. I would appreciate if you could share some pictures

Envoyé de mon SM-A510F en utilisant Tapatalk
 

Hi @Dutchy

https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-vfr750f-1993-p-france_model5630/partslist/F__0200.html#.Wx6-Ue6FM3g

#2 is the light bulb for indicators and dashboard lightening, this is a W5W. The lightening for the clock is #3 and apparently bulb comes with holder. If it's only a few Euros, I will order it with my next parts order. Unless I can find a standard reference since it looks a lot like this:

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/r509tybk-1.4w-t5-14v-1.4w-indicator-and-panel-bulb-black-base.html

Another basic question:

The clock light bulb is broken and I cannot figure the bulb reference or if this must come as one part (bulb and holder).

I was able to use a car one but it's too deeps and I cannot close the cover 😞

Back home, I browsed the service manual and cannot find how to route the reserve cables. Anyone who could share a pic or the reference to the manual page?

Thanks in advance. 

So I spent some time in the garage this week-end again. There is still like a lot of work before I can run it safely on the streets.

I mounted the tail - still some bolts missing and one locking tab is broken. Need to start looking for good tutorials for fairing repair.

I put in place to see what it's like with the only front fairing that I have...

The previous owner gave me the windscreen. I found the 2 parts of the top fairing for 35€ on the internet. They look really bad, lots of locking tab broken (at least half of them), good side is that they came with the real color from the motorcycle 😉

I need to find a decent fairing bolt kit from Ebay, there are plenty but I am not sure which one are ok... Any advice?

The other good news is that I rode Vivian!!!!! Not on open road since I have no insurance yet but look at the dashboard:

I rode it for 1.1km. Seems like it pulls harder than my Bandit 400 - I can wait to really taste that engine 🙂

Still plenty of work to ride it on open roads, at least:

- get all the front fairing properly secured

- flush the brakes

- understand the route for the reserve cables (I had no service manual with me in the garage)

TBC.