keithbob

Okay - here's a photo of my wife, Jalene, and I with the Y2K we had waaaaay back when - I think this was taken in 2006 by Loni whose VFRD avatar I can't even remember. Next photo is of Jalene on her bike down in Argentina, not far out of Bariloche. That was in 2016, when we were on our way down to Tierra del Fuego. We quit our jobs in 2015, packed up the house and rented it out, and lived on the bikes for two years. We got back in July of 2017. The third picture is me a little further south, in Chile along a section of the Carreterra Austral. Now we're back in Oregon, assimilating back into North American life (what the hell?) and trying not to just bolt for the border again. The story and lots of photos can be found on our website: www.southonabike.com If any of you are considering chucking it and taking a loooong trip, and want any information, start there first. It's amazing, and I can tell you how to do it - just up and quit and take off for a couple of years. Life changes, yes, but that's the whole point, now isn't it? I washed off the "new" VFR in the rain this morning in preparation for plastic removal - it really cleaned up well with soap and water, and I'm more optimistic about what shape I'll find things in. Oil & filter change, new hoses, thermostat & coolant, air filter to begin with. Valve check (I doubt I'll need any shims), plugs, rebuild the forks. Steering head bearings check okay, tires are good. Things things are like Civics, just feed 'em and ride 'em. My Y2K needed 2 shims at 20,000 miles and when I checked them next at 70K everything was still in spec. Gotta love Hondas. We traveled on BMW F650s, and they were pretty bulletproof, but they still were not are worry-free as a VFR. Once a VFR is sorted, it's rock solid.

Hi all- I belonged to VFRD for many years - some of you may remember me and my yellow 5th-gen. I live out in Newport, Oregon and we hosted one of the early Pac-West meets out here in 2006. The yellow VFR was sold several years back when I got into the GS thing, but recently a red 98 5th-gen has found it's way back into my garage, so it's "Hello again" to VFRD. The bike is complete but has sat for quite awhile. I'll clean it up and ride it, but will likely be selling it come closer to summer. Keep that in mind if you're looking for a 5th-gen with everything present and functioning. I fired it up this afternoon and it seems in good running order. Now comes the teardown and thorough sorting through. It has 50K miles and has sat in the garage for years. It has some coastal corrosion, not too bad, but it's all there and working. The cool thing is I have known the guy for a long, long time and we used to ride our VFRs together locally years ago. He was at the 2006 meet here, so some of you met him, and that bike, when we all had the bikes hosted at the Rogue Brewery that night. When I fired it up this afternoon there was a pretty foul smell that rose up, I wonder if I should have looked in the airbox first... Questions for the crowd - are VFRnesses still available? It may have some grounding issues, no news there, and I'll sort that out. I think that's about all it really needs besides the usual VFR TLC. I'll also install a voltmeter while I'm at it. Other than that I'm going to leave it stock. There are almost no mods on this bike. Anyway, I'm back, and it would be fun to know if any of you still hang out on here after all these years away. As always, moto-travelers always have a spare bed here on the Oregon Coast. All the best- Keithbob

I have a factory service manual for an 82-83 VF750S Sabre if anyone out there owing one. A bit of VFR pre-history, I owned an 82 for 30+ years and just recently let it go. (I still can't figure out why I sold the '00 VFR...) We're packing up the house in prep for a 2-yr trip on the bikes to South America, so it's FREE to a good home, just PM me an address to send it to. Keith

Judi just reminded me that we put the stone down off the road (and the Ranger's won't know about it) because we did it on our own without permission. So it's best not to ask anyone official about it and draw attention. Not to seem selfish, but it's really just for us who know where to look, and who had a connection to Rich (that's all you VFRD folks, whether you met him or not). But they did put up that great sign for us! Thanks everyone, for the kind words and memories. And if I wasn't hosting a BMW campout the weekend of the Oregon Trails thing, I'd have to crash it and say hi to olds friends. I'd love to show you what tuned aftermarket suspension on a GS allows you to do to a front tire - amazing!

We now have a perfect marker for finding the stone we set that marks where Rich came to rest! Head up Mary's Peak Road off of Hwy 34 until you come to Parker Creek Falls. Turn around and go back down maybe 150-200 yards. Exactly where he left the road, there is now an "ELEVATION 3000 FT" sign. In the photos below, you can see the sign, and my GS is parked directly above where the stone was placed, about 30-40 feet down from the road. You will see a large log, maybe 4' dia., lying at the base of the tree that it snapped off of. From the elevation sign, angle down to the left and you will find the marker stone just above the log. Pretty neat. There's even room to park a few bikes in the grass by the signpost. The forest is always changing, and the pine needles and duff have built up around the coffee cup and shoes, which are taking on a nice green from the moss. I cleared away the sticks and such, but left the natural buildup of things. It doesn't seem like 8 years have passed, but they have. As for me, I'm doing just great out here, and continue to have adventures on the GS, aka Shrek or The Horse or The Big Pig depending on what I'm traversing at the moment. I continue to check in here from time to time, and it seems things are carrying on in fine order, typical fashion. I may have to show up at another VFRD event to check in with old friends. One of my great memories is having 33 VFRs parked in my driveway when we had you all here in Newport in 2006. So if you go up to Mary's Peak and you were a friend of Rich's, or even if you never met him, now it's easy to find his marker. Remember, he loved his coffee, so if you pack a thermos, spare him a drop or two in his cup. Afterwards you'll need to go down to Alsea and have pie at Deb's. How the stone looks today- You really owe it to yourself to have lunch here. It's a regular stop for us locals.

The marker itself is down off the road, and there is no marker to tell you where to look. And things have changed a little since they re-paved a section of road there. Next time I'm up there I'll note the landmarks on the road by it, and maybe put a secret paint mark on the edge where you go down to it. It's quite unofficial, so the ranger would have no knowledge of it. I'll post up again with how to find it. Maybe the GPS coordinates, too. Thanks for thinking of Rich. I still drop in to VFRD from time to time, even though the VFR was sold quite a while ago. At least I still have the Saber in the garage to give me that old V4 feeling.

A Honda factory part, supplied through the marine parts catalog. Waterproof. I think it cost me about $35 3-4 years ago. 2" hole in the LH fairing, wired to switched power off a relay. Lots of people thought it dead stock.

Yeah yell me about it. I have had the cutting out when slowing down before... many years ago. The solution for me was to tidy up the battery terminals and refit the connections (thought the battery was moving under braking) And I also up'ed the idle. Never happened again. Dunno if this was truely what was wrong I would like to know what causes the surge when the PCII is disconnected? And the stalling when you tried the other ecu (by itself)? My bike just surges a slight bit in parking lots, I hear its very common and thats why most folks buy Power Commander to get rid of that surge. I did not try the ECU by itself, it tried it with the PC and it did stall. So that ruled out my ECU. We did the Starter valve sync and it helped the starting. The injectors must of been partially clogged as the Seafoam helped the bike run stronger on the low end. I put the Power Commander back in and its still doing it. I tried multiple maps and any time I get near 2750-3000 its like hitting the rev limiter and it just cuts out until it drops below 2750 and its back on. The bike does it with a load and without ( aka sitting in drive way, in neutral and just giving it throttle until it hits 2750 ish. It didn't seem to do it on the other bike. Grounds? If it was a grounding issue it would happen without the power commander. I had a similar issue when I put a factory-new PC-II in my yellow '00 in 2005. Turns out the "ignition side" of the PC-II (whatever...) was not working correctly and the factory had me send it back. Their "fix" was to disable the ignition side of the PC-II, after which the bike quit cutting out under certain just-off-idle conditions. It would actually quit running for a second or two, often when in the middle of an intersection or some other perfect place. You might call DynoJet and see if this is what they think. After that fix, the mid-range flat spot disappeared with a little map massage and it runs beautifully. Had to change all the 9s to 8s in the map to make the FI light quit coming on. Dynojet said that was the norm for bikes living right at sea level. I'm glad I persevered. Good luck! BTW, we will be in Boise on the GS in late July.....

I've plugged a tire while touring two-up and loaded, with good results. I too use the gummy ropes. Once we plugged a tire mid-morning and then rode through 109 degrees in the afternoon just fine, though I was a bit nervous and held the speed down that day. I used the tires till they were worn out. I think I've plugged tires twice or three times over the years. Carrying a plug kit and a teeny 12v pump has saved the day and I always have one aboard now.

Off work tomorrow - will anyone still be there (Friday)? I'm at least going for a ride somewhere and have some fun while I sulk. If not, se la vie - everyone ride safe on the way out and homeward. Jalene and I will look for you in 2012 or on our rides if we pass through your area. We are talking about a trans-Canada next summer. keithbob and Mrs. keithbob

Understood, responsibilities sometimes get in the way of fun. Now to clarify what you meant by "I owe you two beers." Did you mean you owe me two beers or you owe the two of us a beer each or you owe the two of us two beers each? Just trying to get my :fing02: :fing02: :blink: :beer: in a row. :blush: Ummm, you may have to come down here in the end to get those beers. It's now looking so grim and doubtful about Mr. & Mrs. keithbob making the meet that we've cancelled our reservations at Edgefield, and simply hope that we can break away for the Friday to ride up there, maybe showing up Thursday nite. Of course, anyone that wants to come through Newport before or after will have a camping spot in our backyard, and a willing local guide to Coast Range roads. I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing. :mad:

Damn, that hurts! I hope something can be worked out. Many thanks to Didit and Choco for lifting most of the burden of the shirts and logo off me. Sorry, but there is just too much in life right now and some things are getting dropped. It's nice to have VFRD friends that will pick up the slack for us. I owe you two beers for sure! And a Great Job on the logo and T, too! I've never posted the logo in my signature before a meet, but at least I can get that done. Jalene and I intend on making at least some of the meet, but it's likely to be later in the week. I know that I have the Friday off, at least, but can't count on much more than that. And we should be free for the weekends before and after - our house is always open for VFRD visitors coming down the coast.

I'm in Newport... The OR coast is a long strip, where are you at?