JZH

FWIW, the following information (relating to an RC36) is from my bearings page: Steering stem bearing—upper angular contact ball 91015-KT8-005 32005X Japan MCI 26 47 15 (note ID—must be 26mm) steering stem bearing—upper tapered roller 91015-425-832 N/A 26 47 15 (note ID—must be 26mm) steering stem bearing dust seal—upper 53214-KA4-701 N/A 27 48 4 metal ring with rubber edge steering stem bearing—lower angular contact ball 91016-KT8-005 32006JR Japan MCI 30 55 17 steering stem bearing—lower tapered roller 91016-371-000 N/A 30 55 17 (32006JRRS— has integral dust seal) steering stem bearing dust seal—lower 53214-371-010 N/A 31 56 4 metal ring with rubber edge Those are the Honda part numbers and the bearing dimensions/names of the steering stem bearings (both tapered and ball). IIRC, US dealers used to get their tapered sets from wholesale suppliers like K&L or Parts Unlimited. I've had those sets in the past, and one of the brands I know of was Parts Plus (they were, like All Balls, simply re-packaged industrial bearings--in this case, the bearings were manufactured by MCI, which is a Koyo subsidiary in Italy). Ciao, JZH

The 'ol Kerker left-exit half-system... I bet it's loud! Ciao, JZH

Many high mounts are tucked in pretty close already, so spacing one of the racks out a little bit more to clear it is hardly noticeable. Alternatively, getting a spare low-mount pipe for touring, as mentioned, is an easy option. Ciao, JZH

Honda alloy triple clamps usually have the part's PCN cast into the bottom somewhere, e.g., "MT4" for a '90-'92 VFR750F, "MGB" for a '98-'01 VFR800Fi. Those holes actually look smaller than the top, and the offset looks smaller (30mm vs 40mm?), too, so maybe it came off an earlier or sportier model? I don't recognise it, and I have many Honda triple clamps lying around... Never assume an eBay find is what the seller says it is! Ciao, JZH

I'm surprised that it is so difficult to find basic industrial bearings and seals in the USA. I've had no problems at all finding "proper" bearing and seal suppliers in the UK and EU over the last 25 years or so. The only one I know of in the USA is/was CBR Bearing, but this company seems to have exited the retail side of the market. Here are a few of the European online bearing suppliers I've used in the past: https://www.123bearing.co.uk/ https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/ https://www.onlinebearings.co.uk/home.php The safest thing to do, of course, is to buy all of your parts from Honda. Ciao, JZH

I had a set of Genmars one time, and IIRC the caps were press-fit chrome-plated steel, which eventually rusted. IMHO, a rubber cap or blank grommet would probably look (and function) better... Ciao, JZH

The "quality" issue is directly related to the fact that All Balls doesn't make bearings. They just buy standard industrial bearings in bulk (from wherever) and re-package them for the motorcycle aftermarket. If they only sold SKF, Timken, Nachi, NTN, etc., then there would be no issue at all. Do they? Or do they buy cheaper bearings? Anyone got a set on hand? The manufacturer's name will be etched into the edge. Ciao, JZH

Hi JZH, Thank you for your donation of 100.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

Assuming it is simply a matter of the connectors, that's not going to be easy...but it should be possible. Japanese automotive manufacturers nearly always use outsourced connectors and terminals, which are all available in the aftermarket in Japan, so it is a matter of identifying the exact connector manufacturer and connector family and tracking down the associated terminals, seals, etc. A good source is https://www.hi-1000ec.com/, but you may need to do more research elsewhere. Another, more motorcycle-focused source is https://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Connectors/connectors.html. In the US (you may get lucky), try https://cycleterminal.com/. Note also, that many of these specialist terminals require the use of special (and expensive) crimpers: you CANNOT get good results using the wrong crimper! Ciao, JZH

That looks like the OEM reg/rec, with the original spec (flat fins). Honda replaced this model reg/rec with a different one with a curved fin profile, but you'd really be better off upgrading to a MOSFET or series-type reg/rec. The stator wires appear to be overheated, which could be due to corrosion on the plug terminals, or (when considered along with your bulb-blowing problem) due to the reg/rec outputting excess voltage when hot (or both). My suggestions: 1. Get a new reg/rec (not the OEM one); they are hard to test because they can sometimes read okay until they get up to a high operating temperature 2. Cut off the stator connector and splice those wires together permanently (which eliminates the corrosion problem), being sure to seal the joints 3. Your battery may very well also have been damaged, from the over-voltage, so load test it or just replace it 4. Check all of the other electrical connectors in the charging system for signs of overheating (clean and slather with dielectric grease to prevent further corrosion) Ciao, JZH

I had a Corbin on a CBR1000FP which was absolutely torturous (the push-back problem combined with a long OEM reach to the bars), but the Corbin Smuggler (half-seat) on my VFR800FIY is perfect. But I've never compared Corbin/Sargent on the same bike. Ciao, JZH

As the original owner of a '90 VFR750FL who powder coated the wheels black in 1992, all I can say is: once you go black, you don't go back... (That said, black wheels on a white bike would look weird.) Ciao, JZH

I'm now potentially interested in a set, too, so I will continue to watch this thread... Ciao, JZH

It did seem a pretty crap way to decide a championship, but given that it's F1, I wasn't particularly surprised... Ciao, JZH

Sure, that's a sealed Delphi Metri-Pack 280 6P female connector, TPA and terminals, holding three ATM fuses and topped with a cover. Very handy for adding three light-duty circuits. https://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Fuseholders/body_fuseholders.html The set-up in that pic has been there since 2014, but I seldom ride that bike, so unfortunately it's not like it's been used in anger for six years... Ciao, JZH

This is not a Wolf, but here's how I addressed the heat problem on my custom Laser underseats. The PGM-FI unit is attached to the underside of a Home Depot/OSH-sourced alloy sheet with outdoor Scotch Dual Lock tape, so it doesn't touch the hot alloy undertray at all. The cut-outs are to clear the seat mounting points. I didn't bother with nut-serts--the fasteners are screwed into tapped holes in the subframe (but I would probably use nut-serts if I were to do this again). Ciao, JZH

That's more like what I was looking for in my pics folder. I think we can file it under "design flaw"... Ciao, JZH

I don't use a 90-degree screwdriver, but a 9-degree nut driver (hex socket on the end), so once on it doesn't tend to fall off. I probably got it at M&P or someplace like that. Ciao, JZH

It would be a mess. The fluting would defeat the focusing provided by the parabolic reflector, convex lens and cut-off mechanism of the projector. In addition to the fluting and/or reflector contouring, the standard H4 bulb is also rotated to a different position for LHD and RHD versions of the same headlight. When I brought my US-spec ST1300 over to the UK I swapped in a UK-spec headlight unit, and then when I relocated that bike to Italy I swapped that for a German-spec headlight unit. I have comparison photos showing the differences of all three of these headlight units (DOT, Euro-RHD and Euro-LHD). For my (1993) FP I was thinking about (slowly) grinding down a circular section of the fluting on the inside of the glass lens to allow the projector beam a clear exit, but this is something I have no experience with and I've never actually attempted to do. I have the glass portion separated from the reflector and housing , but I have never got 'round to setting up the drill press and some sort of abrasive pad with different grits, which I think is what would be required to create a clear section in the existing lens. Alternatively, the glass lens could be replaced entirely by a curved polycarbonate sheet, such as a "lens protector", usually attached to the outside of the lens with little sticky Scotchlock pads. But some sort of housing would need to be created to protect the projector from the elements. For those reasons, it is much simpler to do a xenon retrofit in a housing which does not feature a fluted lens, such as a 5th gen or later bike. For those, it's just: replace reflector with projector, and you're done. Ciao, JZH

Well, unless it looks like this: That's the only pic I could find quickly, but I've seen them with cracks in all three places. Ciao, JZH

I think most people can tell when they're being blinded by an HID conversion, vs an halogen. The colour of the light is the most obvious clue. Reflectors really cannot properly reflect a light source which is substantially beyond the spec they were designed to handle. Light follows the rules of physics, and the physics shows that no other result is possible. But the proof is in the pudding: nearly every beam pattern photo I've ever seen shows clear light flares over the cut-off on these kinds of conversions. The only question is: how bad is the effect? See paragraph 1. -=-=-=- I've done a few xenon retrofits over the years and I have attempted a few others, the latest being for my Hiace van. Because I live in the UK I also have to contend with the cut-off being on the wrong side when I drive in Europe, and I've found very few truly switchable OEM xenon projectors. Most of the ones with the ability to adjust the cut-off for Continental driving just make the cut-off horizontal across the entire width of the beam. That works, but is not quite good enough! I have found that certain BMW M3 projector headlights actually allow the left-side cut off to be physically switched to a right-side cut off, but I have yet to try to mount these in a headlight unit. (FYI, they are from the E90-91 (pre-LCI) UK-spec M3s, and they are made by ZKW.) The projectors themselves are more plasticky than I'd like, but they should work. I might try to put one in a bike headlight if they do. Ciao, JZH

Keep checking eBay for the part or for bikes being broken. It's not a part which tends to get damaged, so there are certainly many out there somewhere... Ciao, JZH

Check starter clutch for the telltale cracks. It's easy enough to do. (Not so easy to fix, given the unavailability of parts...) Good luck. Ciao, JZH

The top triple/bridge is the same for all RC36, but the lower stem must have some difference which caused it to have a different part number for '94-'97. I don't know what that difference was, but it could have been minor. Ciao, JZH

From the Honda Parts Catalogues, it appears that the change was made as a mid-year update during the 2000 model run. My US Y2k doesn't have them; my UK '01 does. They may solve the problem, but I think they look horrible, so I've bought a smooth one to replace the one on my '01. (We don't have to worry about sun in the UK anyway!) Ciao, JZH