JZH

They do get rid of the heavy collector box, so there's probably some weight savings. Ciao, JZH

No idea, but they make a good place to feed the brake line through the swing arm. I've seen people epoxy screens over them; I've seen people fill the whole thing with expanding foam. I wouldn't bother plugging the drain hole: the grit probably entered through the large holes anyway. Ciao, JZH

They are vent hoses. Don't plug them! Ciao, JZH

Honda doesn't say what grade these bolts are, but they do suggest they are not standard bolts by identifying them as "ALOC bolt/screw". All of the ALOC bolts I've seen have a dry substance applied to them when new, which I suspect is a threadlock of some kind. (However, being dry, possibly this does not significantly affect the torque reading.) At various times I have asked Honda to explain the true purpose/function of its "ALOC" fasteners, but I've never received any response that made sense. I was probably asking the wrong people! Ciao, JZH

Yeah! (And I'm looking at the shop...) Ciao, JZH

Oh, right. I no longer use the lower metal fairing pieces on my bike. Forgot about that "little detail"... Ciao, JZH

For rubber carb parts, try LiteTek in (of all places) Thailand. There's nothing wrong with OEM cable, but OEM connectors on VFRs are notorious for suffering from corrosion. I do not replace unsealed OEM connectors with sealed ones (the cost and effort would not be worth it), but I do make sure that the terminals are covered in dielectric grease to seal out moisture. However, if I'm installing a new circuit I generally use Delphi Metri-Pack sealed connectors, which are good quality and available everywhere. Ciao, JZH

Ah, the ol' Honda 2" wide blue 'leccy tape... Yes, it can be found (along with the brass crimp wire splices) if you search long enough. One thing that's surprisingly hard to find in the US (as opposed to the UK) is thin-wall cable in a multitude of colors, if for example you need to re-build a wiring harness and want to use OEM wire colors. The thinner sizes (0.5mm2 and 1.0mm2) come in up to 100 solid and striped combinations. (The cheapest source I've found in the UK for 1m lengths is ALM Solutions, btw.) For absolutely authentic OEM cable (most of what I've seen is locally manufactured and not exactly the same as OEM) you can visit www.hi-1000ec.com, which is a Japanese site selling mainly OEM electrical connectors, but they also stock Sumitomo automotive cable which looks just like OEM. But that's a bit extreme--even for me! Ciao, JZH

I just use titanium fasteners, with thread lock, at a reduced installation torque (assuming I remember...). Ciao, JZH

The pump usually lasts longer than the contacts on the end of it. I once bought a replacement set of points from a Dutch guy on ADV Rider, but his version used an optical trigger instead of mechanical contacts. I think it was sold for an Africa Twin or some sort of big KTM, but the same Mitsubishi pump fits a lot of bikes... Ciao, JZH

Not sure about the pedal itself, but the entire footpeg assembly swaps over. I currently have 4th gen footpeg assemblies on my 3rd gen. Ciao, JZH

Check out Cycle Terminal for replacement connectors and terminals (they're not expensive). Welcome and good luck! Ciao, JZH

My experience with aftermarket mirrors has always been bad, so I always pay more for new or used OEM mirrors. There is a noticeable difference in quality, IMHO. Ciao, JZH

As mentioned above, you can get a lot of information from the Parts Catalogues, but there are many fasteners which are non-standard or simply are not described in enough detail. Go to Titan Classics to see which non-standard Honda fasteners are available. But if you're going to be replacing things like swing arm pivots with titanium, your upgrade project will start to get rather expensive! I would never replace everything with stainless steel, because the material is not as strong as OEM steel, but there are many applications where the difference won't matter. So I've kept the OEM steel for most of the big bolts, swapped most other accessible fasteners with A2 stainless, except those which are mission-critical (e.g., sprocket, disc and caliper bolts), which I have replaced with titanium. I never use aluminum fasteners for anything. Bottom line is that I've replaced many OEM fasteners with either stainless or titanium on my bikes (the FP in particular), but (even) I've never tried to replace everything--even on just the engine. Good luck! Ciao, JZH

Sorry, I'd thought it was obvious. Most car-related accidents happen on normal roads, rather than motorways, where speeds are lower but the dangers are much greater. Do you not agree that motorways are "safer" than city streets? Accordingly, citing statistics proving that motorways are "safer" than the roads where most of the accidents occur seems a bit pointless, as those types of roads do not feature in most of the accidents. So if we look only at speeds on normal roads, where the problem is, it becomes (I would hope) logically clearer that when that traffic moves faster and the hazards remain the same, the danger increases. Out in the sticks, higher speed matters much less. Ciao, JZH

Donning my Riders.org t-shirt this afternoon I realised that I haven't seen Randy Mamola around MotoGP for a while. Any idea what he's up to these days? Cheers, JZH

Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure is to pull the forks apart again and check everything again... Ciao, JZH

"For profit" is a bit exaggerated. There is no getting around the fact that lower speeds are statistically safer, so "saving lives" will always be a powerful justification for reducing speeds--and for some people, that means at any price. We just have to elect the ones who think the price we pay now is already reasonable. Ciao, JZH

Honda uses color-coded wires, so any black ones are probably the alarm wires. Ciao, JZH

Undercover police catching speeders is a thing in some police constabularies in the UK, but it's not universal. They tend to operate in the usual "hot spots" like the Cat & Fiddle Pass. They've got similar things in many European countries, e.g., France, where private contractors loaded up with ANPR and camera recording equipment drive around (speeding) on the motorways... Soon we won't have to worry about getting caught speeding on our motorbikes--we won't have any motorbikes! Ciao, JZH

Sorry to hear that. I own two Aprilias and, while the fit and finish isn't quite "Honda-like", it's generally pretty good. But these are older, niche models (RS250 and SXV550), which may have been built differently than the latest models. Ciao, JZH

Go here: https://www.bike-parts-honda.com/honda-motorcycle/750-MOTO/VFR/1989/VFR750FK/Frame/FRONT-WHEEL-2-/13ML7G41/F__1101/2/10184 Wheel paint codes are often noted in the Honda Parts Catalogues, and in this case what that tells me is that the wheel paint color is NH138 (Shasta White) for both the white and red color codes (the Granite Blue Metallic color has different color wheels). Ciao, JZH

I don't like Waze that much, but it does the job (and it's free). I often use it just to show me the speed (and limit) in real-ish time. Ciao, JZH

Not married, I see... Welcome! Ciao, JZH

I've swapped German, UK and US Honda headlights around, but not on a VFR. The beam pattern is different for Europe and the US, but nobody would notice on the road. Rumour has it that the DOT-spec calls for a certain amount of light to spill up, over the "cut-off", specifically to illuminate road signs (which are otherwise non-illuminated in parts of the US). I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that... Ciao, JZH