enzed_viffer

Indeed. I've got a sectional pressed steel panel door, and twice in the last 10 years one of the springs has broken (different side each time). I found if I disconnected the door from the chain drive, I could lift it with some effort, but with both broken - I don't think so. And I'd imagine that at 94kg the door is much lighter than a wooden one.

I've been riding for over a year now, with a Sena SMH10 in my Shoei RF1100 (which has cutouts by the ears). I use it every day, to listen to music while commuting, streamed from my Nokia N8 cellphone (which I can also use for calls, etc.) After experimenting with several setups, including several types of earbuds, the thing which works for me is using the in-helmet speakers, an accessory Shoei windblocker (can't remember the proper term - whisper kit perhaps?), and Howard Leight earplugs solely to cut out the wind noise, because they're not great at cutting out ALL the noise like my preferred 3M plugs. I also don't have them inserted fully. Then I have the volume on the Sena up to about 80%, and can hear the music very clearly, and other noise such as the engine, traffic, as low-level background noise. I also have an SM10, and a second headset in my wife's Shoei, with earbuds, but apart from testing it, she's never used it, as she bought a 2013 VW Golf Cabriolet, so she'd rather we went in that on nice days than travel on the bike. :(

That is too involved to be considered KISS. Keeping it in a jacket pocket would be KISS. Only in the initial installation. Having to stop and fumble around in a jacket pocket (especially if it's raining) is not my idea of simple (and what I had to do with my previous few bikes). I ride to work every day, so that's at least three uses per day (usually use the switch in the garage for opening first thing in the morning).

I can't be bothered going back to the post where this is discussed, but instead of bastardising a K&N to get more airfilter area and better airflow, the airfilter with the greatest area and therefore the least restriction is the Pipercross.

I *was* going to do that, but instead decided to KISS. So I mounted my door remote under the front fairing above the headlights, and have wires going back to the right-hand switchblock, where I added a waterproof switch (not that it matters) where there's a blank (normally occupied by a light switch on UK/Euro bikes?) All I need to do is a quick press with my thumb, and voila! (A small misspelled musical instrument). Oh - and the door goes up. Or down. Or up AND down if I've taken the scenic route home and my SpousalUnit is approaching from the other drirection and using the remote in her cabriolet. OOps. Marital discord..... Been on there for some years now, and haven't even needed to change the battery. If it does go flat, I might just wire it up to the battery, seeing as it's a 12V remote.

Hmmm... a common theme here... Mrkn's have fat heads, mayhap?

If the bike is basically stock i.e. no ECU trickery or highly modified engine components all you are doing by running high octane fuel is increasing carbon buildup inside your cylinders, and wasting money. Stock VFRs run just fine on 87. I would bet it's a big part of your fuel mileage issue as well. Our knowledge about gasolines hasn't made much progress; because some people are still buying more octane than they need... Most gas stations only have 87 octane, and 91 octane. 89 octane is created by mixing, 50/50 of 87 and 91 Um, guys - you're talking at cross purposes here; UnZud uses RON for Octane, so IIRC, 87 US is roughly equivalent to NZ's 91 (RON) octane. I run 91 usually, and occasionally (like in mid-summer, when the bike can knock slightly at low revs) 98, which also has (allegedly) beneficial properties for injectors etc. courtesy of detergents and whatnot. As for my bike, I'm about the jinx it by saying I've had no major issues, although I've replaced stuff (suspension, lights, wheel nuts, grips, tyre valves, thermoswitch, horns, etc.) just because I could. Had to replace the seat cover because it frayed around the front edge, and the steering head bearings (with tapered roller bearings), and all disks, one at a time because they were U/S. AFAIK, it's still on the original R/R (with a fan on it for the last 9 or 10 years), and the current battery's been in it so long I can't remember how old it is; maybe more'n 5 years.

Because it's got thinner spokes than the standard wheel, which makes it look lighter and more elegant. It's great that Honda returned to a multi-spoke wheel for the latest VFR - that looks good too, as does the swingarm. Pity they didn't also re-engineer the hub - it is (IMHO) one of the uglier hubs on a bike with an SSSA

What's a Fartenheat? I thought we lived in a metric world... Mine does a lot of slow traffic work at times, but I don't believe I've seen it get over 110 degrees Celsius. Or thereabouts. Maybe it's our maritime climate....

Whelp, for many months now, I've been running a 95/85 thermoswitch (on at 95 degrees Centigrade, off at 85), instead of the standard 106/96 one. It works well. And for a longer period of time, I've run a manual override switch (only on by shorting to ground, rather than one that can also disable the fan). The latter works well, but is rendered almost redundant by the lower temperature thermoswitch. If it wasn't that most of my riding was commuting in traffic, I wouldn't bother with any mods.

Two... no, wait - THREE (3) things. Firstly, I beefed up the wires running to the horn from the BlueSeas fusebox. Then I added a Fiamm horn under each side of the front fairing (just enough room there on the '01). Lastly (or perhaps, firstly), I carefully tweaked the little screw on the top of the OEM horn to ensure it was as loud as it was capable of being. Total cost was (IIRC) about NZ$35, so five-eighths of not very much at all. Funny thing is, although I used it a fair bit when I first upgraded, to 'punish' errant motorists, I very rarely use it now. Must be getting old...

I've had an Oxford Magnetic tankbag for YEEEAAARRS, and use it most days. It's expandable, has back straps and padding to allow it to be used as a backpack if the base is zipped off, came with a rain cover and bungy cords, a clear top for putting maps under. And it's been very good. I hadn't had it long when I did a long 4-day trip including about 90km on unsealed (gravel) roads, which is probably how the tank got all those scratches... Or "character marks". "Signs of a life lived well". "Highway patina". LOLeeeee

The last few sets of tyres, I've gone with Pilot Power front and Pilot Road rear - a great combination. No problems with cupping - just wearing out.

Yes, but it's also rather nasty, so they do their job wearing full hazmat gear.

After doing my last VFR (it was a Granite Blue Metallic with white rims), I'd gladly do it again. It looked really good, and it was far easier to keep them free of chain spooge and road spooge and other random spooge than the paint was. The silver painted rims on my current VFR are OK-ish, but if they misbehave at all I'm heading off to the hardware store to buy some stripper....

The most exciting work I've done on a chain was about 11 or 12 years ago, when I didn't have a chain breakaer, but I had lots of power tools. The bench grinder was a bit awkward, then I had a brainwave (which actually turned out to be a brainfart). I got my laminate trimmer, stuck a cheap grindstone bit in it, which normally spun at a few hundred rpm, so I reckoned 24000 should do the job really quickly. Guess what happens when a mild steel, unbalanced bit with a heavyish unbalanced stone gets spun up to insane revs? Yes - it gets more unbalanced! And the steel becomes ductile from the stress!! And then the whole loop feeds on itself!!! Yay!!!! So there I am, holding this wildly vibrating beast as tight as I can, with both hands, both knees, and wondering how I'm going to turn the sucker off before it explodes and kills me. Luckily, after a while, I managed to bump the switch against my knee. (yes, my eyeballs and major organs were all vibrating like that...)

I saw it twice - once when it first came out (when I was just starting to ride, and motorcycles were swarming onto our shores from Japan), and again years later. Thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was about what we were experiencing. Still haven't seen "easy Rider" though...

I have a soft plastic key fob - free gift from donating blood, and it has my blood type on it. In the cupboard on the key rack, I have a Ducati leather/metal key fob I've had for... hmmm...20 years. Bought it when I lived in Christchurch, because I intended to buy a Ducati one day. That day hasn't come yet.... And if it did, it would have to be a wet-clutch model; the rettle of the dry clutch models at the traffic lights would drive me nuts!

This is weird - I was just posting a caption to a pic I posted years ago in one of my albums. My son made me one a few years ago; I just told him what I wanted, he thought for a few seconds, said "Yeah - I can do that!" At the time he was working at an electronics store, and the next day, he came home with an IC and some other doodads, soldered it all together, and Voila! A small misspelled musical instrument, and a flashing brakelight. When the brakes were applied, it flashed the brakelight repetitively, after each flash increasing the duration (i.e., shorter off/longer on) until after (IIRC) about 10 flashes, it remained lit. Shame they're illegal here... Oh - and then it died, after I had to remove it to pass a 6-monthly Warrant of Fitness check.

It's not clear from this article if in fitting a newly designed swingarm, they saved any unsprung weight. Although the VFR's SSSA has a cetain kewlness factor, it's not light, and enither are the hub, rear brake, etc. Anyone who's ridden a VFR back-to-back with a bike sporting a conventional swingarm will notice this straight off. (And from what I can gather, it's heavier and uglier than SSSAs from other marques). It's something I forgot when I had my Elka overhauled and "Ohlins-ised" (it has all Ohlins internals, apart from the shock shaft). I was disappointed when I test-rode it, because I was expecting a much more compliant ride, and I didn't realise until just this week (yes, a couple of years later ) why my expectations were a bit wack. If nothing else, even if it is lighter and stiffer, the new swingarm is at least no longer ugly. It's a shame though that Honda didn't take the opportunity to change the hub at the same time they changed the swingarm and rear wheel.

Ah.... hmmm. it's KAIKOURA and OTIRA. Kaikoura is famous for its crayfish (rock lobsters... Rock, Rock, Rock Lobster!!), and kai koura is actually named after them; 'kai' means 'food', and 'koura' is the Maori name for crayfish. Oh - and it's a very beautiful place, great for whale-watching, fishing, sight-seeing, riding motorcycles.....

LOL. He/She is not doing a very good job of looking after his people: he's got some real ratbags in charge here, who have it in for bikers, making us pay HUGE insurance because apparently we have a propensity for crashing (or getting run over by other drivers). NZ is still one of the greatest countries in the world. Also pretty sweet roads, pity they have to tax the crap out of us to use them! I'm here in the US on a work visa so will be making my way home at some point. BTW Crazy Blue - "Noo Zilund" in your profile gave me a laugh Hey! It's unzud_vuffer; Crazy Blue's the boik.

LOL. He/She is not doing a very good job of looking after his people: he's got some real ratbags in charge here, who have it in for bikers, making us pay HUGE insurance because apparently we have a propensity for crashing (or getting run over by other drivers).