interceptor69

Thanks for the suggestion.  I will try that if the Polyvance repair doesn't hold.

I ordered a Polyvance kit off eBay.  Hope this works but if the stresses that broke it the first time are present it will likely break again.  Thanks for the suggestions.  The Lego solution appeals to me as terribly clever but I don't have a Lego or acetone, although I could get both.  I'll try the kit first and it that doesn't work I'll go the Lego route.  Thanks again.

Thank you. Since it's not visible won't have to worry about beauty, just durability.

This plastic piece broke off after hitting a particularly bad pothole. It's there any way to repair this? I can't imagine adhesive of any kind would be strong enough. Ideas? BTW it's the rear cowling.

            Just read this on the Cycle World site. Had me going for a minute...             https://www.cycleworld.com/story/blogs/ienatsch-tuesday/the-ride-better-drug/  tps://www.cycleworld.com/story/blogs/ienatsch-tuesday/the-ride-better-drug/ 

Aw man, I didn't notice the dates. I was noticing the pictures- should have paid more attention to the text. I feel better now!

Unfortunately the 5th gen isn't in the top 10.

https://www.visordown.com/features/top-10s/v4-vital-10-greatest-honda-v4-motorcycles-bless-us

I also had this problem when installing new sprockets. The piston slowly protruded and I had to use a small c- clamp to push the piston back in. Then everything fit and I was able to get the housing flush with the engine case.

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She's a Black Beauty!

10 hours ago, Cogswell said:

Now that some miles are racking up on the headers they are mellowing in color. I thought that would be pricipally near the heads, but it seems to be the entire length,  just not as pronounced as at the heads. Not a big deal - just a bit more than I expected. 

Same here.   Just a little golden hue.  Did you have yours passivated?

They are the real deal and if they ever run another batch you should consider buying a set.  

Will check the jug for silicates.  Fuel pump?  If I had a brain I'd be dangerous-don't know why I typed that.  I also read about flushing with vinegar and water then a soda solution so will do that as well.  Curious to see what comes out!

8 hours ago, ducnut said:

That pic is my ‘98, with 16K miles. Those bits live in a brutal environment. 

 

They’re no cheaper. eBay is just an avenue for them to get exposure and conduct transactions. 
 

When something is no longer listed or can’t be found on eBay, just e-mail them and they’ll get you headed in the right direction. They’ve been excellent to everyone who has contacted them. 

Thanks Duc-will order them directly off their website.  Thanks much for all the info.  Btw I may have inadvertently put a bit (less than 1/2 cup) of Prestone antifreeze in yesterday-will that screw up my fuel pump gasket?  I diluted it w/ distilled water so <1/2 cup antifreeze and 1/2 cup water.  I hope I don't need to drain all the fluid out prior to the fall when I empty it out for the hose replacement.  I didn't know one couldn't use typical car antifreeze w/ silicates.  Learn something new every day.

I've seen posts where guys ordered the hoses from AS3 off eBay.  I can't find the VFR hoses on eBay so will probably have to order directly from them-they appear to be in GB.  Are they available cheaper on eBay?

5 hours ago, ducnut said:

You want the AS3 clamp kit, as they’re wider and of more substantial design in the screw/tightening area. Silicone hoses don’t compress like rubber, so they require more clamping force and the AS3 clamps reliably get that done. 
 

There are no paper gaskets; only O-rings. However, aged O-rings can look paper, in poor pics. 

Thanks-will order the clamps as well.

5 hours ago, ducnut said:

You want the AS3 clamp kit, as they’re wider and of more substantial design in the screw/tightening area. Silicone hoses don’t compress like rubber, so they require more clamping force and the AS3 clamps reliably get that done. 
 

There are no paper gaskets; only O-rings. However, aged O-rings can look paper, in poor pics. 

That was the image I saw.

Thanks Duc for all the info.  I have the new fan in the cart and will add these o rings to it.  I believe I'm going to order a hose kit from AS3.  Should I order all new clamps as well?  Or will they be reusable?  I'm worried about how much crud will be in/over them.  Also I was looking through a few other threads relating to replacing the hoses/thermostat and noticed 2 gaskets that were completely disentegrated.  They didn't appear to be rubber but not sure.  I was wondering if you knew which ones I'm referring to and if so are they in the above list?  Sorry for so many questions but this will be the only time these hoses will be replaced (hopefully) and I want to do it right.

Same.  I use the cowl and it's never moved and I'm 245 lbs.  I too, wondered how it was going to stay on when I first bought it but it works just fine.

1 hour ago, ducnut said:

There’s no single thing that’s going to make a great difference; you’re going to have to address the whole system. 
 

I’d pull the bodywork, fuel tank, TB/airbox assembly, radiators, every hose and fitting, and start going through everything. There are two fittings in the valley and two above the stator cover that’ll need the O-rings replaced. Replace the thermostat with an OEM replacement and the housing’s O-ring. Get the AS3 hose and clamp kits for replacements, which are UK-made and found on eBay. IIRC, there are 14 or 15 hoses, depending on MY, and they all need replaced. If your water pump isn’t dripping, there’s no real need to mess with it, since it’s easily accessible. Soak your radiators in vinegar or have them dipped by a radiator shop and backflush them. Replace the fan switch with an OEM replacement. Replace the radiator cap with an OEM replacement. Install the VTR fan blade (Honda #19020-MBB-003), as it blows outward with the natural airflow and is a more efficient blade design. Install an expendable, 12V fan onto the right radiator that’s powered anytime the key is turned on. They’re available from all over the internet. 25mm is as thick as you can go, because of limited space between the radiator and cylinder head. You can refill with a high performance coolant, but, the common, Asian automobile coolant is plenty adequate. 

I’ve setup my ‘99 exactly as described above and my bike rarely exceeds 200°F, living in Floriduh. However, when I’m in stopped traffic, I shut off the engine. There’s ~3L of coolant in the system, the thermostat doesn’t fully open until ~200°F, and there’s only a single, small fan that has to try and get everything pulled back down, once it’s all heatsoaked. It’s best to stay ahead of the heat, by keeping the cooling system as cool as possible, which is where the additional fan really helps.
 

Again, you’re going to have to address the whole system and get every aspect of it to its absolute best operating condition. 

Are these the O rings I need?   

1 hour ago, ducnut said:

There’s no single thing that’s going to make a great difference; you’re going to have to address the whole system. 
 

I’d pull the bodywork, fuel tank, TB/airbox assembly, radiators, every hose and fitting, and start going through everything. There are two fittings in the valley and two above the stator cover that’ll need the O-rings replaced. Replace the thermostat with an OEM replacement and the housing’s O-ring. Get the AS3 hose and clamp kits for replacements, which are UK-made and found on eBay. IIRC, there are 14 or 15 hoses, depending on MY, and they all need replaced. If your water pump isn’t dripping, there’s no real need to mess with it, since it’s easily accessible. Soak your radiators in vinegar or have them dipped by a radiator shop and backflush them. Replace the fan switch with an OEM replacement. Replace the radiator cap with an OEM replacement. Install the VTR fan blade (Honda #19020-MBB-003), as it blows outward with the natural airflow and is a more efficient blade design. Install an expendable, 12V fan onto the right radiator that’s powered anytime the key is turned on. They’re available from all over the internet. 25mm is as thick as you can go, because of limited space between the radiator and cylinder head. You can refill with a high performance coolant, but, the common, Asian automobile coolant is plenty adequate. 

I’ve setup my ‘99 exactly as described above and my bike rarely exceeds 200°F, living in Floriduh. However, when I’m in stopped traffic, I shut off the engine. There’s ~3L of coolant in the system, the thermostat doesn’t fully open until ~200°F, and there’s only a single, small fan that has to try and get everything pulled back down, once it’s all heatsoaked. It’s best to stay ahead of the heat, by keeping the cooling system as cool as possible, which is where the additional fan really helps.
 

Again, you’re going to have to address the whole system and get every aspect of it to its absolute best operating condition. 

Thanks-great advice.  My hoses are original (I know-they should have been replaced long ago) so I plan on taking the tank off this fall, send the injectors to be cleaned and replace all the hoses and the thermostat.  I've already replaced the radiator cap w/ OEM.  How do you have that fan secured?  clever.

Took a long ride-hotter today than yesterday and never saw temps higher than 187 when moving.  Got home and let it sit on the driveway and idle and when it reached 220 the fans came on.  I could only feel air exiting on the L side-does the R fan pull outside air onto the engine?

Well, it appears it was the simplest of problems-low coolant.  couldn't see it when opening the radiator cap.  Filled it and "burped" the system and going for a ride.  Hope this solves my problem.  I think I may have lost some coolant when routing the wiring for the PC3 USB which required taking the overflow tank off-some must have leaked out.

8 hours ago, Cogswell said:

 

The 240 you were seeing was, IMO, likely because the fan was running.  The system is "dumb" and has no idea whether the bike is moving at speed or not - just that it's at 220+, so "turn the fan on".  The problem is that the fan's direction of flow is opposite that of the natural flow over / through the fairing, stalling air movement over the left rad when running down the road.  That can be solved with a SPDT fan over-ride switch.  Turn the fan on, off, or let the normal temp sensor switch do it.  I don't use the "off" mode often, but once in a while in that type of situation it's come in handy - at road speed, temps above 230 came down quickly once the fan was turned off.  Then move the switch to feed ground through the thermo switch once again and it's back to normal.  All the SPDT switch does is re-route ground - either directly to ground (fan on), through the thermo switch (normal operation), or no ground (fan off).  Just re-route the power wire from the thermo-switch to the SPDT switch and then use it to ground as desired.   I had thought about installing a VTR fan blade, but got the switch installed first.  Once that was operational, I realized I didn't need to change the direction of flow over the rad so never installed the blade.

 

 

 

That's fascinating-the fans actually make the bike hotter.  Brilliant engineering! I wouldn't know as I ride w/ earplugs in and can't hear much.  I'm going to take the fairings off this morning and check everything.  

Finally figured it out-found a YT vid of a guy who mounted one on his R6.  It isn't the most stable mount-spins like crazy when touched so may need to further tighten the screw but afraid to strip it.  All-in-all it's a nice mount but the glare can be difficult in full sun.  When using Waze have you guys used dark mode or light?  I'm using dark mode for the battery savings but I believe I could see better w/ light mode.  Also I discovered my speedo is about 4 mph optimistic. 

18 hours ago, triharder said:

 

07 VFR800

 

Quick question.  I never see over 220~225 here on on east coast (fan cools the bike back down typically).  

 

Same coolant (I really need to replace soon) but i'd see 230+ continuous while traveling cross country (especially desert in Nevada or Cali).   Palmar MTN especially caused the bike to be at almost at 240.  Besides that day its been working correctly (fluid level verified and engine ice coolant currently installed,  I did f

 

As far as i can tell the system is operating correctly.  Only say those temps a few times.  

 

(Set points on fan are correct here on the east coast, so i can pretty much rule out all of your isuses to check?)

 

figured I'd ask the West coasters there thoughts.

 

What type/brand of "ice" coolant did/do you use?