GreginDenver

Yes this is still happening. It appears that we (those of us already in with deposits on the current group-purchase) have stalled out below the number of header systems required for an order to go forward to production. So if you come in and add yourself to those who've placed deposits we'll be closer to "go!".

Sounds like you made a good purchase, 1 owner and only 15,000 miles, that's the way to start out. And the VFR engine is very well-built and durable but the truth is that the rest of the VFR, its electrical system, its fuel delivery system and all are just standard Honda gear. By purchasing a 22 year old motorcycle you've put yourself in the position of having to do "old motorcycle" maintenance and refurbishment. If you're not into old motorcycle maintenance you may have made a mistake. If you've been a motorcycle guy long enough you've met "that guy" who loves motorcycles, lov

I agree that it's hard to find a replacement (or alternative) to a V-4 engine. And yes, I agree that a crossplane parallel twin is a bit of a far cry from the V-4 experience. But here's an in-between engine candidate, the Triumph "T-plane" triple. Surprisingly the T-plane triple engine has exactly the same firing order as the VFR engine, just without the 4th cylinder. The T-plane fires like this: 1-0-3-0-0-2-0-0- and it sounds a lot like the VFR's V-4 engine. At the end of this video there's a few seconds of full-throttle T-plane 3 cylinder acceleration to listen to.

Yes, I agree that the length of the headers (relative to one another) is very nearly the complete solution (something around a 90% solution) and as a result constitutes the majority explanation for the odd-seeming instructions for the Starter Valve Sync procedure. But the design element that keeps header length from being a pure, complete, 100% solution is the VFR's irregular V-4 cylinder firing order, because it (the VFR's irregular firing order) causes localized, cylinder to cylinder changes/differences in gas velocities and resultant "scavenging" and flow of gases from individua

Wondering: do you always park the bike the same way? is it always on the center stand when parked, or always on the side stand? the thought here is if you park the bike differently sometimes (leaning on the side stand vs. up on the center stand) does that make a difference in whether the engine produces the blue smoke during the next start?

And... Don't be like me... instead of blundering along trying to pull the socket off of the back of the bulb without really knowing/remembering how to release it from the bulb. It's better to refer to the Honda VFR800 Service Manual, page 19-6, for the step-by-step how-to on removing and replacing headlight bulbs on the bike.

you'd be surprised how much better the 5th Gen radiators can dump heat to the atmosphere WHEN THEY'RE CLEAN. many, if not most, 5th Gen owners never think to clean the 20+ years of accumulated road grime off of the radiator cooling fins. a can of spray-on foaming air conditioner coil cleaner will remove the build-up. after cleaning the radiators are able to reject a lot more heat into the airflow around them.

My bet is that all of those Revs are giving the Clutch Slave Cylinder a really good shaking transmitted by way of the clutch pushrod, and that shaking is transmitted up the line (via the incompressible hydraulic fluid) to the Clutch Master Cylinder. So it becomes a "liquid hammer" situation that is strong enough to drive the hydraulic fluid past the rubber sliding seal in the Clutch Master Cylinder. Which allows the clutch to grab as you described.

I've done the full braided stainless steel brake line conversion plus caliper refurbishment plus full system bleed on a 5th Gen VFR800 twice now, once bike with Spiegler lines and one with Galfer lines. And I've also done a full system bleed on a standard (unmodified) VFR800. And for good measure I've always done the bike's hydraulic clutch system at the same time. The best 5th Gen VFR800 linked brake system bleeding results I've had (quickest, less messy, less frustrating) has been when it was done as a 2-person team plus a vacuum bleeder (I use an el-cheapo MityVac purchased at

not necessay. while the brake fluid (hydraulic fluid) is absolutely incompressible, air is very compressible and the volume of it under the reservoir cap is way more than needed in this case.

there are two reasons for the resistance you felt in the center piston of the rear brake caliper. one of the two reasons is that your '98 is now 22 years old and I'm betting nobody has ever refurbished the braking system (22 year-old caliper piston seals, 22 year-old caliper piston wiper rings, 22 year-old brake line hoses, 22 year-old master cylinder seals, and, most probably, some really old brake fluid). let's be honest, some parts of a motorcycle are "consumables", like brake pads. but so is the brake fluid and the seals inside the brake master cylinders, the sea

You really don't know what you're talking about. This will probably piss you off, but it's the truth.

Well, good luck with the bike. Hoping your various maintenance actions will make the odd feeling go away. Sometimes people "solve" problems without ever knowing what the problem was. Having what feels like a cylinder "dropping out" as RPMs climb is a pretty worrying feeling. Based on the VFR800 engine firing order the cylinders that I believe would cause the biggest "feel" if one of them started dropping out would be either #3 or #2 because... ... VFR800 firing order (in 90 degree increments): 1-0-3-0-0-2-0-4- so if either #3 or #2 dropped out you'd get

When you get a good deal on a bike that was stored away in the back of a garage for years you have to suspect that there was a reason the bike got relegated to the dark shadows. Now it could be that there's a simple, harmless (not mechanical) reason for the bike getting stored, something like the owner having a near-death experience that scared him so badly he quit riding. But more often than not the case is something mechanical related was making the bike disagreeable, worrying or just not fun to ride any more. People put bikes like that in the back of the garage and ignore them