kaldek

Well, they were about $900 AUD which is pretty good for a set of headers. No complaints about quality, but they're nowhere near something like a set of lovingly crafted race headers. They're definitely nice enough to show off though. Motad themselves say they don't provide a performance boost. Personally I find them louder than stock and the midrange seems to have more immediate response. For the sake of it alone, no it's probably not worth it. Unless you have the older non-stainless headers which rust. Delkevic headers are a clone of the Motads, made in China, and are half the price. I think the only difference between the two would be welding quality and the fact that Motad line their headers with steel mesh to stop them from sounding harsh. They say it does not affect airflow.

Good stuff mate. It's worth adding that these fitted better than the gaskets provided by Motad too. I did however use an installation sequence this time, in order to reduce the risk of exhaust leaks. It goes like this: Mount rear header pipes to rear cylinder head, but do not tighten bolts - leave them very loose. Maneuver the remaining header piece under the bike. Place a low jack under it but do not raise it yet. Using a rounded file, slowly chamfer a lip onto the inside of the rear header downpipe gaskets so that the downpipes do not snag on the gaskets in the next step. Carefully slip the main header piece onto the rear header downpipes. Ensure both pipes are fit snugly and seated deep into the main header piece. Raise the jack to keep the headers locked together, then tighten the header clamps so that the rear downpipes and main header piece are held together well Slightly lower the jack just enough to mate the front header pipes to the front cylinder head. Do not tighten the bolts here yet either. Now begin to tighten all the header bolts, but do it bit-by-bit. Slightly tighten all rear header bolts, then slightly tighten the front header bolts. Repeat this process until all exhaust header bolts are tight Remove jack, and you're done!

Cold air makes all the difference!

That's why he should be selling Compu-Fire regulators. Oh wait, that would mean he wouldn't get repeat business. Hmmm. yes he will. by doing a good job.. they will come back when the transmission blows..or the head or both... LOL!

Sounds more like your carbs are the source of trouble mate. Like a stuck carby float or problems with your jets. Basically a carb clean & overhaul should fix that. I quite enjoy stripping and cleaning carbs - it's very zen!

Not sure if I agree with that. It's certainly not an OBD2 connector, and as far as the protocol goes it could be anything. You would hope it's a variant of J1850, but it could be CAN or ISO 9141...the list goes on.

I know, I still have my Snap On. I also have a 200.00 scanner that is smaller and easier to carry around and does everything the Snap on will do except for the advanced user functions. I use this to read/clear codes and also view live data when I go to someones house to help them out. Sure beats carrying around that huge Snap On box. Most people will only use the basic user systems anyway, so why spend a ton of money on something you don't need or will not use? Agreed. The guys at RealFixesRealFast use a SnapOn "Verus" tablet PC and its main benefit is the way it graphs the data it collects from the OBD2 port as well as a multi channel digital oscilloscope built in. It also has links to procedures for various car models. But all this stuff can be done by hand using cheaper tools - it's just a pain in the butt. A good example of how these expensive tools can be undercut is the cheap Bluetooth OBD2 modules, coupled with an Android phone or iPhone. The iPad also has a multi channel digital oscilloscope module you can buy and plug into it for about $350 USD.

They're quoting $220 for the Suzuki unit and they told me they will charge the same or less for the Honda one. As a similar example, Mitsubishi charge over $2,000 for their "MUT-II" diagnostic tool, but an enterprising chap built his own (Evoscan.com) and it costs about $100.

Bump... Crap, sorry I missed that! Unfortunately the older ECUs do not have a Data Link output, they only have what's called the "Service Check Connector". It's a two-pin cable which only causes the FI codes to be displayed. The newer ECUs use a four-pin connector which includes: +12V (Black/White) - handy for getting power to accessories on the front of the bike Ground (Green) Service Check (Brown) - so you can still get codes on the dashboard Data (Orange/White)

That's why he should be selling Compu-Fire regulators. Oh wait, that would mean he wouldn't get repeat business. Hmmm.

Yeah - about $220!

And what does that mean/do for us??????? It means if your bike is running like crap, you can find out what the ECU thinks is going on, and correct it. Right now the ECU is a black box we can't diagnose.

I got a response from Heal-Tech today saying they will likely sell me an early production unit, and that they should be able to dig a lot of real-time info out of the ECU - more than they can get out of the Suzuki ECU.

Wow that must be one tight track!

the latter. Don't stress too much - stator replacement is easy - especially on the 5th-gen as it doesn't have to cross through the "V" of the motor. You will need the following: A sixpack of beer 8mm socket Either allen key or torx bits (can't remember the size) to get the stator out of the stator cover An impact screwdriver (can possibly get away without it) A new gasket A new stator The 8mm socket is used to remove the stator cover. The impact screwdriver is used to shock loose the bolts that hold the stator. If you don't use it you can strip the heads of the bolts if they're really tight. 6th-gens are notorious for this because those bolts use red thread locker. All you need is a strong bench and someone to hold the stator while you give the impact driver a sharp tap. The rest is pretty much the reverse of removal. Pretty easy job. Stators are $145 from tightwad.

Fark as in "too hard" or as in "damn I hoped it wasn't the stator"?

Your stator is on the way out mate. They work fine when cold, and get worse when hot. Same thing happened to mine. Basically as the stator heats up it starts to short between the wires within one of the phases - remember the stator windings are insulated from themselves and it's the length of winding which allows it to generate power. If you suddenly shorten the length of wire, then it produces less power. Why is this happening? Because the insulation on the stator windings has deteriorated and cracked due to age and heat. Here's what you can do to test it - get the fairing off and test the AC voltage across the three stator output wires when the engine is cold - you should see between 18 and 21 volts on all phases (and they should all be within 1.5 volts of each other). Then, plug the stator back in, let the bike idle until it gets nice and hot, then repeat the AC voltage test. Bet your ass one of your stator phases will be producing about 13 volts or less. Oh, the reason the voltages are fine at speed is that even a weak stator can produce enough volts at higher rpms for the regulator to get enough input power to regulate it down to 14.3 volts DC. It's only when the bike is at idle that the stator isn't producing enough power for the regulator to hit 14.3 volts DC.

I can't believe it. I just E-Mailed HealTech electronics to ask them if they know the format of the Honda Data Link Connector (DLC) protocol, and they said they are releasing an OBD tool for Honda PGM-FI systems in a few months! This is amazing! When it's released, anyone with a 2006 and newer Honda VFR will be able to dig deeper into the ECU to see what's going on - in real time. FINALLY!

Thanks mate, I really do appreciate comments like that!!

Good question! I bought the USA ECU (and wiring harness) as a cheap method of replacing my 2002 model ECU, because US bikes do not have HISS and therefore you don't need matching coded keys. What I wanted was to upgrade to the 2006 ECU over the 2002 unit, because of the benefits of the newer ECU hardware (better throttle response). After putting that ECU in, I had other issues still related to my 2002 motor which meant that in the end I bought an Aussie 2006 donor bike for parts and used the wiring harness and ECU from that bike. That bike brought its own problems - rich running - and I wanted to go back to testing the USA ECU I bought initially. Yes, I opened Pandora's box when I started twiddling. I just can't leave it alone!

Well folks, I finally worked out how to get a USA model ECU working on a Euro/Aussie 6th-gen VFR. Took me a while though as I had to map all the pins on each ECU until I found the culprit, but it's actually a very simple difference. Note that the following is only guaranteed on a 2006+ model bike. The USA ECU has two power inputs into it. They are both the Black/White wire 12 volt input from the engine stop relay, and one goes to the black connector while the other goes to the grey connector. The Aussie/Euro ECU only has one power input. It is also the Black/white wire but only goes to the black connector. In order to easily drop in a USA model ECU into a Euro Aussie bike, you will need to add a pin and wire to pin #16 on the grey connector, and then splice that wire into the black/white wire feed from the black connector. Once this is done, the bike will fire right up. Now, there's a small "gotcha" here. And that is the fact that you need to find a connector pin from somewhere! Unless you happen to have a bunch of wiring harnesses lying around (*cough* Kaldek *cough*), your only option will be to remove one of the pins used for the HISS circuit and move that pin and wire across to pin #16 on the white connector. I haven't traced exactly which ones of these is the best source, but once I do I will add that to this post, along with some pics. :-) If you plan on only making this a temporary modification, I would put a switch on the spliced wire feed into Pin #16 so you can safely cut that circuit before you connect an Aussie/Euro ECU back into the wiring harness. If you don't do this, I guess there is a chance that you could create an internal short circuit inside the ECU (which would be bad).

Staintunes sound a tad different on VTECs than they do on 5th-gens - just be aware of that. As for installation, for a stock bike it's a bit shitty, but here's the process: Remove rear wheel Remove license plate from mudguard Remove mudguard (this is the shitty part) Loosen exhaust clamp (underneath the swingarm) Remove seat Remove exhaust hanger bolts (6mm allen key, 12mm spanner needed) Lower exhaust down (noting it rotates around the header pipes) Rotate the exhaust left and right on the header pipe while wiggling it until it comes off. Installation of the Staintunes is a reversal of the above!

I would say this job is only cheap if you just focus on the front master cylinder and the five pistons (three right, two left) it activates. There are kits available for this job which are very cheap ($119 AUD), and consist of a long banjo bolt for the front master cylinder and two hoses - one to each caliper. Essentially that would take care of the majority of braking problems right there.

For anyone who needs replacement downpipe header gaskets for their Motad system, they can be replaced using a Yamaha part! It's part number 3XW-14755-00-00

No, each pic that I zoomed into I pulled the hose straight.