HareBrain

On the subject of the tank breather, following a service last April I've noticed the bike sometimes making a low "groaning" noise for about three seconds, sometimes just once and sometimes several times in a row. It seems to come from somewhere below the tank, and with or without the ignition on. The mechanic reckoned this was the tank breathing, and it does seem to happen more when the (black) tank is in direct sun. But before this service I never heard this sound before, nor on the previous Gen8 I had, and I've no reason to think the hoses were kinked or misplaced before (no serious tank pressure when opened, for example). Is this normal?

Also at 4mph, something I really appreciate in slow traffic. There's no sense of needing to get a foot ready to put down until you properly stop.

The normal running temp for mine, when not under any strain, is 79C. The previous bike, also a Gen 8, was about 81. I assume the difference is because of the Akro exhaust on the current one (which also seems to improve the mileage by almost 10%, unless there's another difference I'm not aware of). Incidentally, I don't often ride in the rain, but I had to ride in heavy rain the other day and the temperature never got above 76C. I'd never thought it would make that much difference.

Thanks all. Seems quite a few factors to consider there (though not carbs with my bike, thankfully). Seems I can probably leave it without running for a couple of months, though, which should be enough. Normally I don't mind having to ride it in winter, as long as I can find a day that's not too cold/wet -- I enjoy it and it keeps me in practice. But with the battery already off, I thought I might as well give it a couple of months break this time over the darkest period. Thanks, though -- if it ever gets too much of a chore, I'll do that.

My battery died, and since I only really ride the bike in winter to keep the battery topped up, I thought I might as well leave it till spring before fitting the new one, and save myself the hassle and the cleaning. But the shop mechanic said leaving the fuel lying in the tank can cause rust in the tank and damage to the fuel pump. But he couldn't give me any firm limit on how long it would be safe to leave it. Using Google, all I've found out is that if a petrol-engined vehicle is laid up for "several months" a fuel preservative should be used. But my sister has left her summer car for 4-6 months over the the last several winters without a preservative or any apparent problem. Any opinions/advice? Cheers.

Hmm, I topped up the coolant a month or two ago with a small amount (about 0.2L) of coolant that I now realise contains silicates. Is that a small enough amount not to worry too much?

I must come across one of the politest bikers around, because every time someone cuts me up, all I do to express my annoyance is cancel my indicator.

Thanks Grum, that was really helpful. The level must have dropped just below "lower" as it didn't take much to fill it up. I'll check it regularly from now on.

I found I got a better look at the reserve tank by loosening the plastic trim (by removing the two allen bolts). It would be better to remove it completely but I couldn't find how it was attached at the other end. Even at it was, I needed a flashlight. So I'll probably go with the tank-neck method when I top it up tomorrow. Can I ask what's the purpose of shaking the bike? Just so you can see the liquid moving? And will it be obvious what you mean by "near the neck of the tank"? My other question is how sensitive is it to not being perfectly level when you check it? I assume it's OK to use the centre stand? Cheers

I loved my white VFR but thought the bronze wheels were right for it. (I also fitted a bronze-tinted screen to match.)

My memory is that this was happening from one of the hoses that exits at the bottom of the bike even after I'd been about 50 miles. But TBH the whole thing was really confusing with the two coincidental different leaks and whether it was positive or negative pressure or both at different times, and I'm not entirely sure we ever got to the bottom of what exactly was happening when. I'm not great with any engineering more complex than a plank of wood. I remember there were things about it that didn't quite make sense to me, but my memory seems to have wiped the details to make room for other stuff.

A few weeks ago I had a fuel leak into the fairing, *and*, in hot sunny weather (on black tank), fuel dripping from the overflow hose. I'd always had a hiss when opening the filler cap, and because I also had this on my previous 8gen I assumed this was normal, despite what others (probably you, Grum!) had said. The hiss had got worse. According to the shop, this was caused by the filler cap getting bunged up and causing positive pressure, but *not* the breather hose being kinked. (The leak was caused by the pressure in the tank forcing a hole through a weak spot in one of the seams -- several other weak spots had to be welded, so clearly the tank wasn't in great condition.) The shop unblocked the cap and now it doesn't hiss at all when opened. So there's more than one thing that can go wrong here. My takeaway from it was that getting a marked pressure hiss when opening the filler cap is something to be investigated after all!

Right, thanks guys. The head-rush when standing is supposedly common with people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (I have a mild case), where the body doesn't react fast enough to boost blood flow to the head, so I assume I would be more prone to this with G-forces than most people. I will check in with the doctor to make sure it's nothing else, and I'll avoid such hard standing starts again.

I almost never accelerate hard from standing, but last night I did, and after a couple of seconds I felt a bit faint. I backed it off and the faintness went very quickly. I can see why this happens when your head is forward of the rest of your body, but I'd never heard of it happening on a motorcycle before, and Google reveals nothing. My blood pressure is normal, but I do get a bit dizzy sometimes when standing quickly after squatting down to do weeding etc. My question is, is what happened within the bounds of normal, or should I think of getting medically checked for it?

I only use the clutch lever when upshifting from 1st to 2nd and sometimes 2nd to 3rd, when clutchless shifts can feel a bit clunky. Otherwise they're butter-smooth.

With the baffle in, it's not much louder, but sounds much nicer (with it out, it was too loud for my taste). As well as sounding/looking good and giving a bit more power, it improves fuel economy (by about 2-3mpg), lowers running temperature slightly and smoothes power take up from a closed throttle. It seems prices for used 8th Gen with Akro aren't much different from without, so it's a no-brainer IMO.

I assume that's calibrated for US gallons? If so, I make that about 53 in imperial, which is only a tiny bit less than I get.

Hi-tech upgrade. The right grip had got too smooth and shiny, giving me hand fatigue from having to hold it tight to stop the throttle closing, so I wrapped it in a piece of old bicycle inner tube. Works brilliantly.

I think that's the case, I was reading about it earlier. Just done another ride with lots of hard 2nd and 3rd gear pulls, and the VTEC is there, but again, always really smooth transition. Though it used to feel a bit clunky, I kind of miss how it was. Why it's changed I guess will remain a mystery, but at least it seems to be working fine.

Ah, thanks, that sounds pretty conclusive. It does feel stronger in the upper revs, but more gradually than I thought I remembered (almost like my old CBR600F). But maybe what I remembered was the lunge forwards after the "drop". It's odd that both my 2014 VFRs had this "drop" but from the sound of it, it shouldn't have been there and isn't very common. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it but it sounds like it was a freak improvement. I'm sure the shop didn't adjust the ECU.

I just got my bike back from the shop after three months, repairing cosmetic damage from it being knocked over in a parking accident. Like my previous 8th Gen, the bike had always had a marked VTEC transition, especially the first time each ride when it was a definite "lurch". (I understand not everyone has this.) Now there's nothing. Not only is there no lurch at all, but I can't detect the increase in power and noise that I thought was there before. But I might be imagining that, especially since it's been a while since last riding it. I've watched a couple of youtube reviews but the wind noise makes it hard to tell. So, I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I'm assuming there's no way for the VTEC to "switch off"? And assuming there's not, anyone got any idea what could have made the transition so much smoother? I'm not complaining, but it makes me wonder if the shock of the fall did something I should be aware of.

I've just had this problem, and only just got it back from being fixed. The shop said it seemed to have developed a pinhole leak in a seam in the tank. Annoyingly, a previous owner had tried to fix it with a plastic patch or something, and it had failed.

Thanks guys -- exercising the switch and WD40 seems to have worked.

Today I pulled ahead of all the cars at a closed railway crossing, decided to be socially responsible, and cut the engine using the switch. Train went past, I pressed the starter, nothing. Again, and more nothing. So I panicked and pushed the bike to the side of the road to let all the cars I'd just overtaken go past, which was pretty embarrassing. Eventually I discovered that (1) I can't have used the engine-cut switch since I bought the bike last year, and (2) it always takes two switches back and forth to let the bike restart. The first time, there's no noise at all; the second you can hear the whine of the (I assume, I'm an engineering dunce) fuel pump. I'm not going to mess around with the electrics myself (I can service a bicycle, is about all), and now I know the issue, I can easily live with it. But it seems weird that it always needs two goes. Can anyone account for that? If it's something simple I can get it done at the next service.

Are you hoping to sell it on for $80,005? Because I think you might be disappointed.