Mak0

I can remove the tank, i'm just wary of potential left over gas / fumes which could come from the fuel lines feeding the engine. Do you think this is a valid concern? Removing more than the tank (e.g. removing throttle body or the engine) is not really feasible I'm afraid. It is indeed TIG wielding. The person told me the result would not be very pretty, but it should not matter since the piece is very small (size of a small cherry) and hidden behind the side cover.

Hello VFRD, I am the proud owner of a 8th gen VFR 800 from 2014. I am not experienced in doing maintenance work beyond changing oil, brake pads and brake fluids. Changing the air filter didn't seem like a complicated process according to the maintenance manual, but a stuck bolt made it a bit more complicated than expected. I didn't manage to cleanly remove this stuck bolt attaching the side covers to the frame (maintenance manual, page 2-4). I followed instructions I found on various websites and youtube videos using first a torx key, and later on a bolt extractor. As the situation was getting worse, a friend of mine jumped in to help as I was not getting anywhere, and he eventually broke the little piece of the frame containing the threaded hole in which the stuck bolt ([1] below) was screwed into. This part is not critical for the bike, but I would like to fix it to keep the side cover secured by 2 bolts instead of 1. I went to a soldering shop not specialized in automotive repairs to ask if they could fix it. 2 main concerns were raised: The people I talked to were concerned by the proximity of the gas tank and would be more comfortable having it removed from the bike before doing the repair There is a hose a few cm behind the now missing piece, which I believe is connected to the coolant. To protect it, the mechanics proposed to put one of their insulating gloves just behind the aluminum piece to reattach. If the soldering poses significant risks to the rest of the motorcycle (and the people doing the job!), I would rather leave things as they are. Is there a better approach to solve this ordeal? Is it recommended to remove the tank for this repair? Wouldn't removing the tank expose more fumes? If the tank doesn't need to be removed, would it be better to have it as empty as possible, or full (less fumes)? Thanks a lot for your help and guidance.

Thank you guys. Sorry for the lack of update, I only recently got the VFR back. Long story short, the problem has resolved itself one morning. I don't really understand what or why. The noise started on a Saturday morning and stopped on the following Wednesday morning as I had planned to bring it to the mechanics. Without me doing anything specific to the bike, no change in weather or anything really. While the mechanics agreed that the sound of the motorcycle in the video I have linked here (and which I showed them) was "not good", they couldn't really figure what was wrong since the noise was gone. I haven't asked them to dig into the "problem" since that would most likely have been costly and maybe there is nothing... I am really perplexed. Either way, since then I have done most of the 12k km maintenance procedures and the Honda mechanics just went over some of the checks I don't know yet. I haven't noticed any problem, neither have they. I am not 100% convinced the bike doesn't have an issue which might bite me back down the road, but since then I have done roughly 2000 km and the bike has behaved like a charm. If the noise starts again, I will go straight to a mechanics to investigate...

I will get in touch with Honda myself of course. I guess I'll explain the situation, send the video and maybe a link to this thread. My 2 motorcycles are Honda and honestly each time I look at different models, I prefer the Hondas to the concurrence. The Africa Twin, NC750, Fireblade and of course the VFR. Honda has no obligation to assist me in any way, shape or form. But obviously, I will consider other brands if I am left stranded with a hole in my pocket, for a problem which should not occur on a new motorcycle. I'm disappointed, sad even, to witness my companion fall on its knees. For the record, I didn't trash the motorcycle around, never went faster than 135 kmh, rarely into VTEC mode (and if so, for 2 seconds) and never beyond 10k rpm.

I went to the garage this morning, with the video I posted earlier. The mechanic's initial guess is a fault in the Cam Chain Tensioner department (either something with the teeth or oil (?)). Sadly, the bike is out of warranty. The standard warranty period is 2 years in Switzerland for Honda motorcycles, and this bike has been purchased in January 2016 by the previous owner. That's 6 months out of the warranty period. When I mentioned that this was very strange for such a low kilometer model, coming from Honda, and particularly a VFR that I consider to be a very reliable machine (I could be wrong, just reputation) the mechanics told me he would be in contact with Honda to try to get them to cover a part of the expense. I do not hold my breath over it but that would be great... Of course I will contact Honda myself as I do not believe a garage will go above and beyond for a simple customer. I need to bring the bike tomorrow morning for further inspection.

Thanks guys. I can certify that the bike was running flawlessly on Wednesday and there was no noise on Thursday. The disk lock incident is, I believe, external to the noise. I do not see how it could be linked. Just mentioning it as parts of "notable events" since last time it ran well. The gas in it is from Wednesday. This is the standard gas one would put in his vehicle (unleaded, octane level 95%, less than 5% ethanol). The gas station is from a major one gas seller. It was purchased in Bern, capital of Switzerland. I'm quite certain that gas doesn't have time to run bad in this location. Oil level is an interesting one. The level hasn't moved over 4000 km and one day I got to brake really hard, triggering the ABS on both the front and wheel brakes. Since then, I noticed a very slight unusual noise mostly apparent in 4th and 5th gear around 4000-5000 rpm. Nothing as bad as now though. I aso noticed that the bike had drank some oil, leading me to ask the dealer about these events. Said dealer told me he couldn't see how it could be linked and just told me to put more oil to go back on normal level. I put some 10W40 oil, and it's now sitting slightly above the max level. A little bit of oil seems to drip from the exhaust tubes under the bike now and then. I think this stems from having slightly overfilled the oil reservoir so nothing to worry about (it is not entirely flooded with oil). I can't be sure the noise is from the front cylinder only, but even if it were, I do not think i'm experienced enough to wander inside the internals of the bike. I'll go to my dealer with the other bike and show him the video before attempting anything. In the meantime, I'll be glad to receive more feedback to help the mechanics find the issue.

Another thread on VFRD was mentioning that a rattle in the engine had been fixed after polishing the front brake hydraulic switch. I have no idea how that could be linked neither and i don't know where such a switch is, but since there is a connection between his case and mine, I wanted to mention it. I have attached below 3 pictures related to my little incident with a disk lock. No visible damage on anything apart from a small piece of broken plastic. The small debris in the top radiator are simply mosquitoes. I have also recorded a small video showing the issue. Now that I rewatch the video, I can definitely say the noise is there even at idle. The sound definitely comes from the engine area / under the tank (where the airbox is I reckon), not necessarily from the right side. I will gladly take any hint on what could be the culprit.

Hello VFRD! I am new to riding and got a VFR800 8th generation from 2014 as second motorcycle. I bought it used with 5000 km 2 months ago and I have ridden it 6000 km with it in this time frame. The maintenance is soon due, at 12000 km. I was planning on cleaning it and doing some minor maintenance, with the agreement of my local official Honda dealer / garage. However, on Saturday morning as I was firing it up to buy some of the tools I would need for the maintenance, I forgot to remove the disk lock on the front wheel, which broke a small part of the front fender. I consider this a non event but who knows. After assessing the damage (none that matters, or should matter), I tried to drive away and a loud rattling noise made me reconsider it. While I do not care so much about cosmetics, I do not want to risk any damage on the engine. The bike starts without an issue and keeps a constant normal idle rpm. The noise starts as soon as I open the throttle, with or without a gear engaged, with or without the clutch being engaged. I have removed the fairing to try to hear more precisely where the noise comes from and hoping I would see something loose. Now that the fairings are removed, I think the noise comes from the right side of the bike, around the front right cylinder. Looking on Internet, I understand this might be the front Cam Chain Tensioner being worn. This seems very early at 11000 km. Could anyone point me towards a potential culprit and how to verify the hypothesis? Should I just go to the dealer and not touch anything? I might be wrong so if you got suggestions do not take all of my rookie analysis as solid. I will try to post a video with the issue at hand during the day.