Zarquon

Gotcha. Now I have a plan. Thanks all for your input. I will post a follow up outcome.

Whould be at least 15000km on the chain and sprocket. I know the previous owner re geared the bike because the speedo was out

I think thats where I need to go with this. Tinker with the chain and sprocket and if that doesn't help find a replacement engine to swap in when or if this one breaks.

Will look at this first. I know the lube was good, I did it 200km ago I thought tension was good too at the time. I get more noise with a pillion... chain might be tightening with extra weight... but why only in top gear? I was down in Woolongong for the bikes at the weekend and contemplated a 200k ride home with no 6th gear?

My 5th generation is making a chattering noise in 6th gear (it sounds abit like the chain needs lube or is too tight). Its most noticable bellow 4000rpm and goes away above 5500rpm. To begin with I thought it was engine pinging because it gets louder as I roll on the power (changing RON fuel does not eliminate the noise though). I first noticed the sound about 6000km ago and the chatter noise is getting louder over time. The bike has only 51,000kms on it (I have put the last 15000km on it and have been oil changing every 5000k's). I get no chattering in any other gear. I'm wondering if its a bloody bearing in the gear box and a big engine job to fix it? So if anyone else has experience with 6th gear problems on their 5th Generation bikes could you please let me know. Cheers

Good job fixing those brakes.

If you haven't already put fresh gas in the tank. Will help starting for sure. Try A good quality injector cleaner in a few tanks of gas. It might clean things a bit and help with the starting. The rear brake pistons might be stuck on their seals, making the pedal feel wooden. Might be worth cleaning the caliper around the pistons with brake cleaner and squeezing each piston in a little manually and out a little with the pedal to free things up. Be careful not to pop the pistons out. A flush of the fluids, oil and coolant should be on your to do list (the brakes and clutch can be a little tricky to blead). And check the age of the tyres. Enjoy the bike. BTW, I've got a Y2K model with 50000km on it in blue.

The NGK plugs in my gen 5 have been known to work loose! This, after being installed to the manual's spec without lube. I now take a lot of care when installing plugs in the VFR because I rather like my Honda V4 Engine.

It could be possible that you have an airlock in the system and it just needs to be burped out?

Thanks taking the time to make this objective ride review of the bikes. The HD LiveWire looks a hell of a lot like my Buell XB12 Lightning with a low seat... I wonder what Eric Buell thinks? I do hope that electric bikes continue to morph in this direction. The Buell rattles and bangs and has a low redline like most American V Twins. But, it's got a heap of torque, 100hp, a nimble shape (that lets it corner) and its not too heavy. I find it a gas to rip round on at the weekends but I still love my 2000 VFR.

My gen 5 runs between 86c and about 98c under nearly all seasons and riding conditions. I'm based north of Sydney Aus where it gets hot in summer. I have also riden the bike well loaded to Cairns. It is a very rare event that the fan comes on except in traffic. I suspect the thermostat on my bike has never been changed. I recently bought a spare one and housing from Honda as well as some cooling system elbow o rings. The thermostat is on my to do list next time I get into it.

You can also unbolt and inspect the back of the r/r to see if there is any bulging, bubbling or blistering in potting compound the electronics are held in.

Could be blocked or blocking air box inlet or clogged air filter. High fuel level in carbs or some other cause for over fueling when the carbs transition onto there main jets. Could be clogged main gets. The hard starting could indicate the carbs need a clean or balance or there is a vac leak. Check the plugs, see what colour they are and how. Much carbon is on them. Or whether they are loose? Give it a rev with the air cleaner out of the box.

I have the same model, same year. Bought with 38000km on it now 9 months later has 50000km. Issues include: head set bearings, clutch slave leak, water pump cover seal leak, blown r/r, dirty injectors, cheesey O rings on the cooling elbows, need for a clean and lube in the rear end, loose spark plugs. And the valve clearances on 2 exaust valves were just a smidge tight (they are not so hard to check. Changing the shims means cam out though). Change the brake and clutch fluid and maybe the coolant, do the engine oil and filter, lube the chain and check the brake pads. Then ride it lots... I still get a kick out of riding through tunnels and under passes! Enjoy.

Taking off the tank is mostly about not making an accidental air fuel bomb out of it. A fire blanket around everything else should prevent an accidental fire. There should be no spatter etc, just the radiant heat from the spark and the work. Reg/rec and engine management unit may both be susceptable to HF AC used when TIGing Al. So disconnect them. A competant operator should be able to do a visually acceptable repair. Aluminium reinforced epoxy may do the job just as well without all the heat and fuss. Devcon is a good product for this. Clean and key the surfaces well before use.