Zarquon

Thanks Terry

I finally got the chance to ride today, with a slightly looser chain adustment. The noise is still there but I think it cuts out at a lower rpm now. It sounds like the chain and kind of has a lugging engine beat to it. I enjoyed a good ride anyway! The front sprocket is warn but servicable, the rear is fine, chain looks well used. I want to change out the chain and sprockets but keep the lower gearing that I have (with a 16 tooth at the front). Does any one know if a 6th gen rear sprocket will fit a 5th gen wheel? I can save a dollar buying parts as a kit if it does.

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.

Impressive result.

The wiring installation looks and sounds like its all propper. Watch for chafe on the insulation. Honda saw you coming with those brass inserts... Can you attack the shoulders of the key or get one cut that's got a better shaped handle? Consider getting a bezel from a wreck before risking the original...? Or make an aluminium bezel as a replacement?

Neat installation. Bitch about the steering lock. I would cry if my bike got nicked because the bars wouldn't lock... Surely you can shave the back of the plastic collar or the sides of the key to make it work? Does your usb socket have a volt meter too? On recommendation from another VFRD member, I wired my auxillary circuit via a relay operated by the tail light circuit. It switches a dedicated, fused output wired from the battery and puts bugger all extra load on the fragile factory wiring.

I am unfamiliar with the R1 but, Is there someway to output error codes with a jerry rigged engine light? Make sure all the electrical slider connections are seated properly in their plastic plug housings. Sometimes they get pushed or stretched out of position and look connected but arn't. My Buell had the same intermittent problem and it turned out to be a faulty ignition relay. The relay clicked all the systems worked but no spark or fuel.

Honda still has the matching fairing bolts. I got some recently from them. Watch out parking on soft ground... these bikes tip all by themselves... consider a spare brake and clutch leaver! Great colour by the way. The decals are rare.

I am 5'9" and have same problem with Corbin seat. I am sure they are made for tall people with big butts! I ditched the clip ons and put raised/raked handle bars on, fixed the issue. Or, butt augmentation surgery might help! 🙂

I like the external tank. Its given me an idea for the girlfriends RF600 (thirsty beast) to make it more tourable, there is a whole seperate pillion seat to be converted into a rack and tank module. With electronic cruise control on my gen 5. My gut meter suspects I get a regular 20km or so extra out of a tank. Also, (the bike has less than 50,000km on it) I just dismantelled and cleaned my injectors... not a small job, throttle bodies have to come off... what a difference its made though (19years of gunk gone!) The motor starts better, runs smoother, runs cooler, and it pulls harder through the whole range. There has got to be an economy gain there too.

I know there is sufficient interference in the electrical system on my Y2K bike to make cheap LED dashboards lights flash/flicker randomly and independantly. The flashing pattern changes with RPM. The standard dash bulbs to not flicker.

It looks like what you've done will keep things going for a bit. I agree with JZH. Upgrade reg/rec sooner rather than later, because the originals are a known problem. (Mine blew at 40000km. One of the diodes fried and bubbled up the black potting compound in the back of the r/r. Happened on a stinking hot day riding for 2hrs in traffic.) I Would then solder any connections between the new reg/rec's plugs and the bike/stator wiring. My system now has the same jumper circuit from reg/rec's -ve output to the frame with beefed up wire and +ve output to battery +ve using heavy wire and a 30amp fuse. I figure the fuses protect the bikes circuits from the battery but also need to handle some 500 odd watts of charge. Don't trust those crimp on terminals (Danger made in China) and whenever possible crimp and then solder them as well. The clear tube insulation will at least let you see what is going on, how does it handle heat?

Wrap aluminium foil around the loose fitting pipe several times until it is a snug fit into the slip on. It's Ugly but functional!

Make sure the tops of your brake and clutch fluid reservoirs clear the underside of your windscreen fairings on full lock. You may need to adjust the angles that the banjo bolts make from the reservoirs too. The bars I put on my 5th Gen let the brake and clutch control clear the tank and fairings by less than a 1/8 inch! I used ST1100 throttle cables but they DID NOT FIT DIRECTLY, the return cable was about 3/4 inch too short in its sheeve. Its a tricky job shortening sheeve without wrecking the cable. I put a modified motor car cruise control on my bike to eliminate wrist pain. In the higher gears it works fine. You need to be ready if you engage it in 3rd...!