Bubba5000

Seeing as the OEM Honda air filter is about $45+shipping, I went bargain hunting and found a Chinese one for $15+shipping on EBay. It took about two weeks to get here. It’s a great fit and matched up perfectly with the OEM one. No difference at all that I could identify. So, today was the day I finished up all remaining remedial maintenance on my craigslist 5th gen. I previously did charging system, drive chain, oil&filter, bled front brakes, and the clutch, inspected the hoses and cooling system in general, and the last things to do, today, was to bleed my rear brakes and install my new $15 Chinese air filter. So, I get the air cleaner open, and it’s PACKED with a giant MOUSE NEST!. I was appalled, as I have been riding this thing around for a month, and it seemed to run pretty good. Luckily, none of the mouse poop, pee, or bedding got underneath the filter or into my throttle bodies. Anyhow, put it back together and it runs super great!👍Photos below...

So, after going through learning the hard way that the 5th gen bulbs are not standard H4s, and deciding I’d Rather not snip the tabs, I ordered a pair from EBay seller “sledpartsguy”. He listed them by the exact Honda parts number referenced in the factory OEM parts catalog. Cost about $4 each. So, today they show up in the mail, and as I’m sure you may have already guessed, they are simply Chinese H4 bulbs with standard H4 tabs that I had to snip before they would fit. Sure, they were even cheaper than Sylvania basic ones at O’Reilley’s, but wow. Just wow. So, I guess I’m just gonna snip from now on. No way am I gonna pay $25 a bulb for Genuine Honda, but it sucks getting blatantly lied to. Freakin’ EBay.

I’ll post about how the chain works out. I’m also taking a flyer on a $15 Chinese air filter, and a pack of 3 oil filters for under $20, because broke.

Finally got a chain that was acceptable and replaced it. I went for a VOLAR brand chain. Has several good reviews from riders who tried it out, and it’s inexpensive. My sprockets both looked really good, so I stayed with them, and will change them over next time. Funny part is, I went out for a road test, felt really great, then, getting off the highway exit to go home, one of my headlight bulbs Burned out on the high beam side, so I got to discover the fun facts of H4 vs 34901-MS2-672. No biggie. I’m sort of working my way down a checklist of things to service, seeing as it was a fairly neglected bike that needs all the routine stuff done. I’m waiting on new brake master cylinder diaphragms, oil filters, air filter, and of course, the new bulbs. Once I have the bodywork off to do the oil change, I’ll do a comprehensive inspection of the cooling system hoses and anything else I can think of, so, plenty of wrenching fun left to have over the next couple of weeks. Hoping to get everything done by the end of August. In the meantime, though, she runs great and is lots of fun.

Thanks for the info, folks. My sprockets still look really good, even the front one. All the surfaces have great definition. The tech who failed me for the chain at inspection said the sprockets looked good, too, so I’m just going with the new chain for now. I had a problem with the stuff I ordered, and had to send it back, so I’m still waiting for my parts. 😞 It’s killing me. I hate online shopping, but it’s the only way for me to go, as my local places are useless.

Doing necessary maintenance on my craigslist VFR, noticed I need a new chain. At 25k miles, what’s my outlook as far as maybe needing new sprockets? I don’t feel the need to change the gearing, Just want to keep it stock. Tried searching the forums, but must be doing something wrong. I did a chain in an old KAW I used to have, but will need resources on the fine details of doing one on this particular bike, as well as any other links to previous threads on this or hints anybody might be kind enough to render. I will also search YouTube. thanks!