stuartb3502

You could have a look on ebay.co.uk. There are at least a couple of used ones on there and also some aftermarket chinese ones. The used ones seem crazy prices to me. There is a guy with a blue one on the UK VFR owners group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1974957309456289) for £50.

You’ve done that yourself mate. Hopefully you were just having a bad day and will now apologise. Otherwise I suggest you start a blog and post with commenting disabled. You’re not well suited to a discussion forum.

I did this recently and managed to separate the two parts. It's just about possible without overstraining things IMHO. Worth it if possible for the ability to properly clean sliders, pistons etc. Red rubber grease works for me although not saying there's nothing superior.

Thanks. So, my understanding was based on the January 2021 update which stated (my emphasis): "Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp." But you're correct that a subsequent Special Notice in March 2021: "From March 22 2021, not all motorcycles and vehicles will fail the MOT test if their halogen headlamp units have been converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs." I had misread this (missed the "not"). Confirmation bias at work fuelled by never having seen a government change anything for the positive in 3 months 🙂 . The MOT manual for motorcycle testing has since been updated to reflect this change. After reading, it's now the case that the type of light source/bulb is now irrelevant as long as it meets the usual aiming requirements. Of course, that still leaves uncertainty given that LED bulbs (even from the major manufacturers) are not E-marked and typically marketed as for off-road use only. But in an uncommon turn of events, common sense seems to have prevailed. Osram do now have what they claim are street legal H4 LEDs, but you need to check compatibility with their online tool. This does not include the UK so in practice there's no change. The German version of the tool has no Honda (car or motorcycle) coverage yet. I also don't think they are on sale officially in the UK. Stuart

Couple more cutoff pics. I think these show that the cutoff is better than most LED bulbs, but you can see some much lower intensity scatter above the cutoff left and right. I can’t say whether or not this is any worse than H4 as unfortunately I didn’t get any similar before pics. On the road I can see this light lighting up road signs ahead, but it doesn’t appear to be enough to cause annoyance. Round my way, drivers tend not to be shy in expressing their feelings 🙂

Don’t understand. Are you saying my pics above are not sufficient to show the cut-off? If so, I’ll try to get some better ones. Aiming and scatter. Light housings are designed to work with the bulb type they use which will have the filament and often (e.g. in H4) a small reflector/shutter in a very specific position and orientation. This enables focusing and cut-off of the light to be within required limits. The reflector/shutter blocks lights from going to the housing reflector where it shouldn’t. Poor LED bulbs do not match this (e.g they may have LED chip(s) in an arrangement which is not the same shape as the filament and/or poor placement and perhaps no shutter). They may have very bad light scattering causing annoyance or even dazzling for other road users. They’ll also often have patchy lighting of the road. The better bulbs as discussed earlier seek to mimic the incandescent bulb design. The better ones achieve a decent cut-off and focusing. But I have not found one yet that does a perfect job as light from LED chip(s) is simply different to that from a filament. In my case I think these bulbs are pretty good, but I’ve also aimed them slightly lower (note how the cut-off is lower than the horizontal laser line) as a safety margin. These are also not the brightest bulbs available either. Those tend to use fans (which I wanted to avoid) and any scattering/focus issues will be amplified by the additional brightness. Does anyone have a source for the change to MOT regs which allow testers discretion? CORRECTION: This bit below is out of date. It was correct in January 2021, but the decision was reversed in March 2021. See post with details on next page. When I looked, the most recent change (01-2021) had been to REMOVE this discretion. The regs state that LED bulbs in housings designed for halogens are a mandatory fail regardless of how they perform. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-notice-01-21-headlamp-conversions I intend to swap out before the test. I have limited time using these at night so cannot say with confidence that I won’t be inconveniencing other road users. I don’t believe I am so far, and I’m very confident that the scatter (there is some) is not sufficient to cause serious issues. I have the luxury of not having/intending to use the bike much at night. If experience shows otherwise, I’ll remove them and mention here.

Welcome back. Seem to be mixed views about flapper and snorkel. I see quite a lot of comments from folk saying it made no difference and they put it back. But fun to play with I guess if you’re looking for that. Having solid electrics seems to be the number one thing. Many also suggest that suspension is specced for light riders and any fifth gen will by now need attention to get it at it’s best. That’s hopefully my winter project. I managed to grab a year in Tarn and Garonne recently, but the pandemic and other stuff scuppered plans for a permanent move. Hopefully will resurrect that although it’s now a bit harder of course. Enjoy your new home and the FV. If you’ve not been, I recommend a trip to the Pau Grand Prix (or the classic). I understand it was back after a pandemic gap this year and looked a bit touch and go. Hopefully it will run in 2023 (80th). Too many wheels of course, but still great to see how street racing looked once upon a time. And in a nice city too.

You hopefully have this sorted by now. Mohawk's link is for a new design. Electrex are real people at the end of the 'phone in the UK, so I'd suggest it's worth giving them a call to see what they recommend. they still list the one I have on my '99... https://www.electrexworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=rr53&PN=RR53.html#SID=439 But it may be the newer model is better if they confirm it works. Worth checking with them if the new one requires changing of connector blocks (it says "on some models"). Sounds like that may be better longer term, but will require crimping and soldering (according to them) which may or may not be a further barrier. The RR53 is a straight swap. I did it a long time ago, but recall it being an easy job. They supplied a metal mounting plate (not now shown in the web listing) with mine and I used some thermal paste. But again, I'm sure they can advise.

I'm not clear on what you mean in your post by wide (diameter presumably?) or what is stopping the silencer/muffler going on far enough. (that sounds more like the length (i.e. measurement parallel to exhaust tubing). Anyway, I've looked at part numbers for 99-01 and they are all the same (I checked for England, but you could do same in USA in case there were market differences). I changed the gasket when I refitted mine not long ago. I'd bought the gasket a long time before so can't be sure if it was a genuine part or aftermarket. I know it took a couple of goes and the gasket got beaten up in the fitting (i.e. bits got pared off by the silencer as it went on). The diameter was slightly too big. But I think that's how these are meant to be. The muffler inlet will not be a precise size/shape (especially not on refitting) so the gasket has to be big enough to fill any voids and then the collar will cinch down on it. You certainly don't want it to be on the small side.

Hi, Sorry for delay. Brief answer, good, I think. I’ve actually videoed and photographed install and adjustment. I wanted to get some video at night of them in use. Did the ride, but video was no good. Will do again soon. But on that ride they were clearly a big improvement over halogens. I wasn’t quite as blown away as perhaps I was expecting, but when I adjusted I did set them on the safe side (i.e. a tad low) so long range on high beam slightly less than it could be. After another ride I’ll look at adjustment again although that’s much harder once fairings back on. I did not get any flashes from oncoming vehicles. When adjusting, the cut off is pretty good, but there is some scattering of light higher than the cut off. It’s much lower intensity than the main part of the light. It can be seen approaching reflective signs, but as I say, does not appear to be causing other road users issues. I will not be riding this bike much at night, so I’m more than happy as it was mainly about being more visible during the day and I believe they achieve that. Only pain will be having to swap out at MOT time. My tester does seem quite open minded however. Yesterday I had my other bike MOTed. That has some non e-marked aftermarket LED spot lamps which I forgot to turn off before the test as well as non e-marked LEDs in the handguards and a rear light bar. He commented that he liked what I’d done and thought this was all much better than the bikes that come in with mini indicators, so perhaps he’ll turn a blind(ed) eye 😉 Will try to get video or pics of light pattern at night up soon. I’d say you’re safe to give them a try if you don’t mind the potential hassle of a return if they’re not for you. In the meantime, some pics… Installed (note cable tie to hold longer cable out of way….makes putting fairing back on easier) From the front Light colour comparison light and cut off comparison (but note that the two different boards are different colours (you’ll see what I mean in next picture). Halogen on left has a better cut-off. This is pre-adjustment. Both LEDs in showing cut-off. A not very good pic in bright daylight. cheers Stuart

Ive been through multiple big screens on my other upright bike. It took years of helmet buffeting / pounding before I found that some deflectors sorted it out. What’s that got to do with the Viffer? Well. Ive recently come back to riding mine after a few years gap. I’ve found the smooth non-turbulent air bliss. Yes, you feel it a lot more, but it’s not noisy. I guess if you’re going to do longer tours you might want to experiment, but otherwise I’d suggest sticking with it fir a while before swapping screens. If you’re finding the different riding position difficult, then changing to a different screen might make that worse (as the air pressure is taking some of your weight at the moment) . And if you end up changing bars, you’ll want to do that before plumping for a screen so that you’ve settled your riding position. Sounds like you want to change the screen because it’s not in great nick, but having tried and then sold a double bubble, Id be tempted to perhaps ride with it as is for a while before deciding how to splash the cash. Apologies if any of this comes across as advice on sucking eggs. Of course, you’ll get different opinions…. Enjoy the bike!

I've used Plastex for similar repairs. Works pretty well, but you need to think a bit differently to glue. It's strongest when the original part and the new "plastic" are mechanically as well as adhesively connected. To do that, you can drill small holes in the existing parts you're joining on either side of the join. Then the Plastex is flowed into these and across the join. Fairing tabs is a an example use case Plastex show. They show how you can mould a new one (rather than just attaching a broken piece). The kit comes with a little reusable moulding stick. Heat in some hot water, mould around a spare tab and then fill with the Plastex once it's cooled. I've also used milliput to repair where some brass thread inserts fitted in a headlamp moulding and had broken off (different bike). Fiddly, but a strong repair which was almost invisible after a spray of Plastidip over the repair to match colour and texture better. Just been using JB Weld to repair some lawnmower bits. More difficult to use as it's runny when first mixed. I found I needed to set an alarm and keep checking after 2 hours, 3 hours etc and reshaping as it became more viscous/solid. No idea how it will stand up yet, but I managed to repair a plastic part which had self-tapping screws in. Was able to pilot drill and file sand the JB Weld as needed.

Not sure how they are installed, but agree that it's a very unlikely way for someone to try to steal your bike. When I got my bike out of storage I could not find my keys. Before I realised that I could remove the ignition lock with the triple clamp attached, I dismantled the front of the bike so I could get access to drill out these security bolts. Anyway, the point of my post was to say that I replaced with standard bolts, so yes, this can be done. Mine is 5th gen and unfortunately I do not have the order available to confirm the size of bolt, but I know ordered ordinary metric (M8 I think) bolts from ebay. You should be able to match them easily enough since you have the security bolts to try with a nut.