vfr200

You don't need to put the clocks back on the bike - just follow the traces by eye and shove your multimeter on the end points to check for continuity. Take pictures of the blue/grey connectors on the bike and use the coloured wiring diagram linked above to help you see which trace is which e.g. the permanent +12V feed to the LCD is the red/green one on the blue connector. Purple wire is a bridge between the switched +12V to the clock and the permanent +12V feed to compensate for your rotted permanent one. Mr Grum's picture has one way to repair that; I've attached a picture with my fix which just bridged the broken trace slightly further up. While you're in there clean all the filth off the board and inspect the traces for signs that they're losing the will to live. One of my common grounds was on the way out (symptom: delay of several seconds between turning on the indicators and them starting to flash) so I bypassed most of that with the black wires. The white one was added by a previous owner and IIRC is the speed sensor wire going to the odometer.

A further thought occurs. I've read elsewhere that the seizing can be down to the brake caliper mount seizing to the bearing carrier. Would getting the caliper mount powdercoated help stop it happening in future, or is that likely to cause more problems than it solves?

Thanks for the tip, but I'm going to someone competent to get the work done because I don't have a garage, the nights are drawing in, and changing fluids is about my limit - I have an uncanny ability to round/sheer off bolts and given that the underlying problem is seizing-related I'd much rather make that someone else's problem. Linkage assembly/axle nut+washer ordered based on the helpful advice here. For the shock I'm going to go with YSS unless anyone can convince me that another option is worth the additional expense.

It's going to a mechanic to have the actual work done because I don't have a garage, have limited tools and my mechanical skills are basically at the "I change my own fluids" level, so getting bearings out/in will be his problem rather than mine. I'm just wondering if a) the swingarm/linkage bearings ought to be replaced as a preventative measure at this sort of mileage while someone's doing work in that general area and b) whether there's anything else I should get him to do at the same time while the back end is in bits. Thanks for the tip on the axle nut/washer.

My chain adjuster has seized. From reading these forums I'm assuming the problem is either filth in the swingarm or the rear brake disc holder seizing to the bearing holder. Either way the axle is going to need to come out, and since I don't have a garage or a particularly well-equipped toolbox it's going to the mechanic to get it done. The bike has about 70k on it and for the last 5 years (and 40k miles) it's been ridden in all weathers, including during the winter when the roads are salted, and if I'm being honest probably hasn't been washed down as much as it should. Dismantling the back end presumably isn't a five minute job, so what other parts should I look at getting replaced at the same time to get the most bang for my buck out of the mechanic's time? So far I've got a replacement bearing carrier because mine has suffered at the hands of the "hammer and screwdriver" chain tensioning method, and a new set of three bearings to go in it. I've also got a new OEM rear disc. Other bits I can think of would be cush rubbers, shock/linkage bearings and maybe swingarm bearings. Are any of these likely to be knackered at this mileage? The shock is the other obvious candidate to get fixed and I'm currently torn between a YSS one at about £300 or a Hyperpro one for around £400. Anything else I've missed?

Yes.

So have I and never had problems until just now. The fact that it happens fairly abruptly when the going gets soaking wet and stops as soon as it dries up screams electrical to me, and the front HT leads are the obvious suspect since a) they're the only electrical wires that routinely get drenched and b) I'm pretty sure a short elsewhere in the ignition would kill the bike stone dead instead of just making it drop a cylinder or two. Don't think the post about injectors was me; I haven't posted here for a couple of years and I can't remember what that was about! If that were the case I doubt it would clear up within a few minutes of the rain stopping.

I got caught in torrential rain on the motorway the other day on my 1999 VFR. One or more cylinders must have stopped firing properly because it felt like someone had attached a heavy trailer to the back of the bike, i.e. it took what felt like twice as much throttle to maintain my speed. It was also running seriously rough and every once in a while the power would kick in again for a brief moment. While this was happening I noticed that the engine temperature reading dropped from 78 degrees to about 70. Given that the temperature sensor lives behind the front cylinders I'm guessing that it was one or both of them which had stopped working. Shortly after the rain stopped the bike went back to normal as though nothing had happened. I rode through another spot of slightly less heavy rain later and the problem briefly came back. I'm assuming that the problem is HT lead-related given the symptoms and the fact that they're 24 years old and live sandwiched between a hot engine and road spray, but I'm reluctant to pay £150-odd to replace the front two leads and plug caps with new OEM stuff. My current thinking is to get a used set off eBay for next to nothing, check the caps for cracks and replace the cables with generic new leads. I've had a search but can't find any threads on here about it; has anyone else done this before and could you give me any pointers?

But your avatar says you have three VFRs, not two... If it was only popping/burbling I'd just live with it, but this really does sound like a rifle going off as the rev needle drops through 6k. Do you have a picture of the hose I need to block off to disable the PAIR system temporarily? Would there be any downside to just unplugging the PAIR solenoid to leave it in "always on" mode to test whether it is causing my backfire?

Just nudging 40,000 miles. All stock bar a Wingrack, the Givi touring screen and a set of proper handlebars from Hurricane. Air filter is OEM and was replaced in December. Two previous owners, both of whom had it serviced properly. Bloke I bought it off was fairly big (in case he's reading this I mean well-built, not fat) and I think he had his wife on the back most of the time which presumably wouldn't do the clutch any favours. Sorry. Re the PAIR stuff, do you know whether it shuts off somewhere around 6k?

Hi all, first post here. I've been lurking since I bought my VFR 18 months ago but this is the first problem I've had which I can't find a clear, well-written fix for. Whenever I play around above 7,000 rpm for any period of time and then release the throttle, as the rev needle passes through about 6,000 rpm I hear an almighty bang. This only happens under engine braking - if I pull in the clutch at the end of a blast at the top of the rev range the revs drop below 6k without incident. I'm 99% confident that my exhaust isn't leaking anywhere. Separately, during the course of testing this to try and single out the exact conditions which give rise to the backfire I've discovered that my clutch slips above 6,000 rpm in higher gears under heavy throttle. This is fairly well-documented here and the solution seems to be to clean/rebuild the hydraulic side first and then if that doesn't work to refresh the actual clutch itself. My question is whether the fairly specific backfire I'm experiencing is related to the clutch slip, or should I be looking somewhere else? Given that it happens reliably at very specific revs, is that when the PAIR valve opens perhaps and the fresh air is cooking off unburned fuel from the overrun? I've replaced all the numpty-serviceable parts (plugs, oil, filters) and the issue is unaffected.