Bowf

No, I didn't know that, and they never mentioned anything like that. However I'm just going to keep hold of the item. If Honda ignore the problem maybe it would make an interesting story for one of the motorcycle magazines.

By whom?

Reminder : when I had my rear hub sprocket carrier thing cleaned up, this potentially serious manufacturing flaw was revealed. (A previous owner had hidden it with a thick layer of paint) I bought a replacement as some of you suggested, and contacted Honda UK for an explanation. I sent them photos and said they could have larger ones if they wanted. Five weeks went by, and guess what? Nothing. Not a bloody word. So I sent a polite reminder, and was told: We have passed the information and photos you’ve sent us to the Head Office. At this point they are conducting an investigation. This might take a long time to be completed. When Head Office get back to us we will let you know. Better not hold my breath then, as a further five weeks of silence have since gone by. Are they really investigating? Because they've not asked me for any details like frame number, larger photos or to see the item itself. They still keep churning out the wanky adverts on radio and TV though ...

Hi Thumbs. Will we still be able to get 99 in UK? My other bike has a plastic tank so I am really hoping we can.

Is anyone familiar with the Shad pin system for fitting their tank bags? It's the most discreet system I have seen, no silly-looking ring or anything. They have different fitting systems for different bikes. Sadly their website doesn't list anything for our bikes, but I did a bit of research and it turns out their X019PS kit is a perfect fit (for gen 4s anyway). This is all you see when the tank bag is removed. Here's the bag fitted. There is no contact with the tank. This is the E-10P bag which is their medium-sized one. You can't fit too much in it, at a guess it's about 4 litres volume. They also do a teeny E-04P bag, good for about a pair of glasses and not much more, and a bigger expandable E-16P bag. Does anybody have one of these? I'd be keen to know how well it sits on the VFR. You can adjust the position of the bag fore and aft.

I am pleased to say my VFR is finally back together, and it passed its MOT (UK roadworthiness test) last week. ☺️ Before it I owned a Triumph Sprint 1050 GT, which was a real stunner and worth far more, but I just didn't feel comfortable handling it. I downsized to this VFR, and am delighted I did. The ride to the MOT was an absolute joy. This is a "keeper"! Since last time, I have sprayed the chain guard using Autotek bumper paint. Not a professional job, but a huge improvement. Also I have fitted a Healtech Thunderbox and used it to wire in heated grips and satnav. I made a little clamp to hold the satnav cable in place. The heated grips are cheap Chinese ones. I've used them before on a previous bike with no issues. One thing I like about them is the switch is integrated into the left-hand grip. Also the throttle mechanism is clever in that the cable stays put relative to the bars. Main fitting issue was that they are longer than the OEMs, so I had to drill new holes for the switchgear and shove everything up about 9 mm. There probably won't be much else to add to this thread. I have in mind to overhaul the front forks (new oil, seals and bushes) at some stage but right now I just want to ride the bike. I've put a wee luggage thing in a separate thread.

Oh, I forgot to say I blocked off the grit intakes in the swingarm. Somewhere else online a guy used silver foil tape, so I just copied that idea.

By the way I don't have OCD, I have CDO. It's similar, but the letters are in alphabetical order 🙂. I got a good deal on a new YSS rear shock. Then I thought about protecting it. R&G sell these "shock tubes" but they are pricey and come in a confusing variety of sizes. In the end I made my own, starting with a square of double-lined neoprene. The material was too thick for our sewing machine, so I stitched it by hand using waxed whipping twine (which wasn't easy). Turn it inside-out, insert cable ties through the hems and voila. This photo shows the real colour better. Agreed it's a little ugly, but not as ugly as a manky rusting shock.

They felt and sounded gritty. I am also replacing the left side bearings in the rear hub. Not because I like wasting time and money, but because they did not feel good. The right side roller bearing was okay, I just cleaned and re-greased it.

Yesterday I got the centre stand back on the bike. I got it powder-coated a dark graphite colour. Only slight problem was they also coated the rod which holds it all together. This made the rod too wide, so I had to remove the coating from the rod which took almost an hour. On reassembly, I noticed there was no 19 mm washer 90403-PE0-000 to go on the end of the rod. I don't remember it ever being there. The part seems unobtainable nowadays so I just used an o-ring in its place. You can just make it out on the right of the next photo. Today I removed the swingarm bearings, potentially a difficult job. The manual suggests using a slide hammer. I've tried this several times with other bikes, and I have never been strong enough to do the job. But luckily there's another way: Instead of "pulling" the bearings out with the slide hammer, you can bash them out from the other side using the grabbers and a long enough drift. I have used this socket extension as a drift for years. The grabbers give you a large surface to strike. Open cage bearings on one side. The only way I could do the job properly was on the lawn, with me kneeling on the swingarm, and the emerging grabber digs its own hole! Regarding the fault in the hub, I went on Honda customer service. I sent them a polite message, and they still have not contacted me 48 hours later.

Yes, I saw them this afternoon when they dropped my centre stand off. They agreed to do the replacement for free. 🙂 The centre stand looks lovely by the way, will post photos in a few days.

Do you know, I think I will do exactly that. Thank you! On Sunday I bought a used one on eBay as Dazed & Confused suggested. It arrived this morning and I'm just stripping the black paint off it. Don't think I will bother with the VB treatment this time unless they offer to do it for free.

I reluctantly agree, Thumbs. Two things annoy me: 1) Honda must have sold the bike like this. 2) The vapour blasters should have phoned me as soon as they saw the flaw. They are bikers themselves FFS! Instead they coated it and charged me more.

Here's something weird. A previous owner had painted the hub sprocket carrier thing with a brush. It looked disgusting. When I got it back from the vapour blaster I can appreciate why they might have done that - this huge manufacturing flaw is revealed: I call it my "fault line". It's as if the piece was cast in two instalments! What do you think? It's not likely to break in two, is it?

I do have a pair of similar Fiamms, just couldn't find anywhere suitable to mount them. But believe me this new Hella disc horn is LOUD. Anyway after some delay I finally have the brake calipers and carriers back from being vapour-blasted and ceramic coated. With new seals, pistons, bleed nipples and rubber boots and brake lines they should be almost as good as new.