StrayCat2

Interesting. That may mean (like Kawasaki), they are legally obligated to supply bikes for the grid, but not field a sponsored team or indeed further develop the GSXRR past 2022. Unless, possibly Aprilia is willing to buy out that contract to field a satellite team in 2023. Time will tell, but I bet Rins and Mir will be signing new contracts with another constructor ASAP. If there are Suzuki bikes on the grid next year it will be the likes of Alex Marques, Taka Nakagami, Vinales, Pol Espargaro etc that will be riding them.

yea I saw that too but they will be gone in some form. There is a chance that an independent team may take over the Suzuki bike and crew for a year, but one way or another Suzuki factory is telling Dorna they want out. Its not the first time Suzuki have taken a leave of absence from MotoGP due to $ issues

Sad to see that Suzuki is throwing in the towel at the end of 2022. That makes Mir and Rins available for the market, should throw a king sized wrench into silly season. I think the following Riders should be worried about their seats in 2023: Pol Espargaro, Alex Marques, T Nakagami, Miguel Olivera, Darryn Binder, Andrea Dovi (probably retire anyway) , Fanky Morbidelli (has a contract to end of 23, but may get relegated to satellite team), Maverick Vinales. Seems Fabio may end up staying at Yamaha after all my bet is Mir at Repsol Honda to replace Pol Rins to Aprilia to replace Maverick ?

60 km is OK, any km is better than no KM. The run to Bellfountain and Forks of the Credit is a great destination, nice ride, I did that run a lot when I lived further south. I do 50-70 km almost every day if I can, then go for a longer ride twice a week.

Cheers fellas

OK fella's, I follow the steps from the manual for the front wheel install, but at the step where you loosen off the left pinch bolt again (to align the forks) the left fork opens up about +1mm, leaving a +1mm space between the wheel spacer and the inside of the fork leg....should I be concerned ? I understand the purpose of loosening the left pinch bolt again is to allow for fork alignment and prevent sticking forks, Ive just never seen such obvious fork movement outwards leaving a +1mm gap between the spacer and fork. Steps are basically 1) align the end of the axle with the outside of the left fork leg 2) Tighten the left pinch bolt 3) Tighten the axle bolt 4) Loosen the left pinch bolt ***** this is where the left fork leg pops outwards by ~1+ mm 5) Tighten the right pinch bolt 6) pump the front end 7) tighten the left pinch bolt

Usually the result of someone using the "arm-strong" torque wrench, I bet

Honda wants new bolts on the Africa Twin callipers as well. I dont change the calliper bolts, I just re apply thread locker and re use them. they not that tightly torqued.

cheers guys, i've got a head lift stand

Cheers ! My Africa Twin is similar but in fact you dont need to remove half of what the manual says. Ill just follow the manual for the VFR

Preparing for new tires to go on the VFR. Looked in the owners manual and I have 2 questions for those who have done it. 1) Is it really necessary to remove the front wheel speed sensor 2) do you have to remove "both" brake callipers ?

Marques will either win it all or bin it all. He says he's a changed man, but IDK if he can switch off that high risk riding approach. Marc and the new Honda seem to both be in good shape just now. if he stays healthy, he will win the championship, otherwise he'll end up retiring through injury again. Im cheering for Pecco or Mir (long shot) - since Vale is gone, im using this season to pick a new favourite rider....it WONT be Marc.

yea, ive been on the list for a year already. was supposed to get it by December 2021, but the silicon chip shortage has put us back a year apparently. Then recently all the Starlink satellites have been falling-out of orbit, so that wont help the wait.

Unfortunately I live in the far north and our internet is Cellular based. Not sure if you know about cellular rates in Canada but 135 Gig / month costs $400. Its absolute madness and robbery

I think the Feb 19 test is Moto 2 and Moto 3 only. I wish we got the Moto2 & 3 race broadcasts here in Canada but for the last 2 years we only got MotoGP, which at the end of the day, im glad we get it at all, its always touch and go if we're getting TV coverage.

So, we're on the eve of another new season with MotoGP. The first year in a long long time without Rossi (yes I'm a huge Rossi fan). What predictions do ya'll have for this year given how the initial testes have gone. Ill Start: Fabio Q will not successfully defend his title - I like Fabio, but, 1) I dont think Yamaha will have brought enough to the fight, others seemed to have upped their game even more, and I think Other riders will begin to shine a bit brighter this year. Fabio will jump ship if the Yamaha's speed prevents him from winning (as we have all heard in the media rumours ) Franco Morbidelli - I like Franky, level headed guy, but I still think he'll have limited success this year on the Yamaha. Id have more confidence in Fabio and Franco if I thought Yamaha were able to bring something meaningful to the party. Seems Yamaha are so set in their practice of small refinements and evolution approach that the likes of Honda and Ducati, will easily leave them behind if their big(ger) changes pay off. Pecco B - I think he'll perform very well and stands a reasonable chance of winning it all this season. He'll either win it or be runner up again. Mentally he seems to be very strong and now that he's had the taste of success, he'll get even stronger. Marc Marques - I dont like Mark, at all, but its hard to deny that he's probably the most talented rider ever to throw a leg over a Motogp bike. This year he will either win the title again or will end up hurting himself and not finished the season. now dont get me wrong, despite not liking Mark, I have no wish to see anyone injured what so ever, I just think his issues with arm/shoulder/eye makes him very vulnerable in his many falls. He's now got 3 serious injuries that could be aggravated in a fall. I dont expect him to tame it down at all, thats just not who he is. Joan Mir - If the Suzuki has made the steps that it looks like it has potentially made, I think he could be up there in the top 2 or 3 each race, Like to see him regain the crown actually. If the Suzuki shits the bed on the performance front, he'll jump ship for sure. I think he's one of a few guys who could be super successful on the right bike. Alex Rins - More of the same inconsistency I think- He will not be at Suzuki much longer Jack Miller - Jack will also be inconsistent, I dont think he will match his team mate again this year, his days at Ducati are numbered and I see Enea the beast or Jorge Martin stealing a factory seat in the near future Mav Vianles -I think we'll see a few glimmers of brilliance from Maverick, but I dont expect any major threats to the title chase. I think his teammate will outshine him as usual. Maverick will always be mentally fragile, a trait which doesnt help him in MotoGP Enea the beast - Will amaze us again on a year old Ducati, and I think he'll podium more than he did last year, Id really like to see him win one or two races this year - maybe even get himself a factory ride or move to Pramac if Martin jumps to the factory team. If he gets that qually performance figured out, he will put the cat amongst the pigeons for sure. Alex Marques & Taka - I dont expect much form either of them, despite Taka having a sports Psycologist this year. Dovi will continue to struggle on the Yamaha and will retire this year after a very unremarkable season. Id like to see him do well, but I dont think he will. D Binder - Dont expect he'll adapt too quickly to the MotoGP class, definitely wont be rookie of the year KTM Factory Team - Brad Binder & Miguel Olivera - Much the same as last year I fear. I like the both of them, Just wish they could play at the sharp end a bit more, but I dont think they will Rookie of the year will be Fabio Di Gia Zarco - I dont see any material change year over year for Joan, always close, but not close enough. Jorge Martin - I think Jorge will win a race or two for sure, I think he also stands a very good chance of displacing Jack Miller for that Ducati Factory seat - along with Mir I think Martin has a chance to be a regular front runner in Motogp, talented rider, not sure i like the guy a whole lot from what little ive seen of his persona on TV, but he can ride a bike. Pol Espargaro - will continue to struggle on the Honda and be out shone my Marc - Pol will be jettisoned by Honda by year end, and likely replaced by Mir Aleix Espargaro - will out perform his team mate, and will podium again for Aprilia VR46 team - A difficult year ahead for the VR46 boys I think Marco and Luca will be unremarkable and will spend alot of time towards the back of the grid

Im just about the swap the tires on my 2017 Africa Twin DCT to a more conventional road tire. Ive worn the factory Dunlop Trail Max tires down and since I only ride pavement, it makes sense to go with a sport touring type tire. Im not sold on the new replacement to the VFR tbh. My Africa Twin has basically the same engine and similar look, and its my favourite bike, however, im not sure it the NT1100 would be markedly different to putting sport touring tires on my AT. I have 3 bikes I ride regularly. 2014 VFR800, 2017 Africa Twin, and the 2017 Suzuki M109R. The attraction for me is, they are all so different, the variety is great. The new NT1100 may be a great bike, but I wonder how "different " it really is ? is this a case of Honda just trying to get as much use out of one engine as possible ? (the Rebel is using the parallel twin as well). Im sure its all driven by the economics and public demand for a certain "look". Id be interested in knowing the price point on the NT1100 here in Canada, the Africa Twin's are now off the charts for price $18-22,000, its madness.

Thought I'd chime in here with my experiences /practices. All my regular riding bikes (incl the 2014 VFR800) are laid up for winter storage from mid/late October to some time in April (lots of snow here and VERY cold), so those are all running 91 octane (with 5% Ethanol) and I fill the tanks and use fuel stabilizer. Bikes are in heated storage. For the collector Bikes, that don't see the road as often, and only get run a couple of times a year, I make sure to use a Zero Ethanol high octane fuel, and I still use Stabilizer. I also try and drain the fuel out of each bikes tank annually and refresh it. Though I will admit I occasionally have gone 18-24 months on that fuel change. I run the carbs dry or drain them depending on the bike and how much of a PITA it is to drain them. I keep a log on which bikes had a fuel change and when they were run last. I do also fire up the bikes every 3 months, avoid fuel sitting static for too long in the fuel system, in my mind it makes sense to get fresh fuel through the injectors and what not every 3 months. All bikes are on a battery tender.

looks like the OP's bike is for sale now...$8400 CAD https://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-touring/mississauga-peel-region/2014-honda-vfr-800/1587032432

Very Cool Bikes ! I had a nice RZ350, an RZ500, RG250 Walter Wolf and RGV250 and foolishly sold them all. Keeping my NS tho. Did I see you on the RZ forum not long after I got the VF's ? I recall you said he used to call the VF1kR "the Furnace". ?

🤮

There in lines the other part of the problem, I have a 17' enclosed trailer, I can haul 5 bikes with the Truck and trailer. LOL

LOL Wow, are you talking about the Red VF1000R from down in Etobicoke ? if so he actually sold me both of those VR1000R's I also bought 2 from a fellow in Barrie, the frame from one of the Barrie bikes was the basis for the resto of the red one above .

Thanks Guys, Yea, Im an addict. Space is the only thing that stops me from being a Hoarder to be honest, I have thought of putting a second level in my other Barn/Garage and filling it with bikes, I figure I could get over 70 more in there easy. But, given that im a bit OCD with my stuff It would likely drive me mad not being able to keep 'em all maintained, running and shiny etc. But hey, there are worse things to be addicted to and its largely a self funding hobby if you buy right. So all in all, Im good with it. Few pics of the other bikes... 86 Honda NS400R - 2 stroke V3 1984 Honda CBX750 (restoration this winter all being well). Very Rare in North America VF1000R (Now sold) I restored a few years ago in the Euro colours. Had to rebuild the transmission on this one as well My other VF1000R (now sold) - Light resto on this one but had to do a full frame swap as the frame it arrived with had a rebuilt title. Here's one of the VF500 Interceptor's I built and customized in to a "VF500R" (now Sold). Mainly cosmetics, I cut the fairing to allow use of lower clip-ons. I trimmed the fairings, cut the front fender way down, cut the windshield 4", added a Lockhart lower fairing, rothmans Honda graphics, faux solo seat in white vinyl, Chinese mufflers, bar end mirrors

Thanks, yea a CB1, just 1 Gixer tho, the 93 im currently working on and frustrated with ( I cant figure out my problem), the difference in the 2 GIXXER pictures is the Exhaust system I put on it. Current Fleet: 2014 VFR800 2017 M109R 2017 Africa Twin 1986 NS400R 2007 Aprilia RSV Factory 2010 Rossi R1 2003 Z1000 2000 ZRX1100 1997 CBR600 F3 2006 Buell XB9r Firebolt 2008 Buell 1125R Anniversary 1989 CB1 1988 Hawk GT 1993 GSXR750 1984 CBX750 2020 Beta 300 EVO Trials 2012 CBR125R Repsol