Squidbilly

Just to add, I nipped down to the dealership I bought her from and they sorted me out with the tool and shock spanner, so massive thanks to Belle Vue Honda in Southend, really nice helpful blokes! I also picked up the seat cowl, so she's looking sexier than ever!

Thanks Rayzerman, I was thinking of just buying a replacement c spanner rather than making one, but by the looks of it it may be a bespoke part. In any case, I popped down to the dealership I initially bought her from and they hooked me up (pun intended) with the adjuster tool and shock spanner they had lying about, great customer service! So big shout out to Belle Vue Honda in Southend, much appreciated guys!

Morning champs, Does anyone happen to know what size C spanner / hook spanner I need to tension the chain? There wasn't one included with my toolkit! Thanks, Billy

Quick, albeit belated, update. As recommended, I went to Partzilla and they can ship them to the UK (when I can afford it). Thanks all for your help 🤗

Hello mate, Sorry not sure how I missed this post before. Yeah, you're 100% right, it was engine oil that was done. I'd been working on the forks on the other bike and had a bottle of motul forkoil sitting in front of me so just had a bit of a mental fart! The ride isn't necessarily harsh to be honest mate, I think it just took me a while to adjust from going from having oodles of travel on the Dakar. I won't ask, as it sounds like the time-consuming lesson you learned is still painful! lol Thanks for that link, it'll be useful in the new year when I do the forks (looking through the old receipts that came with the bike it doesn't look like they've ever been done) and might pop down to that place in Wickford once my wallet's recovered from Christmas. I decided to sack off the cover in the end as it just seemed to be trapping moisture in with the bike. I commute 120 miles a day and it's pissing down most of the time, so as much as it pains me, she just has to live out in the elements for now. I'm looking at a Clarke Temporary garage for the new year, assuming the landlord isn't difficult with it being in my parking space. I took the plastics off, gave her a good clean and a generous coating of ACF50, so hopefully that'll mitigate things as much as possible. Fingers crossed.... Now I just need to a C spanner I need to tension the chain, yes the one Grum specifically told me to check for (you can lead a horse to water etc...) as the chain and sprockets need replacing. Does anyone happen to know what size I need? I'll create a new post asking as well.

Also....That colour scheme..... *Chef's kiss* Bellissimo!

Ola Champs! Thanks for all the replies. I'm such a nugget, I never even considered they'd be listed as a 'part' although it's obvious when I think about it, I thought I'd have to look at aftermarket. Really appreciate you chaps for digging out the part no. for me, I'll call the local dealership in a bit and see what they can do, I'm sure they won't try to pull my pants down on the price if they need to come over from the US! Just for clarity by the way, it's the embossed ones I'm after as the US ones had instead of 'VFR', but thank you for looking anyway. This seems to be what I'm after, when I google '86641-MJM-A00ZA' it brings up a couple of image results from old Yahoo Japan sites with the correct badge. I'll let you know how I get on.

Hello mate, thanks for the welcome! Herts isn't a million miles away, only down the road really! Funny you should mention a knackered battery, I had the RAC out the other night as mine had died! Luckily the dealership said they'll cover it on warranty so I've put a new Yuasa ytz12s and they should reimburse me. I'm not sure if the suspension is hard per say, or just harder than I'm used to as the Dakar has travel for days! I think I just need to get accustomed to feeling the road a bit more I suppose, Having said that, it had Motul 5100 10 weight put in a year ago, not sure how that stacks up against the Honda stuff, I'll have to a bit of Googling. She's just ticked over to to 23k, but like I said, not long had new fork oil (and brake fluid), so I'll commute through the winter, get next summer's trip out of the way, then redo all the fluids anyway as that'll probably see me at about 8-10 K. In the meantime, I'll certainly have a play about with the suspension settings. I've not had front adjustables before, but am well used to setting up mountain bike suspension for sag. Luckily three of my neighbors are bikers, so they can provide the extra pair of hands. I would love to go to a place that helps setup the ergo, but I'm not sure if that's something that's available as a service for motorbikes? I've been watching the Dave Moss Tuning videos on Youtube and there's some real good common sense stuff on there, but It'd still be nice to speak to a professional. Cheers mate, I'm certainly enjoying the riding, keeping her clean and dry's a bit more of a challenge though. I use a cover, but where it's in contact with the bike the rain wicks through so she's wet in the mornings (no comment!) I'm going to Fabsil the cover to see if the helps, but I'm open to suggestions for a good cover as I'm just using a cheapo from Amazon at the moment. (I'm also worried it'll scratch her up with this wind we're having)

Evenin' champs! I've just bought an 800F and was looking to change the badges form 'VFR' to 'Interceptor'. I know it's a bit of a show-pony thing to do but well, I think it's cool. Does anyone know if they're available in the UK? Thanks, Billy

Thanks for the advice and encouragement champs, as promised, a couple of pics of my new lady.

Your medical diagnostic skills are second to none Dr 80s, as your prognosis was indeed accurate! I deteriorated rapidly during the evening. I was convinced that I felt the bony hand of The Reaper on my shoulder, however it was the spirit of Eddie The Trooper urging me to fight on. By midday I had made such a miraculous and sudden recovery, that I can only assume it was divine intervention. Imbued with a greater understanding of the fragility of life, I ventured out to Southend, the St. Tropez of Essex. It has been a good day. Thanks mate, glad you're enjoying her, a new can will definitely be on the cards in a few months....

So a bit of a disappointing day today, my supervisor at work was being a bit of a twat and wouldn't me shoot of for an hour to pick up the bike. The next time they can deliver isn't until Wednesday 🥵 So no pics of my new mount yet, but you'll have to settle for my old Tenere in the boot of my car after getting stranded in Devon (long story......) I've been feeling rough all evening though, hopefully I'm not to ill to go in tomorrow!

Thanks Dutchy, Are they known for electrical problems, or are you suggesting I hook one up as a bit of an early warning system? That's good advice re. checking the genny, regulator and solenoid, I'll bear it in mind. I had the 1991 3YF (3rd gen I think?) in blue. I never had any overheating issues, however I did have problems with the structural integrity of some of the gaffer tape and it was a PITA to fit in to the back of a Honda Civic!

Cheers dude, I think you're half right!

Thanks for the advice champs! Took her out for a test ride and loved it! I'm only used to 65 singles (Tenere, Dakar) so it was a world of difference, people were not exaggerating when the described it as buttery smooth! She was surprisingly agile at low speed compared to what I was expecting, which is good as that was one of my main worries and the seat was comfortable. Suspension was a lot harder to what I'm used to and the riding position was a far cry from the sitting up looking over traffic that I'm accustomed to. I paid asking price (I'm useless at at haggling, but I think the dealer knew he was in for an easy time when I came back from the ride grinning form ear to ear), but following Grum's advice (Cheers matey) got them to include: Seat cowl, blanking plates, tool kit, seat collars. The manual and log book are present, with receipts for servicing every year (inc. oil and brakes), having only had one owner from new. It hasn't had the valve clearances checked yet by the looks of things, but the dealer (also a VRF owner) said he'd just wait until I can hear a problem, but I'll cross that bridge a little further down the line once I've picked some brains on the forums a bit more. I also forgot to see if the clutch fluid had been flushed but assuming it's a similar process to flushing brakes(?), then that's something i'd be comfortable doing. Yeah, he probably had those bits sitting outback anyway and just pretended to add them as a sweetener, but like I said, as soon as I walked back in to the dealership he knew my wallet was going to be opening! They're also going to touch up the cosmetics and deliver it tomorrow (60 miles) for free, so all in all I think I did OK, what do you chaps reckon? Thanks again for the advice, I'll pop some snaps up on here in a day or two. Cheers, Billy