Veefer800Canuck

Well, the ride is certainly more "taut" for lack of a better description. I still haven't foodled with all the adjustments yet. I've only been through one tank of fuel so far this year. I've basically got the 929 shock set at the factory default settings (for a 929 that is). When I get some more time, I'll mess with it more. But I have absolutely no idea when I'll have more time. :beer: Somebody wanna send me some? :joystick:

I have absolutely no idea. Let me have a look. <disappears into the internet> :joystick: <reappears armed with facts> :pissed: First off, the '99 VFR shock spring rate is 15.3kg/mm, the 929 is coincidentally, exactly the same. 2002 GSXR1000 is only 7.7 kg/mm. So right off the hop, your spring is like half as stiff as it needs to be. Need: new spring. And revalving to suit said spring. Length: GSXR shock = 329mm, which is longer than a VFR800 shock by 4mm. Probably would fit and raise the rear of the bike by approx. 10mm overall with the stock upper shock mount. This is a good thing in and of itself. Shock stroke length, GSXR= 74mm Vs VFR800 which is only 58mm. So you'd have waay too much wheel travel and the swingarm would extend upwards too much at full compression. Like an extra inch and a half more upwards travel. 6.6" Vs 5.1" Not good. The only way I could see it working is to respring the shock, revalve it for the new twice as stiff spring, and fit some sort of internal stop to limit the shock's travel to 58mm of stroke. Probably it's doable by a professional suspension shop like Racetech, Aftershocks, Lindemann, Traxxion, etc, but by the time you did all that, you could buy an aftermarket shock and be off riding.

Good going Borg, yeah, you got it right. With raising the forks, beware your clearance between the front fender and the horn. Or at least I think the 6th gen horn is below the triple clamp like the 5th gen. Anyhow, that is your area of concern. After raising the forks, when the bike is on the centerstand, take a floor jack, put it under the header pipes and lift the front end off the ground by a hair or two. Measure the clearance between the fender and the nearest immovable object above. If it's more then 5.5", you should be fine. :thumbsup:

5 for the gauge faces in your fav colour, and 6 for the turn & idiot lights in white if you care to change them too (optional).

No, on page 19-9 those would be the turnsignal indicator bulbs as shown. Look on page 19-11 and in the top pic, it shows the backside of the meter panel. The top two bulbs are the turnsignal indicators, the bottom 4 (real close together) are the idiot warning lights. It's the "other" 5 that light up the gauges. Of course, there's nothing to stop you from changing the 6 (total) indicator and idiot lights to LEDs, but since they shine through coloured lenses, you would probably want to use white LEDs for them and blue/red whatever colour you prefer for the gauge faces. There are 3-10mm nuts that hold the instrument cluster to the upper fairing stay. I removed these and pulled the cluster loose to facilitate changing the bulbs more easily.

Oh yeah, well mine's faster 'cuz my speedometer says 280! :P Yours only goes 170 ......and my Dad can beat up your Dad! :deer:

Oh, you got the ones with the 4 LEDs? Like this: border='0' alt='user posted image' /> I got these puppies and they're quite bright even though they only have 1 LED in them. I really like the wide angle tip, it illuminates the gauge face evenly: border='0' alt='user posted image' /> I was concerned that the 4-LED ones would be TOO bright at night and thus be distracting. The ones I wound up with are perfect, IMO.

to Chris' reply. They're kinda purple but they are more noticeable than in the picture. The camera is a bit stingy with the actual look of the needles. They're not bright orange as stock, but still quite legible at night, purple they are, yes.

Yes it is shorter, but has almost identical shock stoke length. IIRC, 57mm Vs 58mm It's shorter because of the design on the shock, Internal reservior for the VFR Vs external reservior for the CBR. The longer upper shock mount takes care of the difference in length. border='0' alt='user posted image' /> 954 shock install 011.jpg It's sorted (using a 929 shock, not a 954) and working fine in the limited ride time I've had (75km).

They DO make the lights that I used in Red, but Unf, the 6th gen already has LED lights and they are soldered to the electonic panel of the gauges. It's a bout of electro-surgery to replace them, but you can have it done here and in colours other then blue: http://www.bluegauges.com/motorcycle/vfr800.htm If any 5th gen owners wanted red gauge lights (or other), they could certainly go ahead using the same type LEDs I did from the supplier above.

Oh, and I might mention that I had previously tried some #194 incandescent bulbs from the local auto store that were painted blue (from the factory) and they were very dim. Even in the darkest night, the gauge faces were too dim to be immediately readable, but the LED's are a whole 'nother story! :P

Welp, as I was relocating my dual Fiamm horns last week, I finally did the blue gauge mod. I had ordered 5 inverted-tip, wide angle LEDS from http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html The inverted-tip causes the LEDs to emit a broad beam which avoids "spotlighting" the gauge face near where each bulb is located. Installation is exactly the same as replacing the stock incandescent bulbs, see your service manual if unsure. Only 1 caveat and that is the bulbs are polarized, so they only work when installed in one direction (+/-). I put mine in with the ignition on, and the garage semi-dark so I could tell if each individual bulb lit up. There were a couple I had to turn the base 180' to get them to light, easy as cake. :thumbsup: The end result:

The little brown truck arrives (in Canada) with a family-sized jar of Vaseline and a very large brokerage bill too. BROKER-age being the fine point. $7.50 filter instantly doubles in value with shipping, GST, duty and brokerage. The Yamaha dealer is a mile away from me.

3FV-13440-10

Yes, but the key for me is availability in this little logging/oilfield town located 2 hours from the bright lights. :idea3:

So I don't have the luxury of a Honda dealer near to me, and the one that is 2 hours away wants a princely 20 bucks for a dang oil filter....... What I DO have is a Yamaha shop and I discovered from a VTX1800 riding friend that a filter common to many Yamahas will fit. Picture 002.jpg Check it out! :beer: It even fits outboard motors! :P Picture 001.jpg Cheaper at only 12 bucks. The possibly better part is that instead of a pleated paper element, it has a solid block of synthetic media. Picture 003.jpg

Since this is a bit of an evergreen topic, I thought I'd post an inexpensive fixit for the stupid fairing clips. I got these rather robust clips from my local NAPA outlet, 10 to a pack for 7 bucks. border='0' alt='user posted image' /> Picture 009.jpg They are larger then the stock Honda clips and require you to slightly enlarge the mounting holes by using a slightly larger drill bit and turning it by hand through the fairing holes. Don't use a drill, not required. Try 1 size larger, test the new clip and if it's still too tight, try 1 size larger still. Here's a lineup of the crappy broken Honda clip, an intact one, and the NAPA one: border='0' alt='user posted image' /> Picture 011.jpg

He had a disagreement with the new publishers as to the direction the magazine should take in the future, and apparently could not come to terms with them. He wanted to run the magazine like they always had, and the publisher had new ideas, exactly what, I'm not sure, but apparently he felt it could not be worked around, so he left. Too bad, and I hope the magazine doesn't go down the crapper for it.

Oh, and I forgot to add: Nyahh, Nyahh, I've ridden it and you haven't, Nyahh, Nyahh! :P :warranty: Rick, we gotta trade again this summer so you can check out the GL800RR-SP2.

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