Lorne

My current helmet is an Arai Corsair-V in the Aoyama colours that I bought way back in 2013. I seem to be one of the lucky souls that never struggles to find a good fitting helmet. Anyhow, I was looking at Service Pavilion and saw there's a Corsair-X in the Luca Cadalora graphics available. Pricey, but I had a Signet II in the same colours back in the late '90s so I ordered one, and it arrived today. It fits perfectly, exactly the same as every Arai I've had over the past 30 years.

  The shell is noticeably larger than the previous one, as you can see in the side-by-side. As it happens I wore the old one on trips in three consecutive years on three different Hondas.

Honda says the 46mm 

I stopped by my local dealer to see if they could check the tightness of my VFR's axle bolt. The service manual says the 46mm bolt should be torqued to 146 lb-ft. The shops 45mm socket fit perfectly - go figure.

Turns out it my bolt was torqued to at least 146 according their torque wrench. No idea why it isn’t staked in the right spot, but at least it ain’t coming loose anytime soon. I will stake the nut tomorrow just for peace of mind.

Either mine was staked incorrectly or it's rotated almost a full circle. And mine has less thread showing than in Worfje's photo but about the same as HighwayStar's.

The biggest socket I have is 1¼", nowhere near as big as the 46mm nut requires.

On 5/3/2026 at 12:36 AM, fixit58 said:

I am concerned about the charge rate dropping to just over 13V. at battery in this condition. 14.4V on dip alone.

Does this voltage drop happen at normal engine speed, >4000 rpm? You might try unplugging the lo beam bulbs to see how just the hi beam bulbs compared. All 4 headlight bulbs are ~55 W, so if the circuitry is ok then the power draw with either pair of bulbs should be equal. Good luck.

It is a brilliant afternoon and my VFR was looking a bit scruffy so I gave it a bath.  Last month I noticed a bit of oil weeping from the front cam chain tensioner, but that will have to wait for another day.

Question for you all, is it possible to replace the mirror glass on a VFR like mine? 

Hiya danks, welcome to the group. You 4th looks terrific for a 30 year old with significant mileage. You'll find owners & service manuals, amongst other docs, in the downloads section.

As well as modifying the brackets to suite the different subframe, you'll need to modify the exhaust. A good 1st step is to look at the installation guide, available from our downloads pages.

On 4/23/2026 at 2:09 AM, DrErgal said:

First test for the bike and... for the biker either, as I haven't been wearing a leather suit for a decade  😁
 

Well, the bike is lovely;

Your VTR looks fantastic. Glad that you are happy with all the changes. And, yes, I regret selling my VTR, too. 

On 4/11/2026 at 12:34 PM, FromMaine said:

Will let this cure for 3-4 days then sand and apply 2 top coats.

Forgot to ask, did you use a paint with pearl added? I used pearl paint on my yellow '99's wheels, and the 8-spoke of course.  Besides, my '09 Vtec's bodywork has pearl so it suits the bike.

7 hours ago, FromMaine said:

I drank the White Rims Kool-aid a long time ago.

Welcome to the club!

Your photo freaked me out ‘cause I thought there was a throttle cable coming out the left handgrip. 

Terry is probably correct about the cam chain tensioners being at fault. But mine had more of a clunking sound rather than the clicking in notepad's video.

19 minutes ago, notepader said:

Hey I've got this weird ticking sound coming from my engine can someone tell me what it is please.

Did you do anything when the ticking disappeared? 

Many things could be causing that ticking, most of them expensive. Good luck.

This afternoon I tackled the job of replacing all the vacuum lines - well, most of 'em at least. It is a fiddly job but not particularly difficult. Keeping track of where all the hoses, lines, and electrical connectors belong is the tricky bit. Dropping something down an intake runner is best avoided. I don't think there were any leaks, but they looked pretty crusty last year when I was changing the cam tensioners.

After finishing the VFR seems to run just fine so I took a spin around the waterfront.

A spritz or two of WD40 loosened up the old grease on the handlebar start button and all is now well with the world. Another plus is I found the spare right handlebar switch I'd bought a couple years ago but hadn't got around to fitting it. 

I just collected my VTec from the shop, after they fitted the forks with new bushings and seals. One of the downsides not having a garage, basement, or even a shed is the lack of a decent workspace. At least it has a carport to keep most of the weather off.

Next task is to clean and relive the throttle side switchgear as the starter button is slow to release. And then I think I ought to replace every vacuum line I can find. I found a very crispy one last year when I replaced the cam chain tensioners.

Cman, your VFR will have either a set of NGK spark plugs or a set of Denso ones. 
Honda, and all manufacturers, often source parts from more than one source. Another example is with tires where, for my 2009 VFR, the owners manual lists Dunlop, Metzler, and Bridgestone models.

46 minutes ago, St. Stephen said:

Yeah, you're looking south, I'm looking north. I confess I've posted this pic before, but, well, you know.

This summer I plan on exploring a little closer to home. It's been 4 years since my last road trip, and revisiting southern BC and western Alberta is long overdue.

46 minutes ago, St. Stephen said:

Love those bumblebees!

Anyone who doesn't love a yellow VFR ain't wired up right 😉

On 3/18/2026 at 7:14 PM, St. Stephen said:

here's a rare--these days--riding photo:

 

Ooh, that view looks familiar so I jumped into Google Earth for a little spelunking. Yep, ridden past Goat Rock a number of times but never took the side road to that viewpoint.

Back in '99 I was southbound to Monterey and stopped at a viewpoint above Russian Gulch - not much up the road from Goat Rock. Was hit by a bout of vertigo as I stepped off my VFR but managed to grab my water bottle for a drink. Spent about 15 mins sat on a log admiring the scene, waiting (hoping) to recover my equilibrium. 

This fantastic view is the reason I stopped. 

Welcome, Woland, you'll find there's a lot of maintenance info, travel guides, and photos here at VFRD. And the downloads section has pdfs of owners & service manuals for your VFR.

15 hours ago, Dav said:

In painting all is about preparing surface.

If you have any question, just ask im a hobbyist painter 😛 

I'd add that with yellow 5th gens Honda struggled to match the different fairing panels. The side fairings on my yellow '99 were noticeably lighter than the the front cowl and the fuel tank.

That is a lovely set of M68 wheels, just like the set on my '06 325Ci. Though mine look like the 'before' photo.

13 hours ago, Lucca said:

i will literally make this bike new..

You've done a lot of work so far, Lucca. But now I'm feeling guilty about how much maintenance my VFR needs. 

6 hours ago, St. Stephen said:

For all you frozen northern hemisphere riders.

More like damp & dreary in my neck of the woods, but I appreciate the thought and hope you had an enjoyable ride.

Cal128 is a favourite route back to the coast when I’m homeward bound. Hilly and twisty through oak meadows near 101, before cooling down in the coastal forest. Funny, I don’t think I’ve ever stopped in Philo or Boonville.

Anyone else notice that some roads are enjoyable to ride either way but somehow one direction just feels more natural.

On 2/3/2026 at 1:10 PM, Captain 80s said:

If you need one, you will instantly know what that is.

I often wish I'd kept the bike it would fit

2 hours ago, St. Stephen said:

Can't post photos, get this message. file too big?

Ok, I'll give it a go, pic is 1600px on the long axis and pasted in as rich text. This was a younger slimmer me at the 1993 Vancouver motorcycle show. White '93 VFRs were very tempting and very not-red, but I ended up with a low mileage 2nd hand '91 VFR instead. Red, of course.