Lorne

Today was the first sunny day in a couple of weeks, and since my insurance runs out in a week or so I took my VFR on some errands.

Sunny ≠ warm, and there was a brisk wind, too. But I found a favourite spot to snap this piccy for posterity. This is atop King George terrace in Victoria, BC.

Hi Lorne,

Thank you for your donation of --. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation.

Thanks VFRDiscussion

I bought a pair of Sidi Cobra Air boots at the 2012 WSB races at Laguna Seca. I liked 'em so much that I ordered another pair when I got back home.

     So, what did I like about these boots? First of all, they fit well. The uppers are perforated which aids comfort on those long hot days. Surprisingly, they aren't too cool when the mercury drops. As a rule I don't ride in rain, but have been caught in some torrential downpours a number of times over the years. I won't say my socks always stay dry, but I suppose my 6th gen's fairing blocks most of the rain.

     My pair are easy to put on and have a simple, non-fussy closure. The sole is pretty rigid, but comfy enough for short walks. Would take them hiking, tho. 

     The give a good feel of the shifter, like a nice pair of summer gloves do for the hand controls. My previous boots were padded numbed any feeling.

      But after 75K km and 10 years the uppers are starting to break down and it is about time to retire them. Sure glad I bought that 2nd pair 'cause the Cobra isn't available anymore. Whatever the replacement I'd have to hope that I chose wisely.

On 8/21/2022 at 2:37 PM, ShipFixer said:

new Michelin Road 5 and a whole lot of cleanup on the rim

Good man, Michelin's R5 really suit the VFR.

Even if it spins 360° you may need to remove the sprocket. Rotate it each way to see to see if how far it will go.

Remember, with the chain adjusted properly, depending on how the eccentric is positioned you may not gain much extra ride height. If it is currently at 6 o'clock you'd gain a lot more than if it is at 4 o'clock.

Fwiw, the eccentric on my '91 VFR750 wouldn't quite spin all the way round, probably about 340°. 

Good luck

You gonna need a bigger screen 😉

Alternatively, in Safari on a Mac you can press ⌘- to downsize the page contents. The text will stay readable for a few clicks.

7 hours ago, JZH said:

So, Canada got black and red in 1998

I don't have the 1998 brochure but here's what the 1999 thru 2005 Honda Canada brochures say. Also included the Canadian list price for some years.

1998

1999   yellow                                     $12,899

2000   green, red, blue                     $12,899

2001   red, silver, blue (the brochures pics show these, but the specs list green instead of silver)

2002   red, silver  ABS: red, black    $13,399/14,199   seems to be the only year with different colours for ABS models

2003   red, metallic silver                  $13,399/14,199

2004   matte black, red                     $13,399/14,199

2005   red, light silver metallic

2006   pearl cosmic black, pearl sunbeam white        

That is a restraining cable, I believe, to prevent one from tilting the fuel tank to far backward. You can just see it in p.3-5 of the service manual, where they also show how to use some of the tool kit to prop up the tank. Frankly, a better prop can be fashioned from a length of wooden dowel.

8 hours ago, RC1237V said:

36 and 299 are still on my bucket list!

Hwy 36 lost some of the roller-coastery curves (about a mile's worth) from the east most end - about 10 miles west of Red Bluff - a few years ago, but otherwise it is a fun ride. Here's a short video eastbound on Hwy 36.

As St. Stephen said, Hwy 299 is nothing to write home about. Otoh, Hwy 3 between 36 & 299 is a real treat.

A good 400 mile ride might start at Yreka and take 263 to 96 west along the Klamath river to 299 at Willow Creek. Along the way is a really fun section between Weitchpec and Hoopa.

About 12 miles west of Willow Creek is Titlow Hill road, take it and South Fork Mountain road south to 36 near Mad River. East on Mad River about 20 miles to the junction with 3, then north on it past Weaverville tand on to Yreka. Or at Callahan take Gazelle-Callahan road to Grenada and a short stint on I5 to Yreka. 

Adventurous souls might try Callahan west to Somes Bar, on 96 just north of Orleans. I did it in 2003 on my VTR1000F and enjoyed it, but the pavement was sketchy in places. Here's a video from back then Gazelle-Orleans by VTR

19 hours ago, RC1237V said:

Just got back from 1,176 mile ride in the Sierras! 

 

Thanks for a great write-up & pics of your compact tour in the Sierra Nevadas. Haven't yet ridden Priest Grade, will have to remedy that oversight on my next trip. But I really like roads like J16 from Bear Valley to Snelling - they are so different to any around home.

When I get down to this neck of the woods there are a couple favourite roads that you skirted past that other folk don't know about - but you would, of course.

Here are Google links to them:

  Monitor Pass at the east most end of Hwy 89 

  Gold Lake Hwy - Graeagle to Sierra City 

You may recall that I bought my 2009 VFR as n.o.s. in summer 2011. The stator partially failed during my 2015 Colorado trip, which drained the battery under 11 vdc - never a good thing for a m/c battery. A small bike shop in Delta, Colo., supplied an off-brand battery that I used for the rest of the trip, but took my recharged oe Yuasa home with me.

Then on the last day of our 2017 California trip I somehow left the key in & ignition on overnight at the motel. Managed to jump start it with a grudgingly cooperative fellow leaving the motel. Back home I put the oe Yuasa on my proper charger before returning it to the bike. 

Over the years I'd use the oe Yuasa for trips and the no-name for around town. Before this years trip I reinstalled the Yuasa, having sat on the tender for several weeks and it barely started the VFR. So I swapped in the other one for my trip.

Anyhow, yesterday whilst running errands the VFR stalled but wouldn't restart. All signs of a flat battery, and a friend's meter confirmed so: 12.5 vdc but dropped under 6 volts when I hit the starter.

With a new no-name battery installed there's ~14.2 vdc so at least the stator is working - for now...

16 hours ago, Veefer800Canuck said:

If anyone gets the chance to do trackdays at Rocky Mountain Motorsports just north of Calgary, do it. Fun fun fun. 

Looking through the corner - ✔️

Good body position - ✔️

Having a whale of a time - ✔️✔️

13 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Currently a litre is around €2,50

You are a very sensible man 😉

Fwiw, my trip totalled 4740 km, used 259 litres/68.5 galUS/57 gal-Imp, cost ~US$446 or the same in Euro, and I averaged 18km/litre, 43mpg US, 51mpg Imp

This spring someone asked if higher gasoline prices would change your trip plans. That seemed odd to me because there are three main costs to a trip: fuel, meals/food, and accommodation. In the past the breakdown on my trips was 25% for fuel, 25% for meals, and 50% for motels. That is almost exactly what my costs this year came to.

But who wants to read about finances? Here's a pretty photo from Pacific Grove, California. You are looking east towards Cannery Row and in the distance is Seaside, Ca., with Laguna Seca nestled in the hills beyond.

It's been a loong three years since my last bike trip way back in 2019. After a false start last year my pal Tony and I began planning our return to Laguna Seca for the MotoAmerica super bike races. America's July 4th holiday complicated route planning with motel rooms sometimes hard to come by, and pricier to boot. With reservations made and a route selected we headed off.

One goal this year was to ride thru Lassen Volcanic NP. We've been skunked with bad weather every other time, and again this year. Otoh, it gave us the excuse/necessity of visiting Susanville for breakfast. And the opportunity to revisit an old friend, this mural on 611 Main St. This photo shows it on both my 1995 and 2022 visits.

That's my pal, Tony, in this year's pic. More posts of my trip - and what happened to Tony in upcoming posts.

4 hours ago, Kbear said:

Is there a technique that you guys have a handle on that may give me more confidence in lifting this motorcycle to the centerstand

Good advice so far, but your reply is vague as to where you hold onto the VFR. I hold the left handlebar with my left hand, foot on the centrestand, and right hand palm-out holding the passenger peg/pannier bracket as indicated below. 

So long as the ground is level your VFR should be quite stable while you lift. As the others note, press down and lift at the same time.

6 hours ago, YorkshireVFR said:

Gen3 query regarding the stock exhaust can. Mines stamped HM MT4 E1. Would one stamped HM MY7 E1 be a  exact replacement?

Assuming both cans look the same, yes. 18310-MT4-670 is the p/n for the 1990 & 1991 models, and 18310-MY7-670 is the p/n for the slightly longer but otherwise identical unit Honda made  for 1992/1993. The 1994-1997 exhaust, p/n 1831-MZ7-670,  is completely different - and much less attractive. For reference, I've attached the pertinent pages from the parts catalogue.

As it happens I have a spare -MY7 but shipping halfway 'round the world would be costly.

3 hours ago, MaxSwell said:

What/how did you do the first step: "strip fork lowers"?

 

You may be referring to my post above Cogs', if so here is how I tidied up the forks of my '92 VFR750.

As I recall I used 'aircraft' paint stripper, liberally applied to loosen the paint, then more stripper on #0000 steel wool to remove any stubborn bits.

After washing them with plenty of hot, soapy water I used emery cloth to smooth out any scratches/divots. After getting the paint off I took them to my fave mechanic to have him install Race Tech springs & valving kit.

Then polished them with Solvol Autosol (any similar product would work). The process was a lot easier than I expected, and the shine lasted for years and 20K km afterwords.

Obviously, the smoother the fork legs are the easier it is to get them shiny, and my VFR's were pretty smooth.

20 hours ago, JFGarro said:

The last task for the weekend, was to polish the OEM exhaust terminal

Your exhaust pipe looks really good, though the outlet end was originally gold coloured. The plating was very delicate and the bike is 30 years old so not a surprise that it didn't survive. Here is what it looked like originally.

7 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

Obtained a seat cowl in Granite Blue.  Brand new.

Now I need to come up with a bump pad, or other solution. 

As I recall, the bump pad was colour matched to the seat material. Your seat being black should make finding one relatively easy. Good luck.

45 minutes ago, RossR said:

The white really looks good against the yellow.

It certainly does. I had the wheels painted in a pearl white, it has a bit of sparkle in direct sun. I really miss my yellow '99.

The pics in this thread show the difference: stock bars vs. LSL kit on a 6th Gen VFR800.

1 hour ago, RossR said:

Has anybody ever measured the ST cables with regard to length and free play

I used ST1300 throttle cables when I installed an LSL Superbike handlebar kit on my '09 6th Gen. They are p/n# 17910-MCS-G00 + 17920-MCS-G00, and about 4’ / 100mm longer then my VTec's oe cables, and my guess is that it is very similar to your 5th Gen's. Other folk have opted to reroute the stock cables but I couldn't make the oe cables work.

I just noticed this on my YouTube feed, a lap of the Isle of Man TT:

Onboard with John McGuinness | Full Video

ps. you'll have to click the link as I couldn't figure a way to embed the video or make the photo linkable

On 3/9/2022 at 5:31 PM, Grum said:

Just fitted a new 180/55/17 rear tire a Michelin Road 6 at the cost of $389AU. My last rear a Pilot Road 2 was exactly $130 cheaper.

 

I was told that there have been two recent price increases somehow connected with covid issues!! 

Seems like Michelin are pricing themselves out of the market.

Clearly, I'm late to this thread but thought I'd pass along the Canadian perspective. And I can relate to the huge cost disparity between US and everywhere else. 

I've been a Michelin fan since my first set of Michelin Pilot Sport more than 22 years ago and a couple weeks ago I had a set of PR5 installed. They cost C$209 & C$269 (AU$295) before tax & install. 

It's been awhile since I last had non-Michelins; my '09 VTec's oe tires were D207(possibly D204!) and for the next set I tried a set of Pirelli Angel ST. Calling them rim protectors may be a bit harsh, but the third set of tires were Pilot Power 3 which transformed the VFR. 

Lastly, while the Pilot Power/Power RS feel even better than Pilot Roads, their lesser mileage isn't worth it to me.