Piperdown

Hey, not sure if you got this fixed or not? Trying to run a warm engine with choke is a bad idea in any event. At the very least, you'll be fouling the plugs and of course this will only augment the underlying problem. I would suggest based on what you've said it would be wise to take it to a mechanic. Just make sure you get a solid reference as to who you can trust. Very nice looking bike though.

Very good points. They just have the secret of cross-ref parts locked away. The Bastards!

I'm essentially pulling a long dead topic out of the grave! My 2005 has widened its temp range over the last couple years. Most 20C/70F days on a highway ride it sits at 78C but in traffic the temp escalates quickly and hits fan cycle much more quickly than it used to. It used to sit at 82C and the fan hardly ever came on unless it was bloody hot out or super heat soaked. So, this spring I changed out the coolant for OEM and its still doing it, and now I've been thinking about starting to replace parts. It's tough to get unique parts like this particular thermostat around me however and the OEM stock is pricey to buy, plus shipping. As well, prices aren't coming down with parts for these bikes anytime soon, or ever. I've done some digging through this old topic Automotive thermostat replacement for VFR800??? and saw someone said a thermostat out of a "mid-90's Cavalier" worked in his. Well, I just happened to choose 1990 on rockauto.com and came across one for $4 US that has the right look from pictures (haven't opened mine up yet and probably won't until end of the season if I can avoid it). I also looked at the 1995 and its totally different with different P/N. The 1990 selection is HERE but there's only a couple that have a 80C/180F rated opening as a possibility. The one that is "Fail Safe" would be a bad idea because if it triggers then it has to be replaced yet again. Anyway, the MOTORAD 243180 might fit the bill or provide a cross-reference to still another manufacturer. The one issue seems to be that there is no jiggle pin/ weeping hole in that one. My understanding is the pin/hole is to let any air build up escape through the system but I'm not sure on that. However, a small drilled hole could serve the purpose while avoiding much coolant circulation or alternatively it wouldn't likely be too hard to fab up a small bolt to act as the jiggle pin equivalent. I'm just throwing this out there to see if anyone has any thoughts on 1) the cooling/heating issue I'm seeing 2) interest in discussing feasibility of this alternative and 3) if someone has the inclination to investigate this possibility because they're also in the same pickle.

That's one of the things on my list to check PorradaVFR. I was hoping to leave that for later in the season to check (if nothing else resolves) as I've missed enough of the riding prime time already. I went over some other things on the weekend and nothing yet, so unfortunately the probability is going up. Thanks for your comment.

That's the thing. I would probably say it's normal if there wasn't a distinct difference. Like yesterday morning on the ride into work it ran awesome with no vibration whatsoever. Then on the ride home, it had the ol' vibration (or what I perceive it to be anyway) back to the usual. My air box has K&N and snorkel and flapper deletes. It's been like that for a few years now and the only difference was the sound. There's another recent topic on leaky injectors so I'm going to have to do some more research on the diagnostics for that.

Hey adg, I've been noticing something that could be similar on mine as well. I haven't put my finger (literally or figuratively) on it either. I've never heard anything but then I almost always wear plugs. It's more of a feel in the pegs or the pants that it's running a little harsh/off. Just like your's it's in the mid-rev range, but it seems better at times than others. Quite strange. I think this was there before but I had to recently put a stator in so I'm intensely paranoid for the time being in case I screwed up or there is another screw up to deal with related or otherwise. I just don't recall the vibration feeling as noticeable before. Oh well, just going to keep checking things like you are. The only other thing I could think of was that I might have a bad injector (which is somewhat common I understand) and it's not fueling properly. I used to have a strong gas smell after a ride but that's no longer the case lately so not sure if that's a bad thing and now a worse thing? Who knows. If I come up with anything, I'll post asap. Wish I could help you but that's all I've got for now.

The almost complete reference guides to oil filter alternatives: shorter types longer types This is just from a cross reference guide provided by Fram on their website so TIFWIW. Any user needs to do their own due diligence.

Image2.jpg This is what the "Bowtie Tour" is going to look like at least from the Calgary side. Some guys coming from Vancouver as well so that creates the other side of the bowtie. 2026 km or 1 day 5 hours drive according to Google. Good thing I got that new rear. Thanks again to all those who provided input here. I'll definitely have some impressions to relate once I get back.

Yeah with the exchange at about $1.05/USD pretty much everything is cheaper State-side even with shipping and duties. Given more time I probably would have gone that route but then you have to get the stealership to prioritize your tire change (one I talked to wouldn't even do it if you didn't buy the tire there). If you buy the gear to change tires, you can have my business for sure. I just want to save on the rubber.

The dealers certainly have us by the danglers in Calgary.

Thank you all for your quick response (once again why this is the best darn forum on the web). I just got a quote from Blackfoot (you can't hear the distain in my voice but its there) and they've actually got a great deal on Pilot Powers (if the guy actually knew what he was talking about) for $204 +$60 mounting. Based on your responses the PP's will likely be a reasonable match but won't have the greatest wear. I think I want the comfort of the extra grip over the Pilot Roads though as I'm doing some major twisties through BC for this next trip. Then hopefully the Storms will be back in stock (saying August sometime right now) and I'll put one of those on down the road as the reviews have been excellent. Superfunkomatic: where was that week's wait for tire swap? Not Blackfoot hopefully? Cheers. :thumbsup:

I need a new rear tire before I leave on a long (2000 km) trip one week from today. I'm riding Avon Azaro ST's right now but the dealers are saying it will be 7-10 days to get one of those in so I'll have left by then. The front has a good way to go but the rear is on the wear bars so I want to replacement the rear and not the front (if possible). Where I need help: so what rear tire would you recommend that I can mix with the Azaro ST front? One dealer recommended Michelin Pilot Roads but after reading the reviews on these here I don't like the sound of them (even though they are super cheap $214 CDN). Any suggestions?

I am kind of curious that bsd43 is saying that 6.4mm clips work perfectly, and VFR Flyer says that 6mm is the correct size and that 6.4mm doesn't work. ??? :unsure:

Wow, that second pic is really impressive! I guess the trick would be just keeping it straight no matter what? I would think the force created on the front would probably throw the bike pretty quick if you had to turn at all? Could you do this and keep power up or not? BTW, nice review. :thumbsup: