SLO97VFR

Ok so where are the how toos? Id be interested in seeing more how you attached the tips. I like the look a bit better than my 600rr muffler. I have no idea how you got the 1000 muffler up there as the one I have is too wide for the subframe. Post up some pics of the up pipe and all. If you find it needs more clearence I have some tail risers I had made up. Brian

Link to my build here:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/51285-gen-4-poll-for-which-exhast-under-tail-to-mod/page__p__611252__hl__4th+gen+undertail__fromsearch__1#entry611252

I put my 929 shock into my 5th gen today. I used part of a 1/4" x 1 1/4" kart axle for the spacer, and made it 45mm longer than stock including the washer. Heavy and not as elegant as some of the other beautiful spacers people have made, but I'm way more overweight than the bike anyway. Plus I only spent $35 for the shock and 3/8 grade 8 hardware.

Due to the larger diameter spacer, I had to grind a little notch in the top of the spacer to clear the protruding angle in the frame rail. No clearance issues. I rode about 15 miles this am, starting with the preload on the 3th increment from max, with damping set in the middle on both comp. and rebound. So far seems like an improvement in ride quality and control compared to the old stock shock.

Try and set up the shock by your sag measurements. If you are over 170 lbs you may need to get a heavier spring in her.

Yep for my 929 shock. PM me with your payment needs, paypal etc.. Thanks Brian

I need a spanner as my tools were dropping out the back of my bike like some kind of bombing run this weekend. Almost took out 2 of the riders behind me. Let me know how much $$ for a good wrench. Also with the shock the other way are you able to get to the top adjustment?

In theory and I wish I had this thought before.. Also its gonne be 3 weeks tilll I can comfirm..

I just not OCD with a tape measure, But I will play with the functionality of something till im satisfied its RIGHT..

You should be able to just use the Reb valve and comp Rod in the Vfr cartridge. The Rod/Reb valve is gonna top out regardless I assume. and I may have to build a litle preload into the Spacer length when I put them together for the final time.. I had to buy some more 1" Electricl schd 40 pvc so I have a 10ft piece at the house to play with..

Hopefully someeone who did this mod will eventually stop in n post..

You should have about 1" or a bit more of preload spacing from the top of the fork tube to the bottom of the cap before assembly. And never reuse any fluid for anything! Its also the best insurance to have clean new fluid going back in what ever you have taken apart. .02

Ok so I got busy the other day and decided to install my ALL Balls Steering Stem Tapper Bearing kit. Ill list some tools I used then a photo essay for you. Plan on about 3 to 4 hours to complete.

Tools/Parts

All Balls Stem Bearing Kit # 22-1020 (good for 5 gen too)

Good grease. waterproof if you like.

Can of brake cleaner

rags

latex gloves

Tools:

Jack

Torque Wrench

Sockets: 30mm, 24mm, 22mm, 12mm, 14mm, 10mm, 8mm

Rachets: 1/2 and 3/8 with small and medium extensions

Wrenches: possible crescent wrench if you dont have the bigger sockets.

Punch/chisel set Long punch needed to pound out old races

Phillips and straight screw drivers

5mm allen socket/driver (cowls and fender )

6mm allen wrench

Bearing Race driver or press is recommended

Hammer

You do not have to take the nose off if you dont want but I dont like fighting to get into places (like the lower bearing race). I decided to take the extra 10 minutes and strip my plastics off. This was a good thing as I also went ahead and did the following and suggest you may plan for this as well but not covered in this post:

* Change fork oil (I found bent tubes on mine and switched out for spare forks, switching my springs and valves and changed the fluid. )

* Change Coolant (removed radiator from bracket and lower hose to access front pugs). Drain at water pump also.

* Change front plugs (every 8k miles). Will do the rear ones and clean oil k/n air filter in a few weeks when I install the 929 rear shock.

Start stripping off the Side plastics and nose and than jack up front end under headers:

Remove front brake calipers, loosen lower axle bolt pinch bolts, remove axle nut, drive axle out of wheel, remove wheel and then fender.

IF you are going to change your fork oil and/or install and new springs/internals do this: BEFORE you loosen the triple clamps loosen the upper fork caps ( just enough to break them loose) this way you don't have to damage the forks in a vise!

Next loosen the top 30mm center triple nut (may have to turn to full lock to loosen). Proceed to loosen handle bar pinch bolts and remove bars to the side. Loosen top triple clamp bolts and then lower triple clamp bolts. Remove zip ties around fork legs. Remove fork legs

Remove horn wires and horn assembly ( I didnt and wished I did). Remove 30mm nut and then pull off upper triple tree. Carefully bend down the 2 tangs that are holding upper nut and remove upper nut. I used a special screwdriver to loosen the lower nut till loose. Undo by hand while holding lower triple tree. Once nut is loose you can remove upper seal and bearing and drop out lower clamp w/stem

After the stem is removed clean up some of the old grease away from the steering head and races. There are cut outs in the head that allow you to drift out the old races. You can see these in the after shots pretty well located at 12 and 6 o'clock. Get your punch and hammer and rotate from side to side walking the old race out.Clean up old grease out of head and prepare for new races.

You now need to remove the bearing off the lower stem. I dont have my vise set up but it would be easier with one. The idea is the same either way. Start by driving a screwdriver or small chisel between the seal and lower triple clamp to wedge bearing off shaft. Careful not to be hammering and hitting the shaft with driver/chisel, you want to be on the side of it. ALSO be sure to protect the threads on the other end, installing the top nut is a good idea. After the bearing is away from the lower clamp you can use a small punch rotating around the bearing to get it up about an inch till it will slide off.

Clean up the shaft and open up your new bearing kit. There is a special press tool from honda and if you have the $$ Id love to have it but I dont have the $$ or the time. I love new tools and bought this Harbor Freight Driver set $29.95. Had a good size for the upper but not really for the lower race but worked ok. I put both races and stem in the freezer while I greased up and cleaned up to help installation. Plus its just plain COOL :)

After about 20-30 minutes in the freezer I called it good and took the top race out and installed it :

Then the lower the same way. Dont get to hammer happy and make sure the races are going in evenly. I had to take a punch on the lower one to straighten out itself into its new home but it made it safe

I then greased up the 2 bearings by hand. Please people PACK your bearings and not just smear grease on the outside. If you have a bearing packer and know how to use it then good. If not hand pack them using latex gloves and the palm of your hand. You pack into the larger diameter end forcing grease to come out the other side. ALSO you do NOT want grease on the inside of the bearing that goes on the shaft. You want the bearing to rotate not the inner shaft end, so clean it up!

Install the new large seal washer on the CLEANED shaft and then the new greased large bearing. I used the old bearing raced I punched off as a guide to drift the new bearing on. Other people have used a piece of PVC pipe along with the old bearing race to drive the new bearing on as well. However you do it be sure that you are pressing the bearing on VIA the inner shaft of the bearing and never the outer cage or its toast and your done till you get another bearing.

Now install the lower triple into the head and install upper greased bearing, seal, then lower nut.

To finish I used a screwdriver and hammer to tighten the lower nut pretty tight to set the bearings. I then loosened the nut and tighten down by hand as much as I could making sure there was no play in the shaft/bearings. Install the lock washer next then the top nut. Tighten the top nut down just enough to line up the next spot to fold the lock ring tabs into. Install horn and wires. Install upper triple clamp and nut hand tight only. Reinstall forks (making sure your throttle cables, clutch line and wires are routed correct) to a distance of 39mm (stock) from top of triple to top of fork leg. I did mine at 42mm to top of nut. Tighten down upper fork pinch bolts to hold settings. Install the front axle and I wiggled the upper triple back and forth, while holding lower legs between my legs, to help center/align the upper and lower triple trees. Torque upper and lower pinch bolts, Center upper nut. Install handle bars and check for clearance of fuel tank before tightening. Now test to make sure the steering is moving freely and easy.

Make sure you torque all the bolts you removed and put your front tire on the right direction. Reinstall brake calipers making sure pads are placed properly. This is just a quick guide so if you have questions please ask, I may have left something out as I was doing many jobs at the same time. Thanks Brian.

Torque Specs 94-97 VFR :

Top fork clamp 17 lbf-ft

Lower fork clamp 36 lbf-ft

Stem Nut 76 lbf-ft

Caliper mounts 20 lbf-ft

Front Axle nut 43 lbf-ft

Axle pinch bolts 16 lbf-ft

Handle bar bolts 17 lbf-ft

As always I encourage you to follow the factory shop manual when doing any repairs

What about tail riser plates? I am installing a set on my 4th gen for more under seat exhaust clearance.

I hope its school and not the bolts giving out?? Does look a bit scary and If I am to do it I think a welder will come in handy

How did I miss this? Im working on my CBR undertail for my 4th gen but if it gives me trouble Im doing this!!!! Great Job. Now to find a straight tail and good plastics and mufflers

Well Track day was yesterday and after trying to adjust my SAG settings on the rear shock it seems the 929 yellow spring is too soft for my 185 lb weight. Its at the top preload and still have 50mm. When I first put it on it seemed that I had 35mm of sag at the 3 setting but I was by myself and could have been off or there has been some settling since install. So Ill track down Jamie for an upgraded spring change. Just wanted to let the other more stout riders know. Brian

Well as expected the price is better than any other online site I have found.

Part # 83650-z-mz7-741za Right rear 97 Tail Panel

Service Honda $262.00 Shipping ?

Mason City $235.00 Shipping $20.00

Even with shipping, because of large item, it was cheaper than Service Honda. Ill be placing an order with him soon. Thanks !

Ive seen a pile of steel wool catch fire once, I dont think I would want it in my exhaust system...

Double Bubble windscreen = more clearance.

Ok so I got busy the other day and decided to install my ALL Balls Steering Stem Tapper Bearing kit. Ill list some tools I used then a photo essay for you. Plan on about 3 to 4 hours to complete.

Tools/Parts

All Balls Stem Bearing Kit # 22-1020 (good for 5 gen too)

Good grease. waterproof if you like.

Can of brake cleaner

rags

latex gloves

Tools:

Jack

Torque Wrench

Sockets: 30mm, 24mm, 22mm, 12mm, 14mm, 10mm, 8mm

Rachets: 1/2 and 3/8 with small and medium extensions

Wrenches: possible crescent wrench if you dont have the bigger sockets.

Punch/chisel set Long punch needed to pound out old races

Phillips and straight screw drivers

5mm allen socket/driver (cowls and fender )

6mm allen wrench

Bearing Race driver or press is recommended

Hammer

You do not have to take the nose off if you dont want but I dont like fighting to get into places (like the lower bearing race). I decided to take the extra 10 minutes and strip my plastics off. This was a good thing as I also went ahead and did the following and suggest you may plan for this as well but not covered in this post:

* Change fork oil (I found bent tubes on mine and switched out for spare forks, switching my springs and valves and changed the fluid. )

* Change Coolant (removed radiator from bracket and lower hose to access front pugs). Drain at water pump also.

* Change front plugs (every 8k miles). Will do the rear ones and clean oil k/n air filter in a few weeks when I install the 929 rear shock.

Start stripping off the Side plastics and nose and than jack up front end under headers:

Remove front brake calipers, loosen lower axle bolt pinch bolts, remove axle nut, drive axle out of wheel, remove wheel and then fender.

IF you are going to change your fork oil and/or install and new springs/internals do this: BEFORE you loosen the triple clamps loosen the upper fork caps ( just enough to break them loose) this way you dont have to damage the forks in a vise!

Next loosen the top 30mm center triple nut (may have to turn to full lock to loosen). Proceed to loosen handle bar pinch bolts and remove bars to the side. Loosen top triple clamp bolts and then lower triple clamp bolts. Remove zip ties around fork legs. Remove fork legs

Remove horn wires and horn assembly ( I didnt and wished I did). Remove 30mm nut and then pull off upper triple tree. Carefully bend down the 2 tangs that are holding upper nut and remove upper nut. I used a special screwdriver to loosen the lower nut till loose. Undo by hand while holding lower triple tree. Once nut is loose you can remove upper seal and bearing and drop out lower clamp w/stem

After the stem is removed clean up some of the old grease away from the steering head and races. There are cut outs in the head that allow you to drift out the old races. You can see these in the after shots pretty well located at 12 and 6 o'clock. Get your punch and hammer and rotate from side to side walking the old race out.Clean up old grease out of head and prepare for new races.

You now need to remove the bearing off the lower stem. I dont have my vise set up but it would be easier with one. The idea is the same either way. Start by driving a screwdriver or small chisel between the seal and lower triple clamp to wedge bearing off shaft. Careful not to be hammering and hitting the shaft with driver/chisel, you want to be on the side of it. ALSO be sure to protect the threads on the other end, installing the top nut is a good idea. After the bearing is away from the lower clamp you can use a small punch rotating around the bearing to get it up about an inch till it will slide off.

Clean up the shaft and open up your new bearing kit. There is a special press tool from honda and if you have the $$ Id love to have it but I dont have the $$ or the time. I love new tools and bought this Harbor Freight Driver set $29.95. Had a good size for the upper but not really for the lower race but worked ok. I put both races and stem in the freezer while I greased up and cleaned up to help installation. Plus its just plain COOL :)

After about 20-30 minutes in the freezer I called it good and took the top race out and installed it :

Then the lower the same way. Dont get to hammer happy and make sure the races are going in evenly. I had to take a punch on the lower one to straighten out itself into its new home but it made it safe

I then greased up the 2 bearings by hand. Please people PACK your bearings and not just smear grease on the outside. If you have a bearing packer and know how to use it then good. If not hand pack them using latex gloves and the palm of your hand. You pack into the larger diameter end forcing grease to come out the other side. ALSO you don NOT want grease on the inside of the bearing that goes on the shaft. You want the bearing to rotate not the inner shaft end, so clean it up!

Install the new large seal washer on the CLEANED shaft and then the new greased large bearing. I used the old bearing raced I punched off as a guide to drift the new bearing on. Other people have used a piece of PVC pipe along with the old bearing race to drive the new bearing on as well. However you do it be sure that you are pressing the bearing on VIA the inner shaft of the bearing and never the outer cage or its toast and your done till you get another bearing.

Now install the lower triple into the head and install upper greased bearing, seal, then lower nut.

To finish I used a screwdriver and hammer to tighten the lower nut pretty tight to set the bearings. I then loosened the nut and tighten down by hand as much as I could making sure there was no play in the shaft/bearings. Install the lock washer next then the top nut. Tighten the top nut down just enough to line up the next spot to fold the lock ring tabs into. Install horn and wires. Install upper triple clamp and nut hand tight only. Reinstall forks (making sure your throttle cables, clutch line and wires are routed correct) to a distance of 39mm (stock) from top of triple to top of fork leg. I did mine at 42mm to top of nut. Tighten down upper fork pinch bolts to hold settings. Install the front axle and I wiggled the upper triple back and forth, while holding lower legs between my legs, to help center/align the upper and lower triple trees. Torque upper and lower pinch bolts, Center upper nut. Install handle bars and check for clearance of fuel tank before tightening. Now test to make sure the steering is moving freely and easy.

Make sure you torque all the bolts you removed and put your front tire on the right direction. Reinstall brake calipers making sure pads are placed properly. This is just a quick guide so if you have questions please ask, I may have left something out as I was doing many jobs at the same time. Thanks Brian.

Torque Specs 94-97 VFR :

Top fork clamp 17 lbf-ft

Lower fork clamp 36 lbf-ft

Stem Nut 76 lbf-ft

Caliper mounts 20 lbf-ft

Front Axle nut 43 lbf-ft

Axle pinch bolts 16 lbf-ft

Handle bar bolts 17 lbf-ft

As always I encourage you to follow the factory shop manual when doing any repairs

Just dont catch it on fire whatever you do......

Thats about what I did and I better stop HIJACKING this thread

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...t=0#entry592851

Yes the ignition coils. After some flipping and switching I cam up with the same idea last night. I removed the stock bracket and flatten an L bracket I had and should be good to go. Ill post up some pics when I get home tonight. Thanks

Ok got the shock in but coils a no go for stock placement. Anyone with a 4 gen have an idea what you did? Do the coils need to be grounded via the bracket? Thanks Brian

What about the talk of an adapter that you could reuse your old mount? Something like this:

I guess I missed that talk, the idea of making an adapter and still using the stock mount never crossed my mind. I haven't put much thought into it, but I don't think that an adapter would be feasible. That makes for another bolt that could come loose or fail. You have to track down another bolt, my mount completely replaces the stock one and reuses all of the original fasteners. I'm not fond of adding another piece, more chances for failure.

More than one way to skin a cat :fing02: As seen in this thread there have been several different methods shown that ended with the same results.

Zach571

I like the look of your bracket and not grinding down the bolt head is a plus! Are you making more?

By the tread title I wonder what door on the VFR he was talking about ???

What about the talk of an adapter that you could reuse your old mount? Something like this:

Going to tear mine down tonight and see what I can find in the junk drawer to make her work...

Come alive THREAD!! The problem I see using these f3/f4 shocks.... found said problem after I ordered 2 of them ... Is that the preload adjuster is at the bottom where you cant adjust it??? Ill be reselling those and install the 929 one.

Wow! the Ducati bodywork goes very well with the VFR's mid section details!

IMO, it might have actually improved(?) on Pierre Treblanche's original design, which I found a little too plain around the mid faring area.

You mean it might have improved on Mitsuyoshi Kohama's design of the NR, subsequently copied by Pierre Treblanche 5 years later? :fing02:

You might think after going to all that trouble he might get the front mudguard (fender) to fit straight.... huh.gif

Nah, the crooked front guard is one of the 4th Gen's most recognizable design features!

Thank God because mine is crooked and I always hoped nobody noticed...Now I dont feel so bad.....

An inch/24mm is alot, Most I have heard is to raise the forks up 10mm .... Or about 49mm from the top tripple to the top fork tube.