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Or any other good quality mirror with integrated indicators.... Can it be done?

"You win some, you lose some" Come 1st August, I have plenty of time on my hands to think about "what next" as my employer of 30+ years decided to hand me the ace of spades. Unless I'd move WAAAAYYY east and accept local wages that is.... Euh..lemmethinkaboutitthoughtaboutitnofuckingway... I will take the "package" thank you very much and do a DutchyEXIT :-) So In order to get my head clear and think about what's next, a grand tour of the Baltics is just what I need. My wife's only condition is "to be back" by the 19th August (2016.. :-) ). NL - GERMANY - DENMARK - SWEDEN - FINLAND - ESTONIA - LATVIA - LITHUANIA - POLAND - GERMANY - NL. (Might even hop over to Norway, I don't think about crossing through Russia, but can be persuaded.. I have been to St Petersburg already, done the Hermitage...). So if any of yous "up north" have any "must take redslut to this place/road" do let me know. Am bringing a tent/sleeping bag, but if the weather is shyte or am offered a couch, then indoors is good too. Back to the sweltering heat.... Am in Gargano, Italia at the moment. :-) Life is about choices, and as such I choose not to feel like Joe Bonamassa's "Sloe Gin", but "Feelin Good" instead.

Last Friday, a program on the BBC featured aerial photography during WW1. That gave me a destination to scrub in my new rear tire..... Radar showed the possibility of rain (it did....) so I got to test my new rainsuit in the process... Big thumbs up for the Macna, easy to slip in and comfortable to wear. An increase in drag ofcourse, but that is what you get...... Heading south, the first point of call was Passendale, or as it is known in the english language, Passchendaele. Made notorious in (military) history for the war of attrittion fought here. 16 weeks of fighting saw some 800,000 casualties (dead and wounded) on both sides to gain 8kms..... Brits, Germans, French, ANZAC, India, Canada............ Unfortunately, many more places gained notoriety, the likes of Ieper, Verdun, etc.. And whilst this kind of warfare has ceased, we kid ourselves that wars can be fought with "precision" and that there is honour in death. Those who die however do deserve to be remembered and that was my 1st stop, Tyne Cot. The largest Commenweatlh war cemetary in the world, for the casualties in the Ieper salient. As you walk towards the site, discrete loudspeakers call out the names and ages of the men that fell. And the larks, they still fly and sing throughout the area... Met some Australians who were visting their grandfathers grave. Chilling though to see the majority of the headstones enscribed "known only unto God". Tyne Cot encompasses 11,954 graves, of which 8,367 are unnamed. There is also a memorial containing the names of 35,000 UK and NZ MIA. The fields in the area had the poppies out in force, symbolising the fragility of life.. In the trenches 1916 Isaac Rosenberg, 1890-1918 I snatched two poppies from the parapet’s ledge, two bright red poppies that winked on the ledge. Behind my ear – I stuck one through, one blood red poppy - I gave to you. The sandbags narrowed - And screwed out our jest, And tore the poppy - You had on your breast … Down – a shell – O! Christ, - I am choked … safe … dust blind, I See trench floor poppies - Strewn. Smashed you lie. Moving further south, I rode through a town that was preparing for their annual Witch procession . Many doorways were already adorned And hey, even witches need to eat.... Soon heading into France and that means "peage" (tolls). Since I was on a fairly tight schedule, I opted to pay the few euros instead of riding country roads... Got as near as 130kms from Paris, never realized how close the Somme battlelines came to the French capital... Had it been Paris, ON I would have stepped by to see VeeferMadness :-) My furthest destination for the day (700km in total) lies on the Somme frontline (just a few miles down the road is a simliar sign, marking the front line in July 1916. So you realise how much bloodshed took place for such a short advance...) The French know it as The rest of the world as This mine detonated 1st July 1916 at the start of the Battle of the Somme (Brits suffered 60,000 casualties on that 1st day.....). It left a huge crater, and I mean a huge crater... Here a pan of the surrounding area. As you can see, "no gimme shelter" here...

4th gen OEM front end (with Wilbers springs) 100,000km Not ready yet to fork out $700 for a set of Jamie Daugherty internals just yet (I need to find a new job 1st..), I started taking the forks apart and clean the parts. Yuck Better The new SKF fork seals are sourced, but now I come to an area I am not even an magician's apprentice... I read and hear about shimstack, but what knowledge/advise can you dispense on next steps? what (and where do I source) parts to improve? Or is it a matter of cleaning and bolt up agian? Here the bits that sit on the damper rod; will take the other section apart next:

As she approaches 100,000km, it was time to put her to the test. And have the AF checked, because last year I had the carbs serviced (by someone else) and I never felt things were perfect on fueling. I can balance the carbs myself but for the rest you need proper tools (and parts....) And how does she sound?? vvvrrroooaaappp.mp4

with a friend staying the week in Garden Grove, Anaheim, Race Tech is just up the road in Corona. so I will get a set for my VF500F2 to him Now, that was but for my redslut, there are FOUR options.... The last one reads "RACE" to me which I am not. Sporty? Yes........ any reason to prefer any other over the type 1? They are all around the $170 mark for the kit..

With only one spot available in the garden shed (not heated, it does get humid), it means that this year I have to choose... Do I put redslut in the shed or the puma? For the other space is outside under a cover.... Our winters get cold and wet... So what would you advise on prepping the "outside" bike? Take out the battery and top up the fuel tank for sure, but remove as much plastic as possible or leave that on? Spray all metal parts with WD40? Or what? I'm leaning toward the VF in shed.....

Fitted a different screen to redlut and fitted Timmay's pipes to the VF, so both had to be taken for a spin.. \

Ok ok I was giving the newer, older girl most if not all of my attention in recent months. did so in plain sight.... Add 2,5 weeks left alone while we went on family vacation and yep, she was not a happy.... Yesterday she she flat out refused to fire up..... Or more precise her battery had drained flat with her being vigilant all that time, alarm at the ready.... So I begged forgiveness, juiced her up all night and in the morning, redslut had forgiven me and we went for a great ride today! Cooling down with vest and ice cream!

Lesson #1 After rain comes sunshine Lesson #2 Shimming the rear shock makes the rear mudguard a bit less effective (and my top box needs to be move forward a bit) I could stop riding them 1 car wide mountain roads..... but they are simply too nice! Lesson #3 In Belgique, this is "sauce americaine" Lesson #4 Gerhard Thurn in Germany will climb to great height to satisfy his customers... Lesson #5 Timmythecop is no American,nor Welsh, but a German speaking Belgian from the eastern part of the country... Them Steffes' such a bad crowd that even the police set up shop outside town... Lesson #6 Speyer has a lovely Dom church but apparently so many cops that they are bored out of their skull. As I was taking this picture, a car pulled up, window down. "You are not allowed to park there" "I am not parking, merely holding briefly" "ok" and off he went... During my 4 days trip I saw 4 police cars..... all in Speyer... Lesson #7 Rape seed flowers smell lovely and look beautiful! (last) Lesson #8 One cannot 100% rely on Garmin's restaurant POI's.... But then there is always "Strawberry World" Yes folks a (asparagus, ham and strawberry green) salad, what is the world coming too eh?

Done!!!! Ok ok ok, I still need to round off some of the bracket edges and rattle can them flat black. Tidy up the bolts/nuts with caps. "into the great wide open" The right bag sits a tad higher; as long as I park on the side stand, nobody will notice Without the cases, I do not think the pipework looks too bad...

Gave my redslut in the hands of a friendly mechanic to do some work on her. The carbs were going to be taken off and cleaned (also for the 1st time since new), so checking the valves would be logical.......... and the scores are Rear cylinders.... ALL still within spec Front............. One intake out of range so all were set to 16... Thank you Mister Honda for designing and building the VFR engine!!!

A few signs of the Zodiac alligned, so now we can take the kitchen sink on a trip too. Sign 1 the lid lock of my old (free) top box failed. 2 I cannot fit my luggage rack on which the topbox mounts in parralel with the 6th gen cases. 3 2nd hand GIVI rack for the 4th gen for sale. 4 GIVI topbox for sale. As with the 6th gen cases, I had to be a bit creative with the rack, since it was not designed with a high mount muffler in mind.... The position of the topbox is a 1st try, I will be riding (solo) through Germany for 4 days next.(after sending keny on his way north)

and it look a lot like this.... Will have to figure out a db-killer.... So what can I expect from this spaghetti??? (I expect the flow/pressure to be worse than OEM but by how much....) Next is to score a rear stand cos I will have to sacrifice the centre stand. If the muffler proves "too beaucoup" I can still slip my Akrapovic on...

what is wrong with this picture??

After 17 years, the previous one did get a bit tatty.... and yes, it is on straight, the lens is slightly distorting

That got your attention eh? But no smut here, we run a decent forum here do we now.... Well, the annoying rattle/ticking that I attributed to my clutch proved to be something else..... I'd say to you all, whip out that torque wrench the next time you are fiddling with our engine.... Over on the Dutch VFR forum a member is suspecting that his 4th gen runs too hot/waterpump not working, so I took my side panels off to verify a few things/take pictures. Fired up and the rattle was clearly more to the front and upon hearing it more clearly, I recalled hearing that sound on Douglasthecook's 4th gen...... a loose sparkplug... So I took the cap off and -here you go- had to finger deep to feel the plug wiggling.... and it was loose... Engine did run ok/exhaust gets hot right away so I was not running on 3 cylinders I always use a torque wrench (12Nm) so how/why it came loose? so you are hereby warned that torquing to spec is no guarantee... I never use any anti-seize compound as per NGK's instructions either. The plug I took out had a bit if metal into the groove so put in a new one just to be sure. It went in much easier for sure. Peep show over!!!!

Is this the correct sequence when bolting on the front forks? Bike's front supended off the ground 1) fit one of the fork legs, say the RH one at the desired height sticking through. Pay attentiopn to cable routing One bolt on the lower stem, 1 on the upper and one for the RH clip-on. Bolts torqued to spec 2) slide in LH fork (lower bolt ever to slightly to prent fork from falling out again) at the same height sticking through the stems 3) put in front wheel plus front axle, torque to spec. leave pinch bolts loose 4) put on brake calipers, torque to spec, put on front fender 5) lower bike, lower bolt on LH stem is loose 6) grab front brake and pump the suspension a few times (not sitting on the bike) 7) tighten the bolt on the upper stem to spec, then the bolt on the lower stem and then the one for the clip on 8) tighten pinch bolts on lower fork legs Or?????

when re-fitting front forks to my redslut (the F3's I bought), what is the correct sequence?? I will measure the mm the OEMS stick out from the handle bars Measure the length if the OEM fork leg and the F3 as to determin how much less the F3 should stick out Tighten the top clamp bolts that hold the fork legs, then the lower ones Insert the axle (using the F3 axle that I got as well) and then?? Tight to spec the front axle bounce the front a few times then tighten to spec the 4 (2 each) pinch bolts on the lowet part of the legs? And once in, how much sag should I aim for? I will fit the forks with the pre-loads all the way out and work from there.

Has anyone succesfully replace the rotor without removng the rear axle? I've loosened the rotor bolts but the seems no way it will slide/wiggle over the hub. The wheel bolts appear to be permanently fixed to the hub. Are they? Must they come out? Or is there indeed no way Jose and must I attempt (have the 46mm socket) to take out the axle?

Last year, redslut died on me. It looked like I found the cause and corrected it http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/76631-ride-to-hell-part-deux/ Took her out for a few hours ride before putting her in the shed. Ran perfectly as before. Had her in the shed for a bit over 2 months, hooked up to a charger/conditioner (Optimate, showed green light all along) Took her out the shed, she fired right up, idling away nicely. Gently/low rev rolled her out the back. But as I rode down the pavemenent and revved up a bit, the engine cut out. Checked all the fuses, it was the "10A FUEL ST IGNITION" that had failed Put in a fresh 10A, it failed Put in a 20A the engine ran, cut the ignition, put in a 10A, the fuse would fail. As the fuel pump was the last "change", I inspected the fuel pump and noted that the black wire I had (to) solder to the top of the mechanism was "loose"; it could move a bit inside the tiny blob of solder. So took out the pump altogether and affixed the lines to run on gravity. Unplugged the red connector from the fuel pump. so the fuel pump is now completely out of the frame Put in a 10A fuse, turn ignition key. the fuse would fail... FARK!!!! Put in a 20A, bike would run/idle but after revving the engine a bit, this 20A fuse fails too. Not putting in a 30A, might as well use a paperclip then eh? I now recall that during my last ride the SDC Voltmeter very briefly would flash green which indicate over 15.4 volts I believe. but only briefly during the ride. My redslut has over 50k miles; so I think "altenator" If it is farked, would this indeed cause the fuse 10A FUEL ST IGNITION to fail 1st? all other fuses including the 30A in front of the baterry are good. Wiring diagrams are gooble-dee-gook to me so my fellow VFRD'ers what do you say??? What can I go next? (apart from resoldering the black wire on the fuel pump for when the other !@#$% is fixed) I think I will pay this place a little visit later on tonite....... I was planning to do a lot of maintenance on my bike next week (my brother away for a week so I can use his garage space). This now looks like a no-no.. Liquid Comfort.....

Installed a safetylights.nl module which allows you (by tapping brakes) to choose a variety of hazard light flashes. here's one! http://s113.photobucket.com/user/Dutchy_748/media/P3296825_zpseab2c521.mp4.html

Had the Xrunner (RC60) for 1.5 hours today and think the name I gave it suits it perfectly. Gentlemen never break the law, so limitting it to 200kmh (where the engine is capable of 260kmh) is a sensible choice and at speeds over 120kmh (the max on motorways according to the law) wind pressure becomes a bit annoying anyway.... Gentlemen keep their back straight, and this is how you sit on the Xrunner Gentlemen donot make a fuss, whilst the bike is of the mark quick enough, it never rips your arms when you opens the throttle from say 70kmh So a very well behaving motorcycle (brakes are great), for me it would needs some more atitude. But YMMV and that is ok too! The VTEC transition is verrrrry smooth. Stepping back on my 4th gen, I felt more at home, more compact, more "bike" feeling... Let me pull out my gun and kill that speed camera.... Flatfooting not a problem Had to find a windmill for VFRD of course And some more Dutch scenery and 2 pictures, one for Skuuter and one for Mitzie I didnot like the fact that the fan came on regularly, where my 4th gen runs a lot cooler. Probably a sign of the times.... Thanks to Arie Molenaar for the test ride

How to own a zero emission motorcycle.... or "what could possibly go wrong???" My 1st "Ride to Hell" post (to Passchendaele) has disappeared/lost here on VFRD for some reason. :sad2: EDIT: restored it from a different site http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/67920-ride-to-hell/ So I thought lets have another ride to Hell, this time a hamlet called Hell. Punched in the GPS coordinates because there is no address for Hell in my Garmin. Managed to come within 200 meters... (did you notice the house number.....?) I did however find the "hell road" Some strange thing happened.... all of a sudden the streetname sign had disapeared!!! So I got out like a bat out of hell.... Up ahead, I came to the classic blues junction, to "greater hell" or "dark alley".... Do I go left?? Do I go right?? This place was full of bad juju so let's go home... Now what is wrong with this picture??? You are not allowed to park there just for fun... Yes redslut had a monkey on her shoulder...... she cut out at once, so I pulled over from the left lane and came to a silent stop. No hesitation, just stop. So I suspected something electrical. Lights etc still worked, checked the fuse box... hhmmmm fuse "fuel pump 10A" was toast. Put in a new 10A fuse... pooofff. Put in a 20A............. pooofff.. Phoned the ANWB (roadside assistance) and 20 minutes later................ So redslut got to ride bitch... Always knew she was a bit kinky, turns out she likes bondage... Next is to check the user manual on how to test the fuel pump. But I suspect that after 16 years/90K kms this is the first thing that went wrong with her.... Do I source a 2nd hand or buy a new OEM one....