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next was to check the new engine over. did valves, replaced the thermostat and choke wax motor, added pair delete plates, and degreased. thought about swapping over the manual choke from the old engine, but decided it was probably too far gone to be used and didn't feel like changing over all the little coolant necks as well. all buttoned up, ready for its new home. more to come soon, going to take a break for now so as to avoid blowing up the forums.

anyone know what these parts do? uh, yeah, that's really bad.... anyway. first order of business was just some minor painting. grabbed the clutch cover from the old engine since the new one has a hole in it:

undaunted, i kept going. once the motor was out, i moved everything into my...er..."shop", and finished the teardown. on the bench is a junkyard fresh '01 motor; the original is quite likely unsalvageable as you will see shortly. also was able to source a tank and seat (buried behind the pile of fairings).

originally i started this process on vfrworld, so some of you may have already seen this. at any rate.... hey everyone. i'm bringing this barn-find '99 back to life and thought it would be cool to document the process. bit of background: i started as a car guy many moons ago but the cost of parts just got to be too much to handle. i still wanted something fun with an engine that wouldn't make my bank account warm up for the safe word whenever i wanted to tinker with it, so a few years ago i picked up my first bike, a 2005 SV650. and it's been a revelation. not just a revelation that riding is so much more fun than driving, but that working on bikes is about a million times more enjoyable than cars. anyway, now that i've had the suzuki for a bit, i decided it was time to look for an upgrade. it's a fantastic bike for around town, but my biggest gripe is that it's just not great for long trips. i've tried doing a handful, and every time i would find myself having to hop off and take a break every 45 minutes just because of how buzzy it is, especially at highway speed. a VFR seemed like the natural choice--bigger, comfier, awesome engine, nice but not insane bump in power, honda build quality, and not a complete dad bike, plus it's always sort of been on my bucket list ever since i saw that sixth gen in my youth. so when a friend of mine passed along a craigslist ad for a very neglected but very straight and low-mileage fifth gen (with a clean title) for peanuts, i immediately hit the guy up. he told me he picked it up from someone he thought he trusted who told him it just needed tires and a chain, but it turned out the motor was seized up solid from water leaking through the flapper valve. the tank was also full of water from the keyless cap not being installed properly. understandably, he just wanted it gone. undaunted and even somewhat excited by the prospect of a little project, and also feeling kinda bad for him, i left there 900 bucks poorer with this guy in tow. then the teardown began...hoo boy.

Ha ha! Thanks for the insight. I ran GPR-300s on the CB-1 once. They were...fine. Definitely numb compared to the more premium RoadSmarts. I'll probably just stick to the RoadSmart IIIs with the $40 rebate going on here.

Looks like you're about midway between Point Reyes and Tomales. The Aprilia is definitely a far prettier bike than a KTM. Honda has the most sensible break-in guidelines, 'During this [first 300 mi] avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration.'

I gave my VFR8X linear 0.95 kgfm springs and 15w oil, bike is nothing short of transformed. Ended up having to cut my own spacers, as the new springs were shorter than stock, but no problem tbh, epic change!

I have a set of Roadsport2's on the 99 now. Installed them June/24; about 4-5000 km on them now. I had told myself that I'd never get Dunlops tires again, but the price was too good to pass up and I'm poor. The word that came to mind as I rode on them all last year, even when they were new, was "frumpy"....don't ask me why but that is the feeling I got from them. Not that the tires were doing anything wrong but it didn't feel like I knew what was happening with them; they numb out the feeling of the road. Would I push/trust the tires at this mileage? No, because of the front tire wear. Having said that, I wear front tires way before the rears. Thats on 3 different bikes that have had the same thing going and on 3 different tire brands; I must ride funny or different that most. (the sides wear and/or cup) Conclusion Would I buy them again? No. Have I ever bought ANY tire again? No. I'm always trying something different. Previous rubber on the same bike was a set of Metzler M7 and before that, PilotPower with the dual compound. The report that I had gotten from a few people at the time was that they liked the GPR's(I think they were using them as a cheap option to ride the track with), far as I know the Roadsports are basically the same thing. So there ya go Bmart, a review from someone that really doesn't know what the fuck is going on at the tire level in any technical fashion anyhow, so get others opinion too.

I can't seem to not wheelie my VFRs! They just...do.

@squirrelman@Terry

Good suggestion SM

first determine whether the engine is good by checking compression. if its not good, u can forget about any clean up of the rusty bits cuz its a parts bike.

Evening all, anyone have a link for a good quality gear indicator kit for 2000 vfr800, thinking healtech but any advice is much appreciated. I'm in the uk, so probably better uk site. Thanks in advance.

Trying not to start new tire threads as we have a few! Have any of you run the GPR-300 front, rear, or pair on the 5th gens? If so, how were they? Same question for hte RoadSport (not RoadSmart). Thanks!

Comparison Part 2 My 2002 6th gen: $11,000 520 lbs 100 hp My 2026 Tuono 660: $11,500 400 lbs 100 hp I rounded the numbers since some are claimed, some are measured etc. An inflation calculator I found says multiply $11K in 2002 dollars by 1.79, so the 6th gen comes in around $19.5 in today's currency. This isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison, but it made me feel better after dropping that much money on a new bike!

Cycle World (Don Canet I think) tested the 6th gen when it came out in 2002. I dug up the test in the two photos below. 23 years later it makes an interesting comparison. Note the stats.

Get a friend to help. Refill iaw SM, remove coolant cap then lean bike over to the left as far as it will go, all the way to pegs on the ground. You'll see bubbles come out of cap.

Very cool. Congrats dude. Gonna have a great summer.

Congrats, @St. Stephen!! 🙂

Agreed ^^^ that’s going to cost a couple of thousand at least and then be worth considerably less than what you paid and spent, never mind the time (minimum 200 hours) Unless you’re planning to completely strip it, which is what it needs, and experience a lot of broken bolts, undiscovered fuck ups, etc you should dispose of it , The exhaust studs are probably toast, so good luck there I’ve been there and done it, been working on my own motorcycles for 62 years and I wouldn’t touch that, it has MONEY PIT written all over

Hi Arnie, welcome to the madness bro. That poor bikes not seen any love at all, shame on previous owner, hope you got the bike for peanuts or you've way over paid, defo been abused & run thru a few road salted UK winters & left to corrode. Personally I'd have walked away knowing how much time/money/effort is involved in bringing a scabby corroded bike back from the brink of doom. It'll need hundreds throwing at it mate, not counting hundreds of man hrs. My advice is cost it all up before breaking out the toolbox, I've done loads of ground up refurbs, it eats untold hrs & stupid amounts of money, if your plan is to refurb & sell on, then don't bother, you'll be well in debt on the project, if bike's generally in decent nick & you're keeping the bike & you got it mega cheap, then it's probly worth the effort, but be prepared to hammer the bank balance, stuff is pricey, unless you source used parts. Rgds Gaz

It's well known: Italians do it better 😎 😆

If you want part numbers and OEM, I find Fowlers of Bristol very efficient https://www.fowlersparts.co.uk/manufacturer/honda/bike/vfr800fi/year/2001/country/england/colour/all-colours Alternatively, WEMOTO are reliable and provide good quality https://www.wemoto.com/bike/honda/vfr/800/2001/3410 For brake lines, try HEL Performance if you want to go the braided line route ( not cheap mind) https://www.helperformance.com/honda-vfr800-fiw-fi1-1998-2001-standard-replacement-brake-lines-hel-stainless-steel-braided

Just looked at the specs. Olins front and back, Brembos,, 5 riding modes, traction, wheelie and launch control., quick shifter, braided brake lines, engine maps, brakes and cornering control, same hp as a vfr and 55 lb lighter......... As vfrcapn noted, that is a lot of bike for the money.

If I had a 40 year old single cylinder Honda and learned I could still get a new, genuine intake boot for a little over $20 I would be pretty stoked. Now relish the fact you have a killer 40 year old V4 you can still get parts for.