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Hi Terry, it's been a question of what I've been able to get at the time Castrol 10/40 is always available, 10/30 sometimes. My vfr800 is the final updated 2017 model (small changes made from 2016). The manual specifies 10/30 and I'm pretty sure that's for emission compliance reasons only. If I ride relaxed with little VTEC engagement, I often see 60-62 mpg on a motorway run, 58-60 on B roads (but there's limited fun in riding that way!). I've never seen more than a 1- 2 mpg difference between the oils over 100 miles of riding.

Perfect, I was about to ask about the “while I’m in theres” Check out the skills used here. They welded up a crack so close to the bolt that I had to dremel out some room for a socket.

TLDR: LiFePo4 + SH847 + healthy stater = nothing to worry about and Deltran Battery Tender is fine to use In '19 with 12k miles, I checked stator status via "The Drill" I installed a SH847 from Jack @ https://roadstercycle.com/. At same time I bought a Shorai LFM18A1-BS12 (LiFePO4). In the last 5+ years I have drained the battery 6 times to the point the bike would not start after I forgot to turn off the Oxford Hot Grips when I arrived home. All six times I recharged the Shorai with the good old Deltran Battery Tender. I monitored the recharge process and disconnected the Battery Tender as soon as I saw the LED display Green for full charge. I'm now at 36k miles. Here's some good reading from our old friend @DannoXYZ re: Replacement Battery @Sirbike nice color bike, good luck with your "prepping".

That is an interesting comment Presson. My newly acquired VFR1200F is the only bike I have come across that specifies 10W-30; my others (MT-10, 2 x VFR800s, ST1100 and ST1300) all specified 10W-40. Getting synthetic 10W-40 is very easy (I use Penrite Vantage, cheap, especially when on sale) but 10W-30 synthetic has so far eluded me in NZ so I have been contemplating switching the 1200 onto 10W-40. I am a bit hung up on fuel consumption, and I have derailed this into an oil thread. Sorry everyone!

Any oil is better than no oil.

+1 got my first Antigravity battery back in 2020 for Play Girl™. When it arrived I thought they sent an empty box. It sat on the bench for almost a year before I installed it, and never needed a maintenance charge. After running it for a couple years including some commute duty I got one for Work Girl™ too. Both bikes have SH847s. So far so good.

Been using a LiPo4 battery for better than 10 years, nothings caught fire....also using a similar connector as JZH...makes it nice, on and off in seconds. Re: different R/Rs for different battery technologies....I think its an excuse for certain vendors to market a "special" for a premium cost....

I've also read a lot about concerns, but I've not had any issues changing battery tech in any of my vehicles. I don't think that the bikes know.

I held out for a very long time before I decided LiFePO4 was okay--once Honda started using them as OEM. (I have a LiFePO4 external charger, of course, but I'm using a "standard" SH847 series reg/rec on my yellow 5th gen.) I had a look at the reg/recs Honda has used on its bikes when it switched to lithium batteries on the CBR1000RR and other bikes like the CRF450, and they didn't change the reg/recs at the same time. It's hard to argue that a special reg/rec is a "necessity" when Honda didn't bother fitting one on its top-of-the-range CBR1000RR SP1 in 2017. That bike's reg/rec pn. 31600-MJJ-D31 is the same pn. used on the previous (non-LiFEPO) models and, indeed, it is also used on several other decidedly non-top-of-the-range Hondas like the 2013 NC700 and Forza 300 scooter (which have standard, AGM batteries). These types of batteries have been used in powersports applications for almost 15 years now, and I haven't heard of very many "fireballs". For example, Harley Davidson (yes, I know...) implies that any Harley can use one of their LiFePO4 batteries. The only problems I've read about relate to older-tech Lithium Ion batteries and faulty reg/recs putting out way too many volts. As VFR owners we know about faulty reg/recs, but if you've got a series or MOSFET reg/rec you should not need to worry about over-charging a LiFePO4 battery. When I discovered that I could use a single LiFePO4 battery in almost every bike I own, I stopped buying AGM batteries (once they had all died, one by one--no matter how diligently I charged and "maintained" them). This is my current setup, an Aliant YLP14, which I've permanently connected via 10mm2/8AWG marine cables to an Anderson SB50 connector which mates to each bike: I figure I only need one battery, because I can only ride one bike at a time! Ciao, JZH

Those are the same ones Louis sells. I've found Stein connectors with Viton o-rings, in what appears to be 10mm (8mm ID, so...), but of course, I cannot find anyone who sells Stein connectors other than the 6mm and 8mm... Oh, wait. I meant apart from this item number on eBay.com (but located in Germany): 291395197551 Yes, it's 10mm, but @ €76 ea... I suspect I will find someone else selling them if I keep searching German companies. Ciao, JZH

I made my own hose stay that employs an Aerospace clamp...

Its a long drawn out thread... but here is my saga of changing out the hoses... and "while your in there's" You may as well do the thermostat and O-rings too... https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/114089-another-thermostathose-throttle-body-job-minor-refresh-brakes-rebuild-wheels-powder-coat/ Possibly another thread that may be usefull https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/114395-5th-gen-maintenance-6th-gen-and-other-parts-that-work-on-5th-gens/ btw-- that OEM R/R is typically a ticking time bomb to eat itself...

You've definitely caught the disease. I've never been cured.

10/40 semi or full synthetic motorcycle grade oil will be fine. I've used 10/40 and 10/30 semi and fully synthetic; only a very slight increase in mpg with the 10/30. I wouldn't get hung up about it or we'll be guilty of starting an oil thread.... As thumbs says, the OEM mirrors are very good.

Castrol 10/40 fully synthetic is what I use The OEM mirrors on this bike work really well and also produce a good 3 point light

Yes, the ride over CA36 wasn't free flowing. There were a handful of automated stop light 1-lane areas. Either repairing bridges or slides. On the bright side, the pavement between most of them was fresh. My wait wasn't too bad, I did the run from Fortuna to Red Bluff (I had ridden the 101 down from northern Oregon coast, after getting there from crossing WY, ID, and WA). most traffic that late afternoon was heading the other way. The east end was smokey and I observed fire crews responding with helicopters and lift buckets. Also, saw a decent sized pack of riders on custom choppers heading west. My previous trip over 10+ years ago was nowhere near as interesting. The Red Bluff terminus of CA36 with Main St looked like it had been upgraded. I don't recall Main Street being as wide, looks like it was upgraded for more traffic and commercial stuffs.

I was able to peak into V and see some funky stuff on a coolant elbow. So it was time to go in. And since I am this far I’ll do valve clearance check and took mello dude’s advice, ordered as3 hoses. I checked the rear brake fluid. This motivates me to thoroughly flush the lines then overhaul the calipers. I missed my chance to do a dynamic test for a while. First look at the charging system. Wires and plug look good. Here is the R/R. Now that I’ve got some momentum I am looking forward to more wrenching.

If you get south, come ride with us, N2 track days.

Interesting comment. The west end of 36 has been a mess, first because of the tight, wet, narrow to one lane suddenly, up and down, and then because of all the construction to fix that the last five years. The middle is way up high, tight and technical. East is flowing. I would prefer to go west to east--but I've always done the opposite! 128, well I will never forget a run with our NorCal Hooligans heading west. bayarearider and I were flying through the redwoods, both on 7th gens, the last 20 miles to the coast. High fives all around. To Lorne's point, it was a fitting finish to that ride, better than the start.

Here you go Dutchy. Rt. 36, with a VFR.

Agreed -6AN hose built from scratch with integrated dry break would be the dogs danglies, unfortunately they're silly money. Been searching the tinterweb this evening, found these Nickel-plated brass dry breaks on (24MX) Europe's largest MX shop, not bad prices either 8mm & 6mm available £23.99 inc Vat + shipping. Only issue, product info doesn't specify working pressure of these couplings, since it's a MX specific seller, they're probly low pressure carb use only, i'll email shop to clarify if suitable for Fi use. https://www.24mx.co.uk/product/steinconnector-quick-release-coupling-for-fuel-hose_pid-PIA-366702 ............. Update: 24mx have no clue about the products they sell. 🙄

I believe they recently removed a lot of the curves from the 36 near Red Bluff so maybe removed "the sign" as well. Shame on both counts.

i guess i can report that a 6th gen throttle body plops right on and fires right up with only some minor wiring mods, no tune required. which is neat. the main plug on the 6th gen throttle harness doesn't reach far enough, so what i did was cut and splice the 6th gen injector connectors onto the 5th gen throttle harness. everything else plugged in just fine, and there aren't even any FI codes.

Havve a look here Tom: scroll down for an expert's guide to your carbs: https://v4dreams.com/shop-blog.html