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Miguel, Your continued work to run and manage VFRD is so very much appreciated. This forum is excellent compared to others, and miles better than the other forums that have been bought/sold and monetized to death. Please don't let this excellent repository of information and like minded folks fall to the hands of an owner that only sees the site as a source of revenue as opposed to the niche home of an out of production motorcycle with a rabid and faithful, but shrinking, following.

Hi Fritzer, Thank you for your donation of 25.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Miguel. Please excuse the delay in my reply! I really respect what you’ve built with VFRD, it’s clear this isn’t just a forum, but a close-knit community that’s grown together over the years. We totally get the importance of preserving that culture. If Group Builder were ever involved, we’d stay behind the scenes, no big changes, no disruption: just quiet support with tech, upkeep, and tasteful monetization to help with costs, not get in the way. That said, if there’s ever a number that would make you pause and consider a future where the forum is still thriving but less on your shoulders, feel free to let me know! If that's ever down the road, I’d be honored if you kept me in mind. Wishing you and the community nothing but the best, David -- David On Fri, Jul 18, 2025 at 6:32 AM Miguel Mayo wrote:

Hi folks, as written here, I betrayed my country 😁 keeping the V but halving the cylinders. The bike was in bad conditions, witnessing very poor maintenance and one fall; the owner told about just a small tip-over but the signs on fairings, and engine covers let me thing it was something a bit more severe. Nothing serious, but hey... a dent on the tank, footpeg bracket bent down, shift lever broken... it's not an innocent tip-over 😅 The final drive was crap, grips at the handlebars was worn and ominously sticky (I don't wanna know anything more 😅) Also, the owner cut out the tail to install a leaner plate holder and led indicators, but the result has been pretty hacky. And the electrical job below the seat is even worst 💀: Anyway, this bike won me (inexplicably 😅 ), and I decided to start a new project bike on it. The leitmotif of the project will reflect the essence of this bike (that definitely won me): simplicity. I'm going to simplify it at the utmost, removing any redundance and not essential stuff. At first, I started disassembling the wreck: Its "ginormic" carburetors are really impressive One of the first job to do, needless to say, it's the PAIR removal. On VTR, PAIR actuator is not electric but vacuum actuated by a hose coming from front carburetor. I removed all the stuff and plugged the connection: But this bike was in need of something more serious than cosmetic trifles. Timing chain tensioners were about to fail, especially on front cylinder (that's pretty common on VTR), so i removed anything into the "V" to easily access the tensioners and replace them; as obvious, I set the timing, first: Since I needed to remove the cooling system to access the front tensioner, I took the occasion to a small upgrade, so I replaced the hoses with silicone units; also, the connections to the carburetors have been removed (VTR has a heating line for carburetors, but I defintely do NOT need it)... ...and the connections of the thermostat housing gave been plugged Once fulfilled this task, I passed to the radiators before reassembpling the cooling system, since I decided to replace EVERY not stressed screw with ergal component. the cooling system has been reinstalled: In this phase I took the occasion to reorganize the breathing/bleeding lines in a tidy way, since the OEM hoses are loooong and twisted into the gut of the bike: Prior to close the work on the engine, I made the same coil conversion made on the VFR Here's a picture with the old system compared with the new. To finalize, a set of iridium sparks and the engine is done. After this, it was the turn of the final drive. Unfortunately I've not been able to find the Supersprox sprocket I was looking for, so I bitterly fell back on a standard JT unit (Z+2) I compensated the lack of the supersporx sprocket with a ergal nut for the rear axle, and aluminium wheel spacers And just to show how autistic I am, I even dismantled the chain adjusters to restore and clean them, bringing them to mint conditions 😅 I removed the original rear brake reservoir (just below the seat, on the right side) by installing a smaller one directly connected to the pump; in this way I removed the reservoir itself and the lonh connection hose, but above all I could move the R/R at its place, where it can get more air I installed the footpeg adapter I used on the VFR, to raise them up without touching the brackets (but I have some plan about it 😎) The bike came with a Leovince exhaust cans set. I have the OEM also, but I do not have the carburetors jets, so I decided to keep the Leovince's on. I raised up the mufflers, and the original brackets have been removed So far, I made some ROUGH and UGLY supports. They are very bad, but they're cheap and work fine; they will be replaced with dedicated components by my design. I'm just waiting for some salaries to come in order to stabilize the budget... 😅 At the frontend, the forks have been serviced, then I put titanium bolts for the front subframe (that's in steel; I'm going to build a new one in aluminium) and a forkbrace by Dr. Ergal design. The plate in the picture is just a prototype to test the size; the final one is still on the way New grips on the handlebars, ergal screws everywhere and that's it. The bike is simple and essential, so no need for further operations; I just cut out the locking pins to spread out the bars By following my purpose, I searched for any non stressed screw to be replaced with ergal units. And I mean EVERY screw... I don't have all the pictures, but those are the screws I removed and replaced with ergal All the remaining bolts are structural, so I could replace them with titanium, just in case. Maybe in future... In conclusion (so far 😁) I reinstalled the mirrors used on the VFR, with led indicators: And here it is! Being a projectbike, the modification will NEVER end 😁 The next steps are: Li-Ion Battery Rear and front subframe in aluminium Muffler brackets Lighter brake rotors Adjustable ignition phonic wheel Lighter wheels (but I'm afraid that this item would cost me a divorce 🙄😆) Keep tuned! For those who are wondering if I forgot the lower cowl, well no: I simply removed it because I like the most this way. You remember? Simplicity... 😉

Thanks for your feedback. I will take it off and look. It looks like it's just a single screw so it should be pretty simple.

Thanks for your input. I think the sidestand switch is ok as the bike would die if I put it in gear but it's not doing that. I went ahead and ordered another switch as it's fairly inexpensive but I might try to go ahead and clean it and see if that fixes it too.

I have installed on my vfr 800 2002 a rapidbike 3 module which is pretty old but gets the job done. I also installed the quickshifter that i got with it but it does not want to work. I think its installed correctly because it works as a small switch when i insert it in my switch map connector. I have also contacted dimsport but they didn’t return my email. Does anyone have any experience with the rb3 and the quick shifter?

Wauw, great rebuild! Not easy!

You're skeptical they don't work, or you question if they're ever even advisable, or you don't believe they actually exist or...?

and now brakes (changed all the seals too, just forgot to take any pictures) some of you may be wondering why i ripped out the entire system, others have probably figured it out. yep, it's time for the dirty word. the "d" word. delinking. i assure you all that i have thought long and hard about it and that this decision was not made lightly, but here are my reasons. for one, given the condition of the rest of the bike, and the condition of the brake fluid that i drained, i have absolutely no faith in the integrity or functionality of any of the small linking components, and am thoroughly disinclined to rebuild them or hunt down new ones. and for two, steel braided line kits are significantly cheaper for delinking versus stock style. i know this is not the optimal way to do it and that there're better ways to go about it it, like VTR fork lowers and calipers, but keeping the stock calipers and brackets would be the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to move the project along and get it that much closer to munching miles again. i do plan on upgrading the MCs though, at least. at any rate...fuel system is up next. after that, she should make some noise.

You are more than welcome to stick around. You, among others here, have excellent tribal knowledge that will still be useful! And besides... I'd like to keep up on what you'll be machining next for your new whip!

I haven't owned a vfr for two years now. I have 2 KTMs one is great the other is a POS...lol. I got old and even the VFR was uncomfortable for the first hour I rode it. Knees and back trouble. The KTMs have a more upright ergo, stretched out legs a bit more.

I had the same issue on my G8 after heavy rain on a central Australian run. It was simply crap on the spade connectors at the clutch lever. Disconnected and a bit of a clean, then it was all good again.

rich ppl have alot of choices

The switch is cheap to replace, but you can try squirting contact cleaner into it while working the button in/out, maybe as simple as some dirty contacts in there. Don't forget that you also need continuity through the sidestand switch (up) to start in gear.

I am very fond of the VTR and owned one for about 30,000km. Hard to beat the low-end torque and such a lovely engine to cruise long miles on. For me the let down was the fuel range and also high pegs but the bike has a charming simplicity. I added an Ohlins shock, Gold Valves and new springs up front, CBR954 callipers and master and some manual CCTs; the VTRs have a real reputation for bending valves in the front head if the auto CCT lets go. I hope you have many happy km ahead of you.

All the front end relays are testing as working according to the Factory manual tests. Headlamps work ok as they should. Hi and lo beams good. if I unplug the bulbs at the rear of the lamps, the charge voltage rises a bit. I might still be looking at voltage drop through the loom. I am waiting on red and green 12G wire to beef things up a bit. will see if that makes any difference. I dont like to think myself as a quitter after 65 years in the motor/plant trade and countless bikes and cars but?? This bike may be the one that ends my affiliation with bikes.

Yes... DrErgal, please stick around. While this is mostly a VFR site, in general we like all motorcycles! There are many posts about other non-VFR bikes and we are a sponge for them all. Keep posting!

I don't usually time out my oil either. But I also don't do many, hardly any really, short trips, so I am getting the moisture out from the combustion process when they are ridden. And then my bikes ares stored in a temperature controlled environment. Every now and then I will do a, "it's been a while" change, but it's usually because the (still golden) oil got dumped for another reason like clutch maintenance or something. I save that oil for flushes on new-to-me bikes to extract some remaining value from it.. That's about all I will say in this topic. Those are my choices, for my bikes, in my situation.

I don't see a pic for us to confirm...

You'll get a million opinions. I completely ignore time and go by mileage, regardless of years. Current oil is magnificent and as long as you aren't going for only VERY short rides, i'd just run it. I send mine off (car and bike) for testing every few changes and there's never anything bad going on in there. "Time" seems like overkill to me.

UPDATE: Based on my testing, there is no continuity on the two wires when the clutch is pulled in, so I'll be ordering the switch to replace it. Will mark this topic as solved once I get it replaced.

Guys, you move me ❤️ Thanks, really thanks! I enjoyed this place, I like to stay here, and it will be a pleasure to keep bothering you with my rants 😁 I must confess: this exchange is the reason of my silence of the last weeks 🫢

My thoughts also.

Bad headlamp relay shorting out?