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  2. It seems then obvious that a coolant/AF that is mixed by oneself is going to be more effective at its intended purpose. What sort of product and ratios would you recommend Mohawk? What do you use yourself? Are there any useful additives that one may be missing out on by making a "home-made" coolant/AF that we would otherwise be getting by going with the "Genuine Honda Coolant"? I live at a higher than normal altitude here in Northern Ireland, and keep my 5th Gen in a non-heated garage, what ratios would you suggest for a bit more anti-freeze protection? Thanks. The difference the cap makes to boiling point is also a great insight. The lower the bar the cap then the higher the boiling point becomes yeah? Do you know what the standard OEM cap would be gauged at? Is there a limit as what range of caps we should be using for safety reasons? Again, thanks.
  3. Fine looking bike! Welcome!
  4. So thrilled with my latest. This is my 4th Honda. Funny...because I'm Italian, born in Australia and I love Japanese Hondas!
  5. Today
  6. OK we are talking about the same thing 👍 Yes wrapped in the wiring loom near the RR is a multi-block where all the Earth return wires terminate.
  7. I think our Czech friend is referring to a headlight (HL) switch, which probably has off, park and on as choices? It's been a while since I had a bike with that switch. I'd still be looking at an earthing fault as a likely cause, as the headlights and turn signals share a common earth; if there is excessive resistance then current flow is restricted, and then insufficient to run both headlights and turn signals, and insufficient to make the turn signal relay work.
  8. A PC3 will net you circa 10-12HP over stock so go from 95-105-107RWHP with everything else stock. The PC5/6 are a huge waste of money as they don't bring anything to the party with our older engine electronics. I'm not sure if PC do a fuelly module for the VFR, I have one on my X300, it just does fuel adjustments & is half the price of a PC5/6 !
  9. The Pressure cap increases the boiling point, the anti-freeze contribution is minimal. I use a 1.6bar cap which raises the boiling point further. Anti-freeze (AF) does basically one thing & that is what it's called. The higher the ratio of AF to distilled water, the less cooling you get & the more freeze protection you get. In the UK we rarely get less than -5c in the south & never less than -1 in my garage & I don't ride my VFR in the winter, so I don't need -37c protection. I'd probably need to drink it if UK temps got that low, as our electric & gas distribution would probably have failed ☹️
  10. H/L switch. Do you mean Hi / Lo beam? It is on the left. On the right there is a triple pole slide switch: Off - position light (small bulb in the middle of headlight) - On (both H4 bulbs). The block you are writing about, is it a 4P Black connector between batery ang R/R?
  11. Why has it got a H/L switch on right bar ? That is normally on the left bar, did you say right in error ? Do you mean the lights Off/side/dip selector switch ? As you state all grounds feed back to the rear left connectors block in the harness near the RR. Mine did many weird things & when I checked the block having peeled it out of the loom wrap tape it all looked good. But when I removed the crimp connectors from the block approx 50% of the wires were furred up with green copper oxidation in the crimps. So I cut the all out & cleaned the individual strands, then bulk soldered them & the weird electrical issues went away. YMMV
  12. After R/R problem (solved) I have got another one on my VFR800 (1998, German spec.). It has HL switch on the right handlebar. To make long story short, when I switch on headlights, turn signals do not work, when I switch off the headlights turn signals work. If HLs are on: - right side H4 is dimmed (kinda neon lamp), - left side H4 is on full, - left TS does not light at all, no sound from TS relay - right TS, no light, TS relay makes bzzz. Changed TS relay - no change. Star ground clean. I measured resistances (with no bulbs connected): left HL / right HL - blue 0.1 ohm, green 6.1 ohm, Wh/Bu 0.2 ohm. Day before harness fiddling it was 0.8 to 1.3 ohm for Gr/Gr difference. HL relay Gr-Bu (coil) 104 ohm ... relays seems to work properly. The same for Hi beam, and TS relay. Gr/Gr HL-TS on the same side 0.1 ohm. Made more measurements, but those seems to be weird. I can make other, if needed. My bet is on the bad grounding. My problem is that I do not know, how to repair it, because the all "greens" goes to main harness. But maybe I am wrong and you have met this kind of problem before ..... Thing could be more intricate than it seems. So your help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance. Tom
  13. The clock has a very high drain for what it is. But normally takes 3 month or more to drain a standard lead battery. I disconnect the battery & bring it in to the warmth during the winter after giving it a full charge off the bike. I use LifePo4 they don't like being flattened ! You can add a multi meter inline into one of the battery feeds, see how much juice is being drawn with the ignition off. Then pull fuses to see which kills the drain. Then look at whatever that fuse supplies. Happy hunting
  14. Installed a brand new battery, fires up, volt meter I installed shows 13.1 while at idle. Let the bike sit for 2 weeks and battery went completely dead - would not even come back to life when hooked up to the trickle charger. Noticed battery was low during the winter when not riding for a few days so I put it on the charger thinking it was the cold that was giving it a hard time but it seems like something is slowly zapping it and if it sits too long it kills the bat. Can someone point me in the right direction for a troubleshooting guide?
  15. I have the same issue. Did you try the above? Did it resolve the issue?
  16. My money's on a gummed up bar switch. Factory grease & 20 + yrs of use = gummed up switch gear. Had a similar issue on my 99, sticky/sluggish flasher switch, pulled it apart, full of sticky crap, deep clean/polished all contacts, light smear of silicone gun grease, like brand new, still working mint for last 5yrs. Went back in during winter lay up, gutted rest of switch gear, deep clean/lube, all working as new. Personally I don't rate contact cleaner as anything special, it's only a glorified over priced mild de-greaser, but it's kinder to plastics than brake cleaner, so useful to wash plastic parts when cleaned, it'll do little to nothing just spraying it into a switch. Switches need servicing at some point. I use scotchbrite pads on electrical contacts, switches like horn & starter draw a lot of current & use a heavier set of contact points, these need filing to clean em, I have a set of super fine diamond files for this job, but a fine needle file or some emery cloth wrapped around a lolly sticky. It can be a fiddly & time consuming process, but worth the effort. Horn switch is a real biatch to remove & install from the main switch housing, clean in situ is my advice. Harness to chassis grounds are a weak point too, well worth cleaning em all up with some emery cloth & treat em to some kind of anti-oxidant solution. 👍
  17. This right here: Genuine Honda Type 2 Coolant/Antifreeze 5 Litres (Pre Mixed) (08CLAG026L2)
  18. Is the option connector under the seat or near the headlight? I can look for the wire colors, but I wouldn't mind a little help with the general area or how deep I'll be digging. Thanks!
  19. The 4 times I have cleaned it I've probably used 4 different bottles of cleaner. Mostly whatever Electrical Contact cleaner spray the local Auto parts store has. I get in there with a tight, pointy cotton swab (the kind that doesn't fray easily) and get in all the little spots. The last time I even got a tiny metal pick and ensured the 3 circular contacts were clear of any residue. Every post I have read about it always talks about opening up the switch and cleaning it, which granted is sound advice, but it doesn't solve the problem. There must be something else going on. Especially since on all of these situations, the Right Signal is worse than the Left. Yes on my bike I do have running lights. When you select the signal the corresponding light goes out, and stays out until the signal begins to flash.
  20. Yesterday evening I attempted to install the new muffler brackets. It was a trial, I knew it was, but in my mind I've been hoping it could work: the brackets are 3D printed in PA12 enhanced with carbonfibre In theory, the idea is brilliant: components light (VERY light) and resistant. And they are very nice, indeed: Unfortunately, they're not strong enough, and prone to bending: I gotta find a solution, or I'll be obliged to come back to old good aluminum 🤔 Failure is the path to success 😁
  21. From an electrical perspective, power flows from the battery to fuse and then through the flasher relay to the switch, and then separates to the left or right sides. I think the only thing that can cause a delay is the switch, and the likeliest cause is old, stiff grease holding the contact points apart. That is also why regular use and cold weather have an impact on the delay you are seeing. The grey wire is power in, orange or light blue is L and R out. You may also have running lights which should have constant power (not through the flasher relay) on the Brown/Blue wire, and out on the Light Blue/White and Orange/White wires. When you use the turn signal, the side lights get cut out. When you cleaned the contacts did you use a contact cleaner or a spray like Deoxit (my fave)?
  22. I've been chasing this issue for years. Pressing the turn signal switch to activate the signals and there will be a delay before the actual light starts flashing. Just like all of the many many other posts about it, the right side is more effected than the left side, and it seems to be temperature related as it doesn't happen on warm days. It also goes away with regular use. (So if you ride everyday you may not have this problem) Has anyone found an actual solution to this besides opening the switch and cleaning the connections? Because I have done it like 4 times already and it only helps for like a day before they start acting up again. Link to the last thread about it:
  23. Well-played Mike. I could do with that diagonal support "member".
  24. Yesterday
  25. Put the bolt in a drill and spin it against a scotchbrite pad + polishing compound. Chaos Causes demonstrates this over on YouTube. (the video should start at the 7:00 minute mark) A bench grinder and polishing mop would be the easiest way, but they might come out shiny polishing by hand.
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    1. med_gallery_491_3463_298783.jpg

      Juniper Pass

      I took a day off from work and also from my bicycle training to take out the Veefalo one last time before the weather turns ugly, supposed to snow the rest of the week and possibly start sticking to the ground along the Colorado Front Range. I took a leisurely pace up hwy 105 toward Morrison and got reacquainted with the bike since its been over a month since I took any sort of twisties on it at all, hwy 105 is a scenic ride along the front range between Denver and Colorado Springs, its mostly easy fast sweepers and lite traffic so its a favorite road of mine when going north. Then I have to negotiate a bit of traffic near Highlands ranch and up hwy 470 into the mountains. I decided to take the Morrison Exit and try either Lookout Mountain or head up Golden Gate Canyon - this time it was Lookout Mountain, I was sort of making it up on the fly as I went along. Lookout Mountain is my old bicycling haunt from my days while I was working at Coors, its a killer ride and all uphill - I don't think I could do it today If I had to, not quite there yet! I saw a whole bunch of riders doing it though and wished I was in shape enough to be there doing it as well. 30 more lbs and I will be able to do it! On this day I would do it on the Veefalo instead.

       

       

       

       

      I took a video from the gateway to the top at the Lookout Mountain State Park, getting past riders, the guy in the green jacket actually pretty much astounded me with how far he had gotten in the short time it took me to set up my camera, some 3 miles at least and up to the gateway from the turn off at hwy 6! Amazing I thought. I took the first two turns slow then got more comfortable as I went up further, till I was doing well, I made some gearing mistakes and took the tight 15mph marked hairpins in the wrong gear so I lugged it a bit on one or two. Still enjoyed it though and then got off at the top and hiked over a rock outcropping for an overview of the road for the pictures below.

       

       

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      Lookout Mountain - Golden Colorado

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      Zoomed in

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      Lookout Mountain Park top of the mountain

      From there I headed up interstate 70 to Idaho Springs for a beer at the Tommy-knockers brewery, I was the only customer in the joint - slow day for them so they treated me like a king! I got a nice tour of the place sort of impromptu, they made me a nice Pastrami sandwich on rye and with the brown ale it was fantastic. I must say the beer is much better there than in the bottles - its always good at the brewery. I am glad I stopped

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      Tommy-knockers Brewpub Idaho Springs

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      Idaho Springs Colorado

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      Mashtuns and fermenters

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      Rows of fermenters

      I finished my lunch and since the road to Mount Evans is right there I headed up Squaw pass hoping to get in some nice pictures I wasn't expecting what I found, ICE IN ALL THE SHADY PARTS

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      Icy patches on Squaw Pass definitely taking it easy on that road

      There were some section where the ice covered the whole road for 300 yards or so I had to roll through it with my legs out to help keep the bike from sliding and falling over, I took it real slow. A Ford pickup was right behind me so I pulled over to let him pass but the guy was going slower then even I was so I pressed on - in places where I could see I just cut over to the oncoming lane and out of the ice where the sun was shining on the road more, but some places there was not alternative so I just had to go slow, good thing it wasn't slick but rather they tossed some gravel over the worst parts so I had some traction!

      I did stop for pictures in all the best spots

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      Echo Lake at Mount Evans showing off my new plate

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      Elephant Butte Park and Denver

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      Close up

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      Veefalo on Squaw Pass

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      Juniper Pass

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      Juniper Pass

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      Mount Evans

      My route A is home B is Tommy-knockers

       

    2. martinkap
      Latest Entry

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      Not that it matters and not that I expect anyone had noticed, but to those who sent me "where are you?" I would like to say I am back. Not only that I am officially returning to VFRD after nearly 2 months break but I have also ridden my Hawk last weekend and had FUN! Let me restate that; I had major fun riding! Something I have almost given up on.

      Most of you have been riding your whole adult lives and riding is not only a hobby to you, it is part of you. But I started riding three years ago and even though I have encounter some setbacks, till this spring I loved riding with whole my heart. However, I have always considered riding as my hobby. As a hobby which suppose to make my life better, more fun and more rich. Life is too short to do something which we don't fully love.

      My love of riding received a first major scar this spring: I lost a friend on the racetrack. He was a total stranger who offered me his help after I lowsided at CMP track last year. I still remember hearing his "Hi, my name is Todd, do you need help?" while I was duct-taping my roadrash from ripped jacket. He helped me straighten up the shifter and we kept in touch. The next time we saw each other was the day he died.

      With 9 months delay, I can say that Todd's death shook me more than I have realized. It rooted fear in me which was fueled by seeing and hearing about others getting hurt over and over again. If I was to summarize this year - it would be one big accident report. I became sensitive to every broken bone, every roadrash, every lowside. And even though I did 10 track days this year, I became slower and slower and slower. Suddenly, I have acquired this 'grandma' riding style on the road, frozen with fear that behind every corner there is car standing in my lane, or major sand trap or deer staring at me ... I was crippled with fear not only for me about also for my fellow rider.

      So, at the end of this year, I rode more and more by myself. I could not bear the feelings of responsibility for others on the road and my lines were crippled by my own fears. It all culminated this fall at WDGAH. In a freaky accident Love2rideh82crash was taken down by a truck crossing into our lane. I was done. I finished the weekend, locked the VFR into a garage and took a break.

      Until the last weekend, I pretended that motorcycles do not exists. As a last instance after 2 months break from riding, I decided to go to CMP track to see if I can still have fun. I also felt like I should go for the memory of Todd. I went and I had fun! I had much more fun than I expected and the most fun on track I can remember. Suddenly the whole track connected into an uninterupted line of turns and I felt one with the bike riding around! I was giggling like a little girl in my helmet and keep on giggling ever since smile.gif

      Granted I was not the fastest one and through out the weekend, I have never exceeded about 60% of my riding abilities, but I had no "oh-shit" nor 'blond' moments. I could have maybe go faster, I could have brake later for the turns and I could have lean further, but I am no Rossi nor Stoner. I decided to ride for fun and I had amazing blast riding well within my comfort zone.

      I was proud of myself when, after bandaging Ricks arm, I was able to distance myself and go back to riding without the year-long fear. I did feel bad for him but the feelings were not crippling my lines nor my mind. And when a total stranger came to me and said "Hi, my name is Todd", my heart stopped for a minute though but I suddenly knew that my life went a full circle. I probably will never win MotoGP :idea3: , but I am back! :wheel:

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