1998 VFR CATASTROPHIC Charging system failure!!! Bike burst into flames!!! *READ ME*

[nicoliusmc]

Hello All,

I would like to share with you my situation concerning my now RIP'ed 1998 VFR.

It started innocently enough, A month after I bought it from the dealer (9000 miles, clean title) the battery wouldn't hold a charge. I contacted the dealer, and they very politely replaced it.

About a month later, I was riding to go to the MSF ERC, and while I'm waiting to get on base, the bike just dies. WTH?!? I bump started it, figured that it was a current draw issue, pulled the fuse, and went through the course, no problems. figured sitting at idle for almost 10 minutes in the cold with the bike idling at about 900 rpm killed it. How little did I know.

Not three days later, I'm getting ready to go to work. I jump on the bike, ride the 5 miles to get to work, and get off the bike. When I get off, I notice a funny smell, and what looks like steam rising from the wheel. I leaned down to examine it closer, and to my amazement (and horror) the smoke isn't coming from my tire, it's coming from under my seat!!!

Fortunately, I'm military, so there's fire extinguishers everywhere. By the time I grab one though, flames are actually visible, the back of the bike is melting, and I'm worrying about a 1/4 full tank becoming a very good impersonation of a bomb at that point (container 1/4 full of fuel is about ideal for ignition, plenty of fumes, but enough fuel to not flash off) So I hit the alarm, and start attacking the flames with the extinguisher. By the time the FD gets there, the bike is well...it's bad. I'm not at home, but I'll post pictures when I get a chance. Needless to say, the bike was a total loss. (Estimated damage, $4050. Estimated value $4010.)

After several letters back and forth with Honda, here's what they came up with:

"The stator on the bike failed, sending a bad signal to the regulator/rectifier. The reg/rec tried to overcompensate for the bad signal by pushing more voltage out to the bike. The first victim of this was the battery. They're not designed for being overvoltaged for extended periods of time. After this was replaced, the next point of failure was the main wiring harness. The wire cross-section of the harness is 20awg. The current that passed through the voltage regulator approximated a near direct short to ground, over-heated the insulation to the point of combustion. As the insulation melted, the wires made contact, the heat transferred through the bare wires igniting the seat and the rear seat cowl."

I thought I would share this to all 5th gen owners so they may be aware of the symptoms. I understand that this was a rare case, but the fact that it did indeed happen makes it necessary for me to alert everyone. Had this happened while the bike was moving, say on the freeway...well....let's just say drop 2, aim for something relatively soft, step off, tuck, roll, and pray.

The ONLY symptoms I had were battery not holding a charge, stalling at idle, and sometimes it would just stop if you let the clutch out slower than usual to avoid overppowering the rear wheel (eg: turning on wet roads, polished pavement)

If this happens to you...please, don't just replace the parts...have your ENTIRE charging system checked out.


Before anyone asks, the ONLY mod on this bike was a highmount Sta-in-tune exhaust. Other than that, bone stock with 9000 miles on it.
I SO LOVED THAT BIKE!!!

Oh well I guess. Not a day after I get my insurance check I go to the dealer (he felt really bad and hooked me up) and picked up an 2002 w/abs, a PCIII, Erion Exhaust, ZG BD windscreen, and a store credit for $500 in gear

Is there anyone else who has had similar problems to this degree? If so PM me, I'd like to draft a letter to the NTHSA, and the more the merrier.

The charging system has been a highly known issue of 5th Gen's for a long time, and if my unfortunate incident can help push for a recall to help you guys, then I'll do my best to make it happen!! Time for the fight w/ Honda!!

[derstuka]

My good lord! That is crazy! So sorry to hear about your ordeal. I am glad that you got hooked up with a new bike though. I heard of one other person who had a small fire, but I am not sure what year of bike that they had.

I'm in San Diego as well. Did you buy the bike(s) from House of Motorcycle, Funbike, or where? That was pretty low miles for a '98.

[derstuka]

Oh, and welcome to the forum as well!

[nozzle]

Sorry to hear about the bike.

Glad you are O.K.

Welcome to VFR-The Next Generation.

NorCal & Jason: hook the 6th Gen newbie up!!! (oh, after the initiation, of course )

[nicoliusmc]

Alba Action Sports in Poway.

Matt the sales manager and Mike the warrenty manager are great. They're always there to help you out, answer any questions you have, and hook you up however they can.

Nice to find another Veefer out here in SD. There any rider groups set up out here ?

[derstuka]

Originally Posted by nicoliusmc

Alba Action Sports in Poway.

Matt the sales manager and Mike the warrenty manager are great. They're always there to help you out, answer any questions you have, and hook you up however they can.

Nice to find another Veefer out here in SD. There any rider groups set up out here ?

Nawwwww....no group rides here. I have asked several other peeps here in SD, sent some PM's, including one guy not far from me....but they are either too shy, less than enthusiatic, or reluctant to get things going....so I just continue to ride alone....sniff sniff.....naw, I don't mind riding alone....I have plenty of fun with myself....wait, that doesn't sound right....

Glad that Alba took care of you....I don't stop there much. Funbike is close to me, and so is house.

What part of SD are you in? I am near Clairemont/PB.

[nicoliusmc]

Jason, I live in Poway. Probably why I go to Alba before any of the others. If you ever want to get together for a ride, let me know. I don't need an excuse to get out on the road, but if I have one..even better!! :nods:

[chris in va]

I'm really sorry to hear you had a bike-b-que.

I had a somewhat similar situation when I bought my 99 last year. It wasn't charging the battery, so I did some research. Seems the VFR has a real issue with rectifiers frying out.

The three yellow wires coming off the stator were pretty darn hot. The rectifier on the bike at the time was aftermarket, and apparently the previous owner tried to 'fix the glitch' by going the cheaper route. I ended up putting a factory Honda R/R on the bike, along with some extra ground and battery wires.

Definitely did the trick. Everything's cool, charging is great.

[derstuka]

Originally Posted by nicoliusmc

Jason, I live in Poway. Probably why I go to Alba before any of the others. If you ever want to get together for a ride, let me know. I don't need an excuse to get out on the road, but if I have one..even better!! :nods:

Sounds good bro. I will definitely get ahold of you for a ride. You pretty familiar with most of SD's backroads?

[NorcalBoy]

Welcome to VFR World, I sincerely wished it would have been under better circumstances. Sorry about your first machine.......

VFR's of all generations seem to have suffered from some type of inadequate Honda electrical system design You, unfortunately, seem to have been on the recieving end of one of the more extreme cases.

Although I don't want to scare the crap out of you concerning your new machine, the 2002 VFR also suffered from some rather distasteful electrical problems. Your 2002 is part of a recall program that is going on right now concerning the electrical sub-harness and I just want to make sure that you have had the recall work done already, or, that you plan on having this recall repair done soon. I would sure hate to have you go through that situation again. If you haven't had the recall work completed I would like to suggest that you call your dealer and schedule to get it done.

VFR's of all generations are great bikes, you'll find that out by hanging out around here. VFR owners are VERY passionate about their machines

Now that you have a 6th Gen VFR, I would like to invite you to join the 6th Gen Militia here at VFR World. There are about 50 or so 6th Gen riders that frequent this forum, it is definately an eclectic group of folks!. If you would like to see some more about it look here:

6th Gen Militia Roll Call

Once again, Welcome to VFR World!

Norcalboy

[nicoliusmc]

Actually Norcal, my first VFR was the 1991 VFR750F. Great machine, loved it to death...nearly literally. I would've kept for ever if that cherry 1998 with the unheard of low mileage hadn't beckoned me.

It's funny you mention that. I knew about the recall after researching (and praying at the same time) that mine was under recall. The first question I asked the dealer was the recall(s) taken care of. He said they were. But I think in light of circumstances I'm going to go to one that doesn't have a vested interest in telling me what I want to hear. (IE: Selling me a motorcycle)

Thanks for the invite on the Militia, I may just have to look into that...

[nicoliusmc]

Jason, no..not really. But I'm up for any kind of ride. Except Palomar...way too frequented, too heavily patrolled, and the people up there hate motorcyclists.

[derstuka]

Originally Posted by nicoliusmc

Jason, no..not really. But I'm up for any kind of ride. Except Palomar...way too frequented, too heavily patrolled, and the people up there hate motorcyclists.

hahaha....we think alike. I rarely ever go to Palomar, and if I do, I just stay on the fast side (east grade) because nobody is on it. I used to hang out there some, but saw accidents just about every weekend I went.

I have many other routes up my sleeve....just depends on how much saddle soreness your ass can take.

Later,

[nicoliusmc]

Jason, I've done to the bay area and back on the old VFR for weekend rides up the 101. Keep it under 4-6 hours at a stretch, and we'll be great.

Actually, next weekend might be great time to ride if you're up for it.

[nicoliusmc]

Just in case you're curious, I attached a before and after picture of the 'torch' (that's what the guys at work call her now..How blasphemous to speak of the departed...) Hope this works.

[V-FouRce]

Does anyone know if this issue is a direct and only result of the stator going bad? The 86 I bought and am restoring had caught fire from the rect./reg. going bad also. The left side(sitting on the bike) caught fire under the seat also, before I bought it of course, and the rect./reg was replaced w new as were the fuel lines, fuel pump and wiring harnesses. Im a little concerned now though that the issue may not be resolved. BTW the only thing left to replace that was caused by the fire is the side panel and a seat recover, fortunately the fire was doused quickly. I would be devastated to see this thing go up in flames...nicoliusmc, sorry to hear about your ordeal, but glad to hear it all worked out for you!

[RVFR]

Wow, that would have made for some toasty buns LOL going down the road fueling the fire with wind would have been Hot! Nice save sorta, just sorry to hear you went to the dark side of the vfrs. 4th gens rule... ducking now outa the way of mud being thrown.