Back in the Saddle - some questions

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Hey all,



Was a member of this list in the late '90s with my 1992 VFR 750F. I sold my
bike in 2000 to a buddy in England before I moved back to Virginia. Well,
six years have gone by and I decided to buy the bike back from him and
re-import it back to the USA.



Quick question, parts embarrassing. I purchased the bike new in 1995 with 0
miles on it, rode it for 2,800 miles, moved it to England and due to my job,
rode very little. My buddy has only put on a few miles in the intervening 6
years, it now has 3,400 miles on it. He has replaced the battery several
times due to it sitting (I assume I will have to replace as well) and he
replaced the tires because the original ones dry rotted - again I assume I
have to replace them as well. Anyway, given the very very low miles and the
extended sit period, I assume I will have to R&R the bike soup to nuts. Any
parts that right off the bat you would recommend me replace (battery & tires
are obvious as well as oil) - belts hoses etc.. ?



Comments welcome .!



In the interim 5 years I have been riding DUCs and have a collectable 998
Final Edition. looking for the VFR to be my daily rider and mega-mile bike.
I can hear readers saying "what a waste of a VFR" but I have put 4K+ on my
DUC in 9 months, so be assured, this time the VFR will be ridden.





___________________________

STEVE ZIELENSKI

steve@xxxxxx






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Steve Zielenski wrote:

> He has replaced the battery several times due to it sitting (I assume
> I will have to replace as well) and he replaced the tires because the
> original ones dry rotted – again I assume I have to replace them as
> well. Anyway, given the very very low miles and the extended sit
> period, I assume I will have to R&R the bike soup to nuts. Any parts
> that right off the bat you would recommend me replace (battery & tires
> are obvious as well as oil) – belts hoses etc…. ?
>

Number one thing is to check the Regulator/rectifier connections to make
sure they are solid and not corroded. If the batery is dying that often,
even if stored for a while, it sounds fishy to me with the dodgy R/R
history of the VFR.

You might want to keep a CLOSE eye on the steering head bearings and
maybe even check the torque on them. This is another weak spot on the
VFR's and a source of the dreaded cupping/headshake.

I'm sure you will get 100 more responses addressing these issues and more.

-Jim

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Wheel bearings might be a concern. I know that cars will develop flat spots from sitting, I've just never heard of a bike sitting that long.
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Zielenski
To: vfr@xxxxxx
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 9:59 PM
Subject: Back in the Saddle - some questions


Hey all,



Was a member of this list in the late '90s with my 1992 VFR 750F. I sold my bike in 2000 to a buddy in England before I moved back to Virginia. Well, six years have gone by and I decided to buy the bike back from him and re-import it back to the USA.



Quick question, parts embarrassing. I purchased the bike new in 1995 with 0 miles on it, rode it for 2,800 miles, moved it to England and due to my job, rode very little. My buddy has only put on a few miles in the intervening 6 years, it now has 3,400 miles on it. He has replaced the battery several times due to it sitting (I assume I will have to replace as well) and he replaced the tires because the original ones dry rotted - again I assume I have to replace them as well. Anyway, given the very very low miles and the extended sit period, I assume I will have to R&R the bike soup to nuts. Any parts that right off the bat you would recommend me replace (battery & tires are obvious as well as oil) - belts hoses etc.. ?



Comments welcome .!



In the interim 5 years I have been riding DUCs and have a collectable 998 Final Edition. looking for the VFR to be my daily rider and mega-mile bike. I can hear readers saying "what a waste of a VFR" but I have put 4K+ on my DUC in 9 months, so be assured, this time the VFR will be ridden.





___________________________

STEVE ZIELENSKI

steve@xxxxxx







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Welcome back Steve,

Hmm, daily rider and mega-mile bike, that sounds a pretty good use for a
VFR.

Good luck getting it all sorted out. You don't need to check any belts.
You could just change all vacuum and fuel hoses, that wouldn't cost much,
check the radiator hoses, those probably cost a few bucks. Flush the
coolant, and the brake and clutch fluids. Give the plug wires/boots a good
looking over. Enjoy.

Ed Kokosa

Ft. Wayne, IN

1998 VFR800





_____

Hey all,

Was a member of this list in the late '90s with my 1992 VFR 750F. I sold my
bike in 2000 to a buddy in England before I moved back to Virginia. Well,
six years have gone by and I decided to buy the bike back from him and
re-import it back to the USA.



Any parts that right off the bat you would recommend me replace (battery &
tires are obvious as well as oil) - belts hoses etc.. ?

In the interim 5 years I have been riding DUCs and have a collectable 998
Final Edition. looking for the VFR to be my daily rider and mega-mile bike.
I can hear readers saying "what a waste of a VFR" but I have put 4K+ on my
DUC in 9 months, so be assured, this time the VFR will be ridden.

___________________________

STEVE ZIELENSKI

steve@xxxxxx




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Hi Ed,

* Coolant - 60 (% coolant)/40(% water).




If you need specs for the long-life (virtually life-long) stuff (used in
the Generation 3 V8s), please let me know.


Regards,

Tom Heron
VFR800FIw

-----Original Message-----
From: vfr-bounces@xxxxxx [mailto:vfr-bounces@xxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Ed Kokosa
Sent: Wednesday, 14 June 2006 11:58 AM
To: vfr@xxxxxx
Cc: 'Steve Zielenski'
Subject: RE: Back in the Saddle - some questions



Welcome back Steve,

Hmm, daily rider and mega-mile bike, that sounds a pretty good use for a
VFR.

Good luck getting it all sorted out. You don't need to check any belts.
You could just change all vacuum and fuel hoses, that wouldn't cost
much, check the radiator hoses, those probably cost a few bucks. Flush
the coolant, and the brake and clutch fluids. Give the plug wires/boots
a good looking over. Enjoy.

Ed Kokosa

Ft. Wayne, IN

1998 VFR800






_____


Hey all,

Was a member of this list in the late '90s with my 1992 VFR 750F. I sold
my bike in 2000 to a buddy in England before I moved back to Virginia.
Well, six years have gone by and I decided to buy the bike back from him
and re-import it back to the USA.



Any parts that right off the bat you would recommend me replace (battery
& tires are obvious as well as oil) - belts hoses etc.... ?

In the interim 5 years I have been riding DUCs and have a collectable
998 Final Edition... looking for the VFR to be my daily rider and
mega-mile bike... I can hear readers saying "what a waste of a VFR" but
I have put 4K+ on my DUC in 9 months, so be assured, this time the VFR
will be ridden.

___________________________

STEVE ZIELENSKI

steve@xxxxxx






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Wouldn't recommend a 60/40 mix in the VFR800. It runs hot enough as is and this mix will cause it to run even hotter. Use out-of-the-bottle Honda 50/50 premix.

Brad
CT.

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Here we go again guys - the uninformed coolant debate - I published the following info few years ago and here it is again.





As you can see, a coolant concentration higher than 75% actually raises boiling point and lowers freezing temp.





In short, the 800 likes a high coolant concentration (up to 75%) as it does have the potential to run hotter than some, despite being the best of the breed ;-)





One needs to be a little careful about high concentrations in very cold climates. Still, riding on ice-covered roads has its drawbacks...








Ethylene Glycol Coolant Information









Ethylene Glycol Concentration %

Boiling Point °C

Freezing Point °C


33

124

-19


40

126

-26


50

130

-34


100

190

-18










Additional Information for Interested VFR Listers




Coolant allows for a greater rate of heat transmission from the engine components by increasing the coolant's surface wetting characteristics. Try dropping a droplet of water onto an aluminium drink can. The water's surface tension will cause the droplet to "bead". Water acts this way in a cooling system, especially if it's in contact with alloy components. At a molecular level it doesn't "wet" the engine components and limits the rate at which engine heat finds its way into the cooling medium.



Also, the metal temperature in cylinder heads, especially around exhaust valves, can get way higher than 100 degrees C and insulative vapour pockets can form at locations where the cooling system needs to do its most important work. Gaseous vapours are not good heat conductors. If you boil some water in a pan on the stove and watch closely, you'll see tiny bubbles form on the bottom of the pan as the water begins to boil. Same thing happens in an engine. Pressurising the cooling system helps by raising the boiling point of the coolant, and addition of ethylene glycol further raises the boiling point, minimising the potential for vapour pockets to form.



>From the table it can be observed that a 100% ethylene glycol coolant concentration provides for excellent resistance to "boiling" but reduces anti-freeze protection. A high ethylene glycol coolant concentration could be considered appropriate for temperate (warm) to hot climates.



For cold climates coolant manufacturers (Pennzoil) recommend no higher than a 75% ethylene glycol coolant concentration.



The downside? Coolant is infinitely more expensive than water, so OEM's only use the minimum concentration required for a particular application (but if you're a flush, Devil-may-care VFR owner expense is no barrier and you can use the concentration of your choice.) Also, the lower coolant surface tension can cause head gasket and hose leaks and OEM's have had to go to better head gasket material and high quality (usually stainless) hose clamps that have a higher clamping load capability.



Minimum ethylene glycol coolant concentration should be at least 33%. A low concentration can actually exacerbate corrosion. Coolant should be changed every two years, as the other additives are depleted over time. Don't add just water when the surge tank needs topping up as this will dilute the coolant. Add a pre-mixed amount of coolant.



It's not a good idea to mix different brands of coolant. Some are incompatible with each other.


Regards,

Tom Heron
VFR800FIw

Melbourne, Oz



-----Original Message-----
From: vfr-bounces@xxxxxx [mailto:vfr-bounces@xxxxxx] On Behalf Of frugalyankee-cycles@xxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, 14 June 2006 11:40 PM
To: vfr800 vfr800
Subject: RE: Back in the Saddle - some questions


Wouldn't recommend a 60/40 mix in the VFR800. It runs hot enough as is and this mix will cause it to run even hotter. Use out-of-the-bottle Honda 50/50 premix.

Brad
CT.




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Box Hill Institute of TAFE is committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality and security of personal information provided by you to us. For further information visit www.bhtafe.edu.au or email privacy@xxxxxx.
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An important point that is being overlooked, along with some errant
terminology, is that the glycol stuff is NOT coolant. It is antifreeze.
You mix it with water to achieve a coolant solution. The problem is
that glycol isn't very good at heat transfer. So if you use too much
you end up reducing cooling efficiency and could end up running too hot.
That you have a higher boiling point is nice for keeping your cooling
system from bursting, but isn't doing your engine any favors.

-Brad


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On 6/12/06, Steve Zielenski wrote:
>
> Any parts that right off the bat you would recommend me replace (battery &
> tires are obvious as well as oil) – belts hoses etc…. ?
>
> Comments welcome …!
>


Clean the carbs.

John in Calif

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