Can an 800F be made lighter / improve ground clearance

Discussion in '8th Generation 2014-Present' started by viffviff, Nov 4, 2017.

  1. viffviff

    viffviff New Member

    Country:
    Sweden
    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2014
    Messages:
    88
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Location:
    Peterborough
    Map
    Thinking of coming back to an 800F after selling my 800Fi a while back, and not finding anything I really liked in other bikes. I sold the Fi since it had no ABS (a "must have" for me personally for road riding nowadays), it was a bit on the heavy side and ground the pegs on some track corners. So, taking a 800F as a starting point, can it be made a bit lighter without going mad? Does getting rid of the stock exhaust save much? Can the ground clearance be improved (new rearsets, remove centre-stand for track?). Many thanks
     
  2. Thumbs

    Thumbs Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    1,582
    Likes Received:
    1,096
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    Bath(ish)
    Basically there's very little you can do to make any significant weight changes without spending vast sums on carbon wheels etc ... For sure you can remove the centre stand for the track, just don't expect to able to slip it back on in a hurry ...check the looking for 2 centre stands thread

    I was initially put off by the weight, after about 30 seconds of riding it I realised it was only going to be a consideration if I had to pick it up often, coming from a CCM R30 which was as minimal as it gets to 1/4 tonne of Honda made intimidating reading, but not actual fact

    I now wheel about like a trials bike, just very carefully

    Go for a test ride, preferably on a used one with at least 15k on the clock, it'll just be loosening up then
     
  3. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2016
    Messages:
    1,984
    Likes Received:
    342
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Orlando
    Map
    Please define what you mean by "a bit lighter". I was able to easily shave 8 pounds by adding the Delkevic mini carbon exhaust (just over 7 pounds weight savings compared to stock plus an extra 3 hp if I can believe Delk's dyno chart) and NZCam's tail tidy (just under 1 pound weight savings). I'm planning to get a lithium battery at some point so that should shave a few pounds as well.

    Removing the center stand (or just buying the base model without it if you're in the USA) would save about another 10 pounds I'm guessing?

    As far as ground clearance for the track you should be okay even with the centerstand. Smoke4ndmears made the vid below WITH the centerstand on the bike! The lean angles he achieves are waaaaaay more than I would ever dare attempt :D I believe his only mods were a slip on exhaust and the Honda OEM quickshifter set to reverse GP shift pattern.

     
  4. Thomas Gessner

    Thomas Gessner New Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2017
    Messages:
    31
    Likes Received:
    34
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Munich, Germany
    Map
    Imho, the biggest low effort weight saving chunks would be:

    - Lithium battery (-3kgs)
    - Aftermarket exhaust - in my case a DAM exhaust (-2.5kgs)
    - Removal of centerstand (-1kg est.)

    6kgs less should be noticeable. Ground clearance can be improved by increasing the spring preload, as I am sure you already know. Another pragmatic approach is not to fill up the gas tank completely if you plan to ride hard. All of that will not make a nimble lightweight bike of of the VFR, but will make a noticeable difference on the track and on the passes. I for one have opted to keep the center stand, as its usefulness outweighs its ... well... weight.

    I removed about 15kgs (30 pounds) from my restomod bike, a T509 (https://t509speedtriple.tumblr.com), but that involved quite an investment in forged wheels (PVM), lighter brakes (Beringer), titanium headers, lightweight exhaust and an obscene number of titanium fasteners. The VFR would probably not be a good target for such an over the top project.

    My 2c, of course.
     
  5. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,479
    Likes Received:
    949
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    Anaheim, Ca.
    Not sure how much weight I saved but on my 5 Gen with the 98-99 cat-less headers, 2Bros Carbon Fiber Hi-mount exhaust can and removal of the center stand, rear passenger pegs, along with swapping to a lithium battery, I'm sure the weight savings is in the tens of pounds. The biggest savings IMO was the headers and exhaust can. I probably should have weighed the center stand before I got rid of it to a fellow VFR member. I still have the catted exhaust and stock can that I can weigh, just need a proper scale to do it.
     
  6. fink

    fink Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    457
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Ardnamurchan Penninsula, Scotland
    Map
    The New vfr has 5mm more ground clearance and weight 6kg more than the FI Model. No doubt to the Abs and euro emissions gubbins have added to that.

    Are you really going to notice that much difference?
     
  7. boOZZIE

    boOZZIE New Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Joined:
    May 9, 2017
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    3
    If u just want ground clearance, u could shim the rear shock.
    This will quicken steering also.
    Only shim 3-5mm(u'll need to search why)
     
  8. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2013
    Messages:
    1,176
    Likes Received:
    385
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    Old Toongabbie, Australia
    Map
    My 2 bobs worth.
    If I had an 8th and was planing to keep it for a while (I always keep my bikes for a long while, all except that piece of crap Laverda RGS1000, 3 months and had enough) I would do the following:
    New muffler.
    Lithium battery.
    New quality rear shock with height adjustment.
     
  9. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2016
    Messages:
    1,984
    Likes Received:
    342
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Orlando
    Map
    Great suggestion - especially since the 8th gen has a relatively large 5.6 gallon tank. In the article linked below Motorcyclist said the weight of the 8th gen deluxe is 502 pounds with an empty gas tank and 536 with a full tank, so presumably we can all shave 17 pounds by just filling the tank halfway (and we'd still have about the same range as a fully fueled Ducati "Supersport":D )

    https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/reviews/honda-vfr800-interceptor-road-test
     
  10. cayman

    cayman New Member

    Joined:
    May 8, 2007
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Yes, there is much weight to be removed from the VFR if you are willing to work to do so. However, to bring the VFR into serious sporting weight would require madness, time, and money. Consider this:

    Ducati 1299 Panigale Superleggera: 340 pounds dry
    Weight savings from a standard 1299 Panigale: ~23 pounds
    The Superleggera ("Superlight") model incorporates these weight savings:
    • Carbon fiber frame: -3.7 pounds
    • Carbon fiber swingarm: -2.0 pounds
    • Carbon fiber wheels: -3.1 pounds
    • Carbon fiber bodywork: ?
    • Lightweight Ohlins front fork: - 3.0 pounds
    • Titanim spring Ohlins rear shock: -1.1 pounds
    • Full titanium exhaust: ?
    • Titanium and aluminum engine components: -5.3 pounds
    • Lithium-ion race battery: -3.7 pounds

    I previously posited that if Honda was serious about keeping the VFR competitive going forward, they should target a wet weight of no more than 450 pounds max. One could get there yourself with any model VFR750 or VFR800 without going to a full carbon fiber bike, but serious surgery will be necessary. Assuming you don't have Honda engineering resources to redesign the engine and frame, a DIY diet starting with the easy stuff like ditching the horn, a full exhaust, lightweight wheels, bobbed rear body and lightweight custom subframe, etc -- would leave you with a bike that has none of the features that make a VFR a great daily driver or touring machine. This is why we collectively need to ratchet up pressure on Honda to get serious about the fundamental weight of their street bikes. They need to design it out from the start.
     
  11. fink

    fink Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    457
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Ardnamurchan Penninsula, Scotland
    Map
    Are you being serious?

    Remember these bikes have to be made to cope with conditions world wide and plug a lot of gaps in the market and be able to do a variety of tasks as well as look good doing so.
    Good grief your complaining about the price you have to pay for a DLX model over there compared to a base model. What would the price be like it the whacked on a pair of magnesium wheels , did a CF subframe and a titanium exhaust system. Feck a set of Marcesini Gensi for example will set you back at least £2500 ,a saving of 2.84kg based on a Cbr100orr wheels . That's nearly £1k per kg, or 4oo grams on a shock spring.
    Think 450lbs is getting near fireblade weight.
     
  12. cayman

    cayman New Member

    Joined:
    May 8, 2007
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    3
    I think you are confusing me with someone else. I am just responding to the question of this thread. I don't know why you think I am complaining or arguing, but there seems to be a lot of that going on these days and the snippiness is getting old.

    You seem not to understand the gist of my point.

    Ducati can offer a 1300cc V twin superbike at 340 pounds using carbon.
    Honda's RC213V (1000cc V4) weighs 353 pounds per FIM regulations.
    Honda's CBR954RR (SC50) Fireblade weighed 370 pounds dry over a decade ago.
    Other manufacturers can offer durable sub-440 pound, 1000cc street bikes using conventional/affordable materials
    Dedicated hobbyists have prepared track VFRs that offer tens of pounds of weight savings, albeit eliminating the features that most buyers want and in some cases spending ridiculous amounts of money to do so, like you stated.

    Thus I fail to see why you think it is unreasonable for Honda to offer an affordable 800cc, 450 pound sport touring machine. It is not something that the average buyer can justify doing via modifications, it will require proper engineering from Honda in a future iteration of the VFR. Engineers at most companies thrive on being given a challenge that others claim cannot be done.
     
  13. fink

    fink Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    457
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Ardnamurchan Penninsula, Scotland
    Map
    Was merely replying to your post, certainly no snippiness intended it just the way we brits are and how you yanks interpret things. It’s not all John McEnroe .

    Think my first reply was far closer to op original post than yours. 5mm more clearance and 6kg heavier.

    The 954 weighed 424 lbs wet, 9 lbs lighter than the latest Cbr 1000rr at 433lbs , even the lowly Cbr 600 f 3was 454 lbs wet.

    The z1000 is 520lbs near enough. Which is the nearest true competition to the vfr.

    Simple thing would be to loose one of the vfr traits and put on a std swingarm

    Personally speaking I would rather do a 400 mile day on the vfr 2 up as it is ,rather than attempt to do one on the Ducati or Fireblade. Is that not what it’s about? versatility as opposed to specifity.
     
Related Topics

Share This Page