adding an idle control knob?

to the best of my understanding, the later 5th gens had a knob that runs off of the throttle body assembly and makes it easier to adjust the idle when you are on the bike. i know my 98 has a hole in the frame that is designed to line up to the adjuster, but mine doesnt line up. can parts be swapped out from the later 5th's or added via aftermarket or something? right now, adjusting my idle isnt easy at all, and i'm trying to dial it in without major surgery each time.

 

You shouldn't be adjusting idle often enough to need to do that? Shouldn't need to adjust it for a lonnnnngggg time after initially setting it.

 

The 6th gens have an idle adjusting knob , the 5th have a hole in the frame for a screwdriver to be inserted.

 

since my tb isnt lined up right with the hole, i cant use that for adjustment. i also dont see much, if any, change when i twist the idle adjuster with a wrench. being able to adjust with a knob while riding around would be nice. i dont plan on twisting that thing all day... just trying to get it to idle around 1.8k reliably, instead of around 3.3k, which is about where it likes to stay right now.
it seemed like a good enough idea to honda that they decided to implement the design into the later models.

 

If it's at 3.3k, then put the bike on the center stand, idle it until the fan kicks on the first time, and adjust it. That should be it. If it doesn't maintain that idle after riding it a few times you need to look at your throttle bodies. Could be badly out of sync, loose, etc.

 

Why doesn't the tbs line up with the hole ? It should. You need to get the tank up and airbox off to see what's going on. What year bike is it ? Has it a wax unit or left hand fast idle lever ? Sounds like the starter valve bar is open you need to push it back and lubricate it so it works properly.

 

it's a 98. i have the funky choke that isnt a choke lol
i'm hoping it's not a sync issue, because i dont have a manometer or any desire to mess with that lol nooooo
i'll do what i need to have a non crazy vfr. i'm just not thrilled about it, lol. thank you for the responses, guys

 

So it's a 98-99 model ( the best ones when they're working ). Lift the tank and peek down the right hand side of the airbox and you should see the starter valve plate. Is it out near the frame or in towards the tbs? Pull the choke lever and it should move in and out ? Out is slow in is fast idle. Use a screwdriver to push it out and don't operate the lever then start the motor. The idle should be correct. My money's on a binding choke lever cable. Just strip and lubricate

 

thanks. i'll check it out when i get home.

 

The only reason that the throttle bodies/idle screw won't line up with the frame hole would be if the TB's are not sitting down onto the intake rubbers properly. That would be more likely to give you an air leak and that would give an uncontrolled fast idle I think.

 

i was kinda thinking the same thing... i hear removing and replacing the tb's is super easy and fun lol. that's why i was trying to avoid it.
sounds like my tb kit needs to have a very long #2 phillips, a 2x4, and a pot of boiling water to soften the boots in... is that about right?

 

Pretty much this! When I recently had my injectors cleaned I had to remove the throttle bodies to get the injectors removed. When I put everything back and was going to do the SV sync and idle adjustment, the alignment was off. A quick peek showed that one side of the TBs was not seated properly.

 

Before you go to the trouble of pulling the TB's off, why not let then engine get hot (so the heat will soften the inlet rubbers), then slacken the band screws off and try pushing the TB's down properly? They might just pop down and solve all your problems in one go!

If not, then you may like to consider replacing the rubbers, IIRC they are about $8 each, the new ones will be soft and reduce the chance of an ongoing leak from a crack or split.