VFR800 5th Gen 10 Year Update Project

Discussion in '5th Generation 1998-2001' started by Mohawk, Jan 3, 2011.

  1. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    I bought this VFR800 last year (2010) rode for the summer then thought what it needs is a bit of a refresh, so set about finding the parts & options I needed or wanted to improve it, but at the same time keep it looking standard (ish). The plan was to shed some weight where possible & improve the performance & handling as much as possible without going to crazy, after all, I'm not made of money, but this bit went a bit wrong!

    So I've been squirreling away in the garage for the last couple of months, buying bits & planning this upgrade. It's still a work in progress & this is Phase One, phase two will depend on how successful phase one is.

    So here is a list of the mods to date, the thinking behind them & some pics to help it along, listed in a sort of order that things were done. Some of the pics will need updating when the warmth & daylight has returned to let me get it out of the garage for some better shots.

    1. Replaced the Front indicators. I never liked the bulbous front indicators on this model, so have replaced them with GSXR mirror indicators.
    Indicator Mirrors Installed - Honda VFR Club Includes how to details.
    I removed the orginals from the fairing & bought a used lower fairing panel & cut out pieces to fit the holes left by the indicators. the holes are only covered with tape in the picture.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    2. Removed PAIR air bleed system & added blanking covers. Corrects the backfiring on over run & improves the fuel measuring on closed loop, loses a little weight & allows more air to circulate around the engine exterior.
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    3. Removed the Air Box Flapper, bypass control solenoid & vacuum gubbins that was used to pass the noise & emissions tests.
    Again saved some weight & let the engine breathe, makes a nice intake roar under hard throttle openings & helps clean up the fuel injection. Sorry no pics.

    4. Altered Airbox Top & fitted PC3. Bike runs fine. I have a downloaded PC3 map, will get round to a custom map when she's back on the road.
    Used an old air filter support as a cover to stop any large bits of debris getting into the airbox & on to the K&N filter.
    Makes an amazing induction roar, no longer the sewing machine V4, more of a roaring crescendo :rolleyes:
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    5. Added new Exhaust Silencer. This Delkevic Titanium Short silencer shaved 3.5Kg of weight & added a much nicer noise. Run with airbox above with the SPUD in, all seems OK. It was already fitted with Delkevic headers when I bought it, they save approx 4kg as well ! No pics at the moment.

    6. Basic Ramair design. Altered air intake to a ramair version under the head stock, to replace the standard non-ram effect intake above the frame rails & under the front of the tank. I have used foam inserts to seal the area around the airbox top as best I can. The entry duct is where the orginal rubber air baffle used to be fitted. I have fitted a metal grille to keep the larger lumps out from under the tank & I've used a piece of aluminum cold air ducting filled with foam as a temporary baffle below the air intake, it helps direct air into the intake. Only testing will prove if it works !
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    7. Added Goodridge brake lines all round & a Hel clutch line. Reduces some weight & improves the braking. Pain in the butt to bleed, but got there in the end.
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    8. Front Suspension Upgrade. Decided to stick with stock forks as it’s a street sleeper, but had the cartridges replaced during a fork overhaul with Traxxion Dynamics ones. All rebuilt & setup for my weight, not ridden it yet, so can't tell what effect this has. These add Compression & Rebound damping adjustment, as well as preload. Comp & Rebound are in both legs, but Comp is adjustable on one leg, Rebound on the other. Standard forks were preload only & a bit soft for my weight (100Kg). No pics at the moment.

    9. Rear Suspension Upgrade. Having spent ages looking for second hand Ohlins for one of these, they are like rocking horse pooh. So I've opted for a full race Nitron shock with remote reservoir, includes High + Low speed Compression adjustment + rebound, & ride height adjustment & preload. The little chips on the spring are my cac-handedness trying to fit it & it slipped & chipped the paint :( Not to worry, this is being built for go not show. The reservoir is mounted on a home made mount which was a galvanized panel fence bracket from B&Q, comes complete with rubber spacer, perfect :)
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    10. Carbon Exhaust Heat Shield. Found this whilst looking for carbon bits, still made to order from the USA. I backed it with some stand off thick aluminum tray foil to protect it, should work as there is an air gap between the aluminum & the carbon epoxy. pics are poor, but it looks good in the flesh & saves a little weight over the bent piece of tin Honda used !
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    11. Replacement Rear Sprocket. The bike had new chain & sprockets about 300 miles ago. So whilst looking for weight saving parts, I found a special one off deal at HPS for this rear sprocket for £11. No brainer really, saves .8Kg over the standard steel 530 item. I bought a set of stainless bolts & nuts to mount this, more pics when done. I might change to a 525 chain gear in future, to save a smidge more weight.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    12. Titanium Bolts. I decided when redoing the front forks, to use Ti bolts for the fork leg pinch, caliper, handlebar pinch & brake discs + the spindle bolt.
    Saves a little weight, does not corrode & looks great.

    13. Alloy Bolts. I decided to buy the full alloy engine case bolt set & fitted those in gun metal. I also bought some general sizes to replace whatever non load bearing ones I find where alloy would do.

    14. BST RC45 Carbon front wheel ! This is the biggest investment & was a bit of a leap of faith. I wanted a 5-spoke front wheel to match the 5-spoke rear, but none seemed to be available that would fit. Now bearing in mind the previous investment in the front forks & brake overhauls, I decided to stick with the standard front end. So I contacted HPS & BST, then with a bit of research worked out what was needed to make the BST RC45 front wheel fit the VFR800. Answer = Very little. The RC45 wheel slots straight in on the VFR's standard spindle & spacers ! But there are no discs that will fit the RC45 PCD/centre mount & the VFR's 296mm caliper mounts which can't easily be spaced out because of the combined braking system.
    So I had some spacers made up to carry the standard discs, this then required the discs to be drilled for the new wheels brake bolt PCD, that was the only mod required to the standard setup.
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]


    15. Rear Wheel Mod. Having got the front Carbon in place, the back was going to look a bit odd, so I was going to have it powder coated black. But then I had a brain wave & asked Hydrographics if they could add a carbon look coating to it ? They do all sorts of coating looks on all sorts of stuff, but started out with Realtree cammo. They said yes, it’s now done, just awaiting delivery back to me, so pics when I have it early next week.

    That's enough for now of this long winded build !
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2011
    OnlyVfr likes this.
  2. 02 VFR Rider

    02 VFR Rider New Member

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    sorry you lost me on the front brake rotors.
    what did you end up using and drilling out to fit the rim??
     
  3. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    If you look at the second picture down in the Front wheel section (14) you will see the hub centre, the alloy spacer & the Ti bolts. Note the small D shapes around the outer edge of the sprocket carrier. That is where my spacer fits on the wheel hub. The spacer is the part that the bolts are going into.

    The spacer is needed for 3 reasons;-
    1. The disc mount hub on the RC45 wheel is to narrow by 6mm, so each spacer moves each disc out 3mm, to line up with the VFR's brake calipers.
    2. The hole in the middle of the standard disc is 62mm, the RC45's is 58mm, thus the spacer has a rim 2mm thick & 4mm wide to carry the standard disc.
    3. The PCD (or Bolt spacing if you will) is 74mm on the RC45 wheel & 78mm on the VFR wheel, so the VFR discs will NOT bolt straight on even with my mounting spacer. I have the CAD file for this spacer if anyone else wants to do this.

    If you then look at the 5th picture which is the wheel side on, click it & then when imageshack opens, hit the + Zoom button & you will see the disc bolts fitted to the wheel & the OLD disc bolt holes that were to far apart.

    So using the spacer as a guide you need to drill through the original disc carrier, half way between the existing holes, as per the photo.

    Hope that explains it.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2012
  4. matt1986vf500f

    matt1986vf500f New Member

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    What company did you buy the carbon heat shield from?
     
  5. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Here is the link to the carbon heat shield manufacturer, Carbonpartz
     
  6. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Last edited: Mar 30, 2011
  7. 02 VFR Rider

    02 VFR Rider New Member

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    hey now that looks sharp
     
  8. Mastershake

    Mastershake New Member

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    That rear rim is sweet. I just polished mine because the og paint was so scratched up.
    I don't know if I would have opened so much on the intake though, let us know how that worked out performance wise, of course it will sound good, I would just be scared I would loose some low end power like under 5k.
    THat bike is gonna be awesome looking, thanks for keeping the 5th gen alive and kickin.
    Also if you don't mind what's the investment up to after all this?
     
  9. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Erm, well its a lot more than I planned & a long way short of what I need to complete this to the standard I want. Circa $5,600 just for the mods so far.

    I know, I know, I could have bought a newer low mileage bike. But I don't like any of the newer bikes, well unless an Aprilia RSV4 which are new & cost 3 times what this unique bike will cost me when its finished.

    Specials aren't built for money saving, they are built because we want to. I've wanted one of these for years & decided that I could improve it, so set out to do that. I hope I'm successful, because it will never be worth the sum of its new parts !

    Mohawk
     
  10. WilsonFourTwo

    WilsonFourTwo New Member

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    Keep up the good work Mohawk - it was a very thought provoking post. And thanks for the Carbonpartz link......!
     
  11. Pliskin

    Pliskin New Member

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    Looking great, and I definitely dig that rear wheel.

    Its your money - your spending it on what makes you happy and that's all that matters. Good man!
     
  12. pap11y

    pap11y New Member

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    I hear ya

    I have to agree completely on this. I have been in love with the VFR800 since its release. So far I am up to about 4K on extras. I was not a fan of the newer styling (personal preference) after 2001.

    That being said I now have a very different bike to the one I started on.

    I would have spent a lot more if parts were more available for the viffer. I'd definately consider a set of carbon wheels for the VFR :)

    Nice work Mohawk.

    Recently I purchased ohlins suspension. I was ringing around for quotes for the front forks to be rebuilt and one guys I spoke to said "why did you get ohlins for a VFR?". He could not believe it..

    How rude!!! ;)
     
  13. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Thanks Pap11y, nice to see you have one in the right colour :)
    I hate the look of the Vtec VFR's they look very odd to me & the new 1200 is ten times worse, seen them on Saturday for the first time in the flesh & its definitely all tourer, no sports any more.

    The new Crossrunner looks like a good redesign of the Vtec VFR though, due out in June here in the UK.

    How does the ride compare with Ohlins suspension ? Was that a shock & fork internals ?

    Got my rear wheel fitted with tyre today & fitted to bike this evening. So put the exhaust back on & ran it up to warm it through, first time it's been run for 2 months !

    Just some details to finish over the next few weeks, then it will be out for a spin :)
     
  14. pap11y

    pap11y New Member

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    :)

    Definately the best colour LOL..

    The ohlins was a HO801 rear with new springs and valves/pistons for the front.

    The front forks have not been rebuilt yet. I have installed the rear shock and it has completely changed the bike. It is so sure of itself on the road. I can't wait until the front is done as well.

    Wow 2 months.... I start to get angry if my bike is off the road for a matter of days.

    There was a prob with my ohlins rear suspension when I got it. I didn't know and went ahead with the install plus new headers.

    Once I had confirmed the shock needed adjustment I had to decide whether to put the old shock in put it all back together and do it all again. I ended up waiting a week for it to be fixed and boy was I hard to be around :)

    Thankfully the weather was rubbish so it made it slightly easier.

    Next bike I do will be less than 5 years old. Getting parts for a 10 year old bike is just painful..

    I am not a huge fan of the 1200 mainly because of its price tag. I am going to test ride the crossrunner when it comes out as it seems (as you say) closer to the source..
     
  15. Mark 024

    Mark 024 New Member

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    Great work Mohawk.
    Nice to see some different mods to the Gen 5. I agree with previous posts about spending money on a bike you love. The changes you make you get to enjoy it for miles.
    Cant wait to hear the report of the new suspension mods and Delkevic system
    I'm considering that for this year, Pap is miles ahead of me
     
  16. jesusbuiltmyvfr

    jesusbuiltmyvfr New Member

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    The fifth gen vfr appearance is timeless. Fits in today just as it did when they were new. Great job, cant wait to hear the results of your work.
     
  17. pap11y

    pap11y New Member

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    WP_000093.jpg
    Ok some pics I had to be inventive due to hi rise I replaced the headers and shock and I was not happy about the big plate (heat shield). I wrapped the top of the rear headers with heat wrap. (Note - always use protection when using wrap as it splinters and gets into your skin and is hugely annoying). I have removed the heat plate and you can see the final result in the other picture. The bike looks the same now except the stainless has gone a straw colour. What do you think? I know people will rip me apart about removing the plate but I have tried to reduce the heat and have been regularly checking the temp of rear brake and cables. Theres been no issue the last 2 weeks so just waiting on a long ride to really test it. Stay tuned for full write up.. And even though the dampening adjuster cable looks like it is on the pipe it isn't and has at least 10-15mm clearance.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2011
  18. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Pap, that looks pretty good actually. We don't really have a heat issue here in the UK very often ! :( It's normally to damn cold.

    I'll hopefully get the bike out of the garage for some pics on Saturday morning if the weather not to bad. I've still go lots of detail stuff to do, so will be a few more weeks before I get it back on the road.
     
  19. Scubalong

    Scubalong Official Greeter?

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    Great job ...........What you need now is add some gas and Zoooooommmmm klm :)
     
  20. vfourbear

    vfourbear New Member

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    :cheersaf:I'm still staring at the carbon front wheel on a fifth gen ............

    If youre gonna be a bear, be a grizzly........kudos.
     
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