A few questions on new to me VFR

Discussion in '6th Generation 2002-2013' started by REVTMOLO, Oct 26, 2018.

  1. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    I've been riding my new to me 2002 for the last week now and have some questions.

    Lifting the bike
    I have a harbor freight bike jack that I've been using on my cruisers for the last few years (Honda Magna, Victory Vegas, Kawasaki Vulcan) to change tires, do fork work, etc... Can I use that on the VFR? I'm looking at the bike and I don't see a good way to lift it without risking damage to the cowls or pipes.

    Rough engine from 2000 to 3500 RPM's
    I might be paranoid here. It seems like the bike runs a little rough at lower RPM's. As long as I keep it about 3500 RPM's it is smooth as butter. Idle seems fine as well. If I take off slowly from a stop light though I get some vibration in the bike that feels like a misfire. I haven't swapped out the plugs yet (That's next) but I was wondering if this is considered normal behavior and if not, what should I be looking into.

    Temperature readings
    It's been pretty cool here temp wise over the last few weeks. When I ride, I see my engine temp is around the 172 deg F mark. The other day I was sitting in traffic and it went to about 22o deg F. I believe that is about right for this bike but wanted to verify. Ambient temp was about 64 degrees at that point. I didn't notice the fan kicking on, but I had earplugs in so I probably wouldn't have heard it. I'll probably just run it in the driveway and see if it kicks on.

    Speedo readings
    OK, I know this is a ridiculously broad question... How accurate is the speedo? It could totally be that I'm not used to the bike but I keep finding myself at 83-90 MPH on the highway and it definitely dont feel like Im going that fast. Oddly, I'm just keeping up with the other cars around me in a 70 MPH zone. I don't know if people are going that fast or not, but I know I'm normally running my car through there around 75-77.

    Sorry for the long post guys... new bike, lots of questions!
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2018
  2. marriedman

    marriedman New Member

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    Can't comment on the jack, I only ever used stands or a lift.

    The 5th gen is happiest at 4K rpm, it will definitely lug under that. Though in first or second gear, there shouldn't be any lugging or rough riding. Perhaps you are shifting too soon?

    Temp sounds normal to me.

    The speedo is about 2-5% off from my experience. I can say that both my 5th and 6th gen loved 70-80 mph in sixth gear. On the 7th gen, that would be 4th gear!
     
  3. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    Thanks marriedman. Thats helpful. Lugging was my other thought. I keep forgetting to leave my earplugs out before I go our for a ride and I can't hear the engine well enough to define what kind of sound it is! After being on the victory, this is like a whisper! (A very fast whisper.... lol)
     
  4. Zapp

    Zapp New Member

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    I bought my VFR in August and it was neglected and sat for a year and was hardly used the previous year the past owner admitted. I say that because the motor felt really coarse on my test ride. After some chain maintenance and more importantly an overall tune-up the bike runs like a champ. I don't notice any stumbling, unless of course I'm in too high a gear for the speed. Smooth on acceleration, maybe a bit abrupt but nothing surprising.

    As far as speedo accuracy, most bikes are off between 5-10% from my experience, my one exception was my 84 Nighthawk 650 which was just about dead on. But agree with you, compared to my other bikes I'm always surprised how smooth the VFR is at high speed and I'm often surprised how fast I'm actually moving.

    Now I'm not certain on this but I believe companies like Pit Bull make single-sided swingarm jacks/lifts. Found this on a quick google search.

    https://www.pit-bull.com/honda-moto...-one-armed-rear-cb1000r-hawk-vfr800-f0099-600
     
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  5. Bat-1

    Bat-1 New Member

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    Verify that any PO didn't change sprocket configuration. I recently bought an 08 and the PO went -1/+1. Which he told me about.

    After the 80 mile drive home my wife, who was following me in the car, commented that she appreciates safe riding but did I have to go 55 all the way?

    I thought I was doing 65-70. Sprocket changes really mess with your speedo/odo. I verified that it was off and this configuration indicates 10 high at 55-65, 12 or so high 70-75 etc .

    I think your bike should have a center stand. Maybe the PO took it off. You can easily find them online and they solve all your maintenance problems. A little weight gain for a whole lot of convenience.

    Engine temps are very subject to ambient temps on this bike. But if air ain't blowing through it seeing 220 is normal. As long as it starts going down from there your fan is on and you're good. High temp light kicks on at 250.

    Choppy low end in lower gears isn't uncommon. A Power Commander is the high end fix. Disconnecting your PAIR valve and air box flapper are easy free fixes that have worked for some.
     
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  6. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    Thanks guys. The bike came with a power commander, open exhaust and a K&N Airfilter and oil filter. I've stripped everything out and went back to factory specs on it. I also swapped out the chain and sprockets for stock sized JT's. The bike runs great and the more I think about it, the more I think I'm just lugging the bike and that's the vibration I'm feeling. It pulls really strong if I give it more juice

    The center stand is still there and has been very helpful. How are you getting the front off the ground to swap front tires?
     
  7. Bat-1

    Bat-1 New Member

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    I have front fork stands. A $40 Venom one from Amazon will do the trick for the few times you need it.

    In a pinch you can have someone sit on back (or apply suitable force) while on centerstand and that will lift the front wheel. Remove wheel, support fork with upside down buckets or whatever you're comfortable with.

    So what are you doing with that Power Commander :Eyebrows:
     
  8. Bat-1

    Bat-1 New Member

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    Just thought of something if you're getting high speedo readings. If the PO did a sprocket swap he may of installed a 'speedo healer' to compensate. If you swapped back to stock sprockets and didn't remove it that would give you very wrong readings.
     
  9. GreginDenver

    GreginDenver New Member

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    Keep in mind that the VFR has an uneven firing order: 1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1-

    at lower RPMs this is more noticeable.
     
  10. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    Where would I find the speedo healer if one is installed? He was running a chain that was 1 link shorter than the stock spec JT replacement I got. the rear sprocket was a 43 tooth... I didn't check the front just tossed them both since I was replacing with proper parts.

    EDIT: I just looked at a video of the install for a speedo healer. I think I was in that rubber sleeve when I was doing the other things to get back to stock, but I could be wrong. I don't recall seeing anything there that looked like a speedo healers extra plugs. I'll check it out again though.

    Thanks Greg, you've been a great source of info over the last few weeks. I'm replacing the snorkel tomorrow and will see if it helps any. I'm thinking this is really just a normal thing, but we'll see...
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2018
  11. Bat-1

    Bat-1 New Member

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    16 front 43 rear for stock sprockets on these VFRs.

    If you had a speedo healer you'd have a small black box under the seat or at least a little circuit board looking thing on the end of a wire (the size of half a stick of gum). Lots of nooks to hide things in under the seat. The wire from this would run to that rubber plug shield on the left side.

    But maybe you just have a very out of calibration speedo. Odd though.
     
  12. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    Sorry, missed this earlier. I'm going to hang onto it for now. I havent decided what I'm going to do with the bike over the long haul. That said, you probably don't want it. It is a really OLD PC3. Doesn't even have the USB connection, just a 9 pin I/O port.
     
  13. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    Yep. I'm going to be chasing that harness looking for additional wires. At least it's not that hard to get to.
     
  14. Diving Pete

    Diving Pete Member

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    Easy check for speedo - you have mile markers on your freeways. Just do 2 miles at 60, 2 miles at 70 & time it..

    You have noticed that:
    1.These bikes are very smooth.
    2. They are very quiet.
    3. They run hot.
    4. They are fast.

    These are normal conditions and are part of the reasons why you can do vast distances on them easily.

    2-3500 rpms - it's not an area I think of for driving in..
     
  15. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    This morning I remembered this site which has been surprisingly accurate in the past:

    https://www.gearingcommander.com/

    According to the site at 5250 RPM's I should be going about 77 mph, and that was right around what I had noted as i was riding home Thursday. I don't have a GPS mount yet so can't test there. Fortunately the missus is going to follow me today so we can compare speedo readings between her car and the bike.

    Maybe traffic is just moving that quick but I'm getting the distinct feeling I need to CTFO on the throttle before I land myself a really nasty ticket for reckless driving which comes with fines up to $2500 and/or a year in jail.

    Here is the tricky part.: If you go 20 mph over the speed limit - reckless driving. but wait, the speed limit is 70. If you go over 80, you are still reckless driving. Seems totally fair right?

    https://jalopnik.com/what-every-driver-should-know-about-speeding-in-virgini-1669902845

    Motorcyclists should get thier own laws... :Laugh:
     
  16. RllwJoe

    RllwJoe Insider

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    My '98 came to me with one less tooth than stock on the front sprocket. I came across a roadside radar trailer (the type that has the posted speed limit and a digital readout of the speed of the approaching vehicle - you), in order to get my radar speed up to 55 mph I had to get my speedometer up to 65 mph. My speedometer is 10 mph happy at a 55 mph ground speed.

    Your temps are exactly what I find on mine. It wants to be at around 170 F when up to speed.
     
  17. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    Okay... Sitting in the driveway the bike heated up to around 216 and the fan kicked on bringing it back down to 205.

    The snorkel cured the low RPM roughness. The flapper is staying open all the time though it appears to be hooked up. Not sure what the deal is there but I
    m going to have to figure it out.

    The speedo is DEFINITELY off. I pulled out my smartphone and just watched My speed. At 50 is was pretty spot on. At 65 on the GPS telling me 70 and at 70 on the GPS it was reading 82 on the speedo. Not sure what the deal is but something needs to be fixed for sure. This explains why I am doing 90 to keep up with traffic!
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2018
  18. kst

    kst New Member

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    I also just bought a 6th gen and have low RPM roughness. I've read that it's just engine character but now that I see that you've fixed yours...

    When you had the roughness, was the snorkel off and putting the snorkel back on fixed it?
     
  19. REVTMOLO

    REVTMOLO New Member

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    There is still a touch of roughness under 3000 RPM's but putting the snorkel back on has definitely helped. My flapper is stuck open for some reason which also may be affecting it with the extra air coming in. It could be leaning it out too much. It seems like everything is hooked up to it properly but haven't really had the chance to look into it yet.
     
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