Bike Died on Downshift

I will start with I am a novice rider, been riding for ~3 months so maybe I did something.

Recently started rev matching on downshifting and being smoother on the clutch. Then starting yesterday when I performed a down shift the engine died, it did it again today. I was able to restart while rolling and didn't do it again.

Has anyone else experienced this? Does this indicate a possible issue with something that I should fix now?

Thanks for the help!

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Did you lose all power or did the engine just cut off?

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Hi Berwolf and Welcome to the Madhouse

When you get time please swing by the "introductions" part of the forum to say Hi to the rest of folks on here - tell us a bit about yourself and maybe post up a photo of your VFR - its easy click the "upload a file link" below and follow the prompts to select and upload a photo from your computer.

As for your current issue - the short answer is this may be the first symptom of charging system electrical Gremlins which will eventually afflict pretty much every 5th/6th Gen VFR.

But we really need more info from you before we can offer sensible advice. So can you confirm which year 6th Gen you own, importantly were there any other weird behaviours when the bike died - did the clock reset? Did one or more headlights/bulbs blow/fail? Is the idle speed just set too low?


Take Care

SkiMad

 

The bike is a 2002 with 19,600 miles on it. The RR and stator are all original, I asked the previous owner and he said he never had any issues.

The bike died, engine rpm went to 0. Since I had the clutch in I was able to just push the start button and it fired back up. I didn't notice any other issues at the time and the clock didn't reset or the dash turn off that I saw. No burnt bulbs or bad fuses, everything still appears ok.

Typically idle speed is around 1,200 rpm which from what I recall is in spec for the service manual.

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You've likely got an electrical gremlin (corroded connection) somewhere that is intermittent. Just because the previous owner didn't have issues, means little..... jump in there and check all your stator/reg/starter solenoid connections....... tell us what you find.

 

It happened again the other day, it appears to only be on 3-2 downshifts.

I checked voltage at the battery while running today and it was 13.7V across a range of engine rpm's. I ordered a gauge to mount on the dash for voltage to monitor. I will check the connections next chance I get.

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Voltage should increase slightly above idle rpm.

Have you seen "the drill" thread? It covers the Achilles heel of the VFR:. The charging system and it's wiring. Every VFR owner needs to check this.

Always dies during a shift?

Maybe you have a flaky kickstand switch? Makes momentary contact and kills the engine.??


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I wouldn't say always dies. On a 2 hour ride it might happen once.

I will check out that thread thanks for the info.

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If you really like your bike and when you're ready to do things to make your bike bulletproof consider changing your rectifier to a Shindengen 847A from Roadstercycle.com . Get the extra wire needed for the VFR included in the description. Get the mounting plate from Mellodude here on VFRWORLD. Solder the stator connections and you'll save yourself a lot of headaches and maybe your stator too.
This is not to say that the 2002's didn't have other issues- mainly harness issues where the grounding was undersized and grounding issues in general. Also the main 30 amp B fuse can overheat and cause issues.

 

MY VFR800FI 2004 cuts out if I down shift into first at higher RPMs. I always thought it is a safety feature to stop you from locking up the rear wheel?