2002 Black VFR800 - Home Sweet Home!

I haven't had a chance to ride that gen of VFR, I hope I can sometime soon. In respect to interceptors, I have owned an 83 750 Interceptor, a 99 800 Interceptor, I now ride an 86 VFR700(U.S.) model, have an 87 VFR700F2 project on the go, as well as 2 83 Interceptors waiting in the wings to be worked on... but nothing newer than the 99. Grew up and lived in Ontario, Canada until 5 years ago when work brought our family to Alabama.
The gen 6 bikes are a great deal here in the southern U.S.. Prices are very good and there are usually lots up for grabs. Gen 5's hold their value more than the rest in my area. I really like the looks of the gen 6 VFR's, congrats on your machine and finally getting to ride it. I remember spring being one of my favorite times of the year, knowing I could be riding again soon. Sadly, I do not have the same anticipation here. My thermostat is stuck on "Northern Weather Mode", I cannot ride in the heat and humidity of the south. I ride as much as I can in the fall/winter/and early spring, then hardly ride at all from May to September.
Hey Le@r, I used to race out your way. Road raced at Sanair a pile of times and up at Deux-Montagnes a few times as well. It was 22 years ago now, but great memories of that area.
Enjoy that machine Jeff, and don't let those dang mosquitoes and black flies carry you off into the woods in the next few months!! Ride safe....

 

Oh god after 20 years out of the north I completely forgot black flies existed. I don't miss them.

 

congrats on the bike. Another day or here an the snow might almost be gone.

 

Thanks, guys! I'm loving this bike.

Got a link to that part? I was thinking about how the tail lights get buried.

Ugh. That sucks. It's going to turn cold here later this week. Today it's supposed to hit 15*C so I'm hoping to get another ride in late this afternoon. There's always a good chance of more snow here until mid-late April.

Any VFR is uncommon out here in Manitoba. There are not many of them around out here, the dealers don't even stock them ... most guys don't know / understand exactly what they are, and don'tn appreciate them for what they are. Most guys just classify them as "crotch-rocket" or "belly scratcher".

Don't let all the complaints about the VTEC being abrupt sway you from 6th gen. My personal experience is that it's very smooth and just pulls harder and harder. If you crack the throttle hard, it'll come on harder. If you roll the throttle on smooth but aggressively, it'll come on smooth and hard.

LOL ... they'll be getting splattered on the front of my bike. While we have the black flies, it's the mosquitoes that will take your young children and pets off into the woods over here.

We're almost there, still patches of snow everywhere, but it's melting rapidly. If the weather can stay above freezing, it'll all be gone by the end of the week.

 

The weather turned cold again here in Manitoba, and I discovered the battery that came with the bike was bad - sI ro I took some time to do some mods to my bikes charging system.

My charging system was sitting around 13.4-13.8V at idle through 5000rpm prior to the mod.

I spliced and soldered 2x new positive leads, 2x new ground leads, and 1x monitor lead (prevent over charge) directly to the R/R leads. The 2x ground leads I wired to ground under the seat. I put an inline fuse on each of the positive leads and the monitor lead.

In addition, remove the main 30A fuse holder and wires from next to the battery. I replaced the fuse holder and entire wiring back to the battery post with new 12 gauge wire.

For connectors, I used 5mm bullet connectors (I use them for my high-end radio controlled helicopters), used di-electric grease, and cleaned up all connectors showing signs of oxidization.

I'm now getting a solid 14.28-14.3V from idle to 5000rpm (with and without high-beams on). Well worth the upgrades since I'll be adding heated gear and grips.

If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to take some photos.

 

Just goes to prove what we keep saying, that volt you were loosing was going somewhere, stator hasn't changed, but that volt was ending up being lost through connectors or wire and in doing this it generates heat somewhere along the charging circuit and eventually melts things. Well done you have saved yourself potential future missery

 

Greetings from Alaska!





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Jeff, any corners in Manitoba? Just curious . . .






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Thanks. Yeah, I wasn't impressed with the reading that I was getting, especially after reading what other guys were getting.

None of my connectors were toasty (yet), but the insulation was getting a little brittle on the short bit of wire that connects to the main 30A fuse connector. Better to do it now at my own leisure than being stuck on the side of the road trying to rig something up to get home.

On another note, I was horrified at what I was being quoted for a replacement Yuasa YTZ12S battery ... over $200 CAD!! I did some checking around and shopping, but all the prices were about the same. The Interstate brand that gets decent reviews was about $175 CAD. The WalMart brand of batteries are supposedly very good quality, but they don't have a size that fits the '02 VFR800.

I ended up going with sealed and factory activated gel type that's stocked by Motovan called DuraBatt ... I picked it up for $90 CAD. I couldn't find hardly any mentions of it online, and the ones I did find were not negative.

It's made in China, that said, I fly some very high end large radio controlled helicopters and all my LiPo's are made in China, and are of VERY good quality, so I decided to take a chance and ordered one.

I should also mention, I went with the YTZ14S equivalent ... it's the same battery that fits the ST1300, but the dimensions are identical to the YTZ12S ... it was only about $5 more and has more CCA's.

Only time will tell if it's a good value or not ... I'm hoping it's a viable alternative. Most batteries if treated / maintained properly should last a very long time.

 

Lots of twists in Manitoba ... it's a pretty diverse province with a lot of varying terrain.

Bald assed prairie, valleys, mountains (not like the Rockies though hahah), desert, Canadian Shield, we've got a bit of everything out here.

Planning a trip out this way?

 

There is a curve in the road on Sturgeon Road in the west end of Winnipeg. They straightened it out somewhat about 35 years ago but it still falls under the definition of a curve. JK

Too late for you now, but a friend of mine, inactive member here with handle VRF_AG, found a place in Regina Saskatchewan that he signs the praises about. Brian is in the Auto Warranty business so is fairly up on his products.

http://www.saskbattery.com/

Speaking of stuff made in China. Just because it is made there does not mean it is junk. They make whatever their customers want and to their customer's specs. You buy something for a bargain price at Wally World or Home Depot, and it is made in China, you are likely to get crap. You go to specialty stores or businesses that stand by the quality of the product they sell, even though it is likely still made in China, it will be to a much higher spec and usually a much higher quality.

AS far as I know, all Moen products are made in China. If you buy the Home Depot faucet, it has a lot of plastic parts that are crap and strip easily. You buy one that looks the same from a specialized Kitchen and Bath or plumbing supply store, even though it looks the same, you are likely to find a different part number and fittings made of brass. Speaking from personal recent experience.

 

I am always planning something . . .


;-)

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LOL ... there might be a few more curves than that.

Damn, wish I knew earlier ... oh well. We'll see how these DuraBatts hold up.

Hah. Sounds like me.

 

I am quite familiar with a lot of the area north east of you. Would love to ride that next time I am out. There is an old decommissioned hydro dam I want to get to to do a photo session with the bike. Would make some great candidates for a calendar shot. I think it is in the Pinawa area but not 100% sure on that.

 

I just wonder if 5 & 6 gens VFRs' charging system will do for a Shorai battery...

 

Not sure why they wouldn't be. A battery is a battery - it will require the same sort of voltage input and current. Aren't the Shorai rather expensive?

Randy, you let me know when, and I'll ride that whole area with you. Beautiful country through there and NW Ontario .... as is Riding Mountain and Duck Mountains.

Took the Viffer through the twisties down both sites of the Red River today ....

 

That is a lot of water running over the dam there at Lockport. That dam is usually about 20 feet high in the summer time is it not?

I will definitely look you up. Will have to make a stop at my dad's old cabin on the Lee River. Off the 313 just before 315 on Pinawa Bay. His cabin was the last cabin to the south on Strong Rd. We spread his ashes off the shore about 100 yards out during a blowing storm. Mom and my 5 siblings all were looking over the stern of the boat while his ashes were going overboard. They were all heavy people. There was me, trying to counter all this by leaning over the bow. I was much thinner then. I am sure the old man was up there looking down at us saying, "Look at those dumb bastards out in the rain and winds about to go for a swim!" Then he would laugh so hard he would start coughing. He was really sympathetic when we did something a bit on the dumb side.

Anyways, that is a little while off yet. Maybe summer 2016.

 

It's always very high this time of year ... all the water comes down from the US ... we're close to where the Red River goes into Lake Winnipeg, the end of the line for the tributary. All that water from melting has to go somewhere - down stream.

In the summer, it's quite a drop, yes.

Well, you let me know when, maybe we'll plan some extra travel on top of it through NW Ontario then loop back through Minnesota and ND.

 

Understood. I don't think you have seen high water quite yet have you? I know the Red has a huge drainage basin stretching far south, east and west into the plains of ND, SD, and Minnisota. I get lost on Google Maps often. We don't get ours on the Fraser through Chilliwack until early to mid June. Seems strange being so long after the winter weather stops here but it takes that long for the winter run off from way up north to reach the Fraser Valley.

 

Nope. Usually doesn't peak until much later than this. They haven't even opened the floodway yet .... with the amount of melting that happened here already, I think it will be a low year until the areas up stream got hammered - or we have a wet spring.