old biker but new to 1999 VFR -- yellow of course

hi all
just want to say this is a great site. Been riding many years and owned a number of bikes including a first gen VF750F in 1984.

Wrote that off after hitting an oil slick and dislocating my pelvis. Got back riding a year later on a GPZ550 but then family came along and bikes were pushed off the table.

Made the return in 2010 and after a handful of bikes, found this 110,000km yellow VFR with Ohlins shock and Staintune exhaust going cheap so pushed the buy button sight unseen.

No regrets. Nada. It needed some TLC -- new clutch, brake fluids, chain, rear tyre, oil and filter change, and the stator went a couple of weeks ago thankfully just after a long ride the day before. Got it fixed and now it's running even sweeter than before. What a great bike -- i should have done my research better and bought a VFR, fifth gen, of course, when i returned to biking. wouldn't have wasted money on a Ducati ST2 -- it spoke italian, I spoke Japanese in a manner of speaking and never could ride it well, a FZ600, a Honda CB1300, red frame, and a Suzuki Bandit 1250s.

The VFR is such a great bike -- smooth on the wrists, handles superbly (for my level of riding now), and the cam gear and V-four rumble is intoxicating -- it's a keeper and though it's got a fair bit of KMs on the clock, I will keep it running and when i can't ride anymore, it will sit in my living room.

My gratitude to all in this forums for their wisdom on riding safe and knowledge and experience in keeping the VFRs going. It has been of immense assistance to me.

Some pics attached. cheers

 

Nice, and a welcome too.

 

Looks like you've found yourself a beautiful bike!!

Welcome to the mad house!!!

 

Welcome to the site and congrats on buying the fastest colored VFR ever.

The 'tunes and Ohlins are a nice touch too.

 

Now ya got the yellow catscratch fever....
Enjoy

 

Thanks for the kind words all.
Next March we will be heading to the top f the South Island for a 10 day wander with the Ulysses club. So closer to the time will be asking some advice on prepping man and bike for the adventure.

We did a trip to the coromandel twisties and the bike was flawless two-up so hoping for more of the same. Meanwhile get lots of practice in to prepare.
Cheers

 

Here's a few items to prep your bike with:

1. Check all major components on your bike (steering head bearings, chain, sprockets, tires, pads and rotors)
2. Check all fluids (coolant and brake)
3. Do a full oil and filter change. Check your air filter as well.
4. Check your charging system (do "the drill" - do a search for it on these forums)

Once these are done, ride it for a few days straight prior just to make sure you haven't missed anything, forgotten any bolts, or buggered something up.

Other than that ... the rest is packing for your trip, having some basic tools, wear all your gear, and have a great time!

 

Great pointers. Thanks muchly.

 

Lol. Got given the cat nickname cos I was a good soccer goalie in my younger days. Dunno if I'm a corner scratcher these days but I love the Vfr engine. Like my type r integra the bike can purr all day but turn into a howler when required. The best of both worlds

 

Hi Cat

Welcome aboard? Where in Middle Earth do you live? I'm in Auckland (where the Orcs come from).

Cheers, Terry

 

hi Cadbury -- i'm in greytown, south wairarapa so lots of nice riding roads here and there's always the rimutakas nearby for a quick fang.
the Ulysses club quite active here and there's a ride every weekend -- though when the weather is bad, its at the local café.

cheers. look us up if you ever down this way. Orcs can be very friendly when they want to as long as one doesn't zap past on the inside line!

 

Hi thecat and welcome!

I am a new biker, with the '99 as my first. All new experience for me. It is wonderful to look at a yellow bike when you own the red, and I imagine vice versa.

More for the checklist: Given the fluids were old, check your brakes for binding. If they bind they will heat up, be less effective, and harm the gas mileage. I am not sure if the rear can be checked easily in neutral given the chain load so start with the front. Prop up the bike and spin the front wheel. I am not sure what the "standard" is but it should move I think 1/4 - 1/2 a turn. If it does not freewheel at all, the brakes are binding. The piston seal inside may have crystallized fluid on it. It is possible to pull apart the calipers, and use a mineral spirit to clean the seals, then re-assemble. Many shops will not rebuild calipers due to the liability and would just replace them at a high cost unfortunately. If you find this problem on the front, rest assured the back has the same problem. Also, and you may have done this, lubricate the sliding pins.

You presume the stator died after your long ride, but the it may have been dead as you got it and the bike was able to run for a while off of the battery. The above advice about checking the charging system is good because a dead stator can harm the other components. After a week without running at all, the steady state battery voltage would be at 12.8 V for "brand new" and 12.00 is dead. Charging voltage is something like 13.8 - 14.5 depending on the revision of the stator and regulator. It is good to check the wiring / regulator connections for melted plastic or other burnt condition caused from the stator condition.

Check all of the switches, lights, including turn signals. These are just at the right age to start acting up. Electronics cleaner can do wonders.

Run your hand along the rims and inspect them carefully for any dents.

Given that you think the bike is easy on the wrists, I wonder if you have aftermarket bar risers. I find the bike a little punishing on the wrists. Of course I have lots of pain from programming and I am no youngster.

 

Hi knight. Thanks for the pointers.
Here,s the tlc steps I took. The bike sat at home for a month because when it arrived I was overseas.
When I got back, i turned the engine over and it started fist kick on half choke. So good. So fist step was oil and filter change so I could start my own maintenance schedule. Then took for ride for first impressions.
I engine was smooth, no unusual noises except for cam gears whirring. But it didn't feel right clutch was snatchy, couldn't,t get smooth transitions gear to gear up and down. Also trawling in 50 km zones I had to change down a couple of gears to keep smooth travel. There was also a clicking sound occasionally from drivetrain so something not right. Rear brake feel was quite dead. Hard to push down and though the bike would slow just with rear brake, could not feel linked brakes operation.

Then I pooped the bike on centre stand jacked the front up and lo and behold the handlebars could hardly swing side to side and there was a notch, biggest I hv ever experienced, in the middle -- steering bearings perished obviously.

So off to a friends shop where I get special treatment. So in with new steering bearings, roller type, and ran checks on brakes. Found both front pads worn to limits and a rumble in the wheel bearings. So off the calipers came for cleaning and pad replacement, one wheel bearing was faulty that was changed, fork oil refreshed, chain found to be binding from oiling neglect and replaced but sprockets still had ner new life in them so they stayed. Plus one new rear tyre. Clutch fluid was changed.
So at this point, main improvement was a smoother transmission, gear changes slick thanks to new oil, chain and cutch fluid. So no more issues with snatchiness at gear change revs or trawling in probably one gear too high in low speed zones. No blame on the fueling or the engine.

So started riding regularly. Because it's winter here, always had an intelligent battery tender hooked up so no issues with starting when I wanted. My attention switched to setting up the bike as that's one area I have the most interest in. I hv always been a rider with little mechanical knowledge so focussed on suspension tinkering because I could feel any difference I made though in my early years, when bikes mostly had fixed suspension, I'd just ride the thing. Make everything firm when riding hard and soften it when using for work or town.

Obviously PO was a bigger person, most people are bigger than me who is a little 64 inches tall and 70 kg so I had to get the suspension to suit me. It took a while but I feel I have got the combination of rebound, preload and compression damping right for me with the ohlins and the front seems to have settled on three lines showing. I know there is more in the rear shock but I can't afford a rebuild at this time.

Anyway, I recently got around to refreshing the brake fluid at the front and then slipped in the new pivot bearing and rod for the linked brakes pivot. Someone in the bikes past had cleverly de linked the brakes by preventing the pivot from moving I know how he did it but can't explain in a few words. Now I have good brakes and like how the linked brakes operate and I can use the rear brake levels for fine control in slow speed or urban riding.

As for the electrical the battery that came with the bike died about three weeks ago so I put a new one in. It was after that the stator died. Technicians at the shop where I sent it were familiar with the problem and first check showed the stator producing just five volts. All other checks turned nothing up all connecting plugs were good no signs of overheating, so in went the new stator. I am told it is charging fine 14 v or so showing. So having got it home I stripped the bike and got to work cleaning every plug I could see and reach including the all the fuses with isoprop alcohol and then spraying with electrical contact cleaner.

With all that done, the bike sure feels like it has come alive. Where I could feel a little vibration from the grips, there is relatively none now even at higher rpms and zilch from foot pegs. My theory is that the bike is getting its full share of volts throughout and the engine is responding in return. Sure feels like some hp has been unearthed and Roll ons with the throttle feel livelier. No figures except seat of pants to back this up!

To the handlebars -- they are the standard ones, not raised. My upper fork clamp height to top of fork. Is set at 49mm now. The handlebars are not seated on the triple clamp but raised a couple of mm but still within range of the seating pins so they don't twist. There is some movement available back to front when the handle bars are in the pins and I have found I am most comfortable when both handles bars are pulled fully back towards me before tightening up. It's only one mm or so difference but it feels better angled for my wrists and a different feel to the bike when it's moving. Maybe you can try this?
Thanks for the great pointers. I enjoy this site and could not have looked after Bonnie as well as I have without the combined knowledge and experience available here.

 

Oh you've been through this baby with a toothbrush. Excellent!

I CAN try this. I was unaware that my handlebars are adjustable. This is a case where I just never read it, I only read about people replacing their bars, and I never thought to ask or try it. I googled your adjustments and have found others saying that these small changes can in fact make a major change in comfort. Thanks.

Correction: The fast idle is not a choke. The bike is fuel injected and the ECM always adjusts the amount of fuel injected. The fast idle is just like the throttle. So, if you start the bike at any position of the fast idle lever, the air/fuel ratio at the very startup would be the same, as set by the computer. The fast idle increases the idle not via mixture but via airflow, just like if you twist the throttle. Think of it as a throttle lock.

I can paraphrase the instructions but cannot remember exactly FYI. I think the instructions say, 30 seconds at 2500-3000 rpm, and do not use above 90°F. That makes sense because at 90°F, the engine will be at 100° in no time. At 75°F it may take 30 seconds at 2500 rpm to reach 100°F. I think there is also a stipulation not to pull the throttle while the fast idle is on.

One more distinction, the idle and the fast idle do not supply air via the butterflies. They have a separate path through the starter control circuit, vacuum lines tied to a hole in the side of the cylinder. This circuit allows tuning of 0-4% idle, while the butterflies are completely closed. If you were to notice an extremely snatchy throttle from 0%+ (on/off but not a smooth transition), the first thing to try is tuning the starter control circuit.

 

Hi knight
The owners manual which fortunately came with the bike, though sans toolkit outlines three conditions for use of the for want of a better word choke lever. In normal summer temps or when the bike is still warm from a run, cool temps and winter temps. But it does warn that extended use of the choke lever is damaging to the engine. In these cold months, I use the choke at max to start and then when the bike runs I turn it down till a steady 1500 rpm while I helmet and glove up and then release choke when it can idle well.
I think the next gen has no choke lever and everything is electronically controlled plus some kind of warming system for the injectors.

Hope the handlebars tip work for you.
Cheers

 

What does your manual call this control? Unless your country's version of the '99 bike is different, or the terms between our countries are different, this is not a "choke". This is a minor but important distinction. A choke lets in less air, making a richer mixture, which is more appropriate for cold & dense air. However, fuel injected bikes like these will start and idle fine without the use of the fast idle lever, at any temperature whatsoever (ideally). The fast idle is not to help start the engine. It is, once again, exactly like turning the throttle to increase the speed, for the purpose of warming the engine before riding off and putting any load on the engine. So for the first startup of the day, increase the revs per the manual. Do not lower the fast idle immediately when the bike is started. You should see the temperature sensor come alive at 100°F + to indicate to you to turn down the fast idle.

Yes the next version is different. It is some sort of sandwich of different metals that expand and contract based on the coolant heat, but it is still mechanical. From repair hassles it sounds like our lever is better than the wax idle unit that replaced it.

 

wax idle-may not work-a shitty idea- I am stuck on this one and think its just too much trouble to try and make it work right.

 

Ain't it though? That sound never gets old. Cam gears make it sound like you have a little blower hooked up to engine some way.

Nice ride too!

 

hi -- just looked at manual that came with bike -- referred to as a choke lever. 1 use fully on in normal air temps 10degc-35degc. no throttle, adjust lever for fast idle 2000-3000 rpm for 30 seconds than push lever fully off. use throttle from then if idling unstable.
high air temp -- above 35degc, do not use choke. low air temp -- 10degc (50F) or below same as normal cold start except continue warming engine until runs smoothly to throttle when choke lever fully off. Hmmmmm -- methinks that's one reason why Honda have provided us with an air temp reading on the dashboard. must try and see.:smile-new: caution issued in manual: snapping throttle or fast idling more than 5 mins at normal air temps may cause exhaust pipe discoloration. 2: extended use of choke may impair piston and cylinder wall lubrication and damage engine.

i'll be following this to the letter and making it a habit to check air temps!

regards.
cheers

 

Thanks. Not heard it with stock muffler. My mates Vfr has a Vance n Hines on it. Of course he thinks it sounds better than staintunes. Glad Honda moved things along aurally because no one liked the first gen vf750s sound that I had. Like a strangled washing machine but muted!