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Post by steve63 on May 23, 2021 0:20:52 GMT 1
Picked up my new bike today. It's a 2003 VFR800 VTEC. I broke a few of my buying rules today. No test ride, no MOT and not read much about them. On the other hand I have three weeks holiday soon and it's been nearly two years since I rode a bike (other than a test ride of a BMW K1200) and I really fancy a jump on and ride bike. So there we go. The bike felt awful at first but I was pretty sure it was tyres. Anyway it failed the MOT on brake pads, just ordered a full set, front and rear for £39.00. Get them fitted and it's booked in again next Saturday. Riding it back from MOT it was miles better. Straight away I could feel it. I rang them and asked the guy if they had done something. He said they put some air in the tyres! So there you go. It has a lovely kind of rasp at about 7k when it goes onto 4 valves from 2 and changes character. It's a bit like an LC power band but for a fraction of the cost and good for 140+.  |
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Post by Robbieben on May 23, 2021 8:38:19 GMT 1
A mate has one of these, brilliant bike, his has 80 odd thousand miles on it and its used year round, apart from a few bits of corrosin on heat shields its still in extremely good shape. Throttle bodies are very fiddly to set up, I know from first hand experience of setting his up. His rear shock is about knackered now too but overall its been a very good bike with very little in the way of problems.
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Post by steve63 on May 23, 2021 9:47:45 GMT 1
A mate has one of these, brilliant bike, his has 80 odd thousand miles on it and its used year round, apart from a few bits of corrosin on heat shields its still in extremely good shape. Throttle bodies are very fiddly to set up, I know from first hand experience of setting his up. His rear shock is about knackered now too but overall its been a very good bike with very little in the way of problems. It's very early days but so far it feels good. I do like to hear about high mileage examples. it's an indication of what's possible. It's funny you mention heat shields. there's a plate on top of the collector box that is just resting on it and is quite rusty. The whole underside of the bike is a bit rough to be honest. The stands have hardly any paint on them but I'm not worried about that. A couple of hours and a bit of paint and they will look a lot better. The exhaust, especially the front is quite rusty. A set of Delkevic headers are £230 but I wouldn't fancy the job of fitting them. Putting a set of Allspeeds on an LC it isn't! If the shock lasts 80,000 miles on mine I'll be happy with that! I'm not going to last 80,000 miles I know that! To be honest after not riding a bike for nearly two years the 40 miles or so I did yesterday has had an effect on me. One problem was the grips. It sounds odd but they were so shiney it took a lot of grip to keep the throttle steady. I have an old injury to my wrist which doesn't help. I'll look into swapping them for some standard Honda ones or maybe rough them up a bit? I mentioned the C spanner to adjust the chain and the owner looked a bit blank. I guess he never adjusted it. |
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on May 23, 2021 10:33:56 GMT 1
Nice unbreakable bike, seen loads for sale with stupid miles on them
I've done the soft tyres a couple of times. Took a newly built hybrid out last year and immediately thought I'd messed something up. Bike trust wanted to flop onto full lock every time you went round a corner
13 psi in the front tyre 🙄
Steve
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Post by steve63 on May 23, 2021 10:39:45 GMT 1
Nice unbreakable bike, seen loads for sale with stupid miles on them I've done the soft tyres a couple of times. Took a newly built hybrid out last year and immediately thought I'd messed something up. Bike trust wanted to flop onto full lock every time you went round a corner 13 psi in the front tyre 🙄 Steve Yep been there. My R1 had a slow puncture in the front tyre. 15psi. Like this VFR the handling was just odd. The Honda needed loads of effort on the bars to keep it going in a straight line at low speed but got better with a bit of speed on. The R1 would sit up in corners. New set of Michelin 2CTs on the R1. Not a clue with the 800. I'll do some research. Please don't say unbreakable 🤣 |
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Post by donkeychomp on May 23, 2021 21:53:04 GMT 1
I had a problem with a throttle grip once. It hurt to get the bike to actually rev! Turned out the throttle tube was broken inside the grip.
Good luck with the Honda!
Alex
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Post by steve63 on May 24, 2021 13:01:31 GMT 1
I had a problem with a throttle grip once. It hurt to get the bike to actually rev! Turned out the throttle tube was broken inside the grip. Good luck with the Honda! Alex Cheers Alex. it's one of the most essential things to get on with a bike, a nice smooth preferably light throttle and the same with the clutch lever. If they're rough and badly adjusted it spoils everything. I think I'm a bit week wristed when it comes to throttles, a bit of a Julian Clarey, throttle wise  I struggle with the RGV as well. Funny as it sound the R1 has a lovely light throttle with the push pull arrangement, the RGV has 2 springs in the carbs and a oil pump spring and the cable goes into a pretty big splitter box which maybe has a spring in it. It all adds up to extra effort on my wrist. I changed the throttle to a quick action one which decreases the amount of travel, which helps but probably increases the effort. I shattered my wrist at Cadwell in 1984 and the movement has been lacking since. You know when you used to see youngsters using their whole arm to twist the throttle? That's me! I probably need to do some exercises and just get used to riding again by doing the miles. I do feel like a bird released from a cage now with the World at my feet! O.K. maybe just Yorkshire for now  I would like to do a European trip, maybe Spain or even Northern France and the Normandy landing sites. It's been about 7 years since my last jaunt. |
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Post by abar121 on May 24, 2021 16:01:09 GMT 1
My father had an almost identical silver 800 Vtec from 2003. I had a Sprint 1050 at the time and together with a friend on a Blackbird, we did many Euro trips. It needed to be wound up to keep the others in sight, but that's no hardship. Great bikes. It would hit an indicated 150mph in Germany with a full set of Givi luggage, so not slow. Good fuel range too. I remember swapping bikes and riding it pretty quickly on a pass in the Alps. All was going well until I hit some gravel around a tight left hander. Had no choice but to lightly dab the rear brake. With the linked brakes, that wasn't great either. It stood right up and howled the front tyre, but I got away with it It steered the best on Dunlop Roadsmarts, whatever version. It just speeds up the turn in compared to Mich or Bridgestones. Also the stock pads are the most consistent in all weathers. Watch the exhaust heat shields by the pegs. My father had to go to hospital after slashing his hand on one, cleaning it. Razor sharp.. Er, had to put the rear damping on max from 15k miles, shock went down hill from there. Headers rot, but the rest is built pretty well. Overall a lovely thing, enjoy. |
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Post by steve63 on May 24, 2021 22:23:41 GMT 1
Thanks for all that. I've spent the evening in the garage, mainly cleaning the back end, swinging arm and wheel. There's a generous coating of chain lube on everything. I've also been looking at the calipers to see what condition they're in. The plan is to fit the three sets on Friday afternoon ready for re-MOT on Saturday. I've got to say that the more and closer I look the better it gets. The calipers are in good condition at least on the outside. The little rubber bungs are in the calipers pin holes which is a good sign. Thanks for the tyre info. It's got a Bridgestone BT014 on the front and a Michelin Pilot Road on the back that looks like it's done 15,000 miles but only in a straight line 😃
The exhaust is the worst part of the bike. If I really gel with it I would maybe put a full system on it at some point but hopefully the standard system will be alright for a few years yet.
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Post by shaunthe2nd on May 24, 2021 22:38:14 GMT 1
Looks good Steve, hope you get to put some miles on it this summer.
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Post by steve63 on May 25, 2021 6:57:10 GMT 1
Loos good Steve, hope you get to put some miles on it this summer. That's what I'm hoping for. I was thinking last night that the 21 year old version of me would be ashamed of me. I spent an hour or so looking at hard panniers for it 🤣 I'll be over your way soon. The guy I bought it off left 3 keys to 3 different locks on the key ring. I said I'd drop them off. |
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Post by abar121 on May 25, 2021 8:46:28 GMT 1
Here's my father's one, on the way back Greece. M&P sent the wrong 'custom' panniers, but he didn't mind so kept 'em. It's a unique look for sure  |
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Post by steve63 on May 25, 2021 9:21:07 GMT 1
Love it. Where was that photo taken? Austria? Wild guess!
Mine has the Givi top box but no panniers. My box looks like the one in the background. The panniers are £300/£400 new but I have a set of soft Oxford luggage that we used on the R1 when we went to France. When I get a chance I'll see if they fit. Someone was saying the underseat silencers stop you fitting soft panniers but I have seen one with them on. At least it has a proper steel tank so my magnetic bag should be ok.
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Post by abar121 on May 25, 2021 15:48:24 GMT 1
Yep, Austria I think, good guess! I switched out the standard and pretty useless Triumph panniers on that Sprint, for a full Givi set too. My father ended up with the Trumpet, then got rid of it for an SP2, as we stopped the Euro trips. Would love to go again. Enjoy the V4 |
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Post by steve63 on May 25, 2021 17:46:41 GMT 1
That's why I booked this three weeks off originally to do another Euro trip, maybe Spain. We've done a couple on LC'c, one on the GSXR1100 and a trip on the R1
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Post by steve63 on May 26, 2021 23:50:46 GMT 1
I changed the rear pads tonight. It failed MOT for "rear pads less than 1mm thickness remaining". There was about 1.5mm on one side and 2mm on the other. They're done now anyway. I'll do the front ones tomorrow night. They were an advisory so I wonder how much is left on them. Bit of a bonus was finding the original took kit under the seat. When I asked the owner about the C spanner for adjusting the chain he didn't know one was needed but there's one in the tool kit so saves me buying one.   |
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Post by steve63 on Jun 1, 2021 13:06:34 GMT 1
Had a beer and a half after work when I paid my first visit to a pub in many months on Friday afternoon. A guy at work was leaving to join the Police. When I got home I couldn't be bothered to work on the bike. That's what even a small amount of beer does for me Anyway rose early Saturday and did the front pads. Less aggro than the back and took it for MOT. It was ready fifteen minutes before the appointed time, all good. I'm not paying for May's tax and only getting a day out of it so I waited until 10pm last night. The web site said your tax will start from 1st May! No it won't I thought and tried again at just gone midnight. Starts 1st June. Brought it to work this morning. what a palaver, undoing garage locks, the gate etc. etc but it was worth it for the ride in and hopefully pleasant ride home. |
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Post by steve63 on Oct 11, 2021 13:05:07 GMT 1
I thought I'd do an update on the VFR.
I've had it a few months now, bought some Givvi panniers and done a trip to Warwick were we stayed for a few days. Lovely place BTW, nice big castle that takes a day to look around.
Anyway the chain was looking a bit tired and I was sure some of the roughness coming up through the pegs was down to the chain and sprockets so I ordered a kit, DID, JT sprockets. I couldn't find the soft link even after turning the wheel around three or four times. Not to worry I'll just grind off two random rivets and prise the plate off. Anyway new chain/sprockets on jobs a good un.
Instead of just slinging the old chain I thought I'd have a look over it. It was then I noticed the place the chain was "riveted." I put the inverted commas because that's not quite the right word. One rivet was virtually flush with the plate, the other was a bit better but both sides were too wide. This meant there was too much slack and whatever grease may have been in there and could have been held in by the "X" rings had long since gone and there was loads of play in the pins. O.K. I thought bit dodgy and good job I decided to change it.
I thought I'd keep that bit of chain for my rouges gallery. It was after cutting this bit out and cleaning it I noticed the next bit. It looks like the chain was too long so rather than using a splitting tool someone has cut through the outer plates, fair enough I've done it myself, but on this occasion he's cut chunks off the inner plates as well reducing the width to about half what it should be.
The bit that makes this story is that this was done at a motorcycle workshop by a "professional." The guy who I got the bike off gave me the receipt and told me he had a new chain and sprockets fitted.
Next time those well used words are spoken: "take it to a shop then you know it's done right" I'll show them this.
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Post by steve h on Oct 11, 2021 19:02:49 GMT 1
Take it to a shop then you know its done right... I too have been to that shop and witnessed "done right" They were a main dealer and incapable of tightening a chain properly,
"we are having a few bikes back with gearbox bearing problems" Well...the chain was done up like kipper...what or whoever "tightened" it was a danger to the customers and the business.
My bike was only there as it was under warranty...and they very nearly f**ked it..... luckily it was picked up by van and fixed after I gave it the once over.
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Post by tony2stroke on Oct 11, 2021 19:24:17 GMT 1
Take it to a shop then you know its done right... I too have been to that shop and witnessed "done right" They were a main dealer and incapable of tightening a chain properly, "we are having a few bikes back with gearbox bearing problems" Well...the chain was done up like kipper...what or whoever "tightened" it was a danger to the customers and the business. My bike was only there as it was under warranty...and they very nearly f**ked it..... luckily it was picked up by van and fixed after I gave it the once over. I took my Suzuki RF900 to my local bike shop a couple of months ago for new tyres, I really did expect them to do it right, I rode it home with no worries, it was done in a bike shop that's been there for 30 years with the same old guy as head mechanic, he even went for a little spin after fitting tyres, I trusted it to be right, what a fool I am, I got on it a week or so later for a ride, just jumped on a went out on it, after a few miles I thought this don't feel right, lots of clanking noises when I go over bumps, so I ride it home, still not putting 2+2 together, I park bike up at home and have a look around the bike, the rear wheel nut was only just hanging on by a thread or 2, that could have killed me, never again, I will just take the wheels for tyre fitting. |
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Post by steve63 on Oct 11, 2021 19:58:29 GMT 1
I'm not saying I'm perfect and I can everything myself but I would be upset If as much as put a slight mark on one of the inner plates. I used a piece of aluminium to stop the clamp damaging the nice gold finish on the plate ffs 😀   |
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Post by steve63 on Oct 11, 2021 20:02:42 GMT 1
and why does the manual tell me I have to take off the top and bottom chain guard and the clutch slave cylinder to change the chain and sprockets? I didn't and I have 🤔. Mind you the R1 manual says you have to strip the top end to split the cases and you don't. I proved it.  |
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Post by steve h on Oct 11, 2021 20:13:37 GMT 1
Looking at that steve.... only one word... appalling.
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Post by steve63 on Oct 11, 2021 21:42:25 GMT 1
Did you see the chain come off Peter Hickmans BMW at Donnington? It went through his seat and wacked him on the the back of his leg and backside. That could have been me.
The bike is running really well now. I can't fault it. The throttle response is good and it feels smooth with the new chain. It'll go down to 2,000/2500 and just pick up again without hesitation and all that juddering and lag seems to have gone.
We did that 300+ mile trip, I put a new air filter in when we got back. The old one was was quite grubby and I think it was the original. I put a bottle of fuel injection cleaner in. I'm not generally a believer in that kind of thing but my mate said it sorted his Wife's car out so I thought it was worth £5. I've only ran it on super unleaded since we set off on the trip. Which of these things has sorted it I don't know but whatever it was I'm really loving the bike now so I thought I'd treat it to a nice new front Pilot Road 4 to go with the new rear. The wear marks are showing on the Bridgestone so a matching front should improve the handling and it's pretty good already. The forks let it down a bit. On a bumpy road a lot of them get through to the bars that I wouldn't feel on the R1. Maybe a change of fork oil? Maybe heavier?
I had a scare a couple of weekends ago when I touched down the ridiculously long "hero blob" I think they are called and the back wheel stepped out. I couldn't work out what had happened at first but I felt and heard something on a left hand corner. After a quick look, thinking it was the main stand, I found that there was a fresh scrape on the hero blob. It's about 40mm long! Took it off and binned it when I got home. I think it's a Honda thing. I seem to remember them on my mates SP1 being about 50/60mm long!
The right one was already missing and the hole it screws into had a split. I guess a previous owner maybe didn't get away with it as well as I did.
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Post by billbott on Oct 12, 2021 11:11:29 GMT 1
I bought one exactly the same colour in 2004 on a 52 plate so not even 2 years old.
It was advertised cheap as chips (£2500) locally due to ‘cosmetic damage’ which I assumed was caused by a fall or accident.
When I went to view it, I was walking round wondering what the damage actually was – apart from bits of corrosion from being used through winter and not cleaned, I couldn’t see anything wrong.
All the time I was viewing there was a massive Alsatian dog going mental at the window and the guy told me it was the dog that had caused the damage… Apparently, he got home one evening and the mutt had destroyed the kitchen table legs and took an almighty dump in his front room, so he locked it in the garage all night, with the VFR. Morning after, the annoyed dog had chewed the left front indicator lens! You could barely tell and that was all that was wrong.
I bought it there and then, rode it home, wet and dried the lens then polished it up and the damage was gone. Gave it all a good clean and touch up – kept it a year and part exchanged it against a pre reg fazer 1000. They gave me £5k for it…
It was a great bike but the deal on the Fazer was too good to pass on, kept that one 4 years and 30k miles!
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Post by steve63 on Oct 12, 2021 12:56:45 GMT 1
I bought one exactly the same colour in 2004 on a 52 plate so not even 2 years old. It was advertised cheap as chips (£2500) locally due to ‘cosmetic damage’ which I assumed was caused by a fall or accident. When I went to view it, I was walking round wondering what the damage actually was – apart from bits of corrosion from being used through winter and not cleaned, I couldn’t see anything wrong. All the time I was viewing there was a massive Alsatian dog going mental at the window and the guy told me it was the dog that had caused the damage… Apparently, he got home one evening and the mutt had destroyed the kitchen table legs and took an almighty dump in his front room, so he locked it in the garage all night, with the VFR. Morning after, the annoyed dog had chewed the left front indicator lens! You could barely tell and that was all that was wrong. I bought it there and then, rode it home, wet and dried the lens then polished it up and the damage was gone. Gave it all a good clean and touch up – kept it a year and part exchanged it against a pre reg fazer 1000. They gave me £5k for it… It was a great bike but the deal on the Fazer was too good to pass on, kept that one 4 years and 30k miles! I thought you were going to say the seat. They generally chews seats don't they? I paid £2,600 with under 20,000 miles for this one. I should have got it cheaper really as there were a few bargaining points, tyres mainly and the exhaust is a bit scabby underneath and of course the, the chain but I'm not real good at that sort of thing I think he rode it in all weathers and just stuck it in the garage afterwards. A summer days only one might have been a better option by it's done now. When compared to some other models of bike it was expensive but to other VFR 800 it's somewhere in the middle or even near the bottom. Compared to an LC/YPVS/RGV I stole it! Now that I've gone from "yeah it's O.K. but there are a few running issues" to "I actually really like it and enjoy riding it" I may consider a nice new exhaust system but only when I have to. About £560 buys you a Delkevic Tri Oval full stainless system. That should sound lovely at 12,000  |
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Post by billbott on Oct 12, 2021 14:02:21 GMT 1
Definitely a chewed winker, seat was perfect, maybe it was a lazy dog that didn’t like stretching his neck up!!
From memory mine had only done a couple of thousand miles, if that. I put a set of Scorpion cans on it and it sounded great when it went over that magical 7k.
Daft getting rid really as it’d probably still have been worth what I gave for it almost 20 years later!!! The money I have spent on new bikes since makes me feel queasy……..
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Post by steve63 on Oct 16, 2021 17:13:51 GMT 1
Definitely a chewed winker, seat was perfect, maybe it was a lazy dog that didn’t like stretching his neck up!! From memory mine had only done a couple of thousand miles, if that. I put a set of Scorpion cans on it and it sounded great when it went over that magical 7k. Daft getting rid really as it’d probably still have been worth what I gave for it almost 20 years later!!! The money I have spent on new bikes since makes me feel queasy…….. I've only ever had one brand new vehicle and that was my 350LC in 1982. I can't see me ever buying another unless I have a lottery win. The price of new bikes now is scary. The VFRs do seem to hold their value. The engine just seems odd for that kind of bike if you know what I mean. Now it's running good it's nice and smooth in the lower revs but when it hits 7,000 it's like a 2 stroke power band in the lower gears at least. Why Honda did that doesn't make much sense to me but it makes it addictive to ride. In top it's not so noticeable but going past 7 in top is well over the speed limit. There must have been a lot of negative feed back because Honda have concentrated on smoothing out the VTEC transition on each generation since. I like it though |
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Post by steve63 on Feb 13, 2022 21:09:22 GMT 1
We booked the ferry today.
Portsmouth to Santander. The VFR fan comes on a lot in England. It's going to be doing some hard work in Spain at the beginning of July.
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Post by billbott on Feb 13, 2022 23:31:29 GMT 1
We booked the ferry today. Portsmouth to Santander. The VFR fan comes on a lot in England. It's going to be doing some hard work in Spain at the beginning of July. We’re riding to Spain, second week in July, via the Millau viaduct. If you’re still local we may see you 😎 |
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I struggle with the RGV as well. Funny as it sound the R1 has a lovely light throttle with the push pull arrangement, the RGV has 2 springs in the carbs and a oil pump spring and the cable goes into a pretty big splitter box which maybe has a spring in it. It all adds up to extra effort on my wrist. I changed the throttle to a quick action one which decreases the amount of travel, which helps but probably increases the effort.
I would like to do a European trip, maybe Spain or even Northern France and the Normandy landing sites. It's been about 7 years since my last jaunt.
