02 VFR - Tachometer, brakes, and suspension Q's

Just picked up a new/used 02 VFR. Lots of things that I immediately liked about this bike, but a few gripes

- Do stock brakes / pads suck? Even after cleaning calipers I found them unacceptable... fluid will be bled next, but it looks clean

- Electrical issue,,,, I am used to riding with my brights on during the day. First highway ride, I noticed that my tach went dead... on my superhawk back then, that indicated dying battery,,, so I switched off high beans and 3 min later tach is back working.... Does anyone run into similar issue? Is this a Honda rectifier thing?

- Stock suspension is way hard for me, I am 145 pounds, and at its softest setting bike is way to stiff for street riding. Have anyone put a softer spring on the stock rear shock? Or do I need to go P or O to have it sorted out?

..... any thoughts????

Besides that, great bike... cant wait to put some miles on it.

 

I have no problems with the stock pads, but I recently bought some EBC pads since the stockers are almost worn out.

The '02-'05 VFRs are subject to a recall wherein the ground for the front of the bike is improperly sized. I believe the bike will present some of the symptoms you've described especially if the ground has melted any other wiring.

For a sportbike, the VFR can be awfully soft with the stock hardware. Where is your rear preload and rebound currently set? Are both indeed turned all the way down?

 

Maybe I am just used to better brakes (I used to race 125 and 250 GP bikes). Will try EBC HH pads soon.

Suspension is set on both soft settings, rear rebound half way. I am 140 and its way to stiff

Today brights worked just fine without draining the battery. When it lost tach it was raining, so maybe its a bad connection. I need to take it to a dealer and see if all recalls were done.

 

I do find the brakes to be a bit spongy especially when they get really toasty. There is still enough reserve to induce some lockup though. The spongy feeling is probably due in part to all the rubber lines necessary for the linking. I've thought about installing braided lines to help mitigate that.

 

I will probably end up unlinking the brakes, just not what I am used to - over engineered honda crap. Softer springs will be on order soon, and a trip to a dealer to fix wiring.... great street bike overall