Just changed the oil on my 2003 VFR 800

any thoughts on the poor fuel mileage? thermostat seems okay (never seen her above 221 F), the cold idle is about 2k RPM's, I have a PCIII usb that is mapped to generic settings off the PC website for my setup, I have ran 2 tanks of seafoam through (the previous owner had let it sit for about 8 months). I have yet to check the air filter. I will have the shop do the fluids/spark plugs, etc. in a couple of weeks. I just feel like a pissing contest when I read of everyone else getting 40+mpg.

 

Bad mileage? really? Not as bad as my recently acquired viffer from Las Vegas. I got 17mpg all the way home 288 miles. it died a couple times at stop lights too, something was flooding the engine with gas, it was losing a ton of power and if i gun the throttle it makes it bog even harder. It was soo bad the bike barely limped home, i had to down shift a couple gears to clime the hills and it was struggling to stay at 75mph, it used up 17 gallons to get home. I cant believe i spent nearly $80 in fuel to get home on a bike with no luggage. What is weird is it started to give me problems about 30 miles into the ride home. I was losing power and i can see gas gauge dropping way faster then im used to, i almost ran out of gas by the time i got to Baker. I inspected what i could but didn't see anything wrong, it did however sound like it was running on 2cyl. I didn't have any significant tools to check until i got home, i tore it all down. what i saw was fuel flooding the throttle bodies, first thought was oh i have a leaky injector....left it like that and called it a night. Next day after work i went to take off more stuff and and notice each time i charge up the fuel pressure fuel was spitting out of a hold in the throttle. I thought it was a leaky injector until upon further inspection it was a hole next to the injector....a vacuum line? It turns out the fuel was actually being pissed out by the bad fuel pressure regulator and it was flooding all the vacuum lines.

Also whats bad? Well when i changed the oil the oil was diluted with fuel soo much, it had 6.5qts of oil come out, it was exactly at the full mark when i left vegas and rest of it was gas being dropping into the oil.

 

The concern with the thermostat is that it might be stuck open. That would cause coolant to warm up slowly and even when the engine was fully warmed up, the coolant temperature would be too low. When the motorcycle is warmed up, coolant temperature should stay above about 167F or so. If you notice it falling below that, the thermostat could be at fault. VFRs are known for failing thermostats. However, when the thermostat on my 6th gen failed, the fuel economy was about 34mpg or so.

The more likely cause of poor fuel economy with your motorcycle, then, is the Power Commander. Try running the OEM ECU and see if that makes a difference.

 

Speaking of...mine is stuck open too. water temp fell below 132deg F on the way back from vegas.

 

my thermostat works ok, I you put sliders on you won't upset the gyros :saturn:

 

What fluids are you going to have the shop do? I'm just north of you in Madison and am more than willing to help out if you need. No need to give away your hard earned money. I can't do everything but I do all the routine maint. on mine.

 

I was watching the temp on my bike VERY closely on the ride home when I purchased it
it stated right around the 160-170 mark but did creep up to 205 in town with construction
while not moving but always came back down very quickly

 

Nice of Hilbily to offer to help out.

I've said since I first came onto this forum 6 years ago that I had the mechanical ability of a monkey with a chain saw. Changing the oil is something that you'll probably want to learn, and eventually it'll become second nature. So don't beat yourself up over the hour and a half it took. Next time it'll be an hour, then 50 minutes, and before you know it, you'll be banging out the oil change in 30 minutes. And you'll feel good that you did it. Patience is always a key when doing any work, so don't worry if it takes you too long.

As far as you gas mileage: You mentioned the PC3. I'm wondering if the 02 eliminators were installed? Some people like to just slap parts onto these bikes (or cars) and think that's great, but a properly tuned machine is critical.

Where's one of you 6th Gen guys that can tell him what to look for as far as the 02 eliminators? (Mine was a 5th gen with aftermarket exhaust, so I'm not familiar with the 6th gen layout)

 

I dont have a PC on mine so I may be asking a dumb question but how hard it is to remove the PC and go back to stock? If he removes it and the gas mileage jumps way up then most of the trouble shooting has been narowed down drastically.

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thanks for offering to help. I'm actually taking it to Wayne Cycle in Waynesboro next week and getting tires as well. I have since been climbing in mileage as I've been tweaking the PC map and had a shop send me one that is leaned a bit in the trouble spots. So far up to 135 with 2 bars left, so it seems to be around up to par with most of you guys, best i can tell.

At the shop they are going to do all the 16k service (minus the valve adjustment, most consensus is that it doesn't need done now), replace the brake and clutch fluids, coolant, probably plugs/brake pads, and blow out my K&N filter. I will be putting a set of Pilot Road 3's on as well.

 

No problem. Sounds like you will be ready for some riding soon. I know somw great backroads between us.

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Perhaps a meetup in the making? I wonder if any VA VFR owner want to meet at the mouth of the Blue Ridge Parkway and make a day of it?

 

I know tnrabbit would be up for it not sure of anyone else. A few friends and I are planning a 3 day trip down the parkway the last weekend in july. If you are interested in joining us you arr more than welcome. PM me if you want the details. Anyone else interested is welcome too.

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Dont know about out there but dont think they will touch the K&N since its not stock. Out hear in Cali slip ons and aftermarket air filters.. NO TOUCHY. But this is Calfornia...prob no big deal oot thar

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Mileage update: last tank was 36.3 mpg. Not too shabby.

 

Not meaning to piggyback on another thread but thought it would be best too with such a simple question.

I am wanting to do an oil change on my 2005 bike but i can't get the bloody rubber nuts to stop moving with the bolts on the front apron. There are 4 of them, I have tried locking pliers and they just keep spinning. Needless to say i have shredded the rubber of them now. Any tips?

 

OK thought I posted this. I can change the filter with out removing any fairings. With one hand I pull the chin plastic up so I can slide my other hand in and grab the filter. Found out the first time that the plastic chin is thick and sharp, took off top layer of skin right below my knuckles .So now I just have a long sleeve shirt and a glove on and wrap tightly with duck tape...with skin intact, can easily get the filter off. I learned this the first time I had my oil changed at the local dealer here in Simi Valley, its a lot easier to do if you have a lift, which I don't. The guy freekin changed my oil in like ten minutes. Try it Mikey, you might like it.