Long time reader, first time poster!

Wow, I've been a "member" here since 2012...I had no clue!!

As the title says, "long time reader, first time poster". So what has finally brought about my first post? Well, this site came in handy this weekend (stator/radiator fan not turning on), so I figured I'd try to actually participate after bringing my VFR out of hibernation.

I'm the proud owner of a 2002 VFR. I bought it about three years ago for $2200 and it was money well spent. I haven't done it justice compared to the previous owners (first owner: 77k, second owner: 15k), but I've taken it up and down the west coast and to my first track day. It's also part of the reason my riding buddy got back into motorcycles (loaned it to him for about 6 months until he couldn't stand it anymore and bought his own).

Up until this weekend the bike has been bulletproof. All I've had to do is change fluids and ride it! The previous owners fixed the wiring problems (hallelujah!), replaced the cam chain tensioner and it's only seen one valve adjustment in this life (99,200 miles currently).

So now that it's back on the road, what am I going to be doing to it? Daugherty suspension all around, custom seat, Heli bars and Knight Design lowering pegs. Last, but not least, a PCV with a tune from our local dyno magician Nels. Yeah, it's probably a bit of cash to spend on a older gal like this one, but it's cheaper than buying another bike!

And now, some pictures...


Love at first sight (the classified ad picture).


From my first track day.


Crossing into northern California.


And if anyone is curious...my other ride is...



2013 Ducati Hypermotard

 

And this was my weekend fun!

 

Good post and pics, Paradox.

If you've been riding on stock 99000 mile suspension, you will be stunned at the difference some new suspension will make. Don't forget to give the head, swingarm and shock link bearings a good seeing to, and maybe for good measure you could/should replace the fork bushings.

If your stator has failed, might be time to look at the rectifier and see if it is in good health or not.

 

nice pics, and one hell of a good bike

 

That looks as dark as the French Toast I got served for breakfast in Quincy on my way to Lassen Volcanic park last year.
Have fun and enjoy your bike.

 

welcome, to make your forum stay more informative and useful I would do the following:

Up on the top right of the page, click "settings"

Under the "My Settings" Heading on the left, scroll down and click "Edit Ignore List"

In the text block where it says "add user to ignore list" type in "sunofwolf" and click okay

If it asks are you sure to add user?, click yes.

 

Thanks for the welcome, all! You know, it has been a darn good bike. When I first bought it with 92k on it, I got poo-pooed by a couple fellow riders for the number of miles it had on it. My riding mentor told me, "If you can get two years out of it, you've broke even when it comes to fun vs $$$." It's definitely done that and then some.

I really looking forward to the suspension upgrade as I know I haven't touched the suspension (other than getting it dialed in for me, as much as possible, by the local suspension guru) and who knows when it was last worked on. Then you add the miles it as...and well, you're exactly right Cadbury, it'll probably be a night and day difference. I know a re-valve and a Penske double clicker was on my Hyper and that was new!

Also, thanks for the heads up on the head, swingarm, shock link bearings and fork bushings. I'm new to wrenching on my bike (finally moved out of an apartment into a house) so this info will come in handy! I'm not too keen on digging too far into my Ducati while it still has a warranty, but the VFR is fair game!

As for the R/R, it tested well (using the Rick's R/R testing video), but I might pick one up just to have on the shelf for when it does go. Thankfully one of the previous owners did a great job soldering, insulating, fusing and removing all the potential connector failure points. I'm guessing someone has replaced the stator/R/R before.

 

I hear ya.

Vegas, May 2012



Regina Saskatchewan July 2014

 

Wow, Randy! Yours look like they were about to burst into flames!! Thankfully mine was still charging enough to keep the bike running for a week or so with a fully charged battery than being really dead (voltage was about 11.25-11.75 when I caught it).

 

I have two bikes, a 99 VFR and a 97 VTR1000, collectively they are worth less than 1/3rd of a new VFR800! So as you say, absolutely fair game to do your own work on them, have some fun, learn a lot, screw up occasionally.

I worked over the valve shims on my 800 two nights ago and was doing a great job...until one of the small copper washers slipped off one of the cam holder bolts and dropped....where???? Luckily (?) it fell down the spark plug hole, and extra luckily, the spark plug was still in there so it couldn't fall any further! Was still no fun to fish out, but at least it hadn't dropped down the cam gear tunnel.

 

Yay for sparkplugs blocking the way from one hell of a headache!!

Since you were kind enough to share your story, I'll tell you a little ditty about the damp spot under my bike in that stator picture.

So...it was early Saturday morning and I may have been a little exhausted/hungover when I started my weekend project. I got the fairing off and the screws holding the stator cap out when I realized it might be a little easier to get the cap off if that damn rubber hose wasn't in the way. Well, I knew that was a coolant line and I know that means it's full of antifreeze. So what do I do....unscrew the worm clamp and proceed to yank the hose off the lower connection.

Of course, that turns into an old faithful of (thankfully) cold antifreeze all over me and the garage. I continued to be an idiot and instead of putting the hose back on, I grab a bucket... So my task of putting on new tires, replacing the stator and chain also now includeded a coolant flush. That lead me to learning about burping the system after taking my bike out for a test ride and finding that my fan was no longer coming on.

It was definitely a learning weekend!

 

Never have such problems. Nope! Not me. Except for oil drain plugs.

Ya. With both those stators, the bike was dead. Like 6 feet in the grave with worms through the eye sockets dead. Fortunately in Vegas, I had a wonderful person from this forum put me up while I awaited an after market stator from Wisconsin. And with the other, I had a place to stay with my former employer while I awaited a new OEM to arrive and get installed. Also had the opportunity to meet rjgti while I was there. If I ever burn another one, if it is at home, I should be able to fix it myself. But out on the road, a couple thousand miles from home, better let the people with the talent do the work right.

 

Ha ha; haven't done that one yet (but there's still time).

Here's a link to a service manual if you needed it:


http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/files/file/218-6th-gen-service-manual/

 

Thanks. I have the service manual as well as the Hanes. I just misread the torque value on the oil drain bolt. The results...were let's say...maddening! Appreciate the link anyways.

 

I also thank you for the link! I decided not to have the local shop install my suspension this time, so it'll come in handy (especially when I have to figure out how everything goes back together)!

 

The trickiest bit IMO of the suspension upgrade is getting the hex head bolts out of the bottom of the fork. An air impact driver is the right tool for this job if they give you any grief, so I'd suggest that once the forks are out make sure you can remove these fully before any other disassembly.


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