Need help!!!

Sorry to bother every one. I purchased a 2003 VFR last year and have had some set backs. The owner was aparantly not so up front and had dod a horrible job at wiring the ingnition switch. I found out latter the air box had a rats nest in it and the fan wasn't working.

Fast forward to a new set of tires, chain and sprocket kit, tune up, and some powder coating and the bike was coming along. And then some one backed over her in a parking lot at the end of last year and it's been a major set back. I have struggled to get her back together but keep running into issues so I am looking for a little advice.

1. I am a taller rider and have heard you can use another set of foot pegs that give you a inch or two more room on your legs. I didn't take note of this before but since my left side peg is cracked I figure it's a good time to upgrade.

2. The clips look strait however the left side has a bolt broken off in it. Any recommendations on new clips? Keep in mind I am a casual rider who is on the taller side.

3. I hard wired the fan and am now having a issue with the bike running a very high RPM at 2500-3000. I was under the impression that the fan switch on the left side radiator only closed grounded out at 100C to turn on the fan. I left the two wires going to the fan unhooked but I don't know if that would cause that issue.

4. Plastic!!! Is there any good source for VFR plastics that will not brake the bank?

Sorry for the long post. I have been riding since I turned 18 and still have a 78 CB400 in the garage but my VFR is my main bike and I need to get her back in one peace.

 

Sorry to hear about your woes. Does sound like a rough stretch!

However I will say it sounds like you're gambling with a machine that may be seriously compromised.

Have there been any sort of thorough inspections since the incident?

 

Yes the frame and structure of the bike are sound. We took her out for a short test ride after the accident and she did well. The plastic, clips, and pegs took almost all the damage.
Frame, wheels, forks, and tail section are strait.

 

Here's what I can offer at this point, which may not be much.

1. No exp with aftermarket rearsets, many are available but I'd warn against
any which would reduce cornering clearance. I'm 6'2" and the factory units have
been adequate for me, so you must be a giant?

2. Pictures needed...

3. Did you mean switched manually, I take hardwired to mean 'always on'

4. Ebay, new Chinese body kits or used panels are likely your best options.

Again some pics would really help assess the situation!

 

Thank you for the reply.

Yes I am on the tall and slender side. It's not horrible but I have been reading the Buell pegs seem to be popular.

I will try to grab some updated pictures today.

No I hard wired a power wire that provides 12v constantly to the fan motor but wired the ground to the fan switch. Basically completely passing the factory system because I assume that the switch only controls the fan and no other function.

I was considering a few of the full fairing kits off of eBay and changing the color to all black but didn't know if they are decent quality.

 

It's giving me a hard time uploading pictures. I will try again in a bit.

 

Made some progress with the VFR. Picked up a new 190F fan switch and cleaned up the fan and wiring. It is now directly hard wired in and the bike is staying under 195F.

I repaired some one else's poor wiring job on the ignition switch and the bike will now idle around 1000rpms when warn.

Next on the list is replacing both clips and possibly finding new grips since the heated ones that are on there now are just to bulky.

I need to source a new left side foot peg bracket.

I am still researching the Buell foot pegs. Looks like about a 3/4 to 1 inch drop over the stock pegs.

At some point I will add pictures to my photo bucket and try to upload them that way.

 

Well ordered new foot pegs for a Buell XB9R with a 40mm drop. From what I understand the Stock Buell pegs are about a 1 inch drop so the 40mm should only be around 1.5 inches and are tilted back slightly.

As for bars I am strongly considering helibars with about a 1 inch rise.

 

What clips are you speaking of? I may be thinking of something totally different than you. I am thinking faring clips. Am I right or wrong.

 

Hi Cbr600rx7 - and welcome to the MadHouse :welcome:,

It looks like you missed out on an official welcome, so when you get time please swing by the "Introductions" forum and say Hi to the rest of the folks on here and don't forget to post up a picture of your vfr or you may find folks raggin on you. You might also want to update your forum profile (Forum Actions + Edit Profile) to include the specs of your motorbike(s) and an approximate location - city/state is fine. That way the information will appear automatically beside your posts and if you need help you may find someone living nearby is willing to swing by and offer advice - especially if you have a well stocked beer fridge!


:focus:

It's never good to hear a bike has been knocked over by a car whilst parked as without witnesses you are really guessing how serious an impact the bike has sustained. As others have said it would really help us offer sensible advice if we can actually see photos of the damaged bike ideally views all around the bike and especially any obvious damaged areas, and any marks left on the road surface which might indicate how far the bike was actually pushed.

Its easy to add photos to any posts - just open a new reply and then click on the "insert image" icon and choose the "from my computer" option and follow the prompts to locate and select images from your computer.


It is not clear whether the car driver simply drove off leaving you to fund the repairs or if the incident was observed and it is going to be possible to claim against the drivers insurance. This is critical information which we need to work figure out what advice to offer.

A careful visual check should reveal obvious damage, but may not reveal everything. So as others have suggested it is a very sensible first step to get the bike independently reviewed by a specialist before making any plans to find replacement fairing parts etc just in case that inspection reveals the bike has sustained more serious damage than was initially apparent and is really not worth spending any further money on.

This is one time you really need to put aside any emotional attachment to "your vfr" and look at it in terms of cold hard cash. Once you have their inspection report and know what really needs fixing you can weigh up the costs of new or used/aftermarket solutions and assess whether for the same money you would be better off just selling the wreck for parts and finding another used bike in good running order which you could be riding tomorrow!

As for Chinese fairing kits - the quality can range from atrocious to passable but far from OEM quality! Despite many going that route thus far there have never been reports of anyone offering parts which come close to OEM quality.

Just use the search function and you will find plenty of posts from people disappointed by the quality of aftermarket fairing kits. Sadly most aftermarket stuff is not made with the same quality materials as OEM, and as a result many panels are very thin and some almost transparent which can bend alarmingly whilst riding and inevitably far easier to damage. Personally if all the bits are available I would always consider repairing and re-spraying the damaged OEM panels than fit aftermarket junk that will never look right - but its your bike and your decision.

Take care - let us know how you get on.




SkiMad

 

I had the bike looked over by the local Honda shop and they verified the swing arm, frame, forks, and wheels are un damaged. Supposedly when the bike was knocked over the person tried to pick it back up and dropped it on the other side. If I can find a OEM factory fairing for under $500 I guess that's the way I will go.

When I say clips I am referring to the front handle bars. Sorry I was not clear about that.

 

I hope this works.

 

Ok we are starting to get a better feel for the damage - but we really need photos to be able to comment effectively.

As I said you are probably better off repairing the OEM fairing panels provided they have not been completely smashed into thousands of pieces - which I would expect in a classic high-side crash - but that sort of level of damage is unlikely if the bike has simply been tipped over on its side (twice). Certainly new OEM panels for a 2003 are still available from Honda and the likes of David Silver Spares - but are very expensive.

What we cannot tell without pictures is how badly banged up those fairing panels really are. I am sure they will have some scrapes and scarring but if that is it, then your best bet is to probably contact a local automotive repair shop. Even if the fairings have one or two cracks this can be repaired by plastic welding and once prepared and painted, it should be pretty difficult to spot the bike has sustained any damage.

As you have already taken the bike for a ride since the accident I am assuming the bike sustained no material mechanical damage - which is very lucky unless the bike had some sort of frame sliders fitted or ended up landing on soft grass.

Usually in a tip over you could expect bent or displaced bars, snapped levers or mirrors, damaged fairing mounts, with sticking out bits like the gear selector also at risk.

So what to do? - Again it comes down to who pays? Which you seem reluctant to confirm.

Obviously if you have the drivers insurance details - then why are you messing around - get it to Honda get them to sort the bike out! But if you are going to be picking up the whole bill then - again before spending any more, please get estimates for the damaged parts and do the maths. In Europe there are plenty of very cheap early vtecs, so don't assume it makes sense to keep your bike. Whether it really makes sense to scrap the whole fairing and replace them with a complete OEM fairing, also depends on whether or not you can actually track down a set to match your bike.

I suspect that the cost of OEM may be close to the used price for similar bikes.

Good luck




SkiMad

 

Wow - that does indeed work!


Thanks for a quick response.


The levers look after-market and pretty banged up. If you have a vice you might be able to slowly and cautiously straighten the lever but chances are it will snap whilst you try. If looks are important the levers are definitely one for the shopping list.

The bar end should screw into the damper within the bar so if it won't screw back in, then you will need a set of replacement clip ons. The good news is that loads of folks with 6th gens have upgraded from stock clip ons' to "helibars" so if you add an new thread in the wanted part of the forum you may find plenty of people (just like me) still have the original clip-ons gathering dust somewhere which they may be willing to sell.

You should be able to carefully straighten that foot-peg. Just take your time, and if it snaps then just unbolt and replace. Those parts are still available new - although there should be plenty available by now in breakers yards at much more reasonable prices.

As for the cracked fairing which is visible in the photo - there does not appear to be any material missing, so I suspect that panel can be very effectively repaired by plastic welding and then repainted. I suspect the bracket behind the panel has twisted and is why the crack is open. If you carefully remove the panel you should be able to straighten the bracket and the fairing will sit properly and that crack will close up.

This video shows the basics of plastic welding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7GRNvPSf7k

Good luck




SkiMad

 

I replaced the levers with a set from eBay. They are decent quality and are adjustable.

Here is how she currently sits. I pulled all the front fairings so we could inspect for any more damage and also to fix the ignition switch wiring.

 

Here is the fleet.



The bolt that holds the end cap to the clip is snapped off in the clip on the left side of the bike. I have also noticed the throttle sticks a little on the right side probably where they dropped it after picking it back up. I suspect the clip may be slightly bent.

 

Unfortunately the fairing was damaged to the point that replacement was cheaper. Lucky for us we found a replacement fairing for $175 that was off of a wrecked VFR.

As for the front bars I would love to have a set oh helibars but at over $300 I may just need to find a stock set.

 

Good idea on the Buell pegs. I had a set of 1" lower pegs on my RF900 and they were great. Took a bit of file work to fit but it is only alloy so pretty easy.

The high idle that you experienced could be a result of misrouted throttle cable, but on the 6th gen you can also have a malfunction of the fast idle system. This is called the 'wax unit" and works much like the plunger in a thermostat, moving the starter valves open when cold, and closing them off when warm. Coolant circulates around the wax unit. The idle speed is independent of the ignition switch so fixing the wiring will not change the idle.

It's not unknown for the wax units to fail, or for the linkages to get stiff so they stick open at the fast idle position. You need to pull the airbox out to see the unit. Sounds like your idle problem has gone away, but you can try lubing the linkage points as a first fix if it comes back.

For the radiator, the normal set up is a positive feed through a fuse to the fan motor, then through the temperature switch and then to ground. Its not unusual for the fan blade to get jammed by road debris, and that will take out the fuse when it tries to start.

 

The idle issue seems to be fixed but I will pull the box and check the linkage just to be on the safe side.

 

Pulled the front plugs and they have definitely seen better days so ordered 4 NGKs and a new oil filter. I figure I might as well do a coolant flush and oil change while I have everything apart.