Returning to the VFR, SoCal

Hey all, finally got back into a VFR after several years away from 'em. My first was a POS '84 500 that was my first bike, and something to play around with. I replaced the motor on it twice (bought it with a dropped valve, then the next motor overheated.... and dropped a valve...) before the head gaskets gave out on the third and I gave up on it. Sold the whole bike plus 2 extra bike's worth of spare parts to some kid for 500 bucks and washed my hands of it.

I happened into a Harley for a while which I liked a lot more than I thought I would, but I quickly outgrew it (800 Sportster) and used it as a trade-in for a Dodge Challenger...

Then I realized I wanted something to keep the miles off the Challenger and balance out the MPG, as well as cut through LA traffic (thank the lord for lane splitting), so I started hunting. Ideally, I wanted an Aprilia RSV4, but those scare the sh*t out of me for now, so I went back to hunting for a 6th gen VFR. I've wanted a 6th gen since I discovered them in 05, and being a broke college kid is what landed me in with an '84. Still, it proved a deep love for a V4 bike. Ideally, I was hoping to find a 25th anniversary edition, as that was the paint scheme my '84 had, but I settled for a gunmetal '06 for now. Someday, I'll have a VF1000R and a 25th Anniversary Edition... Someday... For now, it does still feel like I finally bought a dream bike (yes, some of my dreams are 13 years old) and it's been amazing riding it so far.

Anyway, I have a few small issues to correct on the '06, so I knew I needed to sign up here again and get back into it. So, hi!

Pics, of course:

 

Hi and Welcome to the MadHouse

Congratulations on snagging a nice looking bike.

So where in SoCal are you based? There are plenty of other members of this forum in the area and you may find some are near neighbours.

Given how you folks enjoy great weather for most of the year, but can sometimes have immense jams on the freeways, I can understand the attraction of filtering through those queues, or at least making better progress on the HOV lanes, so I hope your 6th Gen will serve you well.

The weak-spot on these bikes is the charging system especially the RR and Stator, and as they were not made by Honda, they are basically designed to outlast the warranty period and that is about it.

To reduce the risk of ending up being stranded, at the very least it is well worth installing a cheapo voltmeter to monitor the charging system as you ride, the sort you see on eBay for buttons. Just choose the version which shows volts as digital numbers, and take power from a supply which is controlled by the ignition. It won't prevent problems, but will allow you to quickly get a feel for what is normal, and then if you see the volts suddenly spike or drop way low it will provide a clear warning to get the bike to a garage or at least a place of safety before the remaining charge in the battery fails and the bike just stops.

These bikes are a bit top heavy and smaller riders can find the bike can pass the point of no return and end up taking a nap with virtually no warning, so if those fairings are still in good condition you might consider adding some R&G frame sliders to minimise any tip over damage.

If you need help let us know what those "issues" are.

Have fun and Ride Safe



SkiMad

 

Welcome to The World! I think I saw this bike parked in front of the Cycle Gear on Golden West in Westminster this past Saturday, was it you?

 

I didn't know that about the charging system, but that's a great tip. Thanks! It's probably why there's a patch of Velcro on the fork bridge, p/o must have put one on. He really did a lot to this bike! Anything I would do has already been done!

LOL yes, that was me at Cycle World. I was shopping for a jacket, and picking up a lock chain to make sure the bike stays mine. Small world!

 

Small world indeed. I was there with fellow VFRWORLD member Scubalong grabbing some fork oil for a 5 gen we are trying to get back up and running.

As for your 6 Gen, I can give it a look over and see what has been done to it, particularly if the RR has been upgraded. I also have the means to help you install a volt meter, if you’re not mechanically inclined. My garage is usually open, as long as I’m around so if you do need help with any service or tire changes, let me know.

 

I appreciate that! I'm actually a mechanic for a living, so I was able to tackle into it pretty well. I may need your advice on the best spot to tap into for the meter, and I did find this lil' writeup for the RR issues: http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/vfr/vfrcharging.html

One thing I think I will need some help with is programming the PCV. I think I may just up and have it dyno tuned, since I don't really plan on doing much else to mod it. The autotune box is tempting, but pricey for how little use I think Id really get out of it...

 

I actually have a power controller installed on my 6 Gen but the power controller does use a “switched” circuit that provides power only when the ignition is turned on. For this I used the license plate light, as it’s activated only when the ignition is on and is not a critical 12v lead, like the dash or brakes. Although the power controller gives me a few options like being able to activate a circuit when the ignition is off with a momentary contact closure, I probably would have done something like I did with my 900SS.

On the Ducati, I used the same 12v lead as mentioned above and tied that to a relay, when the ignition is turned on, it powers up the relay witch then creates a path directly from the battery to the volt meter. I did this to keep the meter from being a parasitic draw on the system when the ignition is off. On the 6 Gen, with the momentary relay function, I’m actually able to check the voltage without having to turn on the ignition. Although I’m sure the power controller has a slight parasitic draw to it, I felt the LEDs of the volt meter might just be that little bit more and would hate to come out and find a dead battery from something that is supposed to help me determine battery problems.

As for Dyno tuning, I would say the two options most go for is finding a map someone uploaded to VFRDiscussion or using one of the baseline maps available off of Dyno Jet’s website. These are the cheapest routes, hence the ones most follow. That being said, recently we have sent three different bikes (5, 6 & 8 Gens) over to Attack Performance in Huntington Beach to have them Dyno Tuned after we had some new performance headers put on them. All three came back with some excellent gains in HP and torque (mostly from the headers) and all run fantastic now.

 

Would you happen to have pictures of these headers handy? With all that was done to my bike before I got it, I wouldn't be surprised if they're already on my bike.

 

Better than pictures, here’s the build thread. If your bike has them on it, I’d be very surprised as these were just made a couple of months ago but you never know.

https://vfrworld.com/threads/new-5t...in-production-in-usa.56300/page-2#post-600069

 

I did some work on the bike, definitely have OEM headers and a cat. I took the pipes off to hear that "V8 Nascar" sound for myself, and I loved it haha. Co-workers were like, how the heck does a bike make a sound like that?? Now I'm looking into doing a sort of Moto GP style setup and ditching under-tail cans altogether. It's funny too, that was one of my favorite features of the 6th gen, along with the SSS. But I'm a firm believer in 'loud pipes save lives' out here in Cali. I definitely wanna be seen and heard as opposed to merged into.

That thread is intense! I keep telling myself I got the bike for MPG and to save money... But that itch to tune the crap out of it... Personal war hah. Still very tempting though. I'll probably end up at that shop before too long, I want to at least get a dyno tune popped into my PCV.