New 96 VFR Owner, need maintenance advice.

Hey guys and gals,

Introduction:
Bought a 1996 VFR 750 2 weeks ago and loving it so far. Bike has 25k miles and i got it Out The Door for 2500. I think i got a good deal, bike runs good as far as i can tell. It has some damage on the right side because it looks like it was laid down once and he tried to repain the right front fairing to match the rest of the bike so ofcourse its not a perfect match and its missing the VFR sticker on that side aswell.

Bike Questions:
-Was this a good deal?

-At night it takes a few cranks to ger her to start up but during the morning/day/evening times it starts right up (live in Tucson AZ) Is this normal or do i need to get something checked? Oh and I have had a can of Sea Foam in the gas, maybe this is causing that issue for all I know.

-Idles at 1400 RPM but the choke does very little, maybe +200rpm and it is a delayed effect, what could be wrong?

-throttle doesn't "snap" back when i rev her...more of like a quick roar insted of a growl, normal?

-History is unknown as far as maintanence goes. With that in mind what things should I have done to her? Carbwork etc?

As you can see i'm a new owner with lots of questions..i just want to make sure i dont make any mistakes with her because ....im in love :vtr2:

 

Welcome to the board. You have come to the right place to get your questions answered.
Unfortunately, I am not the guy to do it. There are some super smart early generation owners who are though. Hang out, they'll be around.

 

I'd suggest an oil change since you don't know the maintenance history.

 

Congrats! I just brought my 1996 750 home Sunday. The idle sounds ok to me. A good tune-up and cleaning of the cables seems like the place to start.
Good luck and njoy her.
This makes my 3rd VFR and talk about being in LOVE.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys I really appreciate it. Sounds like alot of good advice and I will start working on the things you reccomended!

Cheers.:biggrin:

 

What!? you don't want to hear from me? sheesh...
First you got a good deal, for new OEM parts for a great price talk to Service Honda at 1-800-828-5498 great folks to deal with too.
Second, yep throttle should come back on it's own, two things could be holding it up, but to find out you'll need to take the tank off, then you'll be able to see whats going on, while the tank is off you might as well take a peek at the air filter, if it's dirty get a new one, that will also tell you a bit about maintenance as if it's filthy then you know well it wasn't taken care of the way it should have been. also while thats off take a look in the carb throats, make sure everything is spot less if not time for some carb cleaner.
Third, back to the throttle, issue take a look at the return spring, make sure it's trying to do it's job, from there you can also check the choke cable hook up, then if it's not bound up at the pivot point then move on to lubing the cables.
Forth, on warm up, say first thing in the morning it should take full choke, then slowly move up in rpms as it warms up, all most if you let it, it will (should) go to 4K rpms, it only takes a couple three minutes to reach that point, then it should be ready to settle down to a good idle after you bring the choke down. 1400 sounds a wee bit high, book says 1200, Now later on in a couple hours you shouldn't need any choke even after say 8 hours like you rode it to work it could use full choke just to get it started then take the choke off when it fire up, any thing longer than 8+ hours I've found on mine it takes a bit of choke. even if it's 90+ outside, go figure. Yea plugs wouldn't hurt either so while the tank is off might as well hit those up too, all though the front ones take a little effort as you'll need to take the lower raditor bolts out to swing the radiator forward as well as loosen up the fan bolts too. Tricky, but not to bad.
Fifth, The valves really won't need to be check till 32K so more than likely they are okay, but thats your call. I did check mine at 18k when I picked up mine and at 32K they were spot on. so I'm with Mello probably nothing to worry about. as other things to watch out for, the voltage reg or RR to some, that will bite you some time more than likely. Other than paying attention to her, she's pretty reliable over all. Oh and do yourself a big favor when you need tires, get Pirelli Corsas, oh and a big yes to the oil change ASAP to full synthetic. Hmm what else? thats about it for now. Congrats on a great score.

 

Congrats on your purchase: yes, that is a good deal for a 96.

Things to do since you don't know history:

Flush cooling system
Change brake and clutch fluid (good time to change to SS brake and clutch lines)
Change air filters (there are two)
Lube throttle and choke cables
Valve adjustment and carb sync
Replace R/R
Clean and lube chain, adjust as necessary
Change fork oil (optional to change the fork springs while you're at it)
New fuel filter
Buy new fairing from ServiceHonda, then sell old one on ebay to recoup part of cost of new one
Oil change, using dino or synthetic, either is acceptable

Download the manual which is in pdf format, then burn to a CD. Take the CD to Kinko's (or similar) and have them turn it into a paper manual. They will bind it for you too. This is what i did; ended up costing me $30, but i prefer to have a paper manual to an electronic one so i can carry it anywhere.

 

Thank you Rev and RV, I found your input very helpful and I greatly appreciate the time you put in to reply. This really is a great forum community!

 

Update- I have been running sea foam through the fuel lately, Going to put the second half of the can in today. Talked to the place I got the bike from and told them about my issue. They wanted me to leave it there over night in there A/C room to see if they can duplicate the issue the next morning when they open.

I have gone online and ordered a factory pro jet kit to go with my TBR exhaust (would have gone remus or staintune but cant afford the extra 100-200$, mostly just need to add some volume to bike so other cars might notice me better). I am going to cancel the overnight appointment with the shop and just have them install my jet kit and while there doing that I'll have them try to clean what they can and replace the air filter while they are at it. I actually wish I could stay and watch and learn..there a chill small locally owned place so who knows maybe they'll be ok with it hehe.

Any other things that are convenient for them to check while they are installing the jet kit... maybe new spark plugs etc?

the shop is going to charge me 450$ for the jet kit install, that about right?

 

There have been running issues related to installing a jet kit with just a slip-on. Anything from terrible fuel mileage, low power, to no-starts. I would suggest otherwise and return the kit.

I have a '96 with a TBR can, and do not run a jet kit. Mine runs great.

The advice about the choke that RVFR provided is EXACTLY how my bike behaves.

I think that you should start by removing, cleaning (as best as possible), and lubricating your cables. It does wonders.

Secondly, I'd pull those carbs and clean them up. SeaFoam can only do so much. Unlike the others, I found this to be a pretty straightforward and easy thing to do. Took me about 1 hour to remove them and far less to re-install. The cleaning part is another 2 hours of bench time.

 

even with a K&N filter to go with the exhaust you still would not recommend hte jet kit? I am already leaning to returning it because the cost to have a shop install this is WAyyyy more than i expected when i bought them online.

 

Eventually, I am going to drop in a K&N on my bike, and am not planning on any carb work. I ride at elevations between sea level and 2500' routinely, so I don't have any need for a carb kit. If you ride in altitudes over 5000', you may still want the kit.

First of all, it has been pointed out by several board members that the surface area of the K&N is significantly smaller (rectangular K&N filter in VFR airbox shaped retainer) than the stock VFR air filter (filter goes almost to the edges), and that the benefit of higher airflow with the K&N would essentially be negated due to the reduced surface area of the filter.

At this point (all other things being equal), the only REAL benefit of the K&N is the re-usability factor (which appeals to me more than the "power" benefits).

Both the TBR slip-on and the K&N filter in your bike essentially are leaning out the mixture (by allowing more volumetric airflow into and out of the motor), and a carb kit will "correct" this by adding more fuel. This correction comes at the cost of decreased fuel economy, and less than ideal running.

I still suggest you send the kit back when you get it in the mail, especially considering that you need to pay an assload of money to get it installed.

My 2 cents.:smile:

 

thanks, yah I think I will be sending back the kit. I'm excited about the exhaust coming though...they said I wouldnt get it for about two weeks :violin: oh well I guess I can wait.

 

Update-

Have ran 3 cans of sea foam through the gas at this point and all my issues i had with the idleing and the starting up at night have vanished!

-Cheers