New to the Forum and the VFR800Fi, and I need Plastics

Quick update: I checked the Vehicle Identification Label and it sure enough was a Canadian Label for an VFR800FI, that being said I checked the rest of the bike labels which where there and they indicate the VFR800FI-W.

 

Have a look at this. Green, but.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-VFR...N-MET-GREEN-/121731287139?hash=item1c57c00863

 

FI is the root name and the suffixed W, X, Y denote the model years. 98s were W, 99s X and 2000 models Y. Can you attach a close up photo of the VIN plate and other codes? Have a look under the saddle and there should be a small white sticker with a paint code. If the code matches the fairing panels then they are probably the originals because the sticker sits on the plastic upper section of the rear subframe which is unlikely to have been replaced


UK Honda VFR800Fi color codes by year/model

- showing colour ID for parts and decal match, color code, finish code, descriptive name and full official name, plus wheel colour.

Note the single year appearances of Yellow and Green, the two different Silvers and Blacks each only appearing for one year. Blue repeats to show in two years. The only constant is the Red for all four years.

1998 FiW

Color A: NH359 M Black Mute black metallic
Color B: R157 - Red Italian red
Color C: NH295 M Silver Sparkling silver metallic Black


1999 FiX

Color A: Y124 P Yellow Pearl shining yellow
Color B: NH418 P Black Pearl prism black
Color C: R157 - Red Italian red Black

1999 FiX 50th Birthday (Anniversary model)
Color A: R157E (no further details on my sources) Silver


2000 FiY

Color A: G161 P Green Pearl conifer green Black
Color B: PB215 C Blue Candy Tahitian blue Black
Color C: R157 - Red Italian red


2001 Fi1

Color A: NH146 M Silver Accurate silver metallic Silver
Color B: PB215 C Blue Candy Tahitian blue Silver
Color C: R157 - Red Italian red Silver


Sources:

Color codes by year/model from
http://www.bike-parts.fr/moto-honda-identification-VFR800FIW-6698.html

List of code names from an eBay item of touch-in paint with a list of codes by
http://zsf-motorrad.de

Summary by steve27bha for www.bikersoracle.com/vfr 29 March 2010

 

Ah okay that makes a lot more sense. That is awesome with the color codes, i definitely wonder how the bike got a Canadian Vin when all parts including forks speak fro the euro model...

 

Another little update: I found the upper stay in good condition in Nevada, thankfully affordable. I also found the cowl and rear cowl (in austria, and britain again thanks for the suggestions ). Now comes the fun part, the forks, front rim, and what other surprises are underneath the pastics. I have a Master Mechanic Friend who works on Kawi's who may be able to look at it. I do have my suspicion that the forks are bent however that being said would only the forks bend or the shafts as well? I am a bit unclear on that.

I will keep you posted thank you so much.

Philipp

 

All depends on what sort of fender bender the bike suffered - how fast was the impact - how much energy was transmitted to the bike. If the bike hits something solid pretty much head on (car turning across the riders path) the forks tend to go first, more or less at the point where they pass through the triple clamp (don't forget this will be higher up the fork tube than the bike in neutral position as it is likely the rider would have applied the anchors before the impact and had the bike pretty much stood on its nose with the forks heavily compressed.

Again its your life on the line here - so I suggest the first thing you do is stop spending and go buy that Kawi master mechanic friend a beer or two and persuade him to give the bike a proper check over BEFORE laying out cash on other bits for this bike. If his inspection finds major damage like the frame is bent or supports for the engine are displaced then you may be better off considering this bike as a parts donor and using it to fix up another 5th gen instead.

Sorry to be pouring cold water on your enthusiasm here - but do things in order - check THIS bike is worth saving - before starting to round up parts.

Take care



SkiMad

 

Well the front end has to come apart to replace the fork seals so your friend will be able to check the fork tubes for straightness at that time. They may be ok, fingers crossed. At the same time he should check the steering head bearings. I suspect that your clicking sound is coming from these being loose or worn. It's probably cheaper to find a replacement front rim than it is straightening the one you have.

Like Tink, I resurrected mine from scrap and it was along process of parts hunting and painful shipping experiences but it was worth it in the end. I initially bought Chinese fairings but then sold them and found a set of OEM from a dealer in Texas. The difference is significant.

Good luck with the build and keep us posted. Oh and let us know where you are in this huge country. You may be near another member!

 

Great information on differences found in a bike of a given year. Kind of blows the "generational" thing oot of the water.

What or who got that bit started in the first place?

 

This malformed freak could make a grown man cry:

 

Hmm. I have to say I've never been a fan of that colour scheme either, and dealers tend to over inflate the price of them when selling them on. I'll stick with my yellow one.

 

Uh... did they run out of fairing pieces?

 

Thanks SkiMad and Jethro, I definitely agree. I did some reading on the Stanchions and commonly they seem to be what gives out. I am definitely cautiously approaching the situation as I have done a full rebuilt before (minus the engine) and while rewarding I put more money into my GS500E than she would ever bring me later on.

Likely I will have to buy a six pack for my buddy, in regards to the impact you can see the impact point on the tire at least that is the only visible front impact damage I could find. (other than the fork suspicion by my other friend and a few other contacts who took the rim ding, leaking forks, and skuff marks on the tire and did a 1+1+1 = ?) However I can't find any fault with that logic considering how badly the forks leaked. In the picture you see them after I cleaned them up.

This seems is the only rim damage I could find.


Jethro you are great I realized that I had to replace the steering stem bearings on my Suzuki because they made a similar noise. You may have hit the nail on the head with that one!

Okay well time to call my buddy.
I will let you know of the results.

Philipp

 

Okay so no real news on the forks just yet that being said... my buddy felt that the rest of the bike is in great shape (for a bike with 104,000km). Managed to find the plastics... In Birmingham and Austria . Cost a pretty penny too but as they are rare... sigh

That being said my buddy can't check on the forks until monday now so i will do some testing myself (not that hard to see if they are bent or not). Now comes the big question I have found Stanchions made in China for a decent price however it is much less than those made in the UK. Anyone have any ideas as in pros/cons? While I know chinese hardware to be cheaper they do tend to produce some good things. What are your thoughts?

 

If you are going to get new plastics anyways, I would keep the old ones and try fixing them. You have all the time in the world to work on them. That second video Skimad posted up is a good starting point. Sure. That guy has probably done this a few times but why not give it a try. All you have to loose is the cost of a couple zip ties.

Touch bases with zoom-zoom. He might be able to offer up some guidance. I have had lunch with his a few times when I have rode or drive through Kelowna. Next time through, I will try hitch up with you too.

 

Good luck on Monday

I doubt any on here will be brave enough to vouch for the quality of "Chinese Stanchions". Some stuff can be OK, but sadly over the years I have seen far too much fake and generally dubious stuff from there to want to put my life on the line - especially if you can still get OEM stuff from the likes of David Silver spares.

Even if your mate considers the forks are OK, it may be time to pull them off anyway and give them a quality upgrade. That bike has been squashing down on those fork springs for around 17 years now - so if they have not already been replaced they will be VERY tired. From your earlier posts, it sounds like you are approaching this sensibly - not in a rush and with quality being a real objective. So if you can round up the $$$ then it might be sensible to PM contact Pete Dougherty - on this forum to discuss options for refreshing the suspension, before spending time putting the plastics back on.

http://www.daughertymotorsports.com/

The engines and most of the mechanics on these bikes are pretty solid, so personally if it came to a choice, I would spend bucks on suspension first, and maybe live with some tatty DIY repaired plastics for a while, at least until I can afford to get them sorted to a similar standard. Well sorted suspension and decent tyres are the key to getting the best from your bike.

Take care



SkiMad

 

Personally I would avoid. In my own experience you definitely get what you pay for. Whilst not wanting to tar all Chinese manufacturers with the same brush, many do have a reputation for using cheaper metals, cheaper plastics and so on in their processes. It's why they're cheap! They've always been good at making good copies of familiar products, but not so good at ensuring quality. A case in point are Chinese wheel bearings for motorcycles, which many people have adversely commented online and regretted buying. You might find these particular stanchions look and feel great, but I'll bet good money that the chrome plating will be thin and weedy and you may be left with a rusty product after a short time.

The stanchions I sent you a link from Wemoto about are made in Italy and although I haven't seen them in the flesh you'll find them reviewed on Google if you take a look.

The choice is yours and it's your money, but if it was me I know where my money would be going. You could recoup the outlay be ebaying your plastics and forks. Somebody may well be willing to repair them.

I agree with Skidmad4X4 above. My recent VFR rebuild involved spending the bulk of the budget on suspension. I kept the existing forks, had the stanchions re-chromed and the sliders powder coated before fitting new springs and heavier oil. I had a new monoshck and the difference was like night and day. I didn't go near the Chinese though!

 

Good Point, I have been wondering what kind of wear and tear we are talking about with stanchions anyway. Other than the pitting and scratches that is. I was playing with the idea of replacing the guts as I had the same concerns with the suspension. In my GS500E it has progressive springs and I added heavier weight oil (the GS was always too soft to begin with) so I was wondering if that is something I should consider here as well?

 

Thanks for the great reply, okay so I will avoid the Chinese ones makes only sense after your' and Skidmad's suggestion. So in your opinion if the Stanchions are straight best would be just to re-chrome them and powder coat them? (currently no rust on the stanchions that I can see).

What kind of springs did you go with?

Thanks
Philipp

 

If you send the stanchions to a re-chroming firm (as I did) they should check them over and ensure they are true. Minor deviations can be corrected. If the stanchions are otherwise in good condition then this could be the way forward. However, if they're not rusty or pitted anywhere near the fork seal travel area, then why spend the cash? You could try various techniques (some are on this forum) for cleaning of minor rust spots and see how they look.

The sliders can be powder coated (again it's what I had done), but with some time and effort and a methodical approach you could strip them, sand them and spray them with a can. The results can be very good indeed. Again, it's a choice based on money most of the time.

As for springs I went for a stiffer set of progressive springs (Hagons from Wemoto). Some will say go for linear springs, but you may find the riding experience a little harsh. I put some new fork oil in while I was doing the job and just used a slightly heavier one than standard. I based this on a bit of limited research and my own weight which is a tad over 15 stone.

Don't forget to pay attention to the rear as well because the handling won't be right with a good front end and a saggy knackered rear. If your rear is original I personally wouldn't bother refurbishing it. The OEM one isn't brilliant and you could find a good used replacement on fleabay.

Keep us posted.

 

Great information. My rear end has an Ohlin Shock, I am wondering if the previous owner may have done the front end and may just have done a piss poor job on it (for the leaks). That being said the rim damage still leads me to think otherwise.

I also found that the twobrothers racing exchaust put on this bike managed to brake the license plate mount (when it is something that annoys me it is not paying attention to those details). So I am curious how loud the original exhaust was and or if it would make sense to downgrade back to original there.



Or from what I have seen people like the twobrothers exhaust... Is there an easy fix to lower it rather than have it that high up...... And i just realized the previous owner cut the rear fender! Aurgh...