In Need of Some Mechanical/Safety Advice - Dropped A Part Into the Bike - 1998 VFR800

Hey all,

I was removing my fuel tank a few weeks back because I noticed the front two bolts (that mount near the yoke) came undone after a ride. Long story short, I managed to drop one of the metal collars (that goes into the rubber bushing) and it must have dropped between the airbox and frame. I haven't been able to locate it, can't see enough around the airbox, and I can't get the airbox removed. However, I noticed there's a rubber flap that covers the space between the front of the frame (just behind the yoke) to the top of the first cylinder bank.

My question is, should I just forget the collar and leave it there? My main concern was it eventually coming off on the road and going into my rear wheel, causing a blowout, but I can't manage to get the airbox off for the life of me. I'm tempted to just buy another collar and call it good. Thanks in advance for any input!

 

Torches and mechanics mirrors are your friends now.
I hate losing stuff like that as you never know what it is rubbing against.

 

Have you got one of those extendable magnets you can just fish around with and possibly just snag it. Those things should be in every household even if you don't have a tool back. They are cheap.

 

Oh. I would not concern myself about riding short term without that collar, but the designers of this machine put it there for a reason. Find it and reinstall, or order a new bushing. It can't cost more that a dollar or two. I would be surprised if that thing would puncture your rear tire though.

 

The collar is what holds the bolt in. The bolt tightens against the collar and the rubber lets the tank float. Cut a piece of steel tubing for now if you're going to use the bolt. Otherwise leave it out or use locktite and just snug the bolt to the rubber.

 

Not much to removing the airbox. Maybe I'm a little ocd, but I wouldn't leave that floating around possibly rubbing a hole in a line.

 

Careful, by "torches" he means flashlights!

 

These are "Torches":


This is a "Flashlight"


This is a "Wrench":


This is a "Spanner":


End of English lesson......:smug:

(shit, Allyance beat me to it...)

 

Rob learned this just this morning from his wife.

 

Personally I wouldn't panic about the dropped fitting. I recently worked on my VTR1000 and found a Japanese coin lodged in the V (my bike was originally sold in Japan in 1997 and imported here after a few years) so that had been there for a least a decade. When I replaced some hoses on my VFR, I found a couple of spare bolts and a couple of these collars, but they weren't causing any bother. There lots of little niches that will snugly hold these treasures until you have a good reason to go down there.

 

Thanks guys, pretty reassuring. For good measure I rocked the bike around a bit and didn't hear any rattling nor did the piece fall out, guess I'll order a new collar then.

Not a bad idea, especially with the likelihood the tank bolts will come loose again.

I laughed pretty hard at this, hahahaha. You sure he didn't mean one of these?
View attachment 35462

 

The only thing I've learned from my wife is how to be wrong, even when I'm not

 

Airbox removal is not all that difficult. This hose removal tool is very handy for removing the couple of hoses that need to come off. It is a great opportunity for cleaning up accumulated debris as well as inspecting and lubricating all types of linkages that never get any attention.

 

If a husband speaks in the forest and there is no one to hear, is he still wrong?

 

My issue with the airbox primarily is one pesky little electrical connector at the bottom that I can't get undone. I imagine this is because the 98/99s had the throttle advance system for cold startup; the system gets in the way of the connector and I have either no room to get to it or not enough room to remove it (depending on how I have the airbox positioned). Those two rails at the uppermost part of the engine are the culprit; can't maneuver around it.



I imagine the automatic adjusting "chokes" (via coolant temp; '00-Cur) are more streamlined.

 

oF ALL THE THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT !! that collar getting into the chain is not one. Chances are about 1 in 10,000,000 that would ever happen. :bull_head:

 

Put a large towel under the bike and attack it with an airline and try and blow it out.
Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it too much.