Enhancements to My 2014 VFR800F Standard (8th Gen)

Discussion in '8th Generation 2014-Present' started by stewartj239, Jul 26, 2020.

  1. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    I was lucky enough to buy my 8th Gen back in March of 2019 when they had those crazy deals up here in the northeast part of the country. My intention was to buy the Deluxe model, but because I didn't jump right on it, I was not able to locate one and ended up buying the Standard model, which was the absolute last one I could find.

    Considering I only paid $4999 for a brand new VFR Standard, it was a no brainer even though there were some features that I wanted to add that came on the Deluxe model. The very first change I wanted to make was to get a center stand on it. I have owned an Interceptor / VFR since 1990 and I have never not had a center stand. I was lucky enough to be able to locate and purchase all of the parts needed. The total cost was $188.47 which is not cheap, but again, I picked this bike up for next to nothing which helped justify the expense.

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    The biggest hurdle with installing the center stand was having to drop the exhaust. There is no way to install it without doing this.

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    Here is the final product. You'd never know that the bike didn't come with it.

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  2. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    The next update I made was to add the OEM bar risers. They are part #: 08R70-MJM-D10 and I paid $101.99.

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    It is a very easy installation and literally only takes minutes.

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    I really like how the risers are color matched to the triple clamp and handlebars.

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  3. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    Adding the heated grips was the next thing on my list. I ride from late March to early November in the NE and temps on those days are often in the low 30s. The thing that Honda did right with the Standard model is that it is fully wired to support the heated grips. All you have to do is plug them in. They are part #: 08T70-MJM-A00 and I paid $257.00 which is not great, but I could not find them any cheaper.

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    Once installed, they are activated by the button that is illuminated green on the inside of the left grip.

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    As mentioned, the Standard model is all wired to support this accessory and once the heated grips are turned on, the setting status is shown on the bottom right of the console. There are 5 settings for it. I was able to use them this past spring and they work great.

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  4. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    This is my third VFR that is fuel injected. The first was my '99, then I had an '07 and now the '14. My observation with the '07 and '14 is that these bikes come lean from the factory, most likely to meet emissions. I feel that a Power Commander V is a must for this bike. I am running the stock exhaust and air cleaner, so I am just using the Dynojet stock map.

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    The PCV goes under the seat, then main harness runs along the right side of the tank.

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    And finally, it just plugs straight in to the OEM wiring harness. This too is a very easy installation.

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  5. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    Since I added 2 teeth to the rear sprocket, I wanted to add a Healtech Speedo Healer, which I have added to my previous '07 as well, to make sure the speedometer was accurate with the gearing change. This upgrade was a problem from the beginning.

    HealTech had the unit (SH-V4) + harness (SH-U01) and directions for the non-ABS version of the VFR listed on their website. This was incorrect. It was only after the installation that the Speedo Healer did not work. After working with their tech support and me sending them a wiring diagram of my bike, they realized that it was wrong. Unlike most bikes that have the speed sensor off the transmission, the 8th Gen VFR works off of the rear wheel speed sensor. Note that the VFR Deluxe which has ABS, has both a front and rear wheel speed sensor. The VFR Standard does not have ABS, but still has just the rear wheel speed sensor.

    Healtech indicated that the correct unit is SH-V4-2WA and the harness is SH-H20. After hooking up the SH-V4-2WA and the SH-H20 harness, the module was able to enter test mode and change the default speed value to the speedometer, but it would not transmit the speed from the rear wheel speed sensor. After taking numerous voltage readings for HealTech, it was determined that this setup will not work for the non-ABS version of the VFR. They had to make me a custom module unit.

    I see that their website has been updated to indicate the proper unit and harness now. I assume that the custom unit they made for me is now in production for the Standard / non-ABS model but I would check before ordering. The only con is that when the SH is hooked up , the gear indicator on the console no longer works. Healtech believes that this can corrected with programming the unit but I have not had a chance yet to fully verify that. I will say that Healtech did a fantastic job of helping me through this problem and their tech support is top notch. I have no complaints.

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    So this is very important. The rear wheel speed sensor coupler is located under the seat next to the battery and coolant overflow bottle.

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    This is what the Speedo Healer looks like once hooked up. You can see where it goes inline with the rear wheel speed sensor. Just program the unit and you are good to go.

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  6. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    I first fell in love with the Interceptor / VFR line up when I was in high school and 1986 is the year that stands out for me. The VFR700 and VFR750 had those white rims which I think are iconic. Over the years, I have always run the white rims on my bikes. The gold rims on the 2014 are nice, but I had to get them powder coated.

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    Here they are in white ...

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  7. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    On my 2007 VFR, I was happy to see that they offered the OEM hard cases for it. The only thing that I did not like about them was the mounting brackets that you had to install that the cases attached to. When you didn't have the cases on, you still had to look at the mounting brackets. I love the fact that the 2014 now has the mount points integrated into the rear of the bike. It is a very clean design and looks great.

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  8. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    Another thing I did was do a little pin-striping. I know that this isn't for everyone. Some like it while others don't. The nice thing about it is that if you don't like it or you grow tired of it, it is easy to remove and get back to stock. Thinking that the bike was too red, I wanted some definition to it, so I used a white pinstripe. I started with a little bit above the headlights and along the sides of the windscreen.

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    On the side fairings, I added it to the upper and middle edges. The HRC sticker looked like it was meant to go on the vent.

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    On the tail section, I ran it along the outer contour of the side panels and added the small Honda logo.

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    On the hard cases, I just ran a line along the edge at the bottom of each case and ran a wider stripe where the case closes against the black part of it. I think that the white rims help to pull the pin-striping out that catches the eye. They are subtle and help to accent the bike.

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  9. Vulcanator

    Vulcanator New Member

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    I've done the OEM centerstand, MotoPump bar risers (cheaper than OEM), rear hugger, and the hard cases on my standard model. Curious, why did you change the gearing on the bike?
     
  10. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    Honestly, only out of habit. Most of my life I have raced / ridden motocross and especially back in the 2-stroke days, I raced a 125. The first thing anybody did was to add at least 1 or 2 teeth to the rear sprocket to reduce speed and make it quicker through the gears. I have also done this to every street bike I have ever owned as I will never be running anywhere near top speed, so I prefer to make the power in the lower gears more usable.
     
  11. Viffer J

    Viffer J New Member

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    Great pics and details, thx for sharing!
     
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  12. fink

    fink Member

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    Nice write up, good reading,
     
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  13. Boomtank

    Boomtank New Member

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    Thanks for sharing. Really like the white pin stripes and wheels.

    Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk
     
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  14. Jad2477

    Jad2477 New Member

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    Great write up! Thank you! A few quick questions, what's the process after installing the Power Commander? Do you need to flash it or get dyno'd? Do you notice a change in fuel mileage between that and the gear ratio change? Just curious, I'm getting itchy to start modding my girl. I am going to try and find some YR-325 Pyrite Brown and paint my levers and footpegs first. Thanks!
     
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  15. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    Thanks for the write up on upgrades to your standard... You definitely stole it. If I ever grab an 8th, I think I prefer the standard where like you to add what I want to the bike, as opposed to the deluxe where I would be stripping off items I don't want.

    Tasteful job on the final product!
     
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  16. Audible

    Audible New Member

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    I have to admit, I didn't like the pin stripes from the close up pics, but when I saw the final picture with the white powder coated wheels and side cases, it looks great!
     
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  17. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    DynoJet provides these base maps for the 8th Gen. I am running a stock bike so I used map "16-051-001". If your setup falls outside of these, then you do need get a custom map made for your bike. The map uploads via the PC software that you download from their site and it connects to your computer via USB. With the map, the bikes run richer, as it should have from the factory, and MPG is down at least 1-2 MPG. Totally worth it IMO.

    PCV Available Tunes.JPG
     
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  18. Jad2477

    Jad2477 New Member

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    Sweet! Thank you! I am currently running a Delkevic exhaust with the DB killer removed. Not the highest build quality but I think it looks pretty good and sounds absolutely amazing! I'm thinking I might go with the third option on the list of maps. Do you have a recommendation on where to pick one up? Same for the center stand parts, did you go straight to a Honda dealer? I also have the standard and miss the heck out of my '03's center stand. Thanks again!

    This 110 degree AZ weather needs to go away!
     
  19. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    I ordered the Power Commander off eBay. For the center stand, I just ordered the parts online. For the parts list, take a look at this thread. On the 2nd or 3rd page the original poster outlined the parts list, but there are a couple of corrections that I made on the following pages as I went through the same procedure.

    https://vfrworld.com/threads/trying-to-find-new-2-center-stand-kits-08m70-mjm-d00.53944/
     
  20. Jad2477

    Jad2477 New Member

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