Hi, I am just about to buy a 2003 800 VTEC. I live in the (very wet) north west of Ireland Currently riding a 2019 Himalayan for local riding on our bumpy back roads and dirt roads. Haven't had a sporty road bike for some years, I did own a 1989 VFR 750 back in 1991 for a couple of years also a VF 500 and a VF 750, so plenty of V4 experience, albeit decades ago. My main concern is with tyre wear and the dreaded valve clearances (something that never concerned me years ago). It's gonna be a massive leap from the Himalayan, hope it doesn't kill me....
Welcome to VFRWorld, excollier. Be sure to post a photo or two after your purchase. As Thumbs noted, we like photos of any bikes that our members may have, so post up a photo of your Himalayan in the meantime.
back its really easy to check valve clearances if youre concerned, but alot involved to readjust them if necessary. our engines tend to hold proper clearances over the miles unless they were mistreated by abuse like over-revs, hooliganism, etc.
Welcome to the World. That colour is absolutely grand. I've never seen on in that colour. Is that OEM over there or has someone painted the bike?
Welcome, how many miles on the bike? I had a 2003 in silver in California. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the valves, what I do recommend is inspecting the Stator connector for the wiring to the voltage regulator on the right side of the bike. This a notorious problem on these bikes. The connector isn't designed for the current supplied to the regulator. Look for any discoloration from excessive heat. Heat is from the resistance of the wiring connectors. Over time these metal connectors will corrode, which will create resistance and heat. Think of your toaster, the nichrome wires have resistance, which turn red with current, on purpose. Two common fixes, replace entire connector by soldering each wire directly, '0' resistance, no more heat. However, if the stator needs to be replaced, you will need to re-solder connections. I believe soldiering wires may increase life expectance of the stator. Second easy fix if to "burnish" the connectors on a regular basis. I used a small emory board for finger nails, fits nicely into each connector as in the photo. Gets rid of corrosion.
Checking the and resetting the clearances on the VTEC is not a job to be rushed, I did mine a few months back. I had to get over my fear of removing and refitting camshafts, turned out to be easy enough as the markings on the sprockets and crank make it straightforward if you follow the manual and don't move the crank while they're out. To check the VTEC valves is "special" as you need to remove the valve buckets and add a short piece of rod (I used a cut down 6mm bolt approx 2.5mm long, but anything of the right shape and length would do, even plastic rod) to hold the VTEC engagement pins in "engaged" position, then refit the parts before you can get the feeler gauges into action. I believe the VTEC clearances had never been done before (the bike has about 90,000km) as 7 of 8 were out of spec. To bring them into spec means replacing the valve bucket with a thinner one i.e. new parts. Cheapest I found was USD25 each through Webike Japan, and I needed 6 new, and repositioned one of the removed ones. So my valve adjustment was over about 10 days while I waited for parts. The non-VTEC valves are much easier as you can check the clearances without disassembly, and they take the standard 7.48mm diameter shims to reset. On my bike only one needed to be changed. If you have questions I am happy to share my meagre knowledge. I also have 6 used buckets that I don't need!
