Fuel Pump - really required?

Howdy - as has been well documented already VFRs that are old (like mine - 1990) tend to fail the fuel pump eventually and there are no serviceable parts. New ones cost around A$250 which is broadly a ripoff.

Failure usually leads to a walk home unless you check fuel pump output (pulling off the output hose and testing although it can give false negatives given its pulsed nature unless you short out the relay feeding it) and bypass it to get you home.

Question is is it really required? Prior to 1990 era approx most bikes were gravity feed weren't they? I can understand if Honda wanted to have a fuel cut off for safety reasons but could this just be bypassed if this concern is found? I see the tank output relative to the carby inlet are close in height which does make incorporating a fuel filter difficult to keep the routing always going down hill.

Is there really a risk of fuel starvation under normal riding conditions? Obviously carbs worked for a long time before EFI as the effects of fuel slosh are somewhat minimised as the bike leans into corners.

A few more questions

1) Has anyone removed/bypassed their fuel pump. Any concerns?
2) Those who have looked at their fuel pump - what's the normal rate of the pump pulses at (non choke) idle? - I'm seeing currently around 1 pulse every 2-3 secs approx. Honda manual does not give any check on this only L/min of the pump (900cc/min)
3) Are there any substitute pumps cheaper than the OE alternative with 10mm inlet/outlet?

Appreciate hearing about your experiences with this system.

 

Hi,
I can say that my '87 VFR 750 had many problems with fuel starvation and carb. feeding until the moment I eliminated the fuel pump relay. Just a jumper wire instead of the relay as they suggested to me on this site. Then, very regular idle, no starvation, fuel consumption decrease, engine running great. The fuel pump helps to give a regular fuel feeding to carbs, yes, but that damned relay is really a problem. If you have a defective relay and a clogged fuel filter....no way to run for more than 2/3 km. The pump, sometimes, is not the source of all the troubles : it "burns" because of a bad relay. That was my experience, I mean.
Ciao ! and Lamps !
Carmine