New VFR owner

I picked up a 1990 VFR750F a few months ago as a replacement after my 1982 Honda CB750F was totaled in an accident. It's been a great bike thus far which is typical of any Honda. This will have been my 9th Honda and I still have an NT650 that I share with my girlfriend as well. I'll try to get photos soon but my hands seem to get dirty too quickly once I start looking at the VFR. There's always some cleaning to do here and there but I end up taking off the fairings just to see the engine.


Terrible cell phone camera photo.. Anyway, it looks to have a full system from Two brothers racing, although I wish it was a left hand side since I don't seem to have the center stand either. It's at a little over 106k and has had racetech gold valves and springs put in the forks and a bitubo rear shock that's a sprung a little too heavy for me. I've replaced the front brakepads and have the rear on the way. The stator is a little burnt so I've ordered a replacement from Rick's Motorsports. At the same time, I noticed coolant leaking every night a few drops in my garage. I couldn't see any leaks from the bottom of the engine or around the radiator. It was only until I noticed coolant between the cylinder heads that I realized that there are some leaks coming from where the radiator hoses meet the coolant inlets. After doing some research and looking over the microfiche, I've decided to order OEM radiator hoses, o-rings, and gaskets for the coolant inlets. The bike is a joy to ride and I wouldn't even know it had over 106k if nobody told me. I will be rebuilding the rear brake master cylinder and replacing the brakepads there too.

 

sweet ride welcome to the world.....

 

Gotta love more gen3's. Welcome!

 

That's the bike I remember well from the year I was married!

 

WELCOME!!! Love my gen three bike! What state you live in? My rear master is still hanging tough, rest of them, clutch and brakes where done, along with front calipers. The list goes on, new oem clutch slave, I will spare you all the history. Its just a question of staying up with ur ride and getting down and dirty with her ; )

Might be a good idea to replace the clutch line with a braided one. Just food for thought.

Dont let miles scare you. I had an opportunity to ride a 100,000 mile Blackbird not too long ago with questionable service history. I checked air pressure on tyres and took it out on road in the everglades. Bike still did 175mph ok with no weirdness, when I got back the owner asked me how it was. I told him it rode well for a high mileage unit, it just numbed my right hand a little. I did use a bit of petrol though :evil: :smile:

 

I live in California. Specifically the Bay Area. Just realized the photo there is with the old front tire which has now been replaced.

The previous owner replaced all brake and clutch lines with galfer lines I bled the front brakes when I replaced the calipers and the fluid looks surprisingly clear. However, the rubber boot in the master cylinder is beginning to show signs of wear. I just bled the clutch and the fluid looked fine. The rear brakes will be completely rebuilt, new seals for the caliper and a rebuild kit for the master cylinder. After that, looks like I'll be servicing the front brakes and rebuilding them. I also want to try the F4i bodywork conversion done by Nilton as the bike feels heavy and although I am fine with the stock tail, the front is huge in comparison to the rest of the bike.

I'm a motorcycle courier so I'm putting down anywhere between 600-800 miles a week with half of that within San Francisco. I have to clean and lube my chain pretty frequently...

 

And I just got off the phone with the local Honda dealership. No more radiator hoses available. What are my options as I don't think my radiator hoses are that bad. Should I just replace the o-rings and see if that prevents any more leaks?

And today after a particularly difficult delivery(stop and go, cut and thrust, uphill and downhill, below 40mph), I was coasting along in 2nd when it sounded like my transmission just shifted itself into neutral. Luckily I was almost at my house and it made it home without any more trouble. However, I can't help but notice how many false neutrals I get, at least once a week depending on what boots I'm wearing. It's not terrible and coming from my CB750F, I'm pretty used to it. However, I can't help but wonder if there's anyway to make the shifting more precise. I tried taking off the shift lever itself but it doesn't seem to want to come off and I'd rather take it apart when I'm replacing the clutch plates.

Anyway, I was wondering how long the clutch plates usually go until they need to be replaced. Also, what is the overall consensus for the Factory Pro Shift kit?

 

http://vfrworld.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/26685/title/slave-something-every/cat/506[/IMG

I lengthened my shift lever as you can see, there was a mark where the old one touched the frame in the picture. I added about 2 inches? I did this 16 years ago, I have a Factory Pro Shift kit that comes with the stiffer spring and ball-bearing detent arm. This bike shifts like butter and you rarely hear any clacks or anything. I am a fussy MO-FO when it comes to riding foot wear, and only wear motorcycle boots when I ride 99% of the time.

Clutch lasted me, 70,000 miles. I replaced the steels along with the corks and springs. It really didnt make much of a difference except riding over 110 - 120 mph or so, you can feel more pull, but not much :smile: Re-building the clutch master along with a new clutch slave made a big difference. Bike rides better, nice and tasty shifting...change your foot wear...

 

Well... I guess there wasn't a problem with the clutch.

The problem I mentioned in my previous post happened again today as I was leaving my house. All of a sudden every gear seems to be neutral. I look down and my cush drive is about to fall off the axle, the sprocket is nowhere to be seen and my chain is just spinning in circles. Spent the last hour picking up bits of cush drive rubber and finally found the sprocket hub. Everything looks to be there with the exception of the actual lock ring to keep everything together and a few dust seals.

Time to make a list of parts that I need to order...

It's crazy how one dealership's parts finder wants nearly $145 for 6 of those 7 parts but another only charges $88 for all 7. Also, why are collars/washers 20 dollars!

 

can't answer your question but glad you found the culprit. in the meantime...DAYAMMM! nice bike

 

If you can wait 7-10 business days, Ronayers.com have OEM parts at a reasonable price. All the parts you circled comes to $59.61. Since they are small parts, shipping is probably 5 bucks. I buy parts from them all the time, for my '06 VFR and my Marauder.

 

By the way they still show radiator hoses for your bike on their fisch with prices (usually that means available).

 

I tried ordering them but I received an email from the dealership telling me they weren't available anymore. To be honest, the ones that are in the microfiche and available look to be just fine on my bike, it's the ones connecting the thermostat to the rest of the coolant system that seem to be leaking. Not as much as where the O-rings are but still some seeping through.

I'll keep this in mind next time. Usually I try and help out local shops by buying through them. I usually get the parts in under a week and it's hell having to be stuck driving my girlfriend's car around to make deliveries...

 

Thats sweet!

 

Little update...

Since the incident I have replaced the rectifier, kickstand switch, neutral switch, clutch switch. Then I replaced all the o-rings for the coolant lines and flushed it. Temperature gauge reads accurately now. Also replaced the brakepads with EBC pads.

Then I found that my right fork seal was starting to weep so I pulled out the spare forks and went down to Catayst Reaction to have them replace the forks and set up the rear shock to my weight. Since getting it back, I can say it is now perfect. Even though it was raining when I got the bike, everything felt much better. I guess the best way to describe it is.. instead of bracing myself for every bump, I find myself extremely comfortable and the bike felt very planted. There were times when my rear tire would slip on potholes and before I would worry but now it feels so casual and predictable that I took the long route home. I'll need to get a photo but only after cleaning it down.

 

Nice day out.

 

Sweet looking bike.......love the 3rd gen

 

Does anybody else's handlebars turn farther right than left?

 

I know it's a bit late. but I just refreshed my 93 with all new coolant hoses. All 5. there are more than 1 part numbers for the 2 larger hoses. some are sold out others are not. the only one honda doesn't have any more it the larger right side hose leading to the radiator. I just bought bulk 1 inch hose from autozone and it works fine. Did the same when I refreshed my 92 FZR1000 last year and no problems.

I think my bike turns equally left and right. But I have my helibars mounted below my top triple as I wanted to try a lower reach to the bars for a while and I don't have the stock clips. this placement causes some clearance issues with the tank when going lock to lock.

Nice bike. Keep the original look! In my opinion, one of the nices looking bikes to ever be made. I feel like I should start a movement... "No more conversions to CBRs, save the third gens!"

 

I was able to fix the handlebar issue. Maybe I'll have it checked out by a mechanic this coming week to make sure. Addiction Motorcycles in Emeryville has a mechanic with a 4th gen so he knows his stuff.

And the reason I want to go with CBR conversion is mostly the weight. I don't have a problem riding around in the city with such a heavy bike but it would be so much more enjoyable with less weight.