newb's mods that made the most sense to me with cool airbox mod

Hello every one. I want to start by saying thanks for all the great posts and info you have all posted on this forum. I have an 07 25th anv. vfr800. I love the bike but this year I wanted to make a few upgrades. I wasnt looking for horse power but anything to help it run smoother and sound cooler. well....this site has it all so i wanted to share the mods I chose and a few I didnt and even a mod that as near as i can tell hasnt been posted on here yet. so I hope you enjoy the read and maybe even help another new vfr owner a few mod ideas.
So to start I wanted to say that ive seen alot of pair mod posts and this is my take on it. the valve in the exhaust is used to add extra o2 to the system when there is extra fuel left over in the exhaust to help it burn off all in the name of emissions. there are lots of opinions on this but what ive gotten from it all is that this takes place when the engine is below 160 degrees. it also aides in speeding up the warming process in the cat helping the bike reach temp faster.... thats a good thing, once it reaches the 160 it stops working therefore not bothering the bike after its up to temp....therefore i decided to leave this one alone... ok, on with the mods i did do
1. i did the flapper mod, if for no other reason than the clicking noise it made drove me nuts. 2nd is its sole purpose is noise reduction and help with emissions, neither of wich were concerns of mine. so i not only unplugged it i totally removed the vacume piece that operated the flap..
2. snorkle mod. Ive read that some people dont do this for fear of excess water getting in the box but i have a fix for that and after examining my air box and finding a nest and a years supply of nuts........this mod should keep this evicted little bugger out in the future. I got some screen mesch from my artic cat dealer...artic cat uses this mesch to keep snow and water out of their air boxes so i thought it should so the same for me plus keep little creatures out too! here are some pics

ok... onto the cooling system. Yes class....the vfr runs hot. ive seen people say dont but in my experience they do, as well as my rc51. the side mount radiator doesnt seem to work well in traffic and low speed situation.
3.i did the blower fan mod which now blows lots of air through the radiator... yes its blowing hot air from the header area but at least its moving air, the sucker fan moved little air across the radiator and actually blew across the headers onto the apposing radiator.
4. I changed the coolant and replaced it with engine ice. From what Ive heard this stuff works well and is track legal. If i can drop 5 or 6 degrees at idle in traffic i will be very pleased
5. and this is the biggie. Exhaust mod. I could not justify the 8-9 hundred dollars for an exhaust system yet i hate how quit the bike is. I found a post on here detailing the type of mod i did and boys am i happy with the results!!!!!!! Sounds like it friggen should have from day 1! Ill post some pics. This mod can be done in an afternoon and there is NO welding required. Something else I like about this mod is it doesnt leave the "gutted" sound you get from the full gut mod. Its very simple. All you will need is a dremel tool and LOTS of cutting discs but they are very cheap. I used 30 of them. I did the mod w the exhaust still on the bike. you simply 1. take heat shields and end caps off 2. with a sawzall cut the exhaust tips off 3. with a metal cutting hole saw cut out around each exhaust tip. 4. using the dremel, "you will need to grind each wheel down some to get it to fit in the exhaust pipe" stick it in about an inch and start cutting in a circle....this will take time, when you get a full circle cut the pipe will pull out....5. step back and enjoy the new deep throaty v8 sound of your new meaner vfr!
Ill check back later this summer with updates to how it runs, sounds, and cools as i will be going to laconia and will see Plenty of stop n go traffic. I hope this has helped some one the way every one elses posts helped me.

ohhh one last small mod but im glad i did it... ive heard people say the exhaust covers dont get hot enuff to burn saddlebags but i wasnt willing to try. they get pretty darn hot. and also this is a littl esafer for any passengers. while i had the gaurds off i lined them with reflective insulated heat tape and it worked wonders. not exactly cool to the touch like carbon exhaust but i ran the temp up to 220 and i could place my hand on them and hold it there. i couldnt have done that before.

 

Great write up, thanks for sharing. I am sure someone can use this.:tongue: