Ramblings and performance questions

1. Went on a bike rally yesterday. Why? I don't know. There were 498 squids as best as I can tell. I saw me and one other guy wearing ATGATT. Other than than, lots of shorts, sneakers, vests with colors, etc. I think that will be my last. There was one guy wearing a brain bucket that went down. Not sure how he's doing.

2. What is the average life expectancy for brakes (non-ABS, 5th Gen), both front and rear? I know everyone's riding style is different, but just as a ballpark (with no track time on the brakes).

3. Not starting a new "What tire should I buy?" thread. I have about 3000 miles on my Dunlop Sportmax. Figured I could get another 1000 miles if I pushed it. On this rally that I went, there were several opportunities to hit triple digits. Since most of my riding is back roads, I only occasionally get to 80 or 90. I noticed though, that at about 90mph, I get a vibration in the front. It doesn't go away either (up to an indicated 140). But it doesn't get any worse.

Its never done this before, and even 2 months or so ago I don't recall this happening.

What are the possibilities here:

Tire(s) is(are) shot?
Out of balance?
Could it be a "bearing" problem?

I don't mind getting new tires, since I know I need them, but what else should I consider? (Please keep in mind I pay my dealer to do all my work).

4. I presume that different tires have different profiles. I've always ridden on the Sportmax's, but that's time to change. Will the handling characteristics be significantly different? Negatively so?

5. Thinking of upgrading my front suspension to Race Tech, but don't know where to begin. Should I contact them directly to determine what size springs, etc. based on my riding style, and presumably, my weight?

Thanks.

 

Keep in mind that I am not a VFR expert, or expert on anything other than Vfourbear heehee

I dont know the aswer to the brake question. I will be finding that one out for myself before too long.
Yep tires can cause you vibration issue, I changed over to Conti RAs and its a whole new bike now.
I did the Racetech front end thingy this last winter, I was put onto them by NCB and some other guys, contacted them, went through the whole learning curve with them, also got with some other sportbikers from other forums (Louisville Sportbikes) some long discussions about doing the spring and valve switch. Again, before the flaming starts, I am not an expert and learned these things on my own and went with what worked for me. Since I can turn a wrench somewhat but was missing a few tools and working a lot of hrs, I took the forks off and took it to a local guy that had been to Racetech school. Yes, I kno that doesnt make him an expert either, but he at least knew a bit more than I did and he did a nice job for a good price. Doing this will cost you some money. so if you are strapped you may want to go with the tires first and see how that improves your bike. Will Racetech try to sell you stuff? Ummm ...yeah. Do they know what theyre talking about? Pretty much. You'll have to make the call brother.

You can go on forever on what tire you should get.........

I cannot comment on the differences between your current tires and Conti RAs since I havent had Dunlop Sportmaxes

As for riding with a bunch of squids.....well,.....nevermind, thats a whole new thread.

Lets just say I'm a reformed squid so for me to be telling people what to do would be rather silly

 

comments inline

 

Assuming that your bike doesn't have a bearing problem or a tire problem, my hunch is that you've discovered the shortcomings of your VFR's stock suspension.

One of the projects I had completed last winter in close cooperation with my local Honda dealer's master technician was installation of Race Tech Gold Valve/springs, etc. rebuilds, front and rear, including the addition of a rechargeable nitrogen assembly to the rear shock.

I first studied Race Tech's web site, and I then talked at length with my dealer about this project. They were familiar with Race Tech, so I then placed numerous calls to RT with a great many questions before I placed my final order. Everyone I spoke with at RT was very friendly, patient, helpful, and highly knowledgeable. I can't recommend them enough, and no, they won't try to sell you things you don't need in my experience. For example, I ordered the Gold Valve HFR (High Frequency Response) kit for the front forks, which is a bit of overkill in my case, and they said so, but I figured that since I was going to all of this trouble I'm gonna do it right the first time.

If like me, you decide to rely on a trusted master technician to do the work, remember that this is definitely a winter project. (I've previously posted a 'newbie' write-up of what all's involved if you hire out the work.)

Aside from my Race Tech rebuilds, I also switched to Michelin Road Pilot 2CT's. At any rate, before the Race Tech gear, suffice it to say that my 2007 VFR handled rather poorly compared with the 2007 BMW K1200GT which it replaced. But, now that I have Race Tech rebuilds in place, I've since been occasionally hitting 115 mph on straightaways (I have a ZUMO 550 that keeps track of such things) and the bike feels very smooth and surefooted. In fact, I've been surprised to find that I was actually going that fast. Before Race Tech, the bike would feel rather squirrelly and unstable much above 90, especially when rather aggressively rolling on more throttle. YMMV.

 

Thanks guys, good information all the way around.

The tires are a must - even if I could get another 1,000 miles from them, part of me is saying "so what"? I'd rather replace them early and be done with it, and see if this eliminates some (all) of my problem.

RedRover - Thanks for the info. Its definitely something I'll have my mechanic undertake - I'm not that handy with a wrench.

Of course all of this leads me to one last question (and this is based on my knowledge of cars): Lets say my suspension is on the weak side (there's no leaks or anything), do I risk damaging my new tires from an inadequate suspension, and creating premature wear, cupping, etc?

Thanks again guys.

 

parts wear is based mostly upon mileage acumulated, so how many miles ( or kms) on yours?????

 

Not a heck of a lot! Its a 2000, bought it in January 2008 with 5200, it now has a whopping 9,157.

 

FWIW, long before I went with Race Tech last winter, I first replaced the OEM Metzeler ME4's with Michelin Road Pilot 2CT's after the OEM tires had only 800 miles on them. I'm not a Metzeler fan, and I didn't like their tires on the BMW K1200GT either.

At any rate, after I put Michelin Road 2CT's on my VFR (long before the Race Tech mods) I noticed a significant improvement in my VFR's handling and manners, but given what I'd heard about the shortcomings of the stock suspension, I eventually decided to take things a step further by opting for the Race Tech mods. What I then found was that the bike handled better than ever.

So, I'm thinking that before your shell out the money for Race Tech, you might do well to first try changing to a different tire, and Michelin gets my vote.

 

My 5th gen has 14k and the brakes appear to have plenty of miles left in them.
Tires are going to depend alot on what type of riding you do. IMO Dunlop tires suck!! I hated my factory ones. I have Michelin Pilot Roads and they are great tires. Plenty of grip and long tread life...roughly 9k on the rear and 5k on the front, both are holding up great.