Whole lotta clunkin'

Hi All

I bought my first VFR and really loving the bike. I'm more use to Fireblades but after writing off my last Blade i decided to take it slightly easier.

Anywhoo i have no real history of the bike so i am not sure what type of oil or spark plugs were put in the last service which was done by Honda branch themselves apparently. The problem i'm having is that the gears changes seems very clunky when gearing up and when i sometimes gear down it either gets a false neutral or it makes a noise going into gear. When i shift quickly it happens more than usual but when i shift normally and take my time with pulling in the clutch lever all the way and release once i've done my shifting it seems fine. Gearing up is my main concern as gearing down problem has not happened for a while now.

Ive checked the oil of the bike in the sight glass but it's just kinda black looking and it looks like it's either very full or the glass is dirty as hell. Also when checking oil should i do this when the bike is cold or warm it up for few minutes switch off, leave it for a few minutes and then check? What is the best way? Where should the oil level be in the sight glass?

Then lastly when i pull hard on the front brakes i can feel a fairly significant judder on the front, which i can only assume is a warped or slightly warped disc. What is the best way to check this myself?

THx :torn:

 

For starters clutch adjustment is the cause of the shifting problems. What the cause is you will have to work out, master cylinder,slave cylinder and or anything in between. Front shudder could be discs or headstem bearings but that usually will give a clunk not a shudder

 

Mmmm i did set teh clutch to take earlier when i just got the bike and since then it started to slowly clunk away. Ill set it to take later and see if it helps.
As for my front brake judder i have a feeling it's brake disc related.

 

or your front tire has an issue, cupping will cause it also. check oil cold, 3/4 on sight glass i think

 

Getting a new front tyre this coming Saturday so we'll see. I still think it's a warped disc as i can feel it judder more on the right hands side handlebar so may be the right hand side disc

 

For the shudder in your front end when braking, have you considered the disc may not be "floating" properly. The link below that Randy posted shows how to check and clean the bobbins which allow the disc to float (if not already caused warped disc). When reading your post, this is the first thought that came to mind.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/46539-Brake-Disc-Bobbins?highlight=bobbins

 

Ya beat me to it.

I think the clunking shifting in part could be due to old oil. You say the oil in the site glass is black. Mine gets quite dark but I wouldn't call it black. An oild change with the proper oil may reduce if not eliminate that clunking issue. Then if not, check the other possible causes. Why try to fix things starting at the more expensive route when already we know you need an oil change.

Everyone has their own opinions on oil. I used to use Motul 5100 10-W40 Semi Synthetic but that was expensive. I now use Rotella T6 5W40. The OEM filter cost me over $17.00 but now I use the Bosch Premium, that I can get for about 1/2 the price. But like I said, everyone has an opinion on this. Mine has served me well for a few years now on a bike that now has over 192,000 km on it.

The beauty for me is, I can use the same oil in my GMC diesel, the bike and my wife and son's cars. I use the same filter model on the two cars and the bike. Gone are the days of a garage full of part full containers of different oils.

 

different oil for different engines, rottella works but its a ma oil, Castrol rt racing more modern oil has a M2 rating and is better. this isn't where you go cheap. as a paper filter works poorly compared to a Napa platinum syn filter. very few oils have a m2 stamp.

 

My thoughts:

Change the oil. Who knows whats in there, even if the dealer did it. My bike shifted like hell when the oil started wearing/shearing down. Sometimes that was at 1500 miles, sometimes 2500. Use whatever oil you want, as long as its for motorcycles.
Check oil on the center stand (assume you have one). make sure the bike is on a level surface.
I'd check it when its cold.
Oil level should be mid glass. There's actually embedded lines in the glass to show the acceptable levels.

Have you considered checking the steering head bearings? Wonder if that would be causing your shudder or vibrations. Its free to check. Put on center stand, have someone sit on bike or push back tire down, check for play in your triple tree. Any clicking or clunking?

For the most part, disregard sonofwolf. Every village has one, and he's ours. But I will say a NAPA premium filter (whatever your equivalent is over there) is a good choice. As is OEM.

 

re; clunky shifting ... I found that heavier weight oil seems to shift better than the lighter weight ... and that engine temperature also seems to be factor as it heats the oil up.

Also make sure you aren't putting any oil in with friction modifiers.

I've taken a shine to the Shell Advanced Ultra 4T ... but it seems like it's hard to find outside of Canada.

 

Get yourself a dial indicator gauge and attach it to a fork leg, then you can check whether your discs are true or not. I had a heap of runout on one disc, but it was the aluminium carrier that was bent, not the disc, and I was able to gently straighten the carrier with a pry bar to fix this.

For the transmission, well VFR's aren't noted for their smooth transmission. I put a FactoryPro shift star kit into min, and that made a huge difference to the smoothness and positivity of the gearshift.

 

Thx all for advice.

Ive reset the dial on the clutch lever to far out as possible or as it was when i bought the bike. I takes almost 3/4 way from the handlebar BUT i hardly get any false neutral or clunkin going on. So this seems to have helped. Problem is that i have to almost let go of the lever all the way before it takes.
I already have Shell Advanced Ultra 4T as suggested by Jeff that i am using for my Kawasaki ZXR750h rebuild so ill use that on the vfr as it's an expensive oil but good one as i understand it. It's the right viscosity for our average temperatures here in Cape Town.

Now for the judder ill definitely have a look at the brake discs and clean the bobbins so that the "floating" can be sorted out. Ive seen a Youtube vid on this which helped me for my ZXR750h when i was busy cleaning/servicing with the brakes and discs. Here's Delboy doing his stuff, not the video i watched but seems to be what you guys are suggesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qoPqN2GBdw

Thx again for the help.

 

Yup. This is the one talking about. There was link to this exact same video in post Randy made. Good luck and hope it works.

 

Excellent video , something else now to do on the weekend

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I notice you must shift fast with a good hard foot movement, it does not like a slow weak shift:moony:

 

+1 on this I was using motul 5100 and it changed gear like a tractor (crunchy as ) then changed to honda gn4 and butter smooth only worry is the gn4 is 10w30

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That is because Honda Australia do not bring in the 10 w40 GN4

All the dealerships here in Brisbane tell me they can only get the 10 w30 as honda don't bring it in and they tell me until they are blue in the face that my 2004 should be run on 10w30 even though I have the owners manual in my hand stating that I need a 10 w40

Not too sure about that in our 36° to 40°+ Celsius summers Maybe in the winter when it is 12° to 20° ish Celsius

 

Exactly what they said to me too . If they did service that's what they'd put in it. Now what is our available alternative to gn4 10w40

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So i replaced the oil and oil filter and used Shell Advanced Ultra 4T as i agree with Jeff that it's a good oil and not too expensive. The gear changes felt slightly better and smoother.

Then and i know this may sound strange but actually makes sense to me, i bought these Chinese made shorty levers (pic below, from my project bike) and well, no more or shall i say hardly any clunking gear shifting. In fact it's so damn smooth. Also the brake lever feels so much more control. I just cannot believe its so smooth now. First to second is still a bit loud and scratchy but from there on it's damn good.
I'd say problem solved. :livid: