The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

I was hoping to get one more season out of my front tire but today I noticed cracks forming in the sidewalls. I've also been thinking that it hasn't been braking or cornering as well as it used to. So with that a new tire is on its way. Here's hoping the updated Metzler 888 is as good as the 880 I'm running now.
 
More like the Waddle-o-Shame down the shoulder to the pumps.

ie., call someone who cares??? :p

Fine! All those years of gas light bingo has been wearing him thin. :lol:

ankle-turn2.jpg

Damn Rd! Argh - unprotected concrete barrier?! At least you only had a broken ankle - by your description, it was a low side?

Wow, race pace for 52 minutes is pretty amazing. :blink: This is when we really need appreciate the endurance races.

I fookin' hate the concrete strips - there are some nasty strips coming into Black Rock Hairpin at Utah Motorsports Campus (West Course). You can enter the corner on either side of it, but the joy when you miss your entry line and enter straight over it... at my last trackday, by the time I recovered from a less than desired entry over the concrete strips, while my bike was unsettled, I had to immediately re-position and set up for the next corner (aptly named, "Right Hook"). If the track was more cambered over these turns, it would have been easier and stickier... but nope, it's all flat. Good thing it's not a really fast corner.
 
Last edited:
Damn Rd! Argh - unprotected concrete barrier?! At least you only had a broken ankle - by your description, it was a low side?

Yep, a low-side. That concrete wall is mostly protected by hay bales, but that protection didn't extend all the way to were I ended-up. Still, I reached the wall with almost zero velocity, so I guess at that point the runoff was considered enough.

Still was scary seeing the wall closer and closer, a fraction of a second at a time during each tumble.
 
The new MSX is fucking cool, saving up for a house deposit otherwise I'd be ordering a Lemon Ice one. :(
 
I finally need to get around to doing the regulator/rectifier on the VFR. I was looking at the various options, including the Yamaha R/R route, but Wire My Bike has this part for sale. It looks like it is plug-and-play, so is it necessary to replace the wiring harness with this at the same time?

I also read that Honda has superseded some regulator/rectifiers on older VFRs with new MOSFET units that are plug-and-play, but I haven't found anything about that for the 2000, only the older VFR750 series.
 
Blind, check upthread - the other VFR owners have had issues this way as well. Cellos tried the normal Ricks' regulators as I recall and they didn't work for him. I pointed him at the larger and much stronger 919 regulator and so far I don't think he's had any problems with that. I've never heard of the 919 regulator failing short of owner stupidity (drawing way too much power, attempting to jump start the bike off a running car, etc.) and it's got a relatively enormous heat sink on it.

s-l1600.jpg


It lives in an arguably worse place on the 919 than the VFR's does - it's right next to the exhaust midpipe, in the middle of the Y with no heat shields protecting it - and it just doesn't fail.









The later Yammie regulators are the ones recommended by many for upgrade, but I've heard of problems with them as well. Yamaha, Honda, and pretty much everyone else in Japan got bit by the same supplier on these in the 90s. The Yamaha MOSFET ones are commonly recommended because they're often found on R1s and R6s, which being crashed and totaled often, are commonly and cheaply found donors - and Yamaha was pretty proactive in constantly updating/upgrading after they noticed the problem. Honda was a bit slower to react on these problems.

- - - Updated - - -

And yes, you want to get a VFRNess for it or build your own improved harness even if you just retain the stock R/R. The original wiring had some problems and was shockingly bad for Honda's standards.

Edit: Prior discussion:
https://forums.finalgear.com/motorc...discussion-thread-26892/page-578/#post2348306

https://forums.finalgear.com/motorc...discussion-thread-26892/page-613/#post2410618
 
Last edited:
Do you know if the 919 R/R will plug into the VFRness or will I have to splice in a different plug?
 
Do you know if the 919 R/R will plug into the VFRness or will I have to splice in a different plug?

I'm about 70% sure it's the same plugs.

Since we're on the subject of the VFR800, getting the right side heatshield JetHot coated will stop it from cooking your right boot and foot. Der Stig did his at my suggestion when I had my spare headers JH coated and it apparently works really well.
 
Last edited:
Blind, I wouldn't recommend the R/R sold by Wire my Bike (the Rick's Motorsport unit). I've had two of them fail within a year and they wouldn't warranty it the second time around. Currently, I'm using an R/R from a 919 per Spectre's recommendation and it has been solid for a few months now. It lines up perfectly with the factory mounting holes and doesn't have any clearance issues with the rear fairing. I have an R1 R/R as a back up.

In regards to the VFRness, YMMV. I wasn't a huge fan, so I instead ran dedicated 10 ga. wires from the R/R to the battery with a 30 amp fuse on the hot side. I also used Delphi MP630 connectors to hook everything up since the factory connectors are a bit on the weak side, they're also weather sealed to prevent any corrosion.
 
Do you know of any wiring diagrams for the rewire? Since I haven't messed with this before I want to make sure I don't fry anything.
 
So I survived the trackday. I was so lost in the first couple sessions, took a while to figure out what this track riding is about once again :)

Even got photographed couple times... And it really shows I need to start working on my body position. At least this particular tight corner I don't seem to be all wrong, from this angle it looks like it. Cool pic anyway :)

DSC_4983.jpg


Gotta take a look at my financials and see what else trackdays I could attend this summer :think:
 
On today's tour through Ostwestfalen, I saw three other CBFs. That's about the amount I usually see in a year.
 
Do you know of any wiring diagrams for the rewire? Since I haven't messed with this before I want to make sure I don't fry anything.

I don't have anything on hand but I could draw up a schematic for you later today. It's nothing complicated though, you just bypass the stock wiring harness and wire the pos/neg outputs from the R/R directly to the battery with a fuse on the positive side.
 
Last edited:
Ok, that I can probably do. I guess I assumed there was more to it than that.
 
Brand new Harley-Davidson with an agricultural, lazy engine and Honda Sportsbike manufactured 16 years ago. Guess which one broke down. :lol:
 
Last edited:
Top