Ownership Verified: A Proper Four Cylinder Honda [2002 Honda 919]

Der Stig

is Der Slut
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
7,639
Location
TX/UK
Car(s)
Furrin Crap
Honda 919s in matte black seem to spawning in DFW... :p

Picked this up after binning the VFR and stupidly cruising CL after receiving a bonus. While I wait for plastics to come in and get painted, I bought this 2002 919 with 46k on the clock with decent looking PR2s and barely any marks on it. Came with a Corbin seat and a crap windscreen that immediately was removed. I've been looking for an upright adventure/touring bike to be more comfortable on long distances, but ended up with a naked bike :lol:

The deal was just too good to pass up though and I will attempt to tour on it. I've got a set of SW Motech luggage racks on the way from a dude on wristtwisters (courtesy Spectre) and ordered some SW Motech crash bars off Twisted Throttle.

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:mrgreen:

This will be my new commuter at the very least if I give up on trying to tour on it since it runs about half as hot as the VFR.
 
I hate you so much right now.


Nah, I am just jealous. :)
 
Yeah, it's in really good, clean condition. The stator cover is scuffed up, so it's been dropped, but our guess is that this was long ago, when the bike was near new and the owner replaced the tank right away (back when the tank was relatively cheap).
 
Some more pictures of this from my phone.






It's really, really hard to overstate how clean and how good a shape this bike is in until you look at the little details. No freckling of the tank's forward surfaces, all the plastics look great and there's no tarnish on the triple tree - nothing. It's lived inside its entire live.





The worst 'problem' is the already-recovered seat has a couple of small tears in the cover. This was a really good deal on a really great bike.

 
Damn. Can't believe that's got 46k on it.
 
Yeah, it's been properly looked after.

The farkling has begun. I received the crash bars and the luggage racks in the mail and installed the crash bars. Too damn hot outside to do much else.

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The quality is good, but I'm not too sure about the design, i.e., don't know how it'll hold up after any sort of spills at non-parking lot speeds. At least I'll have some highway bars now :lol:
 
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So a little update.

I managed to put 1k miles on it in a month and a day. The crap windscreen has been remounted while I wait to buy a fly screen that is less crap/dorky. I've got the SW Motech racks and probably will install those today or tomorrow, but I've enjoyed have a skinny bike for a change :lol:

The PR2s are definitely well toast now. I can get the rear sideways under half-3/4 throttle in first, so that's next on the agenda. I'll probably be going with PR4s.

I have, however, picked up a maintenance stand and exhaust mount repair kit off of wristtwisters, courtesy Spectre's classifieds sniping. I've never had a bike without a center stand so that's been interesting. I'll probably pick up the SW Motech one sometime next year when funds allow.

Spectre and I did an HID conversion (nearly identical to the version he has) which has made a huge difference and not pissed off any other road users yet. We also fixed the only *knocks wood* GDPO issue of the unfused 12V plug. Ownership thus far has been drama free.
 
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I love the semi-gloss. Makes me miss my old duke.
 
Speaking as someone who owns the same model - it's actually a matte finish. Unlike BMW's matte finish, it doesn't require special care or that you remove bugs and such within seconds of them going splat on it.
 
Since I last posted, there have been a number of updates.

I changed the oil and discovered that the Hulk put the filter on last, so the filter change will be happening another day :p

Said Hulk also used the wrong drain plug bolt and managed to warp it...tin snips to the rescue!
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On the plus side, I had PR4s and new wheel bearings installed and I added the SW Motech racks in time for a jaunt down to San Marcos for a wedding last weekend. The bike performed flawlessly and the buzzing didn't really get too bad. It's a better touring mount than I expected.

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This weekend, CrazyJeeper and I headed down to Marble Falls (Austin-area) to have a short meetup with BlaRo. It was a good time and roads couldn't have been better! We stopped a restaurant with a nice view of the lake before CJ and I made the return trip.
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Today, I changed the bulbs for LEDs in the dials.

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And installed the Honda screen, which looks much better and blocks about 80% as much wind as the big ugly one.
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I've also gotten the mileage up to just under 49k, and don't worry the VFR will be cleaned up and back on the road soon :)
 
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Ticked over 50k this weekend on a nearly 500 mile Sunday through East Texas with CJ :D
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And the chain is now toast, so I've ordered a new one and replacement sprockets.

Also, I did a little cosmetic mod identical one seen on Spectre's 919. We took a spare grab handle to the powdercoat guy and had it done in Satin black. Looks much better than the original silver :)

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Got the oil successfully changed and cross this barrier this week:

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Also have a replacement rear shock as my current one is making disparaging noises. Plan is to get it rebuilt by Works or Daugherty Motorsports. Seeing as the DM job is cheaper and gives me full adjustability, I think that's the way I'm leaning.
 
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And this time we were even able to change the filter! :p
 
The 919 continues to hold up well, now nearing 53,000 miles.

With the VFR having sprung another coolant leak, I thought I'd check on the 919's coolant.

Well, that's gross.
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Time to change and flush. Or have it piss about 2 feet further than expected :lol:
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So, after running distilled water through the system and cleaning out the reserve tank, I ran Honda/Acura Type II coolant through it. While I was at it, I also changed the spark plugs. All of them looked pretty healthy (last ride was a short one, hence the burning on the end).

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Also, make sure to count your spark plugs as you take them out. For some reason, the new plug in cylinder #3 wasn't seating right. I nearly BCS'd myself with the metal tip and munged the electrode since I hadn't taken that one out :lmao:
 
Per my update in the Gen Moto thread:

Went fording through some flooded streets on the 919 on Tuesday. Roadcrafter did a decent job keeping my upper half dry, but was not so effective against the bow waves :p

This came out of the intake:

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More still in there:
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High water mark on the radiator
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It only bogged for a second when water came up over the headlight and I left off the throttle for a second. Of course, the 919 soldiered on and I got home in about the same time it normally takes, courtesy of lane splitting and sidewalk usage :p

Only casualty was the rear tire (I'll take that for all the stupid shit I did that day). Managed to pick up this nasty thing.
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Now at 55k with a fresh PR4 out back. Low fuel light has also given up the ghost so I have to watch the trip computer until I decide to open the instrument cluster back up.

Hard to believe it's almost been a year since I bought the 919, but it's been a very reliable commuter/sort-of-tourer.
 
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Almost one year into owning the 919 and it's still running like clockwork. I've put over 10k on it since it arrived in my garage and it's been a great commuter and occasional tourer.

Like the Duc, I also treated it to a brake fluid change after observing this nastiness.

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It was also slightly past due for the brake pads :rolleyes:

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Since last year, I've replaced a battery this summer and crossed over 60k now. My commute has shrunk considerably, so the miles aren't getting piled on as quickly, but I still have some work to do. The stock suspension is absolutely wasted, but I have a set of adjustable forks off a later bike with about 10k on them and a rear shock with about 36k on it.

From September:
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