My VFR is now 8, going on 9 years old. It has 43,000 kms. Never had the valves checked, nor the carbs synced. Original Cam chain tensioners still inside. Original thermostat and hoses. Brake pads changed as needed. Original rotors.
I've changed the chain and sprockets, rear shock, front fork springs (with gold valves), air horn installed, all the wiring replacements and beef up routines are complete (wiring and electrical seem to be working great.
With winter whispering at us northerners from just around the corner, I got to thinking about what I should do to go through a bike of this vintage to make sure that things that matter - you know like throttle cables and such - are all in good working order. I've never checked the condition of my throttle cables - are they frayed and about to break? I dunno........
So I'm throwing this out to the bigger brains than I club - which means most of you. What should I get into over the winter on the bike to make sure that when I climb aboard it again in April I will be pleased to have a "refreshed" 2002 VFR ready to go for at least another 7 years when I hand it over to my then 16 year old son....
Not asking about winterizing - someone else will start those 12 threads soon.
What should be done to a 9 year old bike to insure its still "good to go" ?
Ken it's a Honda, just ride the damn thing :biggrin: Seriously though , i've got 65,000 clicks on the blue beast and have yet to change a cable, adj or even check the valves ( thx BR :cheerleader: ) just replace the regular stuff you mentioned and you will be fine.
Here are some things I would like to do over the winter (my garage situation isn't so excellent so I'm not sure how much of this will get done...) to my 2004 VFR with 33,000 miles / 53,000 km;
New wheel bearings in the front wheel, and check the back spindle bearings somehow.
Flush new fluid through the braking system, I've got ATE Super Blue in there now and I'll go to ATE Tech 200 or whatever the brown version of the Super Blue is this time around.
Fresh Honda coolant with a tablespoon of Redline Water Wetter added.
Completely clean all gunk out of area around front sprocket, clean rear sprocket and chain very thoroughly, re-tension & re-lube.
Sync throttle bodies.
Replace fuel filter.
New steering head bearings.
General scrub-down and check bolt torque. I'll be the first to admit I do not keep my bike in immaculate condition, there's a lot of chain lube sling-off in places and general crud build up that I could stand to fix, and I've not put a wrench on things like the side or center stands in a long time.
Something I would like to do is get a BMC reusable air filter and a Power Commander V w/ the Autotune module added.
That's about all I can really justify for "maintenance mods", if a good $700 falls into my lap I may do some rework of the factory forks and then have a better rear shock / spring sourced from Jamie or similar. But with my car needing either a bunch of little issues fixed (that will add up to an un-little total cost) or replacement, I don't think that I'll have new suspension on the VFR any time soon.
I'm not the best wrench, but I think you've covered all the bases well, Ken. I think some people lube their cables, tho I never have.
I change brake, clutch and coolant fluids every couple years, which works out to 20k to 22k mi. I just cleaned up (not exactly degreased) and rewaxed my chain yesterday. PITA to clean (I'm starting to see why some people love shaft drives, lol.) but I do it at least once a year. I also changed the oil & filter and added SeaFoam to a full tank of fuel.
Folks above mentioned bearings. I still have the original front wheel and steering head bearings in my '04. How do you know when they need to be changed, or do they fall under the 'preventive maintenance' area?
Assuming this has not been done, I'd either do myself or have someone
Brake and Clutch Fluid
Coolant
Have a look at the airfilter if it is really filthy (post a picture)
Put some grease in the indicator switch housing
Other than that?
If you are bored, strip her, look at and clean every nook and crannie... :-)
After 13 years/65k I had a shop check carb balance on my 4th Gen
Shop told me that they were still within acceptable deviation but whilst they had the meters hooked up, set them a bit better.
With yours being FI, I'd leave it.
Here's a summary list of items to go through (so far):
Steering head bearings
Wheel bearings
Clean and grease electrical connections
New brake fluid
New clutch fluid
New coolant
Sync throttle bodies
Replace fuel filter
Lube cables
Clean/inspect/replace air filter
Wax unit - remove and clean
Valve check (unless you are Bailey)
[image: View Post]TimC, on 24 September 2010 - 09:44 AM, said:
I'm not the best wrench, but I think you've covered all the bases well, Ken. I think some people lube their cables, tho I never have.
I change brake, clutch and coolant fluids every couple years, which works out to 20k to 22k mi. I just cleaned up (not exactly degreased) and rewaxed my chain yesterday. PITA to clean (I'm starting to see why some people love shaft drives, lol.) but I do it at least once a year. I also changed the oil & filter and added SeaFoam to a full tank of fuel.
Folks above mentioned bearings. I still have the original front wheel and steering head bearings in my '04. How do you know when they need to be changed, or do they fall under the 'preventive maintenance' area?
Front wheel bearings would fall under the preventive, I had one side of mine go bad a couple of years ago(mine is a '94) I felt a wierd vibration in the front on the way home one day & it was the front bearings. They are not expensive so it would be a nice winter project :fing02: nothing like peace of mind!
[image: View Post]Kanadian Ken, on 24 September 2010 - 10:09 AM, said:
Ok - good start!
Here's a summary list of items to go through (so far):
Steering head bearings
Wheel bearings
Clean and grease electrical connections
New brake fluid
New clutch fluid
New coolant
Sync throttle bodies
Replace fuel filter
Lube cables
Clean/inspect/replace air filter
Wax unit - remove and clean
Valve check (unless you are Bailey)
What else should be looked at?
Check the throttle cable slack, I just did mine and was amazed at how much there was, you don't notice it as it creeps in over time.
The only other thing I would add, and something I need to do, is the swingarm & axle bearings. Clean, inspect and repack. BLS had a nice write up on this for the axle, http://www.vfrdiscus..._1#entry730957. Maybe more than I would do but you can clean and repack the bearing still assembled I believe.