So it's been a month with the VFR and I'm loving the bike more and more. Couple things still bothering me though.
The bike is waaay over-geared, which occasionally makes for some annoying shifts down into first in slow turns; I'd rather jusdt be in second with a shorter first. More torque would be welcome as well, especially since I find that I don't ever find myself in 6th. Do a lot of people put on a 16 tooth in the front? How's the result? Any impact on fuel economy? Can I use any 530/16 sprocket? I was on I think Amazon and it said that the 530-16 Renthal sprocket isn't compatible. There was a guy on the other forum that put on a JT and it didn't quite fit perfectly and tore things up a bit.
One other thing that's been bothering me is the clunky gear changes, particularly first into second and sometimes second into third. It's not just a clunk, but it feels kinda like when shifting from neutral into second while moving fast... like the pedal is getting kicked back by some spinning teeth. When I first picked up the bike, gear changes were clunky overall and changing oil to Mobil 1 smoothed things out quite a bit, but every few shifts, I get this which occasionally leaves the bike revving in neutral.. not pleasant when trying to pass. Could there be some bushing missing or something? Where do I look to solve this?
Check out www.gearingcommander.com for sprocket options nit sure what the issue is on your clunky shifting, could be gear teeth are worn?
Not to hijack the thread but on a related note: where can I find a 45 tooth rear sprocket instead of the 16 T countershaft sprocket? Sprocket Center doesn't have them or anywhere else that I can find.
I went up two on the rear. It feels like the gearing the bike should have had all along.
I've also been somewhat disappointed by my '98 viffer's shift quality, but like you I did notice a significant improvement when I recently drained the Rotella T synthetic 5w-40 I was running and replaced it with Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10w-40. The Mobil 1 4T is considerably more expensive than the Rotella, but I decided to give it a try when Advance Auto offered it on sale for ~ $8/quart a few months ago. Only with more time and miles will l find out how the Mobil 1 4T will hold up compared to the the Rotella T, but there's no doubt in my mind that my viffer's shift action improved after the last oil change. Note: my 5th generation still has less than 12k miles on the odometer, so high mileage isn't contributing to the issue.
My '94 ST1100 w/91k miles still shifts noticeably smoother and w/less difficulty vs. my viffer-and I'm currently running the dino version of Rotella (15w-40) in the ST.
I've considered lowering the viffer's shifter by one notch on the shaft to see what difference this might make. The most common issue I have with mine is with downshifting. If I fail to downshift before coming to a stop, it can be somewhat clunky and time-consuming getting back to neutral or 1st gear when the the wheels aren't rolling. Accomplishing the same is much easier on my ST as well as on my Triumph Speed Triple. Actually, contrary to some of the negative comments I"ve read about shift quality for Triumph motorcycles, I've found that my S3 shifts better than my VFR.
I don't have a problem with the viffer's stock gearing, but admittedly I don't ride all that hard most of the time. Also, at 5'7" and 145 lbs I may be smaller & lighter than the average rider. So even with the stock gearing I need to remember to lean forward when accelerating hard in 1st gear. Otherwise my viffer's front wheel has demonstrated a tendency to abruptly reach for the sky as engine rpm passes 8k w/the throttle pinned. Yee-ha!
I was reading some other threads on other sites on shifting and such, and riding home tonight I got to trying something. Someone had mentioned that you shouldn't let the throttle ALL the way out, and shouldn't pull the clutch ALL the way in. Well, I was testing that theory and WOW. Where before, every shift between 1st and third was clunky or loud or both, when shifting like this the loudest thing is the squeak of the clutch lever. The gear shifter response is barely perceptible. Smooth as butter. When chopping the throttle completely, the clunk comes right back. Now, granted this was with a passenger and at fairly low RPMs, but seems like a bit of a revelation. Can't wait to play around with it some more tomorrow.
Stock gearing on 6th gens is 16/43. Since changing to this on my 5th gen (17/43) it feels much better though fuel economy has expectedly suffered a bit. I notice no significant difference in chain wear.
It shifts fine as it always has. If you are having problems with shifting it is likely your technique (I rarely actually use the clutch for shifting- it's a truck driver thing) clutch or a hammered shift mechanism. Could also be a severely worn chain combined with poor shifting technique, but I digress....
Yeah, 16T countershaft sprocket is fine on the 5th Gen, as is going up 2 teeth on the rear . From memory, it lowers the gearing about 6%. The only negative (apart from waaay optomistic speedo) is the chain may wear a leeeetle faster with a 16T due to having a smaller radius to turn round.
As for the gear change, no Hondas are as good as a Suzuki, f'rinstance, which is why the first mod I did to my '01 was install a Factory pro Evo Star shifter kit. It uses a stronger spring, micor bearing, and more positive notches in the shifter wheel, to give more positive gear changes. Having said that, it's still possible to hit neutral, which is why I have my shift lever bent slightly down (one notch was too much).
HTH...