1996 Vs 2007

Recently acquired a 2007 with 300 miles. First, a little history. I purchased a '96 new and over the years put almost 55K on it. When the opportunity presented itself to purchased the '07, I gave my son the '96 and jumped on the newer bike. It is beautiful, in full Rothmans livery. Just like Freddie Spencer's NR250. Bike was kept in my buddies media room. Anyway, the older bike was much easier to ride up here in the twisties where I live. It, unlike the 6th gen, pulls much more smoothly below 4k rpm. I find myself constantly bouncing off the VTEC. Honda should have raised it to 7200 rpm. It even feels more porky than the early bike. Lots of drive line slop, in comparison. I put a lot of miles on the '96 and never had the first issue. Is it just me, the bike or what? Any suggestions on smoothing out the throttle response. Have Scorpion exhaust on the way. I have seen many VFRs, even stock, equipped with a Power Commander. Is this the answer? Help please. Cheers, Robert

[image: post-29278-0-33844300-1442088253.jpg]

I had a '97 for 10 years that was as smooth as butter in every way and then sold that one and bought an '07. I had the exact same impressions of the '07 and at super low speeds, the throttle was extremely unpredictable and made slow speed cruising in traffic a nightmare. I followed the EASY steps in this tutorial and MAN-O-MAN! This thing is a whole new bike. I will also mention that I added a set of Leo Vince pipes without any sort of computer mods PRIOR to taking these steps and the while I LOVE the pipes, they made no difference in how it ran either before or after tinkering.

All I have to say is go out into your garage and go over these easy steps that require NO extra parts and your throttle response will be significantly improved!

http://johnny.chadda.se/pair-and-flapper-mod-with-bonus-snorkel-mod-for-vfr/

WOW, that is one beautiful bike..even has the 8 spoker.

PCV is a must, big difference.

IMO 4th gens were the apex in carburetion development - so buttery smooth no matter the rpm - I loved mine. Thank the EPA with the FI bikes - they mandate air / fuel ratios that are very close to being too lean, so there's little room for error in fuel delivery. The 6th gen can be made very good with the right mods. In addition to mods, making sure the fuel system is in good order - clean fuel, free of water (I try to use non-ethanol fuel when I can), clean injectors, no vacuum leaks, etc is also helpful.

Good looking bike. + what eveyone else said on the fueling. Get a PC5 or Bazazz, install the pipes, remove the PAIR valve if that hasnt been done, take it to a good dyno tuner and you will have a completely different bike. Just for the heck of it try to adjust any slop out of your throttle if there is any. That could be a problem and won't cost you a penny.

Is that Chinese bodywork or did he paint the stock OEM bodywork? I have seen bodywork on eBay like that Rothman's livery and wondered how the quality would be. Looks good from here! :goofy:

Thanks Guys. The body work is hand laid fiber glass from, get this, the Philippines. Having been there while serving in the USAF, I know those guys can build anything from nothing! Fit is up to factory specs. Painted in Maryland, USA. The Honda wings on the tank are actually digitally painted. Not discernible to the touch. As for fuel, we are fortunate to have a local station that carries 93 octane, no ethanol. Very popular station here with the go-fast boaters and bikers. I will make the mods today and post report. Thanks again. Cheers, Robert

Well I had a 800Fi, not a Vtec, but as going from a 1987! to a 2000 Fi the bike was stronger in high rpm but below 4k yest it struggle, spechally 2 up. It had a "race" can otherwise stock. A aftermarket air filter made it even worse and a PC did not sort it all out, even got a bit better. At the end I did put a stock muffler on and then oit lost just power below 7k. Sold it early this yer, got a VF500 From 1985, was mint but a pit short in overall power (and had some issues) so sold it and got a 1991 3RD gen and happy so far. Carburetors may be old school, but they rule want you want things smooth!

Dang, filled up the tank yesterday. Need to put down some miles before raising the tank. Hopefully, the pipes will arrive tomorrow and I will get right on the install. When the tank is a little lighter, will do the PAIR and flapper mods and install the PC. Cheers

MtnBoy

Thanks Guys. The body work is hand laid fiber glass from, get this, the Philippines. Having been there while serving in the USAF, I know those guys can build anything from nothing! Fit is up to factory specs. Painted in Maryland, USA. The Honda wings on the tank are actually digitally painted. Not discernible to the touch.

Are these available (painted or not) or a custom one-off? If there is a good quality alternative to OEM or China and the price is right there might be significant interest.

Don't know about availability. My buddy commissioned the body work several years ago. I do know the fairings came from the Philippines and were painted, along with the tank, here in the States. Got the Scorpion exhaust on yesterday. Excellent quality. Quiet as stock with the baffles in. They are made in the UK and, probably, have to meet MOT standards for noise emission. With the baffles out, very nice audio but not obnoxious. Going for a long ride today returning on reserve. Will try the PAIR mod with the tank almost empty. Has anyone tried the Power Commander V? Results? Cheers, Robert

My 07 is very smooth, easy to manipulate the throttle at low revs/speeds. Pulls well from low revs too, albeit not quite as well as my 5th Gen did but it's probably as good as it's going to get.

I have yet to remove the PAIR system but have O2 eliminators fitted and don't have a PC. Otherwise, everything done as suggested above.

Cogswell

making sure the fuel system is in good order - clean fuel, free of water (I try to use non-ethanol fuel when I can), clean injectors, no vacuum leaks, etc is also helpful.

Definitely!

Was the tank dry or full? If they ran the bike completely dry it would have been clean. But with any fuel in there whatsoever, it would build up contaminants. Some fuel injector cleaner and heating that engine fully will get rid of the contaminants. Do not be afraid to idle around town in 90°F for a bit to heat it up.

MtnBoy

Has anyone tried the Power Commander V? Results? Cheers, Robert

Just a general comment: All modern vehicles are run lean. In a car that is no problem because the momentum of the weight means you do not feel the effect. On a bike you feel all of the effects of this. So giving it a richer the mixture will improve it somewhat. If you are lucky there will be a stock map for your exact exhaust can. If not it can be pricey and perhaps not worth it to tune it via a dyno or using the Wide Band 2 unit.