Yokel's VFR1200 re-fresh

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Well, I'm coming up on my five year anniversary.  

Over the summer, I've toyed with the idea of selling the VFR1200 and picking up a Ducati Multistrada.  I listed the old girl online, and had a few tire kickers call on it.  Nobody was serious for the money I wanted for it, so I guess it's a keeper!  This bike has some sentimental value in addition to being the nicest machine I've ever owned, so I'm not upset at all to be keeping it.

However, it is starting to show it's age.  There have been some parking lot scrapes, and the paint isn't perfect... but hey, I bought it to ride, not to sit in a museum.  I've literally taken it all over different parts of the country.  It's been treated like a pickup truck, Beverly Hillbillies style.

There are a few things that I've been putting off, seeing if I would pull the trigger on a new machine.  It needs some ergo fixes, the seat is getting pretty rough and the suspension feels like a wet fart sealed in a ziploc.  In other words, it's time to pay the price for putting off a few things.

A beer on the tank is a good indicator of work beginning.

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The good news is, I've kept up with the bike mechanically, so the engine and driveline is stellar.  Good as new, I'd say.  

I spent the weekend cleaning and scrubbing, waxing out some paint imperfections, and wow!  What a difference!  I lubed up a few little bits like the centerstand and kickstand, put some fresh grease on some of the rolling bits, and  she's already appreciating the effort.  Next weekend, I'll blow apart the calipers and give them a good cleaning.

For those that know me, I've never cleaned the wheels on this bike.  It's a thing.  Well, I spent 5 HOURS yesterday cleaning them up, and it looks like the dirt and grime did it's job of protecting the paint finish.  They looked like they had been dipped in powdered horse-sh!t and sealed with tar.  What a difference!

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Who knew there was paint under all that crap!?

So, that leads us to the list of things to get done.  I have a buddy coming out to Colorado for a weekend of motorcycle festivities the end of next month, since I'm not able to make the Arkansas ride this year.  

1) New Seat.

I've never really had too many complaints with the factory saddle.  It works for me.  But, it's aging, and the vinyl is failing.

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I've gotten in touch with a custom seat maker here in Colorado by the name of Steve Gowing.  He really takes his time to get them right, and I'll be doing a ride-in ride-out on Tuesday this week.  Naturally, I'll take some shots of the process to fill you all in on what he does, as well as my feelings on the work quality and fit.  I met with him a few weeks ago for a preliminary appointment, and he's a bit fan of shaping the seat properly, which sounded good to me.  He's going to fill in some areas with high-density foam (no gel here, thanks.) and change the riding position slightly for me.  Stay tuned.  He does fantastic work.  Here are a few seats he's completed for a Ducati and Beemer.

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You can clearly see the re-shaping done on the Beemer seat.  Here's another one he was doing some shaping on when I stopped in, so you can see the insides and how he sculpts them for ass-inine amounts of happiness.  (See what I did there?)

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He uses some pretty high-quality stuff too...  I'm going Vinyl instead of leather.  I'm keen to see how it turns out.

2) Bars.  

I've got a crappy back, so I've ordered the Spiegler Bar Conversion.  I am curious to see if it will work with my "Gunn Ram Mount".  I'll advise once I try installation after parts arrive.

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3) Suspension.

I've been shopping for a suspension for 2 years, and I've finally pulled the trigger on some upgrades.  I won't say it is the whole package, because I may wind up re-valving the front.  I've been on the phone a lot the last few weeks with the guys at Penske, and visited the crew chief for an AMA Superbike team that's based up in Loveland to get some pro tips on suspension setup and I've ordered a Penske 8983 and some fork springs.  I'll lose the remote pre-load (which is effing seized anyway).  The spring rates are fairly hefty, but so am I!  

I'm going 1.2KG/MM up front, and swapping from 5wt fork oil to 7.5wt.  Out back, we're going stock +12mm length, double adjustable shock (rebound and compression) with a 1400# spring.

Penske is building the shock, so no photos yet.  Curious how the spring rates work, and whether or not I decide to re-valve up front.

Over the winter, I'll be doing a few other things.  I think I'll send out the ECU to Guhl, going to put on heated grips, add a power point, volt meter, and some other toys.  All my installations will be put on this post, in the hopes that others looking to do similar work can learn from my colossal screw-ups.

Cheers!

-Jon

Sounds like you will be busy for a bit. :-)

i had my 2012's forks resprung and revalved by DMr ....amazing difference.....DMr selected a 1.1 spring for me...i'm 250 lbs...that's the same as the Ohlins front spring that i had in my 2010 ..so i can say that a revalve makes a BIG difference....the front forks are perfect now....simply amazing..sporty firm but very smooth....i have an Ohlins in the rear ...took the 2012 to a local suspension shop to do the sag settings and dampening tuning....that made all the difference in the world...i put $2000 into my suspension...the last $70 at the tuning shop made it all worth it......go for the valve job and get it tuned !!!!   DMr got the spring rate exactly right....only had to add 1 turn to get my front sag right on and a touch of rebound....the Ohlins out of the box had the right spring installed but needed quite a bit of preload adjustment to get my sag specs.....don't assume that you can bolt on fancy parts and ride away.....the suspension tuning took 15 minutes ....changed the whole bike....it handles great now

Ishark- thanks for the feedback. Planning on doing just that.

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Just not this fall... To finish my thought. Lol

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OP, how many mile do you have on your VFR?

Nearly 25k. Haven't ridden much the last two years.

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with the suspension tune and Guhl reflash, it WILL be like having a new bike.....seriously !!!!!   night and day

my 2012 handles way better than my 2010 ever did, and the 2010 had an Ohlins rear shock and front springs..but never properly set up...there is a road up in the State park that i stopped riding on my first 1200 because it was a handful to negotiate ,..very tight, sharp turns and a little bumpy.....the 2010 just felt too big for that road.....decided to take it a couple weeks ago on the 2012 and the bike ate it up...i almost got a speeding ticket on it !!!!

Though not cheap, money invested in better suspension is money well spent on the 1200. 

Mine now feels more like my 800 (which has upgraded suspension), doesn't run wide exiting corners and steers really precisely.

Looking forward to the updates!  :beer:

Nice updates! Sad to tell you that your Ram mount will not work with the Spiegler kit. I had the same mount. I swapped to a bar mount now with an adjustable arm to move it to the center.


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4 hours ago, MotardMenace

Nice updates! Sad to tell you that your Ram mount will not work with the Spiegler kit. I had the same mount. I swapped to a bar mount now with an adjustable arm to move it to the center.


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Crap.  I was afraid of this.

the Handlebar Clamp Base should work

http://www.rammount.com/activity/motorcycle-bases#handlebarclamp-base

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Cheers Ishark, thanks for the linkie.

So, I'm in Ft. Collins, Colorado tonight in anticipation of my early morning appointment to have my seat done.  I pull in to the hotel and see a pair of FILTHY BMW's. A K1600GTL and a R1200T.  Turns out to be a really nice couple from New Jersey passing through on their way back home from Alaska.  Quite a trip they've been on!  They really liked the look of the VFR, and we spent some time visiting and having a laugh.

What a great community we motorcyclists make.

Well, this morning I'm at Steve Gowing's shop getting my seat worked over.  I would say fixed... but watching this guy work, there is a lot more to it.  

I arrived a bit early, and Steve was already waiting on me.  We spent a few minutes discussing what I would like changed in my seat, and this is what I'm looking for:

1) I want to sit a bit further back in the seat.  I notice that I slide forward a bit, and would prefer to be a bit further back.  Steve is going to level the riding position, and cup out a bit of the seat to keep my butt in place.

2) I want to still be able to move freely side to side.

3) I want to be a bit higher up... not much, but there you have it.

Those were my main goals, and Steve is recommending filling in a bit here and there to offer a more ergonomic feel for my hind-end.  He's the pro, so I'm letting him run along with what in his experience will be a good match for what I'm wanting.

Here are some pictures of the current situation, and the damage the seat has now.

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You notice with the bike sitting level, that the seat is canted forward just slightly.  We are getting rid of that.  The vinyl is brittle, and adhered directly to the foam, which is causing a few headaches this morning.  Damage is obvious here...

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There is also some tearing away at the front of the seat.

Step one was to pull the old vinyl off, without taking much of the factory foam.  That was a tough job since it is adhered to the layers underneath.

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After all the vinyl was removed, there was a fair bit of pull-away of the foam, which Steve warned me we would have to deal with, but all told, looks pretty good!

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He has to take some time now to repair and begin the rough shaping of the foam.  He uses a carving knife and some sanders to get things the way he wants, then fills in a few portions we discussed to change the shape even more.  I'm quite surprised how much he's able to do with foam, to be quite honest.

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The repair portions on this particular seat are fairly significant from the damage, and we decided to "flesh out" a few parts of the seat a bit as well.

More photos as work progresses!

As a side note:  It says a lot for this guys patience to let me hang out and watch him work.  I'm sure I'm annoying him, but he doesn't seem to mind.  Maybe I should try harder. :goofy:

Nice, I did something similar and it feels great:

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Veeefour, that's a beautiful job.  Looks aces!

Well, Steve busted his butt yesterday (no pun intended), and there is still a bit of work to go.  We did 3-4 test fits to make sure the new position is what I'm looking for, and he did more adding/removing of foam to help get the best position.

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Finally ready for a cover!  I'm going with 2 types of vinyl, with red stitching for an accent.

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All finished!

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In my opinion, and every ass is different, this was money well spent.  The feel is totally different.  More supportive for sure, but will take some time to break it in properly.  What a difference better materials make.  Steve threw in some red Top Stitching, I think it looks great.

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That's one thing down.  Now to wait on the Bars and Springs/Shock...

Santa showed up in his big brown truck!

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The LSL Bar conversion.  Took a few photos, but I don't have good lighting in the garage.  Suffice to say, taking things apart isn't that hard.

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I did have to remove my Fred Gunn Ram Mount.  A sad day... 

Install will continue tomorrow, as I am whipped!  It's been a long day between the seat guy and work.

Almost forgot... this happened yesterday.  First major milestone, and trouble free.  Regular maintenance and she's still running like a champ!   :cheerleader:

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Installation of the LSL bars went well... there were a few head scratch moments when I had to cut off the locator pins on the banjo fittings for the brake and clutch, and relocate the lines for ease of movement.  Also, putting the locator holes in the correct spot was a bit of a trick.  I'm about 1/16 off on the left bar... but it's good enough!

Here's the head-on bar position before and after.  Pretty dramatic, feels great!

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Fork Springs and Shock arrive tomorrow...

Another word about the LSL kit for those looking in to it.  This IS something you can do, even if you don't have a great deal of mechanical aptitude.  Just be patient.

The kit itself is top notch.  Excellent quality of work.  I found a significant amount of adjustability in the new setup, and man alive does it take some pressure off my hands, and the new position perfected the seat position as well, just as I had hoped.  Two perfect changes.  

As I mentioned above, I have a weak back (and a gut, to boot), so this is hopefully a mod that will allow a few more miles in the saddle and help push the big girl through the turns a bit easier.

Very nice!!  You tempt me to go for a VFR1200 to step into redslut's shoes......

1 hour ago, Dutchy

Very nice!!  You tempt me to go for a VFR1200 to step into redslut's shoes......

You wont regret it!  :beer:

So... Why the LSL conversion over Helibars?

I wanted to be further back and higher up. Why LSL over Heli-bars? Personal preference.

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16 hours ago, crakerjac

So... Why the LSL conversion over Helibars?

I've had them both. With the LSL conversion, you can get further back and higher up with all of the stock lines and cables. Still wish it was further back though...

Well, yesterday evening, Santa in the big brown truck dropped off my new Penske shock and Traxxion Dynamics fork springs.  Wahoo!

I was sitting on the front porch reading a book waiting for UPS to show up, and a guy on a BMW R1200GS was pushing his bike past my house.  The headlight was pretty dim.  I think I know what happened!  Remember kids, unplug your farkles.

I introduced myself, and helped push his bike back to my garage to throw it on my charger.  Consistently adding to that motorcyclist Karma account.

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You'll note the little white box on the floor... SHOCK!!!!

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As any 1200 owner knows, when you open the shop manual and see "Lift Fuel Tank" in the instructions, you just need to book a day.  The teardown is fairly significant to get to the bolt that holds the upper collar in the stock unit.

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The install was pretty straightforward.  I did run and get some Moly grease for the bearings and bushings on the dog-bone assembly.  The hardest part was deciding where to put the remote reservoir.  The hose was a 90 degree, which I will have changed at some point this winter as I don't like the routing.  It feels pretty kludged together at this point, but it's IN and it WORKS!

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No, that's not just the picture, it's a HUGE effing spring.  Went with a 1400# spring, and it feels GOOD.  Penske provided dyno chart printouts with the shock, as well as tuning instructions.  Ordering direct from them is nice and easy, and their tech staff know their stuff.  

A note about the shock:

There is no remote pre-load.  If you are on-off with a pillion regularly, this might not be a good choice for you.  It's not easy to adjust.  It's not a pain in the ass, either... just takes some time and dirty knees.  Might wanna pony up the cash for an Ohlins, as they have a remote pre-load.  It's a double adjustable unit, and made a VAST difference in the overall feel of the bike, even without sag dialed *exactly* in yet.  The adjustments are set via factory equations for my weight and riding style, so I'm not fooling with them quite yet.  Around the block felt pretty good at the back...

But, the front is now an absolute mess.  It is so undersprung, that the steering geometry is abso-friggin-lutely craptastic.  It's like I've shoved the fork legs 2" up in the triples.  The bike has lost all of its native stability, especially under braking.  It's bad.  Bad, bad BAD.

With worn springs front and rear, it still always felt planted up front unless I was REALLY pushing it... but now, it's just a wet fart.  Greasy.  Awful.  Can't wait to see how the new springs do, then I can start to really get this set up dialed in.

All told, the install was cake.  It's all the other crap you've got to remove that makes this job take a while.

I'm going to take the forks off and take them up to the local shop.  I'm having new seals, bushings and stuff put in too, and that's just a bit above my mechanical aptitude.  Hope to have them back by the coming weekend.

Coming along nicely and yes you will enjoy the Speigler conversion. It makes a big difference even if you have to give up a little turning radius.........

Took the VFR out on an 8 hour ride yesterday.  Impressions:

The Shock is a monster improvement.  Needs some fine tuning, but unwilling to do so until I get the front sprung.  It's harsher than I'd like, but part of that may be the completely crap geometry the bike has now, and it's nowhere near balanced.

The seat is perfect.

The LSL bar conversion needs some tweaking.  The angle is different than the stock clipons for my wrists, and I developed some pain in my throttle hand which I never had with the factory set.  Dropped them about 3/4 of an inch, and it helped... but that's frustrating as I bought them to get higher.  Going to try a few more spots, and if that continues will throw them on the Classifieds section.  

Back at it again...

Forks are getting new seals, bushings and springs.  Hope to have it all back together by Saturday!

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Well, the shop failed to get the forks done prior to the weekend.  >:(  Hope to have forks back prior to NEXT weekend.

What have you guys used to get the 1.5" fork measurement dialed back in?  I sold my depth micrometers... thinking I may need to make a 1.5" jig to ensure they are mounted right where they should be.  Input welcome.

Got the forks installed, can't wait to try it out!  Spooned on some new rubber too.  Still dinking with the LSL bar conversion...  Those may wind up on the classifieds as they just may not work for me.

Dutchy, 8/26/2016 at 0:50 AM

Very nice!!  You tempt me to go for a VFR1200 to step into redslut's shoes......

You can get one for a steal here in the States, I must admit the Veefalo has been a solid bike, rides rather well after 50k miles.  I have to get the ohlins rebuilt now I put too many miles on her.

Alright!  Took the bike out yesterday and gave it a good shagging.  The LSL bars still need some tweaking, but I think I like them.  Seat is the bees knees, and suspension totally changed the big bike.  It's flickable now.  Loving the changes.  Still need to add in some rebound damping, but wow, what a change.  Rode all the way to the edge of the tire, no hard parts touched, and it felt very planted.  The jury is out still on the front getting re-valved, I think it will be ok!

I did have to move the remote reservoir for the shock as the hose was rubbing on the rear swingarm, over the winter I'll pull it and have new fittings installed that allow me to locate it where I want, rather than next to my right ankle.

Think I need new steering head bearings too...