New to me 5th gen and maintenance

Hey y'all, I bought a 1998 a few weeks ago, and have put a couple thousand miles on it to give it a good shakedown before I dove into maintenance. Despite the great bikes I've owned over the years, it's definitely becoming my favorite!

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Mods from the previous owner include:

Ohlins rear shock

RaceTech front springs

Tank bra

GPR Stabilizer

Corbin beetle bags

Sargent rider and passenger seat

Stator to R/R connector delete (we'll get back to this)

Micron exhaust

SSR tank cap

Double bubble windscreen (went back to stock for less buffeting)

Throttle lock

Heated grips

Might be a couple other things I missed, but you get the point. It was definitely loved by its previous owner, and set up for sport touring. It's perfect for me and the trips I plan to use it for. 

After a couple weeks of shakedown, I noticed a few problems with the bike. First, it needed a valve adjustment, which I'm doing tomorrow. Secondly, the left fork was a little leaky, so I decided to make my own SealMate and clean it up. No problems since! You can see the dirt it pulled from between the oil seal and the fork.

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For whatever reason, I felt like it wasn't running perfectly, so I decided to check out the the spark plugs, coils, and leads. The spark plugs that were in it (Autolite, I hate autolite plugs.. different story..) were hardly tightened with a 0.5-0.6mm gap, and the leads were probably the originals. I replaced with OEM NGK plugs, gapped and tightened to spec. The new plugs, wires, and an air filter finished up that session of work.

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I installed LEDs in the gauge cluster (except the FI light), turn signals, and brake lights because they provide so much more light and use less power. Standard thing for me and the bikes I buy. While I was doing this, I cleaned as many accessible connections as possible with contact cleaner, and reassembled with some dielectric grease.

I tested the charging system, and it looks like I'm only getting 12.4v at 5k rpm, meaning that I've got an issue somewhere in the charging system or grounds. This is a problem I'm not unfamiliar with (hello GSXR owners..). I already have a MOSFET R/R sitting around from an R1 that's been waiting for a new home, so I'll install that with some Furikawa waterproof connectors. I'll go around and clean all of the grounds on the bike, including the grounding block in the harness (looks like it's never been checked). I'll check the stator's output while I'm at it, and do some other checks.

Looking forward, I'll get get a bunch more maintenance done, including the valves, starter vales, and just some detailing. I'll be going on a ~7000 mile trip next month, so it'll have to be ready for that! This forum along with VFRWorld have been really helpful (plus the FSM) to help me learn about these bikes. Looking forward to a long ownership!

I've installed a fh012ab from a triumph with oem stator with no problems.
You should check the stator output with a 60w bulb (when engine cold and compare it with a hot as f.. test) before any other 12v installation checks.
As said in the forum if you have a clamp meter, you should be able to see around 20ish amp on each phase of the 3 wire set out of the stator at 5000 rmp with no load and a shunting regulator.
I'll bet that you've read a lot about the issue, but i was just trying to condensate all the info i've learned from here.

4 hours ago, meadeball

I installed LEDs in the gauge cluster (except the FI light), turn signals, and brake lights because they provide so much more light and use less power.

Why not the FI light? Curious. And welcome! 

4 hours ago, vegaquark

I've installed a fh012ab from a triumph with oem stator with no problems.
You should check the stator output with a 60w bulb (when engine cold and compare it with a hot as f.. test) before any other 12v installation checks.
As said in the forum if you have a clamp meter, you should be able to see around 20ish amp on each phase of the 3 wire set out of the stator at 5000 rmp with no load and a shunting regulator.
I'll bet that you've read a lot about the issue, but i was just trying to condensate all the info i've learned from here.

That's my plan, just like any stator test. Along with that you should be checking to see if any of the phases are grounded.

4 hours ago, Bret

Why not the FI light? Curious. And welcome! 

Lack of resistance in the FI light system usually causes the light to be on constantly. You can see how when you prime the fuel pump, it will go from bright to less bright after the system is primed. Needs to have a regular incandescent like on a lot of older FI bikes.

Another thing I'm doing today is replacing the fuel pump, pickup screen, high pressure fuel pump, and other related hoses/wiring/clamps as preventative maintenance. Having a fuel pump go out on a long trip is not fun.

6 hours ago, meadeball

10 hours ago, Bret

Why not the FI light? Curious. And welcome! 

Lack of resistance in the FI light system usually causes the light to be on constantly. You can see how when you prime the fuel pump, it will go from bright to less bright after the system is primed. Needs to have a regular incandescent like on a lot of older FI bikes.

Thats literally the only incandescent bulb left on my '99. I tried a newer one last year since it had been a few years since I originally converted, but still comes on at half-ish light. 

I've had good luck with Custom Rewind for rewinding my stator, if you decide to replace yours. 

8 hours ago, meadeball

Lack of resistance in the FI light system usually causes the light to be on constantly. You can see how when you prime the fuel pump, it will go from bright to less bright after the system is primed. Needs to have a regular incandescent like on a lot of older FI bikes.

Good to know! Thanks!!! BTW, do you have a good source for all the replacement LEDs? Guessing the headlight required more than just a simple LED swap. I'd love to upgrade all my lights, so your post came at a perfect time. 

Stator tested perfect. The R/R was the issue. Just cleaning all the grounds and connectors and applying dielectric grease increased my charging volts from 12.4 to 13.4 (with the bad R/R). The new MOSFET R/R is providing a steady 14.3v!

Rebuilt the clutch master and slave cylinders too.. They were gross. 

For lights, look at superbrightleds.com

I'll have more pictures up tomorrow.

Good to hear Mosfet working out.

Hmmm, I think you actually got that from me (revealing my identity) Recognize my picture? 

18 hours ago, Bret

Good to know! Thanks!!! BTW, do you have a good source for all the replacement LEDs? Guessing the headlight required more than just a simple LED swap. I'd love to upgrade all my lights, so your post came at a perfect time. 

Look around, there's a lot of plug-n-play LED headlights these days. Same with gauge lights. I think I went with Superbright LED.com this last time I put a set together. Decent prices. Headlights I got from Lifetime LEDs.com. Expensive, but they come with a Lifetime Guarantee. And I've already had to get a replacement set.

I don't do a lot of night time riding, but I did the other day and I totally love them! Not over bright, or blue, just really crisp white light. 

There was a very long thread on the forum regarding the headlights if you care to search for it. 

10 hours ago, bigbadbass

Good to hear Mosfet working out.

Hmmm, I think you actually got that from me (revealing my identity) Recognize my picture? 

Hahaha "bigbadass", perfect! Thanks for sending it out to me way back when. It's working great. I cleaned up the wiring a bit after this and cleaned the grounding block in the harness.

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Clutch system was in dire need of help...

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Cleaned and polished everything, plus rebuild kits and lots of flushing brought it back from disrepair. Make sure you change your clutch fluid more than once every 10 years..... The MC was in pretty bad shape too.

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Both my Mosfets entering their 7th, event free riding seasons!  Yawn..... 

Hi - gotta ask...What is going on with the stator wires? Or, your still working on them 😎

18 minutes ago, mello dude

Hi - gotta ask...What is going on with the stator wires? Or, your still working on them 😎

PO had eliminated the connector from the stator already, hence the 6 white bits of heat shrink tubing. I added a MOSFET R/R seen in the picture above, and did some rewiring/soldering. 

If you're wondering why they're hanging out everywhere, I did that to show off the connector elimination and the new R/R. I wrapped the wires in electrical tape and zip tied them to the harness after the picture.

I've used a 6pin connector (connected in pairs) for the stator... It is big, but works, applied dielectric grease, covered it with automotive cable textile wrap, and ended up like this. Dustproof and high-amp rated (near double from the original 3 pin connector)
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I use heated grips (20 to 30 watts) and lights are required to be on all day long at my country (spain) so i draw current constantly from the system, but it holds charge just ok, 14.2 cold with no load, 13.8 lights on, and 13.2 lights plus heated grips.... Looking forward to replace hallogen bulbs for led ones (looks like the real deal!) actually when i hit the brakes volts drop from 13.8 to 13.4 and i'm like angry trying not to brake [image: emoji23.png][image: emoji23.png][image: emoji23.png]

I would honestly like to have a connector there, but soldering the wires together is the best fix IMO. I haven't checked my output with my heated grips on, but with my headlights, I still have 14.3v. Another thing I did on my bike was to clean the battery terminals and connectors, there was a good bit of buildup there.

Tanks for showing your work vegaquark!

I've been doing some tests now, and i've noticed that the point i'm connecting the voltmeter and the heated grips is not acurrate at all (for measuring), i've pinned the positive cable from before the thermal swich from the fan (because it was near and turned off and on with the entire system) and used the frame as negative for both the voltmeter and the grips, the problem is that when i draw current from that line with the heated grips, volts go down too much compared to a direct measuring on the battery terminals, also with lights on voltmeter tells me 13.8, but a polymeter on battery says 14.2...
I've got to dedicate a direct pair of cables from batt terminals to the voltmeter (or as near as possible with a relay to the fuse after the key) to get a propper volt measure.
By the way, measuring amps on the stator phases gave me 27 amps with no load at 5000rpm, 3 of them equally, but when i load the bike amps go down to 15 or even 14 amp... I guess that this behavior is normal because power is being actually used and not going back and forth from the stator to the regulator/rectifier.

13 hours ago, meadeball

PO had eliminated the connector from the stator already, hence the 6 white bits of heat shrink tubing. I added a MOSFET R/R seen in the picture above, and did some rewiring/soldering. 

If you're wondering why they're hanging out everywhere, I did that to show off the connector elimination and the new R/R. I wrapped the wires in electrical tape and zip tied them to the harness after the picture.

I couldnt tell what was going on by the wire mate up by your shock adjuster. --- If you can swing it use HD heat shrink tubing to cover things up. Its a 30 amp connection and needs to be beafy.

29 minutes ago, mello dude

I couldnt tell what was going on by the wire mate up by your shock adjuster. --- If you can swing it use HD heat shrink tubing to cover things up. Its a 30 amp connection and needs to be beafy.

That thought was bothering me too. I may revisit the wiring and add a heat resistant sleeve. 

Well, I'll get to revisit those things when I pick up my new VFR on Friday. A lady on her phone turned into me at an intersection a couple weeks ago.. Luckily the insurance discussions have been easy and I've already got my payout since she was at fault. I bought my '98 back as salvage and will be reusing anything that I can. I'll be parting out the rest (let me know if you need something). The frame is sheared at the fairing stay, so it was considered totaled immediately. My gear kept me safe, and I've already replaced all of it.

I'll need to work double-time to make sure that the new one is ready for the trip in 2 weeks. I'll be flying out of town for work, so I'll really only have a few days to prep everything.

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Yikes! Glad you're ok, and good luck with the prep work for your trip  :smile:

Yikes indeed! You didn't mention any injuries so I'm guessing you are ok. Real shame about the bike but that can always be replaced. You cannot.

Hope you get sorted for your trip.

The best crash is the one you walk away from.... 

Good luck with the replacement!!!

Welcome to the asylum.

Sorry to hear about your meeting with the caged lady. I've done the insurance buy-back; now I have projects that will last as long as I'm riding (age 67). I'm combining two wrecked fifths into a single rideable machine.

You obviously have skills and I expect to see a fabulously restored fifth gen when your finished.

Good luck. 

Wow, that's a real bummer with the accident... mucho sad.  

This time of the year is always the most dangerous when the weather start to get nice, more new drivers/motorcyclist get out on the roads; I usually ride less during this time of year.  

Best of luck with the rebuild, sometimes it's probably easier just try and find a replacement.. 

1 minute ago, cat0020

Wow, that's a real bummer with the accident... mucho sad.  

This time of the year is always the most dangerous when the weather start to get nice, more new drivers/motorcyclist get out on the roads; I usually ride less during this time of year.  

Best of luck with the rebuild, sometimes it's probably easier just try and find a replacement.. 

That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm buying another tomorrow!

I bought back the salvaged one because the parts on it are worth keeping (ohlins shock, gpr stabilizer, etc). The parts are worth more than the bike!

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm almost all healed up, just some scrapes on my knee. 

Glad you're healing up.  Hopefully you didn't put the fuel pump etc...on.  Unless there's a problem that's known, I don't hear a lot of VFR owners having fuel pump problems..so maybe you aren't out on that expense if you didn't get to it yet.

All the best,

Matt

zupatun, 4/27/2017 at 8:14 PM

Glad you're healing up.  Hopefully you didn't put the fuel pump etc...on.  Unless there's a problem that's known, I don't hear a lot of VFR owners having fuel pump problems..so maybe you aren't out on that expense if you didn't get to it yet.

All the best,

Matt

Thankfully not, I was about to replace it that day! I know it's not a common problem, but I'm just doing it as preventative maintenance. 

I picked up the new a couple days ago from a guy north of Pittsburgh. Great looking bike with a pretty much the same extras as before (Givi cases instead of Beetle bags)!

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