scottw

I ran my 99 VFR for over 120,000 miles without changing the filter. I finally changed it just because I felt guilty.. I founf no significant contaminents and it floed backwards just as easy as forwards.. There is no specified schedule for change but, IIRC there is a flow test to determine a minimum fuel supply.

I see I could use a better technical editor. I meant to say I adjusted the three counter balance shafts. Sorry for the confusion. but there are only two!!! There are only two counter balancer shafts, but there is a idler chaft that also needs adjustment. That makes three adjustments for two balancer shafts.

Ditto on this advise.....................a small amount of diesel fuel left in the tank won't hurt anything. Just burn out as much of the mix before you refuel again.

The counter balancers only make a whining noise if to tight. The adjustment is for gear c;earance only. It will not have any effect on vibration. If they are to loose, you'l get some rattleing noise at idle. The adjustment is covered in the service manual, page 12-22 and 12-23.

I do some service work on friend's bikes that have no centerstands. I tie the bike between the garage door supports with a couple of 3/8" boat lines. Then I can raise either the front or rear with a auto jack.

Personally, I think to much emphasis is placed on low speed hot running. A 50:50 mixture of coolant and water with a 16 lb. cap (1.1 Atm) will not boil until 260 F. You will not damage anything at this temperature. However the only way you can reduce slow speed heating is to increase the cooling capacity of the radiator or increase airflow. Water Wetter makes it possible to remove more heat from the engine block, but unless you have a means to remove that additional heat from the radiator, you won't see any improvement. All engines are ultimately Air Cooled. Unless you increase air flow or increase surface area of the heat exchanger, you won't achive any lower temperatures. I used to worry about it, but eventually got over it and it doesn't concern me any more, unless the system shows boil-over, then usually there is a problem in the cooling system.

Leave the inside pad in place when you pry the pistons in. That will give support to the disc so you won't bend it. Also make sure the level in the master cylinder doesn't back fill fully and hydraulic lock

Run 42 F/R as Honda recommends. Tires will last longer and run cooler. You can always drop the pressure for twisties if you feel you need the additional traction

If you can't get a answer on this forum, go to www.ronayers.com and check the parts fische for the part number match.

How in the heck can you tell if it ever changes. My recovery tank has a coating on the inside that makes it impossible to see where the coolant level it. I guess you could take it out and give it a good cleaning, but IIRC you have to remove the swingarm to get the tank out. Not my idea of fun. I use a welding rod as a dipstick to check the level.

Did you do a search under "manual chain tensioner or Lifter" ??? I'm sure someone has done this before. The updated CCT (lifter) from Honda seems to be much improved.

I'm betting it's the sending unit in the tank. It's nothing but a big variable resistor. Remove it and clean it with contact cleaner while swinging the float up and down. Check the ohms with a multi-meter as you swing the float up and down. You should get a smooth variation. If not, replace it.

I don't think there is any "normal" life span for the R/R. On my 99 VFR, it went 124,000 before the R/R and the stator failed. I did have a fan on the R/R to keep it cool. My BB has 58,000 and still on the original R/R and stator. Heat kills solid state electronics. The 99 BB R/R seems quite massive with lots of fins. It doesn't seem to get as hot as the R/R in the VFR.

According to my '99 Manual, the clearance specs are .006" +/-.001" for the intake and .009" +/-.001" for the exhaust. Things look a little tight all around.

Interesting. Normally the clearance tightens up on the exhaust side. Does anybody know how the clearance changes as the engine reaches operating temperature??? Increase or decrease?? It looks like it, as least doesn't change much or it increases, as in this instance some intake would have been held open.

If you need a little more "bite" for the metal polish, get some 0000 steel wool from your hardware store.

I bought one also. The tool, replacement tip (In case I break one), the side plate presser with tax and shipping was $31.80. I don't need the tool now, but will eventually and couldn't pass up the deal. I was going tp pop for the RK tool for around a $100.00 until this came along.

You must ride the bike pretty hard to need a clutch at those low miles. That said, I'd go OEM......check the steels for warpage and blueing and just replace the fiber discs and new pressure plate springs. If the steels are shot, Honda sells a whole kit, fibers, steels and springs and gasket......... cheaper than buying each individualy.

Keep it the garage................It'll take you longer to put on and take off the cover than your walk to the garage. Non painted surfaces will eventually go to hell. This affects resale value as this is what you are looking at all the time when you are riding.

All BB's have a oil pressure light. Turn on the ignition with the engine not running and your red oil pressure light will be on. The FJR has a oil level light that comes on for 1-2 seconds when the ignition is turned on to assure that the bulb works. I prefer the level light as it warns you of a low level way before the oil pump sucks air. I have a Vmax that flashes the low level light at you under hard acceleration as the oil moves to the back of the pan. Fortunatly, thats were the oil pump pickup is located. The level sensor is located in the front of the pan.

Have you ever read your owners manual ? ...and did you notice that he said he used synthetic oil ? Put those to together and if you've done any good research on Oil lately, you'ld find out he loves his bike and is takeing very good care of it. ps. Did you also know it's actually more harmful to change your oil too often ? Oil threads have been beat to death around here... so do a search, spend about a week reading and researching and then come back and tell me what you have learned. I change mine every 10K or 1 year... whichever comes first. Yes, I've read the owner's manual and I don't agree with it. Most motorcycles never se 50,000 miles so Honda looks to make thier products as maintenence free as possible. You could probably run the whole 50,000 miles on no oil changes...just change the filter every 5000 or so and top off the oil level. But I use my bikes and put a lot of miles on them. 134,000 on my Vmax and 165,000 on my VFR. I want them to last and run efficiently. Rotella T and a new filter evry 3000 miles. I've seen the color of drain oil at 10,000 miles and you could pave a road with it. Yes, I could probably send a sample out for analysis, but the time and expense is not worth it. I can change the oil and filter for the same cost and time. Guess it's just a mattter of personal opinion and experience.................my experience has worked so far. Let me know yours when you get to 165,000 miles.

10,000 miles between oil changes??? Ouch...............what do you have against your engine ???

Charge the battery up good and check your charging voltage across the battery terminals. At 3000 + you should be getting 13.8 - 14.5 VDC. If you have a good charge voltage, its the battery. How old is it??? If the charging voltage is low, your bike is useing more energy than the battery can supply and just will run down. You have to trouble shoot the charging system and correct the problem.

Will these longer ones (3.25") fit behind the header pipes? I use the PL14612 (2.5") which fits fine, but seems fairly close to the headers. No they won't. The ST6607 from Walmart is the shorter version of the ST7317. I used the Supertech filters for more than 10 years and close to 300,000 miles with no ill effects.

I use 80-90 wt. gear oil that I apply with a small drip bottle. I get almost no fling off and the little that does wipes right off. I got the idea off Walt at SeXXT last year, and I haven't used spray lube since. [/quote I use Mobile 1 Synthetic 75W-90 gear oil as a chain lube. Use it on my VFR and now the BB. I won't even try to tell of the chain life I got on the VFR because you wouldn't believe me. Time (and miles) will only tell on the BB.