Honda VFR 800, Refurbishment works.

MotoThread · 19-07-2018 1:08pm #1

I am wondering can anyone help me with the following:

I have a Honda VFR 800(2005). Over the years I have put a lot of mileage up on the bike and it is beginning to show. I keep it serviced, keep the breaks done and good tires, but there are a few things I need to change-fix.

01 Cam Chain Tensioners:
I have been looking around and the prices vary a lot on the line,
There area a manual type and automatic type. which are better?
Has anyone a rough guide on the price and best place to order them?

02 Seat:
There is a tear on the side of the seat and when it rains water gets into the sponge under the leather, can this be fixed? if so where can I get it done? I am based in the Munster Area.

03 Front Fork:
The front fork case is corroded and look rough. Can this case be sanded down and painted?

There are a few more bits I have questions, but for now, if I got these few things sorted it would be great.

zubair · 19-07-2018 1:51pm

MotoThread wrote: »

I am wondering can anyone help me with the following:

01 Cam Chain Tensioners:

02 Seat:

03 Front Fork:

There are a few more bits I have questions, but for now, if I got these few things sorted it would be great.

01. Never had to change mine so I can't make a recommendation

02. A bit of duck tape will fix that. Cost, free.

03. Typical on Hondas and most other manufacturers on bikes of that age. You're probably seeing patches of corrosion on the paint. Personally, I just clean my forks as best I can but you could have them removed and painted but it will eventually come back.

+04. Valves done?!

LLewellen Farquarson · 19-07-2018 1:54pm

The seat can be repaired by James Savage in Cork. He does a great job and works out of his garage.
https://www.yelp.ie/biz/james-savage-and-co-upholstery-bishopstown?utm_content=btn&utm_medium=androidtext_btn&utm_source=m_ashare

MotoThread · 19-07-2018 2:08pm

01- Sound
02- Ya, duck tape is an option, might be the only option but I am hoping to bring the bike back as fresh looking as I can.
03- There are patches of corrosion on the forks, ill try to clean them up and see how it looks, I have the same problem with corrosion on parts of the bike also.

04- No the Valves were not done. is this a big job?

MotoThread · 19-07-2018 2:09pm

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

The seat can be repaired by James Savage in Cork. He does a great job and works out of his garage.

Thanks for that. ill give him a buzz.

zubair · 19-07-2018 3:24pm

MotoThread wrote: »

01- Sound
02- Ya, duck tape is an option, might be the only option but I am hoping to bring the bike back as fresh looking as I can.
03- There are patches of corrosion on the forks, ill try to clean them up and see how it looks, I have the same problem with corrosion on parts of the bike also.

04- No the Valves were not done. is this a big job?

It's more work on the VFR Vtec due to, well the vtec. You could ignore it but its one thing buyers will be looking out for on this type of bike if you're selling and it's worth doing if you plan on keeping it, as it's an 05 with plenty of mileage you should look into it.

MotoThread · 19-07-2018 4:00pm

zubair wrote: »

It's more work on the VFR Vtec due to, well the vtec. You could ignore it but its one thing buyers will be looking out for on this type of bike if you're selling and it's worth doing if you plan on keeping it, as it's an 05 with plenty of mileage you should look into it.

Thanks for the advice.

Fabio · 19-07-2018 4:06pm

Great bikes, worth keeping it in good nick. I've a 1997 VFR 750 inching up on 100,000 miles and must wouldn't think it is a bike of that age. It's kept it's looks. The VFRs have always been about quality.

The forks are an easy enough job to do, as is the seat. Make sure the bike is supported, take the forks off of the bike, mask everything you don't want painted up, then clean and sand the fork lowers. Hammerite Silver Smooth sprayed on in very light coats will do a good job for you. It brings it back to an almost-factory colour and is pretty tough paint. No primer needed either, it's literally sand, clean, spray [that being said maybe it'll finish even better with a primer].

The seat wouldn't be expensive to do either. Get yourself a cover online (some lovely custom ones on ebay) and then a good staple gun. A friend helped me with mine, he had done a seat before, and it worked out very well. Not sure if I would have been confident doing it alone though.

People seem to like manual cam chain adjusters but I'd be worried I'd forget to adjust it! Can't comment further as my 750 has the glorious gear-driven cams so no chain to worry about

.

MotoThread · 19-07-2018 4:26pm

Fabio wrote: »

Great bikes, worth keeping it in good nick. I've a 1997 VFR 750 inching up on 100,000 miles and must wouldn't think it is a bike of that age. It's kept it's looks. The VFRs have always been about quality.

The forks are an easy enough job to do, as is the seat. Make sure the bike is supported, take the forks off of the bike, mask everything you don't want painted up, then clean and sand the fork lowers. Hammerite Silver Smooth sprayed on in very light coats will do a good job for you. It brings it back to an almost-factory colour and is pretty tough paint. No primer needed either, it's literally sand, clean, spray [that being said maybe it'll finish even better with a primer].

The seat wouldn't be expensive to do either. Get yourself a cover online (some lovely custom ones on ebay) and then a good staple gun. A friend helped me with mine, he had done a seat before, and it worked out very well. Not sure if I would have been confident doing it alone though.

People seem to like manual cam chain adjusters but I'd be worried I'd forget to adjust it! Can't comment further as my 750 has the glorious gear-driven cams so no chain to worry about .

Fear play Fabio, that is a great breakdown on each point.
There is a custom seat on it so I might try Lewellen suggestion for that one first, I could end up going to eBay like you suggested. Good point.
Great detail on the Forks, Thanks, I will definitely go with that approach.
Also be worried I'd forget to adjust the manual cam chain tensioners.

Thanks

two wheels good · 19-07-2018 4:57pm

Cam chain? I thought VFRs had gear-driven cams. All part of their cachet.
If not - why do you think there's a problem with the tensioner?
You could remove it and check the operation and how much adjustment is left on it.

As mentioned, Hammerite works well for the fork legs. I like the Smooth Statin aerosol version. Brush-on coach paint is another option.

If the seat foam is in poor condition or you need more comfort a re-furb is a good opportunity to adjust the seat height or profile.

MotoThread · 19-07-2018 5:09pm

two wheels good wrote: »

Cam chain? I thought VFRs had gear-driven cams. All part of their cachet.
If not - why do you think there's a problem with the tensioner?
You could remove it and check the operation and how much adjustment is left on it.

As mentioned, Hammerite works well for the fork legs. I like the Smooth Statin aerosol version. Brush-on coach paint is another option.

If the seat foam is in poor condition or you need more comfort a re-furb is a good opportunity to adjust the seat height or profile.

When the Engine is in ticking-over for a while when warm, that is a slight knocking noise, a mechanic checked it out at the time for me and told me that the tensioners were not applying pressure on the cam chains and I need to replace them.

The seat foam is still good its just the tear on the side I need to get fixed.

Stiletto72 · 19-07-2018 11:36pm

Definitely get the valves done. As said, it's a bit more labour intensive due to the VTEC. You need a little T shaped tool to hold the VTEC valves in place when it's being done.
I have one knocking around from when mine were being done a few years ago.
A Honda dealer will be able to do it for you of course but it will cost you.

MotoThread · 20-07-2018 8:24am

Stiletto72 wrote: »

Definitely get the valves done. As said, it's a bit more labour intensive due to the VTEC. You need a little T shaped tool to hold the VTEC valves in place when it's being done.
I have one knocking around from when mine were being done a few years ago.
A Honda dealer will be able to do it for you of course but it will cost you.

Thanks for the advice Stiletto, is there any videos of these being done online? I think it would be outside of my skill level for the moment but if I saw it done it would be great.

Stiletto72 · 20-07-2018 10:32am

MotoThread wrote: »

Thanks for the advice Stiletto, is there any videos of these being done online? I think it would be outside of my skill level for the moment but if I saw it done it would be great.

I'm not aware of any videos out there to be honest. It's not a job that many individuals would like to take on. Do a search on Bikers Oracle and see if there's anything on there. There's a wealth of information on that site.

Edit:
Just found these on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEimE9DptP4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s52nTRD6ayc

Not sure if they will be any use, I didn't watch the full videos.

MotoThread · 20-07-2018 2:29pm

Stiletto72 wrote: »

I'm not aware of any videos out there to be honest. It's not a job that many individuals would like to take on. Do a search on Bikers Oracle and see if there's anything on there. There's a wealth of information on that site.

Edit:
Just found these on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEimE9DptP4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s52nTRD6ayc

Not sure if they will be any use, I didn't watch the full videos.

Thanks for your help Stiletto, ill have a look at them this evening.

two wheels good · 20-07-2018 6:51pm

Stiletto72 wrote: »

Definitely get the valves done. As said, it's a bit more labour intensive due to the VTEC. You need a little T shaped tool to hold the VTEC valves in place when it's being done.
I have one knocking around from when mine were being done a few years ago.
A Honda dealer will be able to do it for you of course but it will cost you.

Good point - first rule out the valve clearances. Maybe they'll all be within spec. and the task will be straightforward.
It's an opportunity to look at play between cam chain and sprocket too.

ratracer · 20-07-2018 7:11pm

I have a 2006 VFR. I sent my forks down to VMTEK in Cork last January to get new springs, seals and fork oil done. It has made a great job of the front end. I had noticed a lot of sag under braking which has since been considerably improved, as has the handling of the bike.

Goose81 · 21-07-2018 5:02pm

You need to get the valves done , not optional and from what I have heard (could be wrong) you are talking big money on a VFR. Apperantly it basically has to be done twice, because of the vtec so you are talking twice the money. Probably around 600-700 quid

MotoThread · 24-07-2018 8:20am

ratracer wrote: »

I have a 2006 VFR. I sent my forks down to VMTEK in Cork last January to get new springs, seals and fork oil done. It has made a great job of the front end. I had noticed a lot of sag under braking which has since been considerably improved, as has the handling of the bike.

I'll be taking of the Forks Next Week, ill have a look at that.
Thanks

MotoThread · 24-07-2018 8:23am

Goose81 wrote: »

You need to get the valves done , not optional and from what I have heard (could be wrong) you are talking big money on a VFR. Apperantly it basically has to be done twice, because of the vtec so you are talking twice the money. Probably around 600-700 quid

Thanks for that, Ill be talking to my mechanic next weekend and see what he can do for me on that. the mileage is high so ill probably go down that route.

Honda VFR 800, Refurbishment works.

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