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mg said:
mg said:
mg said:
, sometimes I really miss mine. As to my above comment it was taken away from me too early. With just over 25k miles in 18 months it was just getting broken in. At the 24k miles check up, I replaced a single shime to the next size smaller, making it the only shim to be changed. From 10,000 FASL and 35 degF to -50ft and 124 degF the FI failed to miss a beat, the engine never went over 1/3 temp when moving. Several 800+ mile days in comfort.
The comments about the VTec valves not being used perplex me. 
The extra two valves kick in at 7Krpm, always. Anyone that rides around on the VFR without ever getting over 7K needs to have their head checked! 
Access is no more difficult than on a 98-01 VFR. However, the whole job has to be done twice and reassembled in between. It gets checked with the VTec disengaged, reassembled partially, then rechecked with the VTec engaged. So the extra expense is simply a result of the extra time needed. I haven't done the service myself, nor have I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, so I don't know crap! I have ridden one though and won't be upgrading from the 98 or 01 anytime soon. I find the VTec exceptionally annoying while riding because it kicks in right around the spot where I spend a lot of time so it keeps engaging and disengaging real quick causing a noticeable stutter. But if you blast right through it when going up or down through the rpm, to me it was totally transparent. There was no kick in the pants when it engaged, no real noticeable change in sound, etc,... Other than for emissions, I really don't see it as step in the postive direction. 
I think the money woould be well spent to upgrade the suspension on your 00 VFR unless you are just in the mood for something new. Welcome to the site MG.
mg said:
It has to do with the pin that makes the extra valves work. Like I said earlier, do a check with the system disengaged, fiddle with the pin thingy to make it engage, check it all again, repeat if necessary. Needlessly complicated in my opnion. I think many of the manufacturers have lost sight of the keep it simple mantra. It would not be as frustrating except for cases like this where a regular and routine maintenance issues becomes quite expensive. I have been hearing of many VTec owners reporting that the valve check was not real expensive. It makes me wonder if the dealership mechanic is actually doing the job properly? folks that have done it themselves say that some kind of special tool is required so you have to factor in that cost as well if you do it yourself, not too mention your own time.
mrr1150gs said:
I think I'll keep my non-Vtec VFR... Shim under bucket valves and carbs seem better all the time. Fuel injection would be nice, but the VFR runs so well, I don't really need it. I kind of chuckle when my friends with other brands of bike have difficulty getting their bikes running on a cold morning. I love owning a Honda... 
This is what I keep hearing, but I have yet to see a dyno comparing stock 98-01 to stock Vtec that supports that claim. All the ones I have seen on the VFR mailing list and other places indicate that they are about the same and in several places the older motor actually makes more torque and HP. Either way, the very slight performance edge it might have does't seem to be enough to justify the extra expense and complication. This is not to say it is not a great bike to ride. It handles very well and is comfortable. My biggest gripe really is just the complexity issue. Very few people work on their own car anymore because the engines and associated stuff have become so complex. Motorcycles are fast heading down that same path which I think is a bit of a shame. A lot of the fun of owning a bike is tinkering with it. Now you have to have lots of specialized tools and knowledge to work on a bike. The cost of working on the bike is going up. How long before we have disposable bikes much like we have disposable electronics? Already insurance companies are totalling bikes with very little actual damage simply because the cost of repairing them is getting so high compared to the value of the bikes. Sure, there are those riders that want nothing to do with working on their bike and if something needs to be done, they will just take it to the dealership and let the "expert" work on the bike. The so called "experts" are not as professional as the dealerships would like us to think. I have found that they can seldom even get basic stuff right! And now I am expected to trust my bike to them as it gets more complicated? Forget it. In recent years there has been a growing number of people buying older (late 70's, 80's and early 90's) bikes simply because they are easy to work on and maintain. There is no disputing that the new bikes have more advanced technology on them. However, that in and of itself is not necessarily a good thing in my opinion. Anyway, I'm not really bashing the new VFR. It is not the only bike heading down the path of more complexity. All of them seem to be. That is what is rubbing me the wrong way. I'm a geek engineer so the complex stuff fascinates me. But being an engineer, I also realize that complex usually equals more opportunity for things to break, more expense to manufacture, and more expense to maintain. So it becomes a cost/benefit argument for me. Does the extra performance justify the additional cost and complexity? Whew...! Where'd the time go? 
Well, for Honda to remove it from the VFR or to not use it in other bikes would require them to basically admit that they made a mistake. Historically, this is not something that Honda is quick to do. Also, I have no hard facts, but I have heard that part of the real reason the Vtec was used is for emissions purposes. Who knows? Is the suspension on your VFR actually fully adjustable?? I thought it was just like the previous gen: front is preload only, rear is preload and compression. If it is fully adjustable, THAT is a big feature over the 5th gen VFR. It saves having to toss another $1500 at the bike to do the Race Tech/Ohlins treatment. The ABS would be nice. I have read that it actually works very well. I would prefer though that the brakes be de-linked. For normal DRY street riding it is not a real issue. But there are lots of times that I don't want ANY back brake or ANY front brake applied and that is just not possible with the linked brakes. Don't even get me started on bleeding the !@#$%$ things!
