Q: Hello Noddy and I was wondering if you’d be able to give me some advice with my 2002 Honda VFR400? According to the speedo it’s covered 34,000km but I’m not sure if that’s right because I know it’s a grey import and I’ve no idea where the bike came from, but it’s at least kept me entertained and taken me to work and back everyday.

But over the last few days it’s begun to pop and backfire through the air box, I think, when I start the bike. The bike is also not as clean revving as it used to be and sometimes struggles to pull away from the lights.

So do you have any idea on what I should look for because I can’t really afford to spend lots of money at the moment or even buy another later model bike, which I’d like to, perhaps a Repsol 600 CBR?

Scotty

A:  These small capacity VFRs do tend to give a lot of problems in latter life and they’re quite complicated and ‘fiddly’ to work on without the correct tools, I’m afraid.

But for now you can remove the tank and have a good look around and you haven’t mentioned the last time it was serviced? Sometimes vacuum pipes (lots of them) and the like can deteriorate or fall off, which will cause the bike to run ‘weak’ and produce these symptoms, so check all of those first. Also check the inlet manifold rubbers to see if they’re also in a bad condition, and replace if they are. Does the idle speed go up and down, which will also point to an air leak somewhere? Or perhaps the bike is long overdue for a carb’ service, but that will cost you money in parts and labour.

To be honest I hate to work on these bikes for many reasons, so I’d find a way to buy Repsol CBR600 instead.

Q: I wonder if you could help me regarding my Honda 750 Africa Twin? 

I’ve had it since new and covered over 60,000km with hardly any problems besides worn brakes, chain and sprockets, tyres, cables, and stuff like that, which I’m not concerned about.

But what I am concerned about is the problem that’s recently appeared and seems to be getting worse by the day, so this is why I’m writing this letter asking for help.

When I pull away the bike shudders/judders in an annoying manner. Once the bike is on the move it seems to disappear but the gear change doesn’t seem to be as smooth as it used to be either and I’m not sure if this is connected to the pull off issue?

So before I head off to some overpriced dealer who will take as much of my money as possible do you think you can shed any light on this subject and if so will I be able to tackle it from home and in my garage?

Thanks for your time.

Patrick Mitchel

A: I used to own one of these bikes for many years and I agree that they don’t tend to give any major problems or issues, in fact mine did around the same mileage before I let it go.

Anyway, I would say the problem lies within the clutch assembly. Take off the clutch cover and remove all the plates, friction and steel. I bet they’re worn beyond their service levels and need to be replaced, which would certainly cause the juddering effect. It’s best to replace both friction and steel at the same time otherwise its false economy not to do so.

You can easily do this at home with a limited amount of tools and a bit of patience. But don’t forget to soak the friction plates overnight in oil before installing; they’ll last longer if you do. 

You’ll also need a new clutch cover gasket and the whole bag of parts shouldn’t be more than 2k.

Q: Hello Noddy. I know you’ve a lot of experience with race bikes so I thought I’d run this past you?

My 2012 Kawasaki ZX-10 will not stay in fifth gear. I only use the bike for track days and the other day at Kyalami it started to jump out of fifth and into a sort of neutral.

Unfortunately the bike is now out of warranty so I thought I’d ask your advice before I start to tear the engine to pieces, and myself because hopefully it won’t be too expensive?

Stuart Pingleton  Jo’burg

A: First of all I’d take out the clutch assembly and have a look around and behind the clutch basket. I’ve heard of the shifter pawls and the shafts around it becoming ‘burred’ and/or loose, respectively. 

So have a good hunt there to start with.

If not, you can remove the gearbox without splitting the engine because it’s of a cassette type. Have a look at the male and female selecting and locating dogs on fifth gear, which runs with or into third gear. If they’re damaged or worn you’ll have to replace both gears or have them undercut by a professional machine shop only! I think these will be the primary reasons behind your fifth gear worries, especially if you use/fitted a quick shifter that hasn’t been set up correctly?

Q: I’ve a Yamaha BWS100 with just over 7,000km on the clock. I use it everyday to work and back and I still think it’s the best scooter on the market, because it’s a two-stoke and they’re just not around anymore.

Anyway, over the past 500km the BWS seems to be getting slower off the line, which is a problem when you’re trying to get away from the cars.

My friend had a look inside the drive cover, taking off the pulleys, checked for sticking clutch rollers and the belt seemed to be fine as well. Once he put it back together it seemed to be better, but for only a short while, then the big ‘bog’ returned.

So in desperation I thought I’d run this persistent problem past you guys because your technical section seems to help out a lot of people, and good news on your birthday as well, keep it going.

Paul Westhuizen

A; To be honest Paul, Bill knows more about the BWS than most so I think I’ll hand you over to him to see if he can help.

Noddy

A: Hi Paul and I’m glad you love your BWS as much as I do, and you’ll be pleased to know that I know what the problem is. It’s down to nothing more than the grease you, or you friend, has chosen.

Over time the grease that allows the primary clutch to move along the steel bush wears off, causing the clutch assembly to ‘stick’ and not engage properly at low (pull off) rpm.

As you mentioned it was better once your friend had fiddled with it, because I’d imagine he greased that steel bush during re-installation, but of the wrong type and that’s why it was better, but for only a short time.

So take off the primary clutch and you’ll see the long steel bush that the two halves slide upon. Clean it up nicely with ‘wet and dry’ paper and find the highest temperature (not highest load) grease you can find. I’ve found that Castrol make a Moly grease for high temperature, which works the best in mine. That will most certainly give you your drive back and I also replace the grease in my BWS around every 1,000km because of this ‘boggin’ fault.