The Knight Saber Note Log
2007 Honda VFR800 Interceptor
Property of revengel.
Added Jun 4 2010
Showing all notes
Aug 19 2010
Sadly The Knight Saber is no more. On July 22nd I was T-boned by a driver that didn't yield the right of way while making a left hand turn and he hit me square in my rear wheel. She was classified as a total loss. I was wearing full gear (as I always do) including knee pads so the worst that I got was a puncture wound (abdomen), a banged-up shoulder & a couple headaches. I can only now start sneezing again. This also means that I have to retire The Knight Saber. I'll miss her dearly...I already do. ATGATT, Revengel
Added by revengel on Aug 20 2010 at 5:48 am
Jul 13 2010
Progress report: I'm pretty into The Knight Saber. I just had her first regular oil change @ 3400 miles (actually it was 3388 but when I pulled into the garage it read 3400 on the nose!) and I'm using conventional oil. I'll hold off on the synthetic for a while at least...maybe when I begin to change my own oil. 3400 / 6 weeks = 550 miles a week...not as many miles as I though I'd have but at 42 weeks that puts me around 23,000 for a year (I expect to ride less often in the winter) which is more than most cars get. I commute about 250 miles per week with the rest pleasure riding...so about a 55/45 split in favor of pleasure riding. Lately I've taken to riding out to Summit Point & I intend to do a couple of track days before the summer/fall season is out. It should be great fun and will get me even closer to the rapport I had with Charlotte - my '86 Interceptor. A few things about MPG, Oil & chain maintenance: The oil change was done at Ram Cycles - complete with filter (of course) and a 27 point courtesy check. Everything passed fine even if I did have a small mishap on July 2nd. Neither I nor The Knight Saber ever hit the ground, and the damage to her was minimal (scratches on grab rail and a little bit of the fairing; had to replace a mirror though). With the way I ride I should change at the 3k mile mark rather than the 8k mile mark as recommended by Honda. If I decide to go with Synthetic I may go to the 8k mark. Ride style: I've taken to higher revs to enjoy the VTEC more, and to make sure I have the power to teleport when needed. This has taken a toll on my MPG and will continue to do so. Chain - I'm going to lube it every 100 miles or so. I'm going to continue to use the Dupont Teflon Multi-use wax (it's a spray) that is in fact designed for chains. I can post a link to the stuff should other riders show an interest. At the way I ride I may need to replace the tires around the end of September. What can I say? I love this bike!
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3,400
Added by revengel on Jul 14 2010 at 2:18 pm
Jun 20 2010
Progress report: Well I didn't get anywhere near the 2K mark, but I did break 1600 on the ODO. Here's what we have so far: 87 Octane is plenty good for The Knight Saber. Performace is fine & MPG rules. There's no need to go with the high test after all. Next - and I'm going to add a Fuelie Tip on this one - Giant Food (in the D.C. Area at least) has a partnership with Shell where if you use your Giant bonus card you earn points toward 10 - 30 cents off per gallon of gas (maximum 35 gallon fill-up). This took me from a 2.85 down to 2.75 per gallon last fill-up. Third, she seems to be pretty broken in. She revs a little quicker & reacts beautifully under all conditions. Her temperature remains within tolerance and I've had no issues with her whatsoever. My MPG will likely be between 41-45 most of the time with my riding habbits & RPM control. Her performance has been timely (and fun!) and there's no need for high test.
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1,638
Added by revengel on Jun 21 2010 at 2:01 am
Jun 14 2010
Progress report: All things considered the last tank may have actually been my best. I fuelled up right after getting stuck in a traffic jam for about 30 minutes (during which I traveled 1.2 miles) and I still averaged over 40. Performance so far is nominal and The Knight Saber is beginning to warm up faster. Her temperature remains stable & predictable - the fan comes on at 224 & shuts off at 208 like clockwork. She hasn't gone over 225 at all, which brings me to the subject of cooling fans. I'm running the stock fan setup, so it draws in air from the outside across the radiator. Some VFR owners have switched to the VTR fan which blows heat out of the engine because that provides better cooling *at speeds of 30+*. As I'm a commuter & get caught in stop & go traffic the stock fan setup is ideal...and my temp range proves it. Summer here in the D.C. area is hot & humid so I need to run a cool bike. Related to this is that I've kept a record of how warm she runs - and what the coolest stable running temp has been (after warmup of course). So far the normal temp range is 189 - 205 in medium traffic, 200-225 in stop & go (such as K Street after work) and a low of 173. That low was when I took a loop around the beltway a few nights ago. Last bit on the report - mile 1,000 came right by where I grew up. She hasn't had too many rain miles yet, but that should change fairly soon. I should have another fuel up in a couple days - time/weather allowing.
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1,015
Added by revengel on Jun 15 2010 at 1:21 am
Goals for the week: Clean & Oil chain using a proper chain grease remover follwed by Dupont Teflon multi-use. I've used it once so far and it doesn't fling. Several folks on VFR World are a fan; actually that's how I discovered it. Here is a link to a bike review of the spray I'm using: http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/motorcycle-chain-lube/dupont-teflon-chain-saver/ Second - crack the 2k mark by the end of the weekend. That may be hard to do given the hectic schedule I have, but if I start riding the way I used to it'll be no problem at all.
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1,015
Added by revengel on Jun 15 2010 at 3:39 am
Jun 9 2010
After consulting with a fellow rider of an 800S7 I'm switching to regular test for the next 3 tankfuls to see if there's any difference in performace or MPG. I had originally planned to stick with high test + Turbo 108 based on my long term experience with Charlotte - my 1986 VF500F - but I'm going with regular fuel for now. I do still plan on treating her to a tank of Street Legal Racing Fuel (SLRF) every 5 tanks or so, but other than that I want to see how the regular stuff goes. She's at 705 miles after this morning's commute, and I suspect she's getting somewhat broken in. She's already better on fuel at this point than she was on the last two tankfulls (SLRF was the worst but I did run a higher RPM) but that could also be due to my adjustment for traffic. Lastly I think the floater in my tank is a tad off. I've noticed that the tank flashes on the last bar when it's nearly empty - if you call 1 gallon left empty. For a 5.8 gallon tank with a listed .8 reserve (included in the 5.8) I guess I'd rather have it read shallow than give a false sense of security.
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705
Added by revengel on Jun 10 2010 at 12:53 am
Jun 7 2010
Currently she still is in the shakedown period so I took her for a loop around 495 - about 100 miles in total. Mile 600 came just before I got home for a nice round number. My plan is to oil the chain every 150 - 200 miles, watch the tire pressure like a hawk and keep her clean.
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628
Added by revengel on Jun 8 2010 at 2:15 am
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