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Comment by lutorm | Hacker News Reader

I have exactly the same bike as well! :)

Cool! I have had trouble finding Bridgestone Battlax tires for it. I still have a decent pair on the bike but they won't last much longer. There are some tires available domestically that are close but nothing is quite right. I have had great luck getting parts from Rick Oliver and occasionally Aliexpress.

They are from a sweet spot in history. There was adequate technology to make them reliable and high performance but inadequate technology to truly perfect suspension geometry and engine layout. The big-bang four was intended to reduce rear wheel slip by maximizing dwell time between impulses. Modern bikes can make far more power and let computers do the traction control. But the VFR400 is a carbureted fully mechanical bike. The ignition is electronic but no more complex than points. Just more reliable. It's a real joy to own, maintain, and ride. It isn't even fast, but it sure feels like it's doing something!

Where are you located? Here in the US they're incredibly rare and except parts that were used on other bikes that were actually sold in the US, you pretty much have to order from the UK. I had to order my BT-090's from thevisorshop.com and ship from the UK. Stupidly expensive...

My NC30 is actually an EFI conversion project running Megasquirt. I got tired of trying to get to the carbs... ;-)

I’m in Seattle. The shop I bought it from had two. They specialize in importing “classic” foreign vehicles that were never sold here. Mostly kei cars from Japan.

When I did the valve adjustment I asked for parts for some other Honda that was sold in the US. There’s only two diameters of shim so once you find a compatible model you just order parts for that. Same for oil filters and non-exotic parts. Other than that you’re calling Rick.

My carbs work perfectly and I refuse to ask or answer any further questions on the topic ;)

Thanks for the tip on thevisorshop.com.

I'm intrigued by the EFI conversion. That seems like a big project. If you want to chat more send an email to my username at the domain in my profile.

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