VFR Thread, How many of us have 'em?

[Crocodile Tears]

Originally Posted by sneakyB

I'm considering buying a VFR. The 5th and 6th gen have long been my "dream bikes", but I fear that the reality isn't as expected.

I currently still ride my first bike, a 2003 Suzuki Savage (S40) - a 650cc, single-cylinder, air cooled cruiser. I need to get into something bigger ASAP.

Now I wasn't planning on getting a VFR until I saw my dealer put a brand new 2008 for $7,999. He says he has 2 more in crates. My heart skipped a few thousand beats so I naturally took it for a test ride.

I also tested a Fz6r - a bike I have been considering -today. Both great rides. The VFR is by far and away the nicer (premium) machine, however I much preferred riding the more plebeian Yamaha. The VFR scared the crap out of me a few times because of it's responsiveness and power delivery. Additionally, the riding position on the VFR was far more forward-leaning than I imagined (the Fz6r was fairly standard).

My heart says VFR, but my body says Fz6r. However, I know that I would only keep the Fz for a few years at most... and I'm not convinced of its build quality. if I were to get the VFR, I feel that I would essentially return to n00b status in the saddle - it was that much of a difference from my Savage.
I'd also need a set of bar risers ASAP... IDK how people ride them for tens of thousands of miles with so much weight on their wrists.

Now that I've had even more time to think on it, I'm coming up with reason after reason to rationalize NOT buying the VFR. First, it's $2,000 more than the Fz6r. Second, the VFR costs $250/year more to insure, and far more $$$ to maintain. Third, I think it is too fast.

I also have desire to do adventure rides on B and C class roads. That's out of the question with either the VFR of fz6r. So on one hand I'm considering a VFR/Fz6r, and on the other hand I'd like a V-Strom.

Put me out of my misery.

A vfr800 with 1" risers is a heavenly ride, and the first time you strap a quality set of pipes to it, you will be convinced. Plus, the V4 has so much more useable power verses the I4. I love the VFR, I just wish I could find a decent example.

Not to take anything away from the FZ6 - however, I feel a VFR and FZ1 are a better comparison due to the torque difference in a FZ1 and FZ6

As far as adventure rides go, the yamahas are probably more ideally suited.

The VFR is a long term bike though. Especially if they are new (mind if I ask the dealer?) To get 100,000 miles out of one is really no challenge with even cursory maintenance.

[PalePhase]

Originally Posted by sneakyB

I'm considering buying a VFR. The 5th and 6th gen have long been my "dream bikes", but I fear that the reality isn't as expected.

I currently still ride my first bike, a 2003 Suzuki Savage (S40) - a 650cc, single-cylinder, air cooled cruiser. I need to get into something bigger ASAP.

Now I wasn't planning on getting a VFR until I saw my dealer put a brand new 2008 for $7,999. He says he has 2 more in crates. My heart skipped a few thousand beats so I naturally took it for a test ride.

I also tested a Fz6r - a bike I have been considering -today. Both great rides. The VFR is by far and away the nicer (premium) machine, however I much preferred riding the more plebeian Yamaha. The VFR scared the crap out of me a few times because of it's responsiveness and power delivery. Additionally, the riding position on the VFR was far more forward-leaning than I imagined (the Fz6r was fairly standard).

My heart says VFR, but my body says Fz6r. However, I know that I would only keep the Fz for a few years at most... and I'm not convinced of its build quality. if I were to get the VFR, I feel that I would essentially return to n00b status in the saddle - it was that much of a difference from my Savage.
I'd also need a set of bar risers ASAP... IDK how people ride them for tens of thousands of miles with so much weight on their wrists.

Now that I've had even more time to think on it, I'm coming up with reason after reason to rationalize NOT buying the VFR. First, it's $2,000 more than the Fz6r. Second, the VFR costs $250/year more to insure, and far more $$$ to maintain. Third, I think it is too fast.

I also have desire to do adventure rides on B and C class roads. That's out of the question with either the VFR of fz6r. So on one hand I'm considering a VFR/Fz6r, and on the other hand I'd like a V-Strom.

Put me out of my misery.

For what it is worth, I also started off on a cruiser, and getting to the point of being at ease with the VFR was indeed an adjustment. Acceleration, braking, and steering were all dramatically sharper than what I was used to dealing, and I had to train my muscles to support my body properly while riding the VFR, but it can be done, and I actually find it to be more comfortable after an hour of riding than my cruiser. Going back to my Magna then becomes another period of adjustment, because the steering seems too light, the brakes too weak, and the power delivery less linear.

Not knowing how tall you are, I can say that a V-Strom or Wee-Strom is a physically taller bike than a 6th Gen VFR, and feels heavier off the sidestand, although I don't think it is. but each takes some getting used to handling when you are used to a lower bike where you can get a foot down flat more easily. My first hundred yards on my VFR took place on a rutted gravel driveway, but that was a very nerve-wracking bit of riding, considering I did not yet own the bike. Still, I would not have been any happier on a DL650. For learning to ride in the dirt, I would want something less than half the weight of either.

Oh, and trust me, you can cost yourself a few hundred dollars in the space of a second or two by dumping a plastic-skinned wonder on the ground, paved or not.

There are plenty of inmates here with experience with the Stroms who can comment knowledgeably on its off-pavement capabilities, but when it first came out, Suzuki were very careful not to call it a dual-sport, and my perception is that it is merely a street bike with dirt-bike styling. I have no doubts that somebody with a lot more skill than I have could take a Strom or a VFR either off-road with a fair margin of safety and still manage to have fun, but if dirt riding is what you want to do and you do not yet have the skills, why not just buy a 250cc dirt bike and learn the ropes on it?

[LuciferMutt]

The onyl reason the FZ6 didn't scare the crap out of you is because they have a reputation of being dogs at low RPM. The VFR makes good power all over the rev-range, which actually makes it MORE user friendly since there is no high-RPM weirdness to deal with and the power band is much more tractable and user friendly in real-life street riding.

Motorcycling is about emotion. Buy the bike your heart wants.

[yooperbikemike]

[ErikY.]

Originally Posted by sneakyB

I'm considering buying a VFR. The 5th and 6th gen have long been my "dream bikes", but I fear that the reality isn't as expected.

I currently still ride my first bike, a 2003 Suzuki Savage (S40) - a 650cc, single-cylinder, air cooled cruiser. I need to get into something bigger ASAP.

Now I wasn't planning on getting a VFR until I saw my dealer put a brand new 2008 for $7,999. He says he has 2 more in crates. My heart skipped a few thousand beats so I naturally took it for a test ride.

I also tested a Fz6r - a bike I have been considering -today. Both great rides. The VFR is by far and away the nicer (premium) machine, however I much preferred riding the more plebeian Yamaha. The VFR scared the crap out of me a few times because of it's responsiveness and power delivery. Additionally, the riding position on the VFR was far more forward-leaning than I imagined (the Fz6r was fairly standard).

My heart says VFR, but my body says Fz6r. However, I know that I would only keep the Fz for a few years at most... and I'm not convinced of its build quality. if I were to get the VFR, I feel that I would essentially return to n00b status in the saddle - it was that much of a difference from my Savage.
I'd also need a set of bar risers ASAP... IDK how people ride them for tens of thousands of miles with so much weight on their wrists.

Now that I've had even more time to think on it, I'm coming up with reason after reason to rationalize NOT buying the VFR. First, it's $2,000 more than the Fz6r. Second, the VFR costs $250/year more to insure, and far more $$$ to maintain. Third, I think it is too fast.

I also have desire to do adventure rides on B and C class roads. That's out of the question with either the VFR of fz6r. So on one hand I'm considering a VFR/Fz6r, and on the other hand I'd like a V-Strom.

Put me out of my misery.

Life could be worse than having to make these kind of choices!

Two things I can think of:
1: You will get used to the power very quickly. There is a throttle control too!
2: The riding position is ok on the highway as the wind on your body will pick you up off the bars a bit.

Oh and go buy a dual sport as well as the VFR; problem solved

Cheers,
Erik

[Dieselboy_]

Getting off of this



And riding this, is like riding a cheetah, then jumping on a rhino.

[Dunkel]

Picked up a VFR that needs some loving since it's been sitting for several years.

[MapMaster]

Originally Posted by Dunkel

Picked up a VFR that needs some loving since it's been sitting for several years.

Dayum! That's a sweet looking garage queen.
Give it love and lots use (lots of both) and have fun!

[doogiepooch]

Wanting to get into a VFR, selection seems to be slim in the $3,500 and under in my area. Found a 98 with 68,000 on it I can get it for mid to high 2,000's, owner seems very detial oriented, records kept etc. Would anyone be scared of this bike? He basically rode it everyday for a couple years. Is it shot or "should" it be trouble free for many miles to go? I'm trying to find something to do a couple week trip to Yellowstone etc on this summer. I'll do it on my Ninja if I have to but.....don't really want to

[MapMaster]

Originally Posted by doogiepooch

Wanting to get into a VFR, selection seems to be slim in the $3,500 and under in my area. Found a 98 with 68,000 on it I can get it for mid to high 2,000's, owner seems very detial oriented, records kept etc. Would anyone be scared of this bike? He basically rode it everyday for a couple years. Is it shot or "should" it be trouble free for many miles to go? I'm trying to find something to do a couple week trip to Yellowstone etc on this summer. I'll do it on my Ninja if I have to but.....don't really want to

I would not be scared of the bike, but I would want to have time to ride it a bit and sort out any issues that may need addressed before doing a long trip. At 68k, aside from the obvious wear items like tires, pads, and chain; the following would be concerns (not necessarily likely, but possible. You'd wouldn't want to deal with them a day before starting out on your Yellowstone trip - awesome place by the way):
Head bearings
front wheel bearings
clutch wear
rotor wear/warp
fork springs/oil
rear shock
And normal but not frequent maintenance items like the last coolant change and brake/clutch fluid changes, valve checks, throttle body balance (FI equivalent of a carb sync), air filter change and at that mileage, maybe a fuel filter change.
If his records address all or most of those things, then you can go for it with a fair degree of confidence.
(rotors and clutches can go 100k easily, but if ridden hard, could need replaced much sooner).
And of course, check the charging system output.

good luck,
Greg

[Storm Shadow]

I just installed a pair of white oggy knobs, from promoto an australian group, no cut delrin frame sliders on my 2011 vfr800

Interesting you remove the left radiator and overflow with out breaching them, engine spacers, 1 x 40cm long engine bolts, and add a new spacer, the oggy bracket becomes a spacer, and forks into a slot on the new spacer on engine bolt b.

White the right side, u just replace the engine bolt B, slide the bracket ontop, and the other end pokes out for the engine bolt A, and it just clips on.

Fairings arnt any harder to put on and off again, although you have to take the actual knobby bits off the brackets before you do.

http://www.promotomelb.com/results.p...VTEC&Year=2008

Originally Posted by zRoYz

I know you don't want to here this but I hope your bike never falls over which is about the only protection crash sliders perform on a road bike. The no cut type with those bkt's tend to bend back & guess what is directly behind them your radiator so if bike does fall over with enough force expect your radiator to spring a leak, not great if in the middle of nowhere.

Not so, my f4i had oggies, 3 drops, none damaged, except 3rd low side, i ground off a part of the oggie and it bent the bolt. replaced, admittingly they went through a fairing bolt and into the frame, but were perfectly located for low speed drops.

thats why i went genuine oggies, as i have herad of cheapies, not working and acting as a hole punch.. hope they add upto it, their location doesnt appear to be actually ontop of the radiator, just set back slightly. above the fairing, i figure in an off, if the backet did bend, it probably bend onto the fairing and backwards, away from the radiator.

I understand they are for low speed and stationary drops,

[Hammerspur]

Originally Posted by Dunkel

Picked up a VFR that needs some loving since it's been sitting for several years.

That's an awesome lookin' 4th gen. Brother!

I have a red one like that, a '96 picked up almost 3 years ago, still not finished doing it up to my standards!
Noticed the drilled heel guards... I thought those needed something too, stock they remind me of some old serving spoon from Grandma's pantry.
I skeleton-ized mine kinda' resembling expensive aftermarket rear-sets.

Gonna' get nosey now... what year and mileage, how about that pipe, and, er'... how much did you steal it for?

Lots of good info to research about these bikes at sites below:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/forum.php
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/index

Good luck with that honey, hope it's lots of fun and adventure!

[Jetpilot5]

Originally Posted by doogiepooch

Wanting to get into a VFR, selection seems to be slim in the $3,500 and under in my area. Found a 98 with 68,000 on it I can get it for mid to high 2,000's, owner seems very detial oriented, records kept etc. Would anyone be scared of this bike? He basically rode it everyday for a couple years. Is it shot or "should" it be trouble free for many miles to go? I'm trying to find something to do a couple week trip to Yellowstone etc on this summer. I'll do it on my Ninja if I have to but.....don't really want to

The charging system is the weak link in the bike, especially the regulator/rectifier. I would have no worries at all about the engine.

Get over to VFRD

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/i...age/index.html

and do some reading and ask questions. A wealth of knowledge over there.

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by doogiepooch

Wanting to get into a VFR, selection seems to be slim in the $3,500 and under in my area. Found a 98 with 68,000 on it I can get it for mid to high 2,000's, owner seems very detial oriented, records kept etc. Would anyone be scared of this bike? He basically rode it everyday for a couple years. Is it shot or "should" it be trouble free for many miles to go? I'm trying to find something to do a couple week trip to Yellowstone etc on this summer. I'll do it on my Ninja if I have to but.....don't really want to

98 is a highly desirable year. First year of fuel injection but still has the gear driven cams. With good records I wouldn't be scared of it at all.

It may need some regular higher mileage maintenance items addressed soon such as fork seals and bushings, chain and sprockets, F and R wheel bearings and steering head bearings, etc.

Find out of the Reg/Rec has been replaced with a better unit and if the rear shock has been replaced because at 68K it's definitely shot.

[doogiepooch]

Originally Posted by LuciferMutt

98 is a highly desirable year. First year of fuel injection but still has the gear driven cams. With good records I wouldn't be scared of it at all.

It may need some regular higher mileage maintenance items addressed soon such as fork seals and bushings, chain and sprockets, F and R wheel bearings and steering head bearings, etc.

Find out of the Reg/Rec has been replaced with a better unit and if the rear shock has been replaced because at 68K it's definitely shot.

Thanks to all that answered. Looks like I've got a lot of learning to do. Turns out when I met up with the guy I kind of, sort of, knew him. He's a tech/sales guy at our local Honda dealer. I'd seen him before, this was his personal bike.
Maintenance wise it's had:
Head bearings
Speed sensor
Lots of oil changes with Mobil 1
New clutch
Fork seals
New chain/sprockets
Cush drive
No changes to the charging system that he was aware of, he said he'd had it for 20,000 miles or so.


From the sound of things he rode it more or less, daily. It needs a VERY good bath. I also may paint the crappy bodywork something simple like white, more on that below.

I got it for $2,500, the only thing that worries me is it has some crappy aftermarket plastics. I'm worried I paid to much for it with it having non stock bodywork. It's got one of those Chinese body work kits on it so it doesn't fit the best.

One thing I've noticed is that it doesn't seem to turn in all that well but I've been riding a Ninja 250 recently and a KLR before that so I'm sure it will take some getting used to.