Hello! - 1999 5th Gen

Hello!

I'd like to introduce myself and my new (to me) 21,000 mile 1999 VFR! After riding vintage motorcycles for a while (1970 CB450K3 and 1969 CL350K1), I decided it was time to get a commuter that would be a little faster, more reliable, and most importantly.... FUEL INJECTED! 

After a lot of research and soul searching, I decided the VFR should fit my needs nicely. It's a substantial bump in HP, with a more comfortable riding position than a supersport, and it has that unique powerplant - apparently I have a thing for unusual valvetrains.

Once I decided on a 5th gen VFR (it had to be fuel injected and it had to have that gear driven valvetrain), I waited until a clean one popped up for sale near me and pounced on it! A 1999 VFR in very nice condition, with all the OEM parts (muffler, signals, passenger pegs/grab handles) included, and just one problem - it doesn't charge the battery.

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Upon taking off the fairings, the reason why became quite obvious:

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Luckily, the stator and wiring seem to be good. No internal shorts when tested, 20V AC at idle and just over 50V when revved, even across all three legs. I just had to order a SH847 from Eastern Beaver with wiring kit and I should be ready in time for the season! So while I wait for that to ship, I've been cleaning, restoring it to OEM condition as best I can, and taking quick jaunts around town in an attempt to satiate my impatience.

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Thanks for the help - this forum was a great resource in diagnosing my charging issue and determining a course of action - and I hope to stick around!

Congrats on that gorgeous 5th gen. VFR and welcome to the forum! 🙂

Welcome to VFRD from across the pond  :wheel:

Laminar (air)flow.... brings me back to CMOS3/4 semiconductor manufacturing....

Welcome, that is a very nice looking, unmolested '99, which has been tested to be the fastest year and color of any of the VFRs.  :beer:

Did you swap out the yellow blinkers for clear? BTW, '00-'01 mirrors bolt right on and you can ditch those condom mirrors.

Nice ride, enjoy!

Beautiful bike. :beer:

Welcome!

Excellent bike.

Frankly, I think the condom mirrors look better, as  long as they're in good shape.

Welcome to the forum from the Northeast.  You got yourself a really nice bike. It should be more than a commuter bike.

10 hours ago, vfrcapn

Did you swap out the yellow blinkers for clear? 

I actually went the other way. Previous owner had clear blinker lenses with switchback LEDs, but he gave me the OEM yellows in a goodie bag, so I reinstalled them.

3 hours ago, ggathagan

Frankly, I think the condom mirrors look better, as  long as they're in good shape.

I like the look of them, too! Problem is, I cannot get the rubber to stay covering the mount no matter what I do. It's like it shrunk over the years, and I think that part is out of production 🙁

2 hours ago, Wald

It should be more than a commuter bike.

Commuter + weekends. My commute is only a mile or two, and that's not nearly enough riding 😁

Welcome to the forum.  Thats a well organised garage you have there 🤩, lovely vfr too, looks tidy. 1999 mode alsol, so no cat or auto choke, better headers, bonus  👍

You will be happy with the SH847 too, it can handle more current and runs cooler.

Did you get to ride the vfr at all yet?

14 hours ago, toreckman

Did you get to ride the vfr at all yet?

Yes, I've been riding around town and putting the battery on the charger between rides. After a week of that, it appears I can get around 10-15 miles out of a full battery. It's just enough riding to make me impatient for the SH847 to finally ship!