Our bikes are six to eight years old now... I am curious what motivated you to purchase your VFR over a 6th gen. Since you purchased an older bike you have to expect some maintenance. Trying to figure out if we are all basically just cheap and price over rules everything... or if options like corbin w/back rest and bar risers... maintenance free like brakes/clutch/shock/chain/sprocket are all new or in great shape can bring up the price enough?
I know the mods and maintenance you cant get full value but how much can it add to the VFR? What is the edge of the price limit?
I bought mine in 2000, so the 6th gens weren't out yet.
Almost bought a VTR1000F instead, but the bars were too low and my hands were going to sleep really fast.
Love the V-twin sound and torque though. But bought the VFR after only hearing it run in person, in January, in a garage. Roads were all ice and snow, couldn't ride anything less than a fully studded dirtbike or purpose-built ice racer!
ActionStarCBRxx, Nov 13 2007, 10:03 AMOur bikes are six to eight years old now... I am curious what motivated you to purchase your VFR over a 6th gen. Since you purchased an older bike you have to expect some maintenance. Trying to figure out if we are all basically just cheap and price over rules everything... or if options like corbin w/back rest and bar risers... maintenance free like brakes/clutch/shock/chain/sprocket are all new or in great shape can bring up the price enough?
I know the mods and maintenance you cant get full value but how much can it add to the VFR? What is the edge of the price limit?
I rode a 5th and 6th over a 3000 mile vacation with some buddies. 5th one day and 6th the next. By the last half of the trip I was a 5th gen hog - I just couldnt stand the 6th - VTEC? no thanks. There were also a handful of other nits on the 6th I couldnt stand. Then I thought the 5th gen motor rocks! I went shopping for a low mile 5th gen - mine had 6000 miles when I bought it.
- In looking for a bike I just look for a low mile stocker that has been taken care of. Then I try to squeeze the cheapest price I can get. I know I'm gonna mod it to my liking anyway.
Years ago I had an '86 VFR and I loved it. After owning a couple of other bikes (I4 Honda and a Ducati Monster) the 2001 felt like coming home. The sound, the look, the fit. I thought about a 6th gen but it looked too, I don't know, "pointy" for me.
I found a bike with reasonable mileage (14Kmi) and looked like it was new. I didn't get a deal but the bike was too clean to pass up.
It was stock except for the Helibars. I like the quiet stock pipe and the fact that no one had messed with Honda's tuning. He did give me the stock bars. After giving the Helibars a chance for a month I put the stock bars back on and was sooooooo much happier with the feel and the fit. (Before anyone asks, the Helibars have been sold)
The old 88 FZ needed mucho work and my buddy needed to liquidate some assets. His very fine condition 2000 VFR 800fi was only aged by 6k miles and he gave it to me for 4500. It was a no brainer... 491.gif
Thanks for the replies! Judging by what I see now... it looks like majority care more for the condition of the bike than how much it costs. Ironically that was opposite of me. I wanted something that had been laid down (not too hard!!) had regular maintenance, but also had accessories. The previous owner was in his late 40's and took a spill on loose gravel on a corner. I got a good deal on it and was able to replace the damaged plastic and still mantain a comparitive value to other VFR's. I love doing maintenance and shining things up so it was the perfect bike!
I will most likely buy a 1998 Smokin Joe Camel F3 tomorrow. That will put me at 4 motorcycles. The wife isn't going for that. I am going to try parting out the 1993 FJ first and I may put my yellow bird up for sale.
The condition of the yellow bird is like new with lots of maintenance already done. (tires/chain/sprocket/head bearing/clutch slave cylinder/fluids/etc) Its comfortable and accessorized (LED dash lights/corbin seat w/back rest/heli bars/throttle meister/CRG clutch side lever/929 rear shock)
I just got the bike to where it is really comfortable and my wife and I can start touring on it. So I am in a bit of a prediciment.
Thanks again for posting opinions and taking the poll!
I wasn't intending to buy my bike - we were ona "window shopping" expedition looking at helmets for my wife. I had attemped to buy one a couple of years before that, when I wrecked my VFR750, but the one I had lined up (a silver '98) was vetoed by my wife as being "too boring" and a bit scruffy, so I bought a VTR1000 instead. At the time I was talked into buying the '01, we test rode an '02 and the '01. I didn't like the Vtec on the '02, and preferred the bike I bought over the other ones available because of the colour and the fact it already had an aftermarket muffler and heated grips fitted.
Oddly enough, I had a very low kms RF900R late last year, and would have been happy to keep it, but having owned a ('97 FV) VFR previously, I missed the gear whine (and the robust reliability it signifies). I "just wanted one", I guess, and I had always had a thing for the 5th gen VFRs. So I went shopping. Bought mine from an older bloke who had done mostly touring with his wife on it.
It has a couple of small marks/cracks in the LHS plastics from a static drop (wind actually "caught" his bike cover and knocked the bike off the centre-stand! blink.gif ) but had full maintenance records going back to new (He was the original owner). Had just over 49,000 kms on the clock (which didn't faze me, being a gear-driven cam Viffer), and I rode it the 1200-odd kms home that day and the next. I had a major service (incl. valve check) done by a mechanic I know and trust, and he told me the bike was in very good mechanical order (typical of this sort of VFR, he also said!)
So, in short, I voted "Condition of bike and maintenance" and "No Vtec for me".
I bought my 99VFR on Ebay in october of 2005 for $3,800 . The previous owner installed Heli bars/Givi windscreen/ M4 slip on can/tank bra and to top it off He gave me all the original parts to boot.
The only thing I needed was a battery and to change all the fluids..When i bought it the mileage was 10,700 miles and now it's at 26,437 miles with no problems. 100_0289vfr.jpg
What was important to me was that I knew it's history, it's in incredible shape, it became available, had 6100 miles on it last August and the price was right. Every 6th gen. owner needs a 5th gen. in order to properly appreciate both.
ActionStarCBRxx, Nov 13 2007, 07:03 AMOur bikes are six to eight years old now... I am curious what motivated you to purchase your VFR over a 6th gen. Since you purchased an older bike you have to expect some maintenance. Trying to figure out if we are all basically just cheap and price over rules everything... or if options like corbin w/back rest and bar risers... maintenance free like brakes/clutch/shock/chain/sprocket are all new or in great shape can bring up the price enough?
I know the mods and maintenance you cant get full value but how much can it add to the VFR? What is the edge of the price limit?
I own a sweet '98 VFR in pristine condition. This is my third VFR, (had a cherry '86 and '90 RC30) and it's my 7th V4. After doing months of research it came down to the '98 and '99 for the following reasons...mostly for what it didn't have:
* No chain driven cams * No VTEC * No catalytic cannister * No automatic choke * No high pipes under the passenger seat * No extreme angular body parts * No 4 headlights * No small header pipes * No California smog stuff (it's a 49 state bike)
I could go on but you get the picture. The only thing I would like from the 6th generation bikes is the larger R/R and the digital speedometer. As a retired Human Factors Engineer I cringe when I see an analog speedometer on a motorcycle.
The only problem I have had is the usual R/R issue. I've added the fan and will be changing the wire harness to the larger aftermarket one. For more comfortable ergos I switched to the Heli-Bars, lower footpeg blocks, taller Givi windscreen, and Sargent seat, plus a Throttlemeister. Also I am contemplating putting on Dsuz fasteners (like my RC30 had) on all the body parts for easier maintenance.
The VFR in general was actually on the bottom of my list, when I was looking at bikes to upgrade with. Mainly because people said they were slow, ugly and just "an old man's bike". So off I went testing Kawasaki ZX6's, ZX9s, Hondas VTR1000F and CBR600RR, Suzuki's GSX750F and GSXR750, Yamaha's XJR1200. Whilst they were all great bikes, something was missing.
So on I hoped, onto a 97 VFR750. Wow...Everything my boy racer buddies were sayin about the VFR did a complete 180. I was almost going to go ahead, but I said "nah this can't be right". So I went to another dealer to ride another VFR750. Nope, still a great bike. Still impressed, still felt like I was riding a smooth bike with some mean Supercharged Muscle car engine. Both had Staintune exhausts. I overlooked the VFR800 Vtec mainly due to price and the chain driven cams. So another mate who was a very sensible mate actually said "Why not try the Pre Vtec VFRs, if you love the 750, you'll love the 800 even more" Not knowing what he was on about, I ignored him. But then a guy down the road from me was selling his 2001 VFR800. Only 15,000kms, dead standard for $7500 AUD. Whilst most VFR800s at the time were going for $8500-9000 AUD with higher km's I thought i'd better check it out. Having never seen a Pre Vtec VFR before, I was quite amazed when he lifted the cover. I was expecting a more VFR750 looking bike (no offense to 750 owners, I like the look too.). It looked modern enough for me, and i thought it certainly didn't look ugly.
Sure it wasn't as exciting as my mates R1 but still... Then I inspected it with a mate. Immaculate, cheap, genuine low kms. And the gear driven cams were louder for some reason, and since I was already inlove with the gear driven cam sound, it was a bonus. Then came the test ride. I was blown away at how much quicker and lighter it handled to the 750. For the price of some 750s, I was basically paying 750 money for a bike that had Fuel Injection, Linked brakes, new chassis (VTR1000 chassis), LCD fuel gauge, new gear driven cams, and whatever else improvements there were. I bought it for $7300. It had a standard exhaust, and that went the next week for a Staintune exhaust.
Then came the test. My mates already knew, i'd by the bike for me, not them so along I came to their meet. But alas, I was the first one to show up. So the engine was off. Finally people arrive. The usual "wow its in good nick" comments came up. Then they said "staintune pipe huh? gonna start it up?". With the whirr of the fuel pump its roars to life with the trademark Gear Driven Cam whir. I noticed a couple of mates eyes light up at the V-4 exhaust note and the geared cams. They wanted to know what the hell was in it. "Shit that sounds unreal!!" So off we went, whilst the inline 4's sound good too, they just lacked the character that the V4 had. Which made me think as we rode off "ok guys, how does this bike not have CHARACTER!?".
The funny thing was that I wasn't left behind. I was shocked at how I was keeping up.
So if you want to not be left behind by your mates, but outlast them on a long trip, get a VFR.
I just couldn't spend twice the money on a bike that was only 5 years younger and twice the miles. $10,000 for an 06 with 50k km or an 01 with 24k for 5500 you do the math. Gear driven cams as oppose to chain to be repalced. Vtek what for exactly no more real power?
It was the money and condition I thought it was in at time of purchase that sold me on this bike. Also I just wanted a bike I could ride and not have to keep in perfect cosmetic condition.
Mechanical is a differnt story as I like things to be as good as they can get.
Wanted something bigger than my CB400 with a windscreen and mor potential.
My own experience with the 5th Gen somehow isn't quite as unique as some of you. Back in 1998, when I was coming back to bikes after a 16 year absence (raising kids, keeping up with mortgage payments, car loans..... you get the picture), I saw and heard the '98 5th Gen for the first time in a showroom. Although I loved the look, I wasn't sure if buying a fully faired-in motorcycle was a good idea, in case I chucked it down the road, while derusting my rider skills after such a long absence. So I bought a CB1000 instead and polished up my road/riding skills with that standard (naked) bike.
Two years later, when I received a good offer on the CB1, I didn't hesitate to pick up a brand-new red '01 VFR. Man, I loved the handling and the torque of that thing. And above all, that great V4 exhaust note and gear whine, that managed to make the bike sound both masculine (V4 note) and feminine (gear whine) at the same time. I'm not sure if others will get what I mean by this - you just can't help but be moved by the aural experience, that is somehow missing on other bikes, save for early four-stroke Kawasakis that were fitted with helical cut gears. I lived with the red VFR for three years, and sold it only because I got hooked to the track experience, and needed something a little more committed (cue GSXR 1000). I went on to wear out three GSXRs, and still have an 05 version primarily for the track.
But that lost love affair with the V4 didn't go away. I'd always felt that I should get another one. The problem was that the 6th Gen just didn't do it for me. I didn't like the angular origami, committee-inspired shape and the engine just didn't sound right. I liked the underseat pipes (lots of aftermarket options to clean it up a little), but it wasn't enough to swing my vote. Like many who had been previously smitten by a 5th Gen, I had absolutely no hope in 2007 of snagging a brand-new old model VFR, and the used market was of not much help either, being flush as it was with overused and abused examples - 140,000 kms anyone?. No thanks.
Until I saw a used '01 edition 5th Gen in blue in the shop. The owner sent it in for an oil and plug change but hadn't picked it up in over five weeks. It was covered in dust, but was in otherwise pristine mechanical and aesthetic shape, and a tad under 20,000 kms on the clocks. I left word with the shop that I would be interested, if the owner was thinking of selling. Surprise! He was, and threw me an offer that was simply too good to resist (as if I was about to rolleyes.gif ) - US$3,250 with a set of fresh Michelin Pilot Powers thrown in, to replace a pair of serviceable, but otherwise already hardened Pilot Roads. Man, I was over the moon with the purchase. But an even bigger surprise awaited me at home, when I broke the news to the wife. Now here was a girl that was always opposed to my bike purchases (well, maybe opposed is too strong a word - lets just say that she frowned a lot whenever the subject came up). She actually smiled when I told her I got a new (old) 5th Gen VFR. I guess I wasn't as keenly aware she was happiest pulling pillion duty on the previous edition I owned, as opposed to the rest.
Having ridden some of the best-handling sportbikes since that first 01 edition VFR, I do have to say that the suspension on this VFR I bought needed work. So its off to Ebay for an RC 51 front end (following in the footsteps of Swiffer and veefer800canuck) and an Ohlins rear shock. I've already acquired most of the parts I need including the RC 51 forks and front wheel, but I'm still short of proper handlebars to work with 50mm fork diameters, and the top triple clamp from a 929 or 954 CBR. The thought of what is to come is enough to bring on a smile. Yep, I'm going to build me the 6th Gen that Honda SHOULD have built. smile.gif
The adventure continues.............. smile.gif
End of thread · 17 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 13 Jan 2008
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