If VFR's last for ever, how come you see so few 4th. gens. on the road?

I bought my 4th gen. last year.  Prior to buying it I really can't recall ever seeing more than one on the road.  That was in 1995.  I understand that only one turned up at Tmac this year.  So if VFR's last for ever where are the rest of the 4th gens. in North America?

It's because we're so fast...you just can't see us. :laughing6-hehe:

[image: View Post]JIMLARCH, on 27 June 2012 - 01:33 PM, said:

I bought my 4th gen. last year.  Prior to buying it I really can't recall ever seeing more than one on the road.  That was in 1995.  I understand that only one turned up at Tmac this year.  So if VFR's last for ever where are the rest of the 4th gens. in North America?

VFrs don't last forever, they last as long as any other bike. There's nothing special about them in this regard. Their owners tend to keep them a little longer than average because they can't find anything better to replace them with, however they eventually do. The 4th gens are the same place any other 15 year old bike or car is, usually forgotten or junked.

Don't forget all the bikes written off yearly by insurance companies when wrecked, that will thin the herd over time.

Saw another 4th gen in town. I was shocked. Jerk didn't even wave.

Where's the love?

cannot recall having seen any of these in years........   GPZ1100?  RF900? GTS1000?


:tour:

Upgrades  ???

You mean downgrade right? :tongue:

I think people just move on to newer bikes.  The older ones get stored in the back of the garage while their owners ride the 'new and improved', or they're sold to newbies who buy cheaper used bikes to get into motorcycling, but then never actually do, so the bikes end up sitting.

Nothing lasts forever, of course, and some folks might not trust 15-year old bikes for long trips, or even around town after awhile - especially if there's a new flavor in the garage.

Anyway, why would you want to see too many of the same kind of bike you have out there.......Do you want to feel like you're on a CBR or Gixxer or something really common like those bikes!??
Heck, everytime I go up to Alice's these days, I'm pretty much the only one riding a VFR out there......and I like that!

Beck
95 VFR

There were actually two at TMAC, mine and Lee's.  My bike is 17 years old.  Like any other vehicle that gets that kind of age on it, they get wrecked or sadly parted out and over time not so many remain.  For those that are remaining out there in good shape, I think people hold on to them.  For those of us that love them, they will never be 'forgotten'.  If I wear this one out, I'll probably find another one.

As someone else stated, some folks may hesitate or not have confidence to ride a bike any long distance with that kind of age on it.  I can understand that.  But it also pays to get to know your bike.  I think I have my past electrical issues solved and didn't hesitate putting 1000+ miles on the TMAC trip.  It never missed a beat and ran like a top.

No, nothing lasts forever.  But the 4th gen will last a long time if you take really good care of it.  I guess I just really love the 4th gen bike and can't think of anything else I'd rather have.  Sure there are faster, sportier, etc, etc bikes out there but I don't care about that.  I've considered a newer VFR and I love them all but they all have their pros and cons.  If I do ever get a newer VFR model, I would sell my cruiser to fund it, not my 4th gen.  The only way I'll turn loose of my 4th gen would be to get another 4th gen.

As for seeing them on the road, I live in metro Atlanta and I don't see many VFRs, certainly not 4th gens.  But I like that.  It's not a bike you see everyday.

Chuck

I have seen a few of 4th gens around Minneapolis and Minnesota. There are usually several at local bike nights. And they tend to be in excellent condition. There are two for sale right now on Minneapolis / St. Paul Craigslist. They are out there but VFRs in general are reletively rare wherever I go.

Maybe it cuz people are modding them to look like cbr600rr's :goofy:

The same problem my 93 had no more pure gas. My carbs were messed up all the time from the additives in gas now days.

I have totalled two of them if that helps answer the question.  Only a broken collarbone to show for the moto carnage.  1st crash was my fault and was a high speed high side.  2nd crash was not my fault and was lower speed with no injuries.  Both bikes were toast.

I loved my 4th Gens.  I'd buy another if I found the right deal.  I love my 5th Gen, but it is a different bike.  Overall, I like the Gen 5 better, but still miss some of the things from the Gen 4.

They are reasonably common in Australia. Guaranteed when I visit Melbourne I will see a couple. There are two I know of in my home town, one owned by a lady, which is cool. There's always a few for sale online. I haven't seen any nasty ones, seen a few grotty high ODO examples which makes me sad.

They're not yet regarded a classic. In my opinion they already should be. Maybe because the lineage was so long and later models extensions of the theme, many people see the 4th gen as being very similar to the rest. It isn't like the VFR series was a short lived and awesome model, nor was it as ground breaking as the first CBR900RR for example. We all may think a little differently to this, but to the average person I think it is close to the truth.

Values are still low for 4th gens, even in great condition with less than 100,000Km on the clock. A local guy was selling a 5th gen with Staintune pipe for $3800. It disappeared from the local classifieds last weekend after at least 3-4 months of advertising. I was sure I knew the bike and it was clean as a whistle. Whenever I could, I plugged it to friends and colleagues who were looking for a bike.

I'll never part with mine. The later models don't do anything for me. They look nice, sound nice but just aren't as classic as the 4th gen in my opinion. I would be tempted at a 5th gen but that would only be to put a TOROcharger on it. Speaking of which, an Aussie guy who may frequent here was selling his supercharged VFR. I wonder if it sold.

Regarding the "last forever". As was said, if properly maintained. Even still, compared to a lot of other bikes, these models were over-engineered. I think we are justified in saying that on average our bikes will last longer than others. Nothing suffers unfair abuse.

that's because I'm collecting them.  and they do last forever.  240K and counting on my original '94.
Paul in SoCal

[image: View Post]otmaximus, on 27 June 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

that's because I'm collecting them.  and they do last forever.  240K and counting on my original '94.
Paul in SoCal

I was just going to say, someone is hoarding them.  Now I know where.  

Unfortunately, take another 4th gen off the list, I have one I've just dismantled and pirated parts off of.

I just got my roommate to buy a 4th Gen a few weeks ago... and it's only got 13K on the clock too! :) He couldn't be happier with it, and for me, it's really interesting seeing the changes from 2nd Gen to 4th Gen.  I appreciate a lot of the changes from '86 to '94-97, but I still can't see myself ditching mine.  Maybe I'll just have to add a 4th gen to the stable and, eventually, a 5th gen anniversary edition of course!

The gear whine is to die for on the '95, that is for sure! :laugh:

There are two or three in town here I see from time to time, but the one I have know was the only one I've seen for sale (that wasn't trashed)  in over 5 years. I'll never sell mine and would love to have another.

Decided to bring the 5th gen instead of the 96 to TMAC. And the other one is still waiting on wheels

I traded my bike after 13 years, still going strong & looked near new. But I wanted to get a new bike, because I wanted to get a new bike. No other reason.
A lot of the earlier models of bikes I have owned, well lets face it, not many people want to ride with only drum brakes & cardboard seats....
But every now & then you do spot them, like the Bridgestone 175cc the other day, rider with bucket helmet, goggles & a Brando jacket, he got the looks I never did in 68.
I very rarely see other VFR's of any description around town, used to be a guy that lived around the corner with a 4th Gen (Red), but have not seen him or the bike for yonk's.
Don't see to many driving around in a 1951 Hillman Minx either(My 1st car), although I did see a 54 at McDonalds some years back with vintage plates.
Nothing last forever.
[image: Posted Image]

I have two almost perfect and matching VFRs in my garage.

My 1995 is in the for sale section right now.
http://www.vfrdiscus...750f-25k-miles/
I think I will keep the 96 forever!

The forths are a much, much better bike than the fifth Gen.
I just love the looks that people give when me and the wife park two forth gens together.
It is either they are remembering their past or they think Honda came out with a new production
street bike which they must have missed in their SportRider magazine.

All I know is I bought a forth gen in 96 new off the showroom floor and I rode it for 38K trouble free miles before I totaled it.
State Farm gave me enough money in 2000 that I was able to buy a new Y2K VFR that I had been lusting over that yellow but didn't want to get off of my wallet.
After 11 years of owning the Y2K, I finally broke down and bought another 96.
I am smiling every single time I take that 96 out.

I love passing the newer bikes, then when they catch up to me at the store they can't beleive how fast an old VFR is.
I just look at them and say,"You don't get Bike of the year for 11 years straight by building crap."

I have a 4th gen, but you'd have to look REAL hard to figure that out.

4th gen is a wonderful bike, but in regards to performance, the 5th gen has it beat. Taking both of them out back to back, the 5th gen just felt like it took noticeably less effort and felt better in a turn than the 96. And yes, both had good rubber on them.

That said, I still love the 4th gen. Still a fantastic bike and very enjoyable.

[image: Posted Image]  here's my 2

i totaled four  4th gens.. and i am doing crazy build on a another one.. :happy:

[image: View Post]Chuckster, on 27 June 2012 - 04:58 PM, said:

There were actually two at TMAC, mine and Lee's.  My bike is 17 years old.  Like any other vehicle that gets that kind of age on it, they get wrecked or sadly parted out and over time not so many remain.  For those that are remaining out there in good shape, I think people hold on to them.  For those of us that love them, they will never be 'forgotten'.  If I wear this one out, I'll probably find another one.

As someone else stated, some folks may hesitate or not have confidence to ride a bike any long distance with that kind of age on it.  I can understand that.  But it also pays to get to know your bike.  I think I have my past electrical issues solved and didn't hesitate putting 1000+ miles on the TMAC trip.  It never missed a beat and ran like a top.

No, nothing lasts forever.  But the 4th gen will last a long time if you take really good care of it.  I guess I just really love the 4th gen bike and can't think of anything else I'd rather have.  Sure there are faster, sportier, etc, etc bikes out there but I don't care about that.  I've considered a newer VFR and I love them all but they all have their pros and cons.  If I do ever get a newer VFR model, I would sell my cruiser to fund it, not my 4th gen.  The only way I'll turn loose of my 4th gen would be to get another 4th gen.

As for seeing them on the road, I live in metro Atlanta and I don't see many VFRs, certainly not 4th gens.  But I like that.  It's not a bike you see everyday.

Chuck

I understand what you are saying and agree with most of what you said.  There are plenty of people out there who don't trust old bikes.  But what makes a bike old, years or mileage?  Is a 7 year old GSXR1000 with 15000 miles on it, younger than a 17 year old VFR750 with 15000 miles on it.  My '95 is in just as good a shape as my 7 year old Suzuki, and when it comes down to quality of finish, the VFR looks newer next to it. I've also got a 30 year old CB900f which is in excellent shape, which I wouldn't hesitate to ride down to Tmac and back from Canada.  Maybe next year I will. :tongue:

[image: View Post]JIMLARCH, on 28 June 2012 - 01:10 AM, said:

But what makes a bike old, years or mileage?  Is a 7 year old GSXR1000 with 15000 miles on it, younger than a 17 year old VFR750 with 15000 miles on it.  My '95 is in just as good a shape as my 7 year old Suzuki, and when it comes down to quality of finish, the VFR looks newer next to it. I've also got a 30 year old CB900f which is in excellent shape, which I wouldn't hesitate to ride down to Tmac and back from Canada.  Maybe next year I will. :tongue:

For me, I'm more concerned with what kind of shape a bike is in and not what year it was made.

Chuck

[image: View Post]gll429, on 27 June 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

i totaled four  4th gens.. and i am doing crazy build on a another one.. :happy:

Yeah Greg we have our own version of you over here too - his name is Kevan. I think he has totalled three 4th Gens, one 5th Gen, and had a 5th Gen stolen.

How do we ban you guys from owning VFRs? :laugh:

[image: View Post]squidzilla, on 27 June 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

Maybe it cuz people are modding them to look like cbr600rr's :goofy:

Or like MV Agustas!

[image: Posted Image]

SEX
ON
WHEELS
..........

[image: View Post]karhawk, on 28 June 2012 - 10:30 AM, said:

[image: View Post]squidzilla, on 27 June 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

Maybe it cuz people are modding them to look like cbr600rr's :goofy:

Or like MV Agustas!

[image: Posted Image]



Hmmmm...That's kinda what I wanted the 5th gen to look like....but Honda gave us Klingon styling instead....

Beck
95 VFR

What's a 4g?   :laugh:

Actually NACA ducts go bad after 10 years!

I cannot yet fathom the bike I would rather have than the 97. Cross country or turning and burning off the chicken strips, it does it all with a howl and a gear whine that can't be beat. Nobody ever says, "What a great OLD bike"! They think it is something new or different, and look odd when you say it is fifteen, like you are joking with them. NACA rules!

Something not mentioned up to now is there were never that many imported to begin with. VFRs have never been high volume sales units. I think my dealer told me or I read it here that they only sent about two thousand units/year to the US. So, that would only average 40 per state and lower population states would probably have a significantly lower number.
My first VFR was a 94 and it was a great machine but I think I prefer the FI and some of the other improvements that are on the 5th gens. But performance wise, it would be hard to live on the difference between them.

There are a lot of 4th gens out there. The reason you don't see that many on the road is that most people are fair weather weekend riders and their bikes just sit in the garage getting older but staying clean.  

The only things I like better about my fifth gen are the linked brakes and the FI.
The Forth gen fits better, it corners better it definately doesn't drag parts in a turn like the fifth does, center stand on the left and exhaust pipe on the right.

The forth looks ten times better.
The fifth gen just looks dated to me, like the 2001-2002 Aprillia RSV Mille... Just two bikes which did not age well.

[image: View Post]samaki, on 30 June 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

There are a lot of 4th gens out there. The reason you don't see that many on the road is that most people are fair weather weekend riders and their bikes just sit in the garage getting older but staying clean.  
This is true for me now that I live in a small town with the twisties literally just around the corner. But I was a daily commuter when I lived in Vancouver. Fewer miles per year now, but way more smiles!

I am about 700 km from hitting 160K km (100K miles). If the damn rain stops should happen by end of July.

Vfrurknee makes a good point.  The 3rd/4th gems were purposefully over-engineered by Honda to correct many of the V-4's earlier shortcomings.  This worked, but upped the price which in turn lowered sales.  I've seen two over the last three years in San Diego.  Told my kids to bury me with mine...

I have to put my hand up and say that I've reduced the population, too. Having said that, they are very popular still here in Oz and holding their prices well as well. In fact, a quick perusal of the classified reveals that a good, low mileage 4th Gen will usually be dearer than a comparable 5th Gen, so perhaps here, at least, they have already attained cults status. The model ceruainly has as far as I'm concerned, anyway.

I am very close to adding a third 4th Gen to my garage - but this one runs and is registered :smile:

I currently have 30k on my 95 and have had no problems with it mechanically, besides it failing AZ emissions last week.

The only gripe I have is what has happened recently to my fairings. I fixed the cracking tail last year with plastifix as prescribed by seb, then my last ride before I put the LSL kit on I have a huge chunk missing out of my right fairing. As soon as I pulled both sides off I had a HUGE crack going down and my naca ducts just completely fell out. I ride my bike often here in Az it is just sad that I have to ride it right now with no side, middle, or bottom fairings on it because they literally fell apart on me. So now I am forced into a frankenviffer just to make my wife mad and turn the frown upside down with the labor of love.

[image: View Post]daemontrym, on 07 July 2012 - 09:49 AM, said:

I currently have 30k on my 95 and have had no problems with it mechanically, besides it failing AZ emissions last week.

The only gripe I have is what has happened recently to my fairings. I fixed the cracking tail last year with plastifix as prescribed by seb, then my last ride before I put the LSL kit on I have a huge chunk missing out of my right fairing. As soon as I pulled both sides off I had a HUGE crack going down and my naca ducts just completely fell out. I ride my bike often here in Az it is just sad that I have to ride it right now with no side, middle, or bottom fairings on it because they literally fell apart on me. So now I am forced into a frankenviffer just to make my wife mad and turn the frown upside down with the labor of love.
Do you have any pics of your LSL setup?

Auggius sorry I've been real busy with work sorry.. The install went pretty smooth, but I did have to get ST1100 cables due to finding a bad fray in my return cable. www.powersportsplus.com has them for 18 which are new OEM. The front fairing needs to be notched quite a bit and an inch down from where it turns down after the bulge needs to be removed. I did not do it with care because the fairings on my bike are disintegrating. Once I start throwing some CBR pieces on I will post pics, right now the bike looks ugly. :(

There is a pack of 3rd and 4th gen VFRs I've seen roaming around my town (Madison, WI) but I haven't been able to talk to their owners as yet because they are always zipping by when I see them.  They are in various states of repair from crashed out nakeds to pretty immaculate looking originals.  As for mine, it has over 50K on the clock, still running strong, and it would be the last bike I'd part with out of the ones I currently have.  But I'd rather not part with any of them!

[image: View Post]Max1, on 27 June 2012 - 09:10 PM, said:

I traded my bike after 13 years, still going strong & looked near new. But I wanted to get a new bike, because I wanted to get a new bike. No other reason.
A lot of the earlier models of bikes I have owned, well lets face it, not many people want to ride with only drum brakes & cardboard seats....
But every now & then you do spot them, like the Bridgestone 175cc the other day, rider with bucket helmet, goggles & a Brando jacket, he got the looks I never did in 68.
I very rarely see other VFR's of any description around town, used to be a guy that lived around the corner with a 4th Gen (Red), but have not seen him or the bike for yonk's.
Don't see to many driving around in a 1951 Hillman Minx either(My 1st car), although I did see a 54 at McDonalds some years back with vintage plates.
Nothing last forever.
[image: Posted Image]

Hi Max 1,

I just found out today, That My Ex-wife & Her B-friend are finally willing to sell my '57 Hillman Husky to me, after 8-yrs. ( Long Ugly Story!)

I bought my '83 VF750F to ride, & have put over 1000 miles on Her since I have gotten my Learners permit, & will most-likely add another 1000 - 1500 on her this year. And hope to ride her to Wisconsin & back next year, & many more places in the future!
I don't fore-see me replacing her any-tyme soon!

Not many 4th Gens around!?  What shall i upgrade too then?

[image: View Post]daemontrym, on 15 July 2012 - 10:12 AM, said:

Auggius sorry I've been real busy with work sorry.. The install went pretty smooth, but I did have to get ST1100 cables due to finding a bad fray in my return cable. www.powersportsplus.com has them for 18 which are new OEM. The front fairing needs to be notched quite a bit and an inch down from where it turns down after the bulge needs to be removed. I did not do it with care because the fairings on my bike are disintegrating. Once I start throwing some CBR pieces on I will post pics, right now the bike looks ugly. :(
No worries. I've been busy the last few days too. But cutting the fairing was what I was afraid of. My plastics are generally in good shape with some cracks and scraps as would be normal / expected for a 17 year old bike. I guess I may sell my LSL superbike bar conversion hardware then.

The change in seating position was totally worth it, plus the bike turns a little faster due to more leverage at the bars. 4th gen was in perfect condition when I bought it in 2008, but the fairings started going south last year. It started with the tail cracking which I repaired after almost losing my right turn signal coming back from school. Then after a long ride through some cross winds I had about a 6 inch hole and a crack 12" long in my right middle fairing, plus all the mounting tabs broke off the left fairing which started to crack too. Which I don't understand because the bike has always been meticulously taken care of and garaged.

I was riding home from safeway on Sly Park Rd. this evening and a 4th gen pulled out of the FWY offramp infront of me. , so we had 2  4th gens going down the road @ the same time. So I know that we have @ least 3 4th gens in lil ol Pollock Pines.

Maybe they can last forever.
Sometimes it seems they just won't roll over and die. With seemingly heaps of 'Frankenviffers' popping up on this forum and others, how about a Zombie VFR? You know, one you know was killed, saw dead, then keeps coming back?

This is the (incomplete) story of my second VFR, a red '94 4th gen bought new way back then.

I ordered the bike based on photos and press reviews as a replacement for my much loved 3rd gen, also owned from new. Pretty much as soon as I took delivery I started making some changes to make it 'my' VFR. Significantly, I mirror polished the frame and most of the other small alloy parts, leaving the swingarm and the rear part of the frame standard.
I only owned the bike for about 8 months, and clocked up around 14,000km before I traded it in an effort to save some money; new house, new baby, newly unemployed wife...
The bike went back to the dealer I bought it from, and was used as the shop owner's personal bike, and than as a shop demo for a couple of months before things started to go bad. It was knocked over inside the shop, denting the tank. A few weeks later it was involved in a major crash into the side of a car at a T-junction. I was shown the damage and it was clear the bike had been killed. Broken front wheel and one fork leg. Bent forks, radiator and exhaust headers. Most if not all panels were damaged in various ways.

Fast forward another few months. I was in the shop again and noticed what was a surprisingly rough looking black VFR, surprising because the bike looked so poorly cared for for a current model bike. It was also marked with a fairly low price. Of note though was the mirror polished frame, peg hangers, grab handles, etc. Then I noticed a small area on the frame I had struggled to get just right. MMMmmm. Exactly the same area. Then I checked the registration plate. It was my former VFR reanimated and back from the grave.

I asked one of the salesmen I knew about the bike. It turned out that it was cheaply repaired to recoup some costs, and the red was un-matchable so it got painted black. Strange though that it was such a rubbish paint job, surely a not quite perfect red would have been just as good?

Then, fast forward another 16-ish years. I now own another red '94, recently bought to keep my GSX1400 company and to satisfy my need for another gear driven V4. So now I am more attentive of the other VFR's I see around town. Last week at work in the centre of Adelaide, I noticed a very run down 4th gen VFR parked on the street. Black, lots of cracked plastic, missing a mirror, looking like it last got a wash in or around 1995. Rusty steel parts. In fact anything not plastic was obviously rusting or corroding. As I rode slowly past, the sun caught the frame. POLISHED? Surely a trick of the sunlight. I rode back around the block to look more closely. Yep. Formerly polished, now largely furry with corrosion, but obviously once loved by someone. OK, check the number plate. IT'S STILL GOING!!! The black zombie VFR, once reanimated has continued in it's undead state.

Since seeing the zombie VFR last week, I keep seeing it parked in the city. Is it really parked, or is it stalking me?

How do you kill a zombie motorcycle? Would you want to? Do they bite? Can they create a zombie horde? Are they ridden by the undead, or do they move themselves from place to place in search of victims?
Here's some photos to make it real. Somehow it looks so much worse in real life (undeath?). That's my work BMfW in the background.
[image: IMGb.jpg] [image: IMGa.jpg]

I'm sure you will have plenty chemicals in your works bike's pannier that -if mixed in the right proportions- will kill off any zombie :ph34r:

[image: View Post]Dutchy, on 23 July 2012 - 08:03 AM, said:

I'm sure you will have plenty chemicals in your works bike's pannier that -if mixed in the right proportions- will kill off any zombie :ph34r:
Or make me think I'm one.

I think alot of them get wrecked over the years. And lets face it bikes arent very expensive in the over all equasion. An 1199 Ducati is little more than your average econ car. I think people just abuse them because they are cheap fun and they ruin them. I have seen a few VFRs well over the 100K mark around the web still kicking you would be hard pressed to get a sportbike motor to go that long. I had a friend that babied his R6 and the motor was toast @ 60K. Seems the engines are tough.

Nice Zombie story thats crazy. That bike just keeps going.

[image: View Post]benbot, on 15 July 2012 - 06:57 PM, said:

There is a pack of 3rd and 4th gen VFRs I've seen roaming around my town (Madison, WI) but I haven't been able to talk to their owners as yet because they are always zipping by when I see them.  They are in various states of repair from crashed out nakeds to pretty immaculate looking originals.  As for mine, it has over 50K on the clock, still running strong, and it would be the last bike I'd part with out of the ones I currently have.  But I'd rather not part with any of them!

One of those crashed out nakeds reporting in here.  I don't see many other ones in Madison at all.  Saw one on the belt line once, a few at the Crud Run, and one wrecker naked at a VCDC meet up.  Yeah, mine's a bit rashed up, but she is coming back as something special. If you see an old VF700 or Hurricane zooming around downtown in the tricolors, thats me. Like others have said, a lot of them are hiding in plain sight.  Here's a sneak peek of my pet project.  Hope to see another V4 around.  [image: Posted Image]

I have maybe seen 3 other 4th gens VFR's on the street.

One I saw while coming home from a trip to the Dragon/BRP. It was parked on the street. All alone.
Another parked near a cafe near a favorite road of mine here in Ontario.
The third was exitting the Highway near my house while I was getting on.

5th and 6th gens I've seen a bit more of.

I love my 4th gen. Loads better than my 1st or 2nd Gen.

It's my workhorse and I can't think of anything I'd rather have to commute to work or ride to the twisty roads in my area.

Don't see to many 4th gens around here, either. On whatever limited sightings I do see, they are either missing plastics or looking haggard for the most part. I like my 4th gen, it's a soulful bike compared to my 6th gen. I am truly convinced with the proper care, and a beefy RR in place, they will outlast the any two-wheeled machine on the road.

They beg to be wrecked.  The gear whine and rumble is known to cause excitation in a way that distracts the rider from the purpose of maintaining safe cornering speeds.  I wrecked mine and thought if I continued riding it, I would kill myself, so I went with something more tame of the inline variety.  At least I can ride without distraction now.

[image: View Post]Switchblade, on 27 June 2012 - 06:04 PM, said:

The same problem my 93 had no more pure gas. My carbs were messed up all the time from the additives in gas now days.

This... I would say has a lot to do with the disappearance of vintage and classic motos on the road today. It is getting increasingly more difficult to find non-ethanol fuel across the country. Even E10 is bad news for anything other than an automobile engine. Since the introduction of the RFS, our country's fuel infrastructure is now crap for small engines, including motorcycles. If classic moto owners and enthusiasts are smart, they are parking the bikes until a solution can be found for clean fuel. Luckily, I have three stations (yes, only 3) that still sell pure gasoline, although only in 89 octane and with a .50 premium in price over blended E10.

Quote

The RFS program was created under the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, and established the first renewable fuel volume mandate in the United States. As required under EPAct, the original RFS program (RFS1) required 7.5 billion gallons of renewable- fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2012.
I spent nearly a month taking fuel lines off, replacing them along with a softened fuel filter and generally cleaning up the varnished mess that ethanol-blended fuel did to the '93 I just bought. This stuff is just bad news for all small engines and the future is looking dismal.

Pittsburgh seems to have a shortage as well.  I have seen one 6th gen I believe, and that is it. I will occasionally drop by a local bike night (roughly 400 bikes show up) and still have yet to see one. Still enjoy peoples reactions when I tell them my bike is a 96, I had one guy guess that it was made in 2006!

Prior to moving to Tennessee, I'd never seen another 4th- or 5th-gen on the road at all besides the two I've owned. My 4th-gen was destroyed when I lived in New Orleans by an idiotic college freshman driver, and I'm reasonably sure there wasn't another one in the city. Hell, there probably weren't many in the state as a whole. Same story with the 5th-gen I replaced it with, didn't seem like sport-tourers were very high on the list for Louisiana motorcyclists. I've seen a couple of 5th-gens on the highway in TN since I moved away, but have yet to see a VFR of any year in the actual city I've moved to.

Met up with some Dutch VFR riders for a little spin.....


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I live in the foothills of the Sierra's and I know of 4 or5 4th gen in the local area, I guess most of them are residing where the back roads are awesome

I recently rode a 4th gen, and I liked it very much.
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So Timmay, did you buy that silver one with the black side- and top cases????