Great forum guys and girls! I'm glad that I found you!
A little history: I sailed over from United States four years ago and and have been living primarily in Porto, Portugal for the last four years. I still maintain a home in the Hudson Valley, in New York. I have been riding for my entire life and motorcycling has always been an enduring love. I starting riding with a home made mini-bike at the age 14. Most of my bikes have been either English or Italian. My first big bike was a 1958 Triumph Tiger T110 that I purchased while in high school, I still have the 1968 BSA Spitfire MK IV Special that I purchased new after getting out of the army. In the late 90's and early 2000's I raced a 1995 Ducati 900SSSP, with an engine built by Eraldo Ferracci, in the Championship Cup Series. In the fall of 2014, I left New York and spent five months touring Mexico, Baja and the West Coast of the USA, putting 15,000 miles in the process on my Triumph Tiger 800XC, I still have that great bike back in the states.
I have had my eye on VFR's for quite a long time and needed a bike that was both sporting and comfortable for blasting around the cities and countrysides of Europe. Happily, I've found a very clean and unmolested '98 with only 14,000 km on the clock, that I think will fill the bill perfectly.
I have just started going over her and I am sure that many questions will arise. The first being, are there any significant differences between the European and American fifth generation versions?
Am not aware of any major differences between EU and US models; it might not have some of the clean air crap from California. If it does, just ignore it I'd say.
Just whip out the multimeter and test the condition of the staror and voltage regulator. Add a small volt meter to your dash and you are good to go. For the rest; you've been around bikes long enough :goofy:
PS: my wife and I are of to the Algarve 4-12th July. No mc's. though....
Welcome Aboard Rob! Sounds like you’ve done some riding! Not sure about the 5 Gen differences, if any but the similarities would be what Dutchy mentions, the Stator/RR. These have a tendency to cause more than a few riders some grief if not leaving them stranded. The current trend is replacing the OEM RR in favor of a newer MOSFET style like the Shindengen SH847 or the FH020AA and removing the connector between the Stator and RR and soldering the leads instead. Plenty of post about this topic so I’m sure you’ll be able to see what others, as well as myself have done.
BTW, from the sound of it, doesn’t seem like you kept that 900SS/SP or did you? I still have mine, bought new in 1995 and still running great.
Am not aware of any major differences between EU and US models; it might not have some of the clean air crap from California. If it does, just ignore it I'd say.
Just whip out the multimeter and test the condition of the staror and voltage regulator. Add a small volt meter to your dash and you are good to go. For the rest; you've been around bikes long enough :goofy:
PS: my wife and I are of to the Algarve 4-12th July. No mc's. though....
Boa tarde Dutchy! Thanks for the welcome and the info! I'll be in the Algarve in August, ships in the night. Let me know if you ever get to Porto.
Welcome Aboard Rob! Sounds like you’ve done some riding! Not sure about the 5 Gen differences, if any but the similarities would be what Dutchy mentions, the Stator/RR. These have a tendency to cause more than a few riders some grief if not leaving them stranded. The current trend is replacing the OEM RR in favor of a newer MOSFET style like the Shindengen SH847 or the FH020AA and removing the connector between the Stator and RR and soldering the leads instead. Plenty of post about this topic so I’m sure you’ll be able to see what others, as well as myself have done.
BTW, from the sound of it, doesn’t seem like you kept that 900SS/SP or did you? I still have mine, bought new in 1995 and still running great.
Thanks for the welcome and the RR tip Duc2V4! Alas, I traded the SP towards the Tiger XC and regret that move to this day. It had 41mm Keihin flat-sides and a 944 kit.
Welcome to the asylum Arclight from The Land Of Interesting Weather. You obviously have great taste in mc's. And you got the best generation in the fastest color to boot. I'll be looking forward to your postings for any information that will expand my mc knowledge.
Great find and a great choice. I had a 3rd Gen when I was working in England and it was just a fun and easy bike to ride. Bulletproof engines with gear driven cams that were sporty enough to keep up with most crowds, but still usable for around town.
For some reason the VFR's were way more popular in Europe than they ever were over here. Which is great if you live in the EU as parts and accessories are readily available and relatively inexpensive. If you do run into a problem with sourcing a part, which I doubt with 14K on the clock, look up Davis Silvers Spares in the UK. They specialize in used and NOS parts for Honda only and will ship to the EU.
Great find and a great choice. I had a 3rd Gen when I was working in England and it was just a fun and easy bike to ride. Bulletproof engines with gear driven cams that were sporty enough to keep up with most crowds, but still usable for around town.
For some reason the VFR's were way more popular in Europe than they ever were over here. Which is great if you live in the EU as parts and accessories are readily available and relatively inexpensive. If you do run into a problem with sourcing a part, which I doubt with 14K on the clock, look up Davis Silvers Spares in the UK. They specialize in used and NOS parts for Honda only and will ship to the EU.
Happy Trails.
Michael
Yes, I'm just getting to know, but loving this 5th Gen. The torque comes on at much higher revs, but in many ways it reminds me of my old Ducati 900SP.
Thanks for the David Silvers Spares connection Michael!
Arclight - great 5th gen example you found there. - There's quite a dedicated following of 5th gens here. (Including me).
--> Would love to see a photo of your BSA?
Here she is in my living room, back in the States. Stock except for the Ceriani Fork, Dunstall Exhaust, rearsets and drag bar. Unrestored, I bought her new in 1968.
Welcome to VFRD, Arc. The forum is mostly US-focused, but there are a few of us "foreigners" who are fairly active, too. I've lived in the UK for almost 22 years (!), but I'm originally from California. Living in Porto, I think you've got the better deal, but the UK is at least very sport-bike oriented--much more so that the USA, for example.
Your 5th-gen will be a great all-rounder, and if you want to you can modify it to make it even more to your liking, whether that is more sporty or more touring. All of the above are catered for here.
Welcome to VFRD, Arc. The forum is mostly US-focused, but there are a few of us "foreigners" who are fairly active, too. I've lived in the UK for almost 22 years (!), but I'm originally from California. Living in Porto, I think you've got the better deal, but the UK is at least very sport-bike oriented--much more so that the USA, for example.
Your 5th-gen will be a great all-rounder, and if you want to you can modify it to make it even more to your liking, whether that is more sporty or more touring. All of the above are catered for here.
You would love the Algarve, if you've not been there already.
Sadly, I've never been to Europe. And likely won't be unless I win a lottery. But I can gawk and dream. So thanks for the opportiuniy to do just that. :)
End of thread · 26 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 16 Oct 2019