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Anyone Have A 4Th/ 5Th And 6Th Gen- Please Compare! Interested In A 4Th Gen


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Hey gang,

My thought (for the day at least) is to consider adding a 4th gen VFR (1997 to be exact) to the stable with my 5th and 6th gens.

Anyone out there have all three as well? I know how the 5th compares to the 6th, but not how the 4th gen stacks up against them.

Main concerns:

-Are the shocks and forks easy to upgrade? Jamie is up the road from me, so I would likely see him for some upgrades there.

-Any way to bore them out to get a bit of extra power with some extra displacement?

-other than the usual reg/ rectifier issues, anything else to look for? I found a 20k mile bike that looks very clean and lovingly cared for. Even the bodywork is in fantastic shape.

I am hoping that the 1997 4th gen is the "sportiest" of the 3 gens- with regard to weight and handling performance.

I would love to hear your opinions. Thanks!

Erik

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I own a 5th gen , but have ridden all of them. The 4th gen power seemed very similar to my 800. The bike itself seemed very narrow (no side radiators) and a tad lighter. Although it felt flickable, it seemed to require a little bit more effort to keep banked over. My first reaction was "I want one" and my second reaction was "wow, so much like my 5th gen" the power really surprised me.

I think the 4th and 5th are closer than the 5th is to the 6th.

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I can not say in regards to the 6th gen as I have only ridden one a couple times and have never owned one. On the matter of the 4th gen vs. the 5th gen, I currently own one of each. I have a 2000 VFR800 and my wife owns a 96 VFR750. My 2000 VFR800 has a Delkevic slip-on, Sargent seat, and a Jamie D sourced CBR929 rear shock upgrade. My wife's 96 VFR750 also has a Delkevic slip-on and has been jetted, de-snorkeled, has a Corbin seat, and also has a CBR929 rear shock.

In direct comparison I can offer up the following:

The 4th gen is physically smaller and seems to be a bit more nimble and lighter, feels a little narrower, and the seat height is certainly lower. Having the stock seats for both bikes and after sitting on both bikes with the stock seats in place, the seat height on the 96 is definitely lower. I have not had a real chance to run the 96 through its paces as we have only had the bike for a couple months now and we are heading in to winter so it's doubtful I will have much chance to ride the 4th gen. My previous bike was a 97 VFR750 and though it was some time ago I would offer that the 5th gen feels a bit heavier and a little more top heavy. This is especially noticeable IMO during slower speed maneuvers, such as parking lot speeds. As for power I think they are both fairly close. The 4th gen we just bought my wife was jetted by the previous owner and his main goal was to make the throttle response as linear as possible. He did a FANTASTIC job. The throttle on her bike is very responsive, but not snatchy, and the bike never seems to stop pulling all the way to redline. (ahh the wonder of the V4) The throttle response though seems so much more linear than my 5th gen and I don't recall the response on my old 97 VFR being anywhere near as good.

When moving the bike around in the garage, the 96 VFR definitely FEELS smaller and thus is easy to move around. The fairing system is far more complicated and I would venture to say a lot heavier. The fairings on the 4th gen break down in to 18 separate pieces not including the windscreen, mirrors, signals or headlight. The 5th gen by comparison has only 6 pieces not including the lights, turn signals, mirrors, and windscreen. Fairing parts for the 4th gen's seem to be harder to find though they are not terrible to come by when required.

Overall impression, the 97 VFR750 I owned was the VFR I owned the longest and rode the farthest and it still holds a very soft spot in my heart, and thus I would have to say it is my favorite. I love my 2000 VFR800, but the 96 is just, well, better somehow. When it comes to sound, IMO, the 4th gen with a pipe sounds SOOOOOO much better than the 5th gen. The exhaust note just seems deeper, throatier, and has more of a seductive growl. Since both of my bikes have the exact same Delkevic slip-on, there must be something there that is different, though I can not say exactly what. Maybe the 50 cc differnce in engine size, maybe the catless exhaust, don't know, but I like it all the same.

Oddly enough, the 2000 VFR seems to get better fuel economy, but really, are we ever concerned about which bike goes farther on a tank. Another thing that may be worthy of mention is that, at least where I live, there is a significant difference in insurance premiums with the 96 VFR750 costing about $300 per year less than the 2000 VFR800.

Here is a photo of the 2 bikes side by side for comparison sake. I prefer the red to the silver but that is just personal preference.

post-25028-0-21316800-1383440917.jpg

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it seemed to require a little bit more effort to keep banked over.

Tire selection, fork height in triples, proper shock spring, preload settings, or some combination will easily remedy that. :wink:

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All three bikes here.

Shocks and forks are pretty much the same for any of the other generations. You can revalve them or upgrade the front end. I think the F4i front end conversion is one of the easier ones. Check for shock swaps, but I think the 929 is a candidate like the 5th gen. Either way Jamie has something for it.

Is there a way to bore it out? Yes. There was, and will never be again. You could look up the RV4 thread for the german who did all sorts of things to get a ton more power out of the engine but be prepared to open that wallet wide. Will you need it? Well, if the other two are powerful enough, then no. Building the revs on the 4th gen is just butter smooth and wonderful. The 5th gen is a bit more brash and feels like you can take off better from the low revs.

On to the sporty part of it. Well, it gets sort of complicated. Out of all three, the 4th gen just felt so much better than the rest to put it into a turn. It just feels really easy and nice to get it to tip in. However, the 5th and 6th gen feel like can take the same corner at the same speed without as much effort. Maybe it's just the 170 on the back. I guess a decent way to describe it is, you'll go faster on a 5th or 6th gen, but it'll feel better on a 4th gen.

If you have the room and money go for it. I have two now (again). The project and....well...the one before it wasn't a project.

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I started out with a 4th gen which I traded for my 5th gen - then later added my 6th gen (still have both). My impression of the 4th vs 5th was that the 5th has better compression damping and maybe the fork springs were a tad stiffer. That's subjective though and can be influenced by things like the rider's weight (I'm 205) and riding style. The 5th gen just felt a bit more planted in the turns, though turn in for either seemed about the same. I could go just as fast on either one. Power output seemed very similar. Every winter when I stored it I would drain the carbs and never had any issues with them or with any other part for that matter. My '95 was a wonderful bike which I still regret trading - I should have just added the '99 and kept both. I wouldn't hold out for any way to significantly increase the 750's output. Even when they were new there were few if any performance parts for the V-4. I posted a 1994 Cycle World article in the Article Scans section if you want to read their write up of it when they were new (I almost forgot - there's also an '86 vs '96 comparison that was in Sport Rider, too). If you have a bead on a clean example with nice body work, my $.02 is grab it quick before the seller changes his mind.

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Cogswell is right. If you find a clean one pick it up. I have looked at too many 4th gens to count over the last few months only to find busted up plastics and the majority of them have the infamous brake pedal dimple and scuff. I know the price of admission to the 4th gen show is kind of expensive and takes a knowledge of plastic repair, but da*^, when someone posts "excellent" condition you would think that it looked half a$$ decent.

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I had a 4th for roughly 7 or 8 years, and my 5th for 8ish years (jeez time flys). I did have both for a year together. Lemme say I love both of them. But IMHO really each has a different personality. The 4th gen feels a bit smaller than the 5th but I couldnt figure out why. I put a measuring tape to pegs to seat, pegs to bars and they are damn close with the 5th gen bars a tick taller. On detailing - the 4th seems better put together, something like Ducati would build.

I find the analog gauges on the 4th give it a classy feel and engine wise the fueling is butter smooth. The 4th seems to "pull" a tick more in mid range, probly a perception because of longer stroke. But overall the 5th's engine rev's quicker and will walk away from the 4th. Suspension - you gotta call it a wash, because both are soft and you figure your gonna do some kinda upgrade. Which is sportier? Another wash. The 4th feeling smaller seems easy to turn into the twists, but my upgraded 5th is wicked fun in the twists too.

Why did I go with the 5th gen? Really for me, it came down to the engine. It had a lot more juice and rev quicker, and the VFR "soul" was felt every ride. Which bike do I like better? Jeez thats like asking do I like Beck Dark or Warsteiner better. Cant chose, gotta have both.

Are you really confused now?

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  • 1 month later...

I've had a 1997 vfr750 and 3 vfr800 5th gens and from a performance perspective the 5th gen engine is a torquier quicker revving unit with more soul and performance all round but the 4th gen engine to me seemed soo much smoother to use whether cruising or thrashing. My 5th gen will wheelie off throttle in first really easy where the 750 took way more effort. All the suspension is basic and needs an upgrade especially now they are old and worn out. I wish I kept the 750 for cruising and simply because it's a classic great looking bike but I prefer the 800 for harder riding and the engine just sounds horny.

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The Brits have a magazine named "BIKE" that devoted almost an entire issue a few years ago to VFRs, all of them. They were of the opinion that the 4th gens were the best of the lot. I had a '94 for several years followed by three Y2Ks and I could not find much to disagree with on their judgment. Pretty much what everyone else has been saying. Never owned a 6th gen but rode one of a fellow members here a few years ago. Nothing wrong with it, actually might have shifted smoother than my bikes but it didn't have the "soul" of the GDC models.

You also hear a lot of hype about Reg/Rect failures but in all my years of ownership none of the VFRs ever had these issues. Probably just jinxed myself!

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. . . but it didn't have the "soul" of the GDC models.

That's what I miss most in my 6th gen. The 4th and (now) 5th gen make me grin like a 6 year old every time I hit the starter button.

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My brother has a 5th and I a 3rd. There doesn't seems to be a significant performance advantage. He's a bit heavier and slightly more power. He does comment though on how much he loves the sound of my 3rd gen. I have a V&H slip on and noticeable intake music after a desnorkel. The desnorkel didn't seems to add any power, but the sound is nice.

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Why are you going back to a carbeurated bike? I don't see what you'd be gaining by going to an older model.

Q - Are the shocks and forks easy to upgrade?

A - Yes, plenty of info on the interwebs about swapping newer forks. Several great companies will upgrade your stock forks (RaceTec), or swap to other stock combinations if you prefer. If you're dialing in the suspension for just you, then just tune the ones you already have.

Q - Any way to bore them out to get a bit of extra power with some extra displacement?

A - Yes, you can bore out any 750. DynamoHumm in Quebec used to do it for a great bargain, but I believe they moved on to more common bikes when Honda stopped selling many VFRs.

Q - other than the usual reg/ rectifier issues, anything else to look for? I found a 20k mile bike that looks very clean and lovingly cared for. Even the bodywork is in fantastic shape.

A - Nope, it's a VFR. carry a spare reg/rec and ride. If you are swapping out forks, then consider upgrading your headset bearing. Some of us like a stiffer shifter spring. Drop 10+ pounds with a lighter exhaust. Most everything else is personal preference. Install a wheel hugger and chop off all the dangly bits from under the rear fairing. Install higher output headlamps. Replace the old rubber with some brand new skins. You know the drill...

- faire


love, love, loved mine. I have 2 3rd gens now, but haven't put them on the road yet as I got them going just in time for it to turn cold.

You could always install studded tires on one of them!

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I have had all of them from 1983 (with exception of the current 1200). We currently have in our garage 3-4-5-6 gens.

Bear in mind that my opinion is worth what you have paid for it but:

The 4G is the lightest of the modern VFRs (the 3G the heaviest-or perhaps the 6G with ABS) and it feels like it. With the GDC in the center the exhaust note comes through a little clearer than the cam whine (my 94 was used by D&D to model their 4G exhaust cans).

The 5G is my personal favorite and I have had a 98,99 and 01. I have "lived with" a 2000 model that had perhaps the strongest stock VFR engine I have experienced. The 98-99 VFRs are the perfect bike with regards to fueling and lack of cat. It felt almost like a different engine compared to my 01.

That being said, the 5G feels a little heavier than the 4G at parking lot speeds and some of that was more noticeable on the 01 as I think the cat and fueling differences are more of a pain at low throttle openings so long as your carbs are jetted/maintained properly on the 4G.

KPerham came over a few months ago on his 5G and had just removed a rear tire from his ST1300 and slapped it on his 5G while waiting on a set of tires he ordered. With the 170 on the rear of the 5G it felt as nimble and lighter than the 4G bike.

Any and all VFRS will need suspension upgrades especially if you are looking at 15-20 year old 4G bikes so I don't offer any comparison to the advantages of stock suspension of any model vs the others. My suspension never remains stock long enough for me to acknowledge the compromises of it.

The 4G has a classic look with the curves and analog gauges that is timeless.

If you are thinking of getting one just do it, upgrade the suspension and if you want a little more oomph (or the illusion thereof) just go +2 in the rear sprocket.

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Yeah, I was surprised how nice that felt on turn in! Burns was complaining about tire choice on his 4G, but I bet he'll be disappointed when he starts riding around on a 180...

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