Jump to content

Interested in buying a fifth gen


dirtrider

Recommended Posts

I'm currently riding a 97 BMW funduro and am in the market for a vfr to accompany my dad's 87. I am getting more and more interested in the 800 fuelies but am wondering if there are any other majorish issues besides the regulator and the dash. Thanks for the help in advance

 

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

I went from an 86 VFR700 to a 98 VFR800. If you can find a good low to middle milage bike with suspension work done and maybe a Sargent or Corbin seat you will have a very nice ride for many miles and uses. I did multiday road trips solo and in groups, trackdays, ana ton of canyon and commutting with my 98.

The extra weight of these bikes is best handled by a properly sprung for your weight and sorted fork and shock. That bike of mine gave me 16 years and 135k miles of good times. It was still running strong when i sold it. Missed it enough to buy another one. 99 VFR800 with all and more modifications than i could have done for a fraction of what I bought my 98 for in 98.

Faster by far than the 700cc bike. But to be honest a nicely done 4th gen or the Vtec 6th gen will not disappoint either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't remember the dash being a 5th gen issue, I thought the dash issue was a 6th gen problem (caused by a wiring harness grounding problem, factory recalled and corrected by replacing the big blue colored multi-connector to the dash).

 

Beyond the Regulator/Rectifier issue (once again it's really not an R/R issue but yet another Honda connector/wiring issue) I can't think of anything that is a show-stopping factory-built-in deficiency in the 5th gen.  What you're going to run into with a 5th gen is the simple fact that they are now in the 18 to 20 year-old range which means you're quite likely to end up with a bike that needs somewhere between a moderate amount and a hell of a lot of maintenance and refurbishment to bring it up to a high standard.

 

Right now the VFRWorld.com forum is down for maintenance, but I have a pretty detailed thread of my recent refurbishment of my '99 VFR, bought it in December of '16 and went through it thoroughly.  Lots of pictures and discussion on my "Refurbishing my '99 VFR" thread, I wish I could link you to it right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What! there's a dash problem?  knock knock duc  " looking out for Murphy.."   No, really, I haven't heard that one.  Mines fine, as I look over my shoulder for Murphy, There are a few if you look around,  not sure they'll be local to you a few good 5th gens around.  Be hard to do better IMO,  yea they're getting up there age wise, still though, if taken care of they are still a great ride. I can't count how many ask me is that a new model Honda came out with,   whats old is new again.  I sure wouldn't shy away from em.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't remember the dash being a 5th gen issue, I thought the dash issue was a 6th gen problem (caused by a wiring harness grounding problem, factory recalled and corrected by replacing the big blue colored multi-connector to the dash).
 
Beyond the Regulator/Rectifier issue (once again it's really not an R/R issue but yet another Honda connector/wiring issue) I can't think of anything that is a show-stopping factory-built-in deficiency in the 5th gen.  What you're going to run into with a 5th gen is the simple fact that they are now in the 18 to 20 year-old range which means you're quite likely to end up with a bike that needs somewhere between a moderate amount and a hell of a lot of maintenance and refurbishment to bring it up to a high standard.
 
Right now the VFRWorld.com forum is down for maintenance, but I have a pretty detailed thread of my recent refurbishment of my '99 VFR, bought it in December of '16 and went through it thoroughly.  Lots of pictures and discussion on my "Refurbishing my '99 VFR" thread, I wish I could link you to it right now.


The thing I am kind of worried about is the fuel injection because I have always had carbed bikes and have zero experience with fi. Is there any fi issues with the 98-01?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went from an 86 VFR700 to a 98 VFR800. If you can find a good low to middle milage bike with suspension work done and maybe a Sargent or Corbin seat you will have a very nice ride for many miles and uses. I did multiday road trips solo and in groups, trackdays, ana ton of canyon and commutting with my 98.
The extra weight of these bikes is best handled by a properly sprung for your weight and sorted fork and shock. That bike of mine gave me 16 years and 135k miles of good times. It was still running strong when i sold it. Missed it enough to buy another one. 99 VFR800 with all and more modifications than i could have done for a fraction of what I bought my 98 for in 98.
Faster by far than the 700cc bike. But to be honest a nicely done 4th gen or the Vtec 6th gen will not disappoint either.


I am also looking at getting a 700 but the only ones for sale out here are $2500+ and I am sort of tight on cash

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
23 minutes ago, dirtrider said:

 


The thing I am kind of worried about is the fuel injection because I have always had carbed bikes and have zero experience with fi. Is there any fi issues with the 98-01?

 

 

No issues to report that I'm aware of. The FI doesn't require any special service or break in any specific way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, dirtrider said:

 


The thing I am kind of worried about is the fuel injection because I have always had carbed bikes and have zero experience with fi. Is there any fi issues with the 98-01?

 

There are no designed-in deficiencies to the 5th gen fuel injection system, I think it's a very good product.  It's all solid-state sensors feeding information into a solid-state ECU, there's not a lot that can go wrong, but if the ECU loses contact with one of the sensors it (the ECU) will tell you by flashing a code on the "FI" light (you just look up the code in the owner's manual or service manual and simply remove and replace whichever sensor is causing the problem.  But this is rare, the sensors are very durable).

 

There's more plumbing running around the bike with an FI system than with carbs but that's okay.  When I got my '99 I removed and cleaned the throttle body assembly and changed the fuel filter (located inside the fuel tank with the fuel pump).

 

The 5th Generation of the VFR is divided into two sub-generations: The '98-'99 doesn't have a catalytic converter, while the '00-'01 has a catalytic converter.  This makes the '00-'01 FI system just bit more complex to deal with.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
28 minutes ago, dirtrider said:

 


I am also looking at getting a 700 but the only ones for sale out here are $2500+ and I am sort of tight on cash

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
 

 

I have a friend unloading his 87 vfr700 for cheap. Body work is not complete but mechanically sound. I will ask if he still has it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should get a copy of the VFR800 service manual, it contains an amazingly detailed description of the Honda PGM-FI system (Chapter 21, titled "Technical Features").  Just the fact that this chapter even exists is pretty amazing, most manufacturers prefer to keep as much of this information hidden as they can.  I guess that when the 5th Gen came out Honda was concerned about getting people who were comfortable with carbs to buy a fuel injected motorcycle, so they "pulled back the curtain" in an effort to inform people as thoroughly as they could.

 

This chapter of the VFR800 service manual (Ch. 21, "Technical Features") is a great read.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ gregindenver, that is an amazing thread, i only got to the third page and started doing things around the house because i would be sucked into looking things up all day haha very awesome job!! I'm currently trying to get my dad's 86 750 running so we can ride together. The last time it was registered was 92 so you can imagine what I'm doing haha

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.