Obsidia Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Hello everyone! I wanted to share my story of becoming a VFR owner and some of my early struggles. I started to browse this forum as soon as I understood that my next purchase will be a 6th gen VFR – a noticeable upgrade from my humble Honda NTV ’93, which I loved, but felt the need to upgrade for sport-touring type of vehicle. At the very start I set my eyes on the 5th gen model, since I liked the sound of gear driven cams, riding comfort and the looks. Which is why I searched everywhere for one and since I’m from Latvia, “Everywhere” meant nearby countries and Germany. While I was still figuring out my finances, one popped up 70km from my hometown, but since I wasn’t able to buy it outright, I pitched the idea to my friend, who was aiming for a 6th gen at a time. We went to check it out and he bought this beauty with 30k kilometers on the clock: Now he is in love with it and it’s understandable – great motorcycle in perfect shape. Afterwards I got a chance to work overtime and earn the much needed cash for trading up – the hunt for my new bike was on! While looking around I was still mainly interested in owning a blue 2001 VFR800, which looks great in this color and has no choke lever or bulky mirrors. But since budget had grown and I could afford to spend 4000 EUR on my new ride (that includes selling my old girl), I started to take liking to the 6th gen models – that rear end is juicy 😄 After three weeks of searching, one popped up in Lithuania, 140km from my home – it was right on the budget, leaving me nothing for unexpected expenses, but boy was it mint.. This 2003’ blue beauty had only 14K kilometers on the clock, no rust, OEM side luggage and aftermarket windscreen. Test ride was rough, since it had been raining, but I felt out what I could and even tried out the VTEC system, since way too many people have complained of it being to rough on 2002 model. (side note, after a couple months of riding my VFR, I can confidently say that I love the VTEC transition – it is addicting and makes me smile) Even though I had some doubts about this bike being heavier and bulkier than my starter motorcycle and a slight worry about maintenance since I’d have to disassemble the fairings, which was a first for me – I pulled the trigger and bought it. Purchase was made in July, so I decided to just change the oil, oil filter and enjoy the season. Fairing removal was very scary for the first few times 😄 The only upgrade I had to do was purchasing a PUIG attachable windshield extension, since I was getting pummeled by turbulence. While it was expensive, it improved the riding comfort immensely. First few months were slightly worrying since I was now in completely different riding position and the bike hadn’t broken me in yet – I had back aches and was even contemplating selling it if nothing changed. Luckily I got used to my new partner and had an amazing fall season. In late autumn I prepared the bike for storage approximately 5 times since I kept pushing the season longer 😄 But after winter came I parked it for good and started to make a to-do list for maintenance. I knew about wiring issues which were present before 2006 so I ordered the VFRness. An expensive but necessary upgrade. I think I paid like 160 EUR total to get it shipped to me. Also I couldn’t look at my fork dust seals for they had cracks in them from prolonged storage (14k of riding for a 03’ motorcycle has it’s downsides). Wiring in general had to be refreshed buy cleaning all the accessible connectors. While working on a stripped bike and adding the VFRness I noticed many damaged rubber grommets so they had to go. What also reared it’s ugly head, was the fact that my bike had been in a collision which damaged the plastic mounts on my speedometer. Now I knew why it had a fancy new windshield.. So I kept working on refreshing or fixing everything I found to be less than perfect and after adding the switchable circuit VFRness I started to wonder on what accessories could I add and how to mount them. Which is when I found out about the elusive HISS bracket 😄 Why elusive you ask? Because the only guy who makes them, doesn’t ship to my country.. So I made one for myself using Fusion 360 Once the bracket was mounted, I had to fill the new mounting sockets with something 😄 So I bought a gear indicator from AliExpress and a Voltmeter / USB charger (both light up in green so they match). A friend helped me to 3D print a holder for the gear indicator and did a terrific job of it: After adding both VRFness and HISS bracket, I opted to also install heated grips, but in the cheap way 😄 I ordered a kit from AliExpress which had to be modified to fit, but I am used to soldering so it was fine. (These are only useful on high setting, but they do help a lot when I’m riding off season – 5 degrees Celsius is perfectly fine for me now). While at it, I also added aftermarket levers and figured out a way to fit a RAM mount. I took the idea from this forum, but had to make my own ball mount since original one was too low and I risked damaging paint on my gas tank. I also decided to strip paint from my bar-ends 😄 And that’s all folks – now I am already sneaking in a few spring rides in anticipation of an approaching new season which will no doubt bring me many great memories with my mates and my beloved motorcycle 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted April 10, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2022 Nice work! Aside from the VFRNess, look into replacing the regulator-rectifier (RR). It's the source of the issues that the VFRNess helps mitigate, but upgrading to a newer, MOSFET based design at least, or the SH847. This will save your stator down the road...before I replaced mine, the bike always smelled like hot electrical wiring during or after rides. Not anymore! Also on windscreens, if you don't need the wind protection for temperature or rain, the stock/OEM shape has much less turbulence compared to the ones with lips and bubbles. Zero Gravity's "SR" series is stock-shaped but cleaner looking. I have had some of the after market shapes in the past...with the exception of a really tall one that does the same thing as the extension you've got, most of the bubbles and lips just create turbulence and aim it at my helmet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obsidia Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 2 minutes ago, ShipFixer said: Nice work! Aside from the VFRNess, look into replacing the regulator-rectifier (RR). It's the source of the issues that the VFRNess helps mitigate, but upgrading to a newer, MOSFET based design at least, or the SH847. This will save your stator down the road...before I replaced mine, the bike always smelled like hot electrical wiring during or after rides. Not anymore! Also on windscreens, if you don't need the wind protection for temperature or rain, the stock/OEM shape has much less turbulence compared to the ones with lips and bubbles. Zero Gravity's "SR" series is stock-shaped but cleaner looking. I have had some of the after market shapes in the past...with the exception of a really tall one that does the same thing as the extension you've got, most of the bubbles and lips just create turbulence and aim it at my helmet. Thank you for the tips! I thought poor wiring was the cause of RR failure - i guess i'll keep in mind the need to replace my unit with a better one. And regarding windscreen - i like this combo a lot, since it works and looks good - even though, yes, it probably works as good as one decent touring screen 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 Thanks for sharing your terrific introduction and photos! Nice work you've done yourself there, too! 🙂 Removing the side fairings starts to feel more routine and less worrisome after the first several times. It's still a pain in the neck, but you won't feel as anxious once you have more experience with them. One tip: after you've removed all the bolts and just as you start to pull the fairing off to the side, rotate the rear of the fairing upward slightly. This will help dislodge the connecting and overlapping tabs from the upper (middle) cowl. Of course be careful doing this. Do it slowly and with minimum force, and the front edge of the side fairing should pull out easier. By the way, wrestling with my old VFR's fairings 2-3 times a year (or more) had me promising myself my next bike would be a naked, and indeed it is. I miss the wind protection some, but not messing with those fairings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obsidia Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 7 hours ago, TimC said: Thanks for sharing your terrific introduction and photos! Nice work you've done yourself there, too! 🙂 Removing the side fairings starts to feel more routine and less worrisome after the first several times. It's still a pain in the neck, but you won't feel as anxious once you have more experience with them. One tip: after you've removed all the bolts and just as you start to pull the fairing off to the side, rotate the rear of the fairing upward slightly. This will help dislodge the connecting and overlapping tabs from the upper (middle) cowl. Of course be careful doing this. Do it slowly and with minimum force, and the front edge of the side fairing should pull out easier. By the way, wrestling with my old VFR's fairings 2-3 times a year (or more) had me promising myself my next bike would be a naked, and indeed it is. I miss the wind protection some, but not messing with those fairings! After all my aforementioned upgrades and fighting to get the Gear Indicator to work, I can now proudly say, that fairings no longer scare me 😄 Screw locations are memorised and trim clips no longer break upon removal 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted April 12, 2022 Member Contributer Share Posted April 12, 2022 5 minutes ago, Obsidia said: After all my aforementioned upgrades and fighting to get the Gear Indicator to work, I can now proudly say, that fairings no longer scare me 😄 Screw locations are memorised and trim clips no longer break upon removal 😄 6gen fairings are easy, once you've done it a couple of times. A golf tee is perfect for popping the heads of the plastic trim clips. Also if you haven't already done so, you can download the 6gen full Service Manual from the forum. Great story and pictures of your bike, hope it brings you many miles of riding pleasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obsidia Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 50 minutes ago, Grum said: 6gen fairings are easy, once you've done it a couple of times. A golf tee is perfect for popping the heads of the plastic trim clips. Also if you haven't already done so, you can download the 6gen full Service Manual from the forum. Great story and pictures of your bike, hope it brings you many miles of riding pleasure. The manual is on my PC, work computer and mobile phone 😄 I was happy to find out I don't have to buy another Haynes manual 😅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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