JJMaine Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 I just went to my buddies house to look at his 1994 Vfr750 that I am thinkingabout buying. I noticed a few issues and want to make sure they aren't serious. First of all when we tried to start it, the battery was dead so he put a charger on it and it started right up. Neither of us even thought to quickly take the charger off and the headlights were flickering and then I realized it was still charging. It was a cheaper charger that doesn't turn itself off. Hopefully it didn't cause any serious damage but I noticed while checking all of the lights and controls while it was warming up that when you are switching back and forth from high to low beam the headlights both will randomly go out. And the front brake light switch isn't working. He said everything always worked fine and I believe him so I am wondering if we messed something up with the battery charger or if maybe they are minor switch/electrical issue that can easily be fixed? I know the regulator/rectifiers on these can go out right? Did we mess that up when charging it I wonder? Other than that the bike looks, sounds and runs great (haven't had a chance to test ride it yet). It has 37,000 miles on it. Anybody know what it might be worth? He wants me to tell him what it's worth to me but I don't want to lowball him or highball myself haha. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Thumbs Posted February 13, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 13, 2023 Front brake light switch is under the lever, simple fix ….probably wants a clean The electrical issues are not a problem and shouldn’t be a reason not to buy the bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted February 13, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 13, 2023 Likely the switches just need some WD-40 if the bike has been sitting. Doubt the charger did anything. Hard to come up with a value estimate without some decent pictures, but anywhere from 2000 - 3500 usually. Lower or higher for more extreme examples of "rough" and "mint". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJMaine Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 I would say, from what I saw, it was in very good condition maybe just below excellent and is all original. It does have that small dent in the tank and a few tiny cracks on the left front fairing. Those don’t bother me in the least though. From what I know, it’ll need all the maintenance like oil change, brake and clutch fluid etc. and the clutch slave cylinder has a very slight leak. Glad to hear the issues cant be serious. Keeping a charger plugged in after starting wont hurt anything? The bike didn’t seem to happy about it lol. We didn’t have time to dig it out further since his garage looks like a used powersports shop packed full of stuff. Also it is winter here and 30 degrees so I declined a test ride for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted February 13, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 13, 2023 You're idea of "just below excellent" and mine are vastly different. Also, how old are the tires and how long has it been sitting? $2500 TOPS. The good news is these are great motorcycles with amazing engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted February 13, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 13, 2023 Fork lowers are heavily corroded. How in the hell do you get a dent in the tank there? Non original foot peg. Broken off in the tumble that produced that dent? Def need to explore the bike further. I retract my $2500 estimate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJMaine Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 By looking at what you have in the garage we probably do have different ideas of excellent.😉 I've never been one to nitpick over cosmetic issues to be honest. I almost welcome a few so I don't feel so bad when I put a mark or two of my own on it. I guess my idea of very good to excellent on a 30 year old bike is when you are walking by and look at it, it looks great lol. I understand the small details take away from the value (and why wouldn't I want to pay less) but I've just never sweated that too much. My buddy is the second owner and the dent and stuff was there when he got it. The original owner did it somehow. I agree, I'll have to go over it in detail when he digs it out of the garage before I buy it. The good thing is, he'll essentially let me pick my price because he doesn't use it or want it anymore. His wife got a new car and he ended up trading her old one for the Vfr just to get rid of it and as you can tell, the space is limited in his garage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJMaine Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 Suspension will def need going through as well. Are these rear shocks serviceable or even worth rebuilding? I can change my own fork oil easy enough but that rear shock is going to cost me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted February 13, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 13, 2023 25 minutes ago, JJMaine said: I guess my idea of very good to excellent on a 30 year old bike is when you are walking by and look at it, it looks great lol. It's called a "10"... 10 mph or 10 feet away. Nothing looks like a show stopper to me, but def get it dug out when the weather permits. Take off the two side fairings (with "VFR"), they are easy. Then you can inspect the side of the radiators and the crankcase covers. Inspect the forks closely for rust pitting in the chrome right above the fork seals. Lowers can be sanded and painted when servicing. Aftermarket rear shocks have quite a price range. I just installed a YSS on my 95 that I'm quite happy with, it's my 5th YSS now. Doesn't have the "full" adjustability that considerably more expensive shocks have, but I can't afford that option on every single bike. Separate ride height adjustable, good pre-load collar design and rebound damping adjustment. And it's a good looking piece. On this bike I didn't want to mount a remote resevoir. About $400 to $450 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJMaine Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 Excellent, thanks for the tips! I'll do that before I buy it for sure. I have a YSS shock on my dirtbike and like you said, it only has adjustable rebound and length but it works very well. I'm sure the stock shock on this Vfr is toast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJMaine Posted May 30, 2023 Author Share Posted May 30, 2023 Its been awhile but I’m just getting around to buy this Vfr750. I checked the oil level and it was overfilled by quite a bit from what I can tell. He said not sure how it happened but I’m wondering what kind of damage it did if any? He hardly ever rides the bike (why he doesn't mind selling it) and to be fair he doesn’t work on his own stuff so maybe whoever he took the bike to put too much in when they changed the oil? My real concern is if someone can’t get the oil level correct (which should be motorcycle maintenance 101), what else might the have buggered up on it? Thankfully I love tearing a bike apart and fixing whatevers wrong and doing my own maintenance but I’ve never had to dive into one of these V4’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MBrane Posted May 31, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted May 31, 2023 If it runs, and doesn't make any bad noises I wouldn't be very concerned about the oil level. You're always taking a chance when buying anything used. I had a '94 I bought with 125K on it. Sold it with 140. Just the normal problems you'd expect on a 20+ year old bike. Rode it from SoCA to Colorado without issue. If I had more garage space I would have kept it. There was a member here that had one with 300K on it. Great bikes I just prefer fuel injection, and 41 more cc's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koekum Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Or the floats are stuck and fuel got into te oil raising the level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgen Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 On 5/31/2023 at 4:14 AM, MBrane said: There was a member here that had one with 300K on it. No way. I never thought this bike can handle this much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 On 2/13/2023 at 4:02 PM, JJMaine said: I'm sure the stock shock on this Vfr is toast... based upon what ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted July 10, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 10, 2023 If it's the original shock, it's almost 30 years old, and those OEM Showas generally don't last even three years before leaking through the seals! I had mine rebuilt by Lindemann back in the day, but even that didn't last three years. Ciao, JZH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Marsman99 Posted July 11, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 11, 2023 37K on the odo means the bike is just getting broken in. I've got nearly 130K miles on mine and it is running great, no drips, leaks or mechanical issues. Seems obvious, but be sure to check the oil level with the bike straight upright (on center stand). On the side stand it'll show overfilled. OEM shock is probably toast. DMr Performance is the only shop I know that can rebuild the OEM. I know, Jamie has done mine twice. Or, you can opt for one of the DMr line of shocks. Fully adjustable, work great and very affordable. Have one on my Gen 7 and love it. If you go this route, PM me as I have some useful info you could use. Probably need a refresh of the forks too, they weren't great in OEM form. Corroded fork lowers can be easily powder coated. Be sure the engine runs smoothly beyond idle, i.e. drive it around. I say this because in the US we use ethanol diluted fuel. I let mine sit for a year and the carbs got gummed up from the goo this asinine concoction creates. No fuel cleaner worked. Had to remove and rebuild all four, followed by the always fun effort to balance carbs. Trust me, you don't want to waste precious life on this path. Gen4's are infamous for extensive stress cracks in the rear cowls. No OEM replacements are available. If yours are in good shape that is a good sign. I'd hold off putting a lot of miles on the bike until these are reinforced. There are some good threads on the subject on this site. Of course, there are the well established electrical issues, notably the regulator/rectifier. Also some good threads on this subject on VFRD. After two rectifiers, I solved mine by a better cable/connector set and an R1 regulator/rectifier. That was 75K miles ago. Good luck. Hope you're able to get this VFR back on the road! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.