What should I look for?

[JM85VFR]

Morning all,

 

I’ve just paid a deposit on a yellow VFR800 with 27,000 miles on the clock. She’s a beaut and has a decent history, keys, maintenance CD etc and looks looked after. 
 

Should I be looking out for any issues and what mods are essential?

 

Thanks in advance! 
 

Joe

[Skids]

Hi, welcome to VFR ownership, I'm sure you'll love it!

 

Where do we start? There's a lot you should look out for, though with a bike looking as well taken care of as yours is, there shouldn't be too many but on bikes that haven't been as well looked after, there can be a lot.

 

Battery voltage test is essential, to check not only the battery condition but the condition of the charging system, a notorious weak spot of early VFR800s.

Tyres

Brakes - pads, colour of the brake (and clutch) fluid. Probably worth a fluid change anyway, possibly even service the callipers - not as hard as some like to make out. I changed out the brake hoses for SS ones on mine and along with the calliper service and new pads made a huge difference.

C&S

Oil & air filters

Starter valve balance - every 4k miles

engine oil level - probably worth an oil & filter change anyway

suspension - fork seals leaking? suspension set for you, possibly drop the yoke 5-10mm

tyres - obvs!

bearings - steering head, wheels

 

Download the Service Manual from this site and don't be afraid to ask ANY questions on here, there's loads of VFR guru's who know so much and are so talented that whatever your issue, it can usually be quickly resolved by the fantastic folk on here.

 

There's loads of stuff you can do to tune/upgrade and there's an opinion for every member on the site 😆Do a little searching on here to see what others have done, from the simple to the extremely omg. There are some beautiful bikes out there and I only wish I had a fraction of the skillset some of these guys have.

 

What make is the end can on yours? Staintune? 

 

Please let us know how you get on when you pick her up.

 

[toreckman]

Looks like a great bike.

 

I would check the petrol tank for rust, as I learned the hard way 😂

[vfrgiving]

In addition to check the charging voltage as mentioned ..

 

Pull the tail plastic and see what voltage regulator is in there.  Check the condition of the plug that joins the stator coil and voltage regulator for signs of overheating, or maybe a harness upgrade has already been done.  All of that stuff is on the left side of the bike by the subframe.

 

For mods, depends what you want to do.

 

Trade the rubber bumper mirrors for the sleeker metal stalk 2000 VFR style.  EMGO makes reasonable prices copies of that mirror.

 

For luggage, the 257 Givi racks and boxes.

 

I like the Sargent seat, you could do lower footpegs.

 

Handlebar swap for more upright posture.  A bit more upright would be Helibars or installing riser adapters. More upright from that would be a superbike style bar from Spiegler, Hurricane etc..  If you want to go full upright-standard, Hurricane makes the Police version handlebar.

[Lorne]

Welcome to VFRD, JM. Congrats on acquiring a spiffy yellow VFR800.

The other gave you some good ideas, but here are some others.

 

     Electrical: unplug every electrical connector you can find and clean the contacts. Adjacent to the battery is the starter relay. It is covered with a soft rubber boot that conceals it's condition. 

     Handlebars: an inexpensive way to raise them ~15mm is to remove the thin wire circlip on the fork tube just above the 'bars and raise them no higher than flush with the top of the fork tube. Make sure to tighten the pinch bolt carefully.

     Footpegs: I found the rubber pad on '98 & '99 footpegs too soft. The 2000-2009 pegs are much improved.

     Chain & sprockets: clean both and assess their condition

 

Last, but perhaps the most importantly, get those wheels painted white. 

[TimC]

Congratulations on the deposit and welcome to the forum!  🙂

 

Checking over and possibly replacing fluids and checking electrical connections are all good suggestions.  Check the date codes on the tires, and if they are over 6-7 years old I'd consider replacing them now.  If the tires are several years old, at a bare minimum check the condition of the rubber.  Is it harder or softer than new tires?  Are the sidewalls free of cracks and discoloration?  There are tons of internet posts and articles on tires, but if the tires on your VFR are iffy at all, it's better to replace them.

 

As for ergonomic changes, I recommend riding the bike as-is for a while and finding out if you're comfortable on it with the current setup of handlebars and footpegs, or if you want to change their positions.  I was happy for many years with the stock bars and pegs on my old 6th gen. VFR.

 

Good luck with the rest of the purchase process, have fun, and ride safe!

[Terry]

Yellow VFRs are GREAT!

 

Check that the linked brakes function correctly as when they go bad, you can end up with a locked back wheel. On the centrestand push the left caliper hard forward and check that this engages the rear brake. Then release the calliper and confirm the rear wheel now spins freely. There is a secondary master cylinder that the calliper movement activates and these can get full of gunge and corrode, or just end up with blockages that stop the calliper releasing nicely.

 

 

[bmart]

Congrats. I have one too!