Bonjourno from Essex!

[Squidbilly]

Evenin' All! Hope you're well?

 

I'm test riding (and most likely buying) this beauty tomorrow morning https://www.bellevuemotors.com/bikes-in-stock/honda/vfr800f/180941.htm (I take it it's OK to post links here?)

I was toying with the idea of a 2020 CBR650F (Also test riding tomorrow afternoon) but have pretty much already had my heart stolen by the VRF!

 

She's got spacers fitted to the bars, so hopefully shouldn't feel too drastically sporty compare to my GS Dakar. Bit of rash on the O/S faring, mirror and case, but otherwise looks pretty clean.

 

Anything in particular I should be aware of, any niggles in particular to be looking out for, or anything in particular I should pay attention to?

 

Thanks in advance for any knowledge/advice, hopefully post some pics tomorrow if I pull the trigger.

 

take it easy, 

 

Billy

 

 

[bmart]

A CBR650F is no VFR...choose wisely and report back! That looks like a smoking good price. 

[Grum]

Hi Billy.

- Make sure the rear seat cowl comes with it.

- Check the tool kit is under the seat. Make sure the chain adjusting C spanner and handle are in the kit.

- Should have two Ignition keys.

- Pillion grab handle blanking plates, and the original grab handles.

- If the rider seat is currently in the lowest position, make sure the two seat raising collars come with the bike.

- Should also have the owners manual.

- Confirm the servicing has been done. It should have had a few Oil and Filter changes and at least one Brake and Clutch Fluid flush,

 

Good Luck.

A well cared for 8gen is a great bike and extremely reliable.

 

[TimC]

Welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA, and good luck with the purchase!

 

I hope you'll report back on how it went, and post a couple photos of your new-to-you VFR!  🙂

[Squidbilly]

Thanks for the advice champs!

 

Took her out for a test ride and loved it! I'm only used to 65 singles (Tenere, Dakar) so it was a world of difference, people were not exaggerating when the described it as buttery smooth! She was surprisingly agile at low speed compared to what I was expecting, which is good as that was one of my main worries and the seat was comfortable.

Suspension was a lot harder to what I'm used to and the riding position was a far cry from the sitting up looking over traffic that I'm accustomed to.

 

I paid asking price (I'm useless at at haggling, but I think the dealer knew he was in for an easy time when I came back from the ride grinning form ear to ear), but following Grum's advice (Cheers matey) got them to include: Seat cowl, blanking plates, tool kit, seat collars. The manual and log book are present, with receipts for servicing every year (inc. oil and brakes), having only had one owner from new. It hasn't had the valve clearances checked yet by the looks of things, but the dealer (also a VRF owner) said he'd just wait until I can hear a problem, but I'll cross that bridge a little further down the line once I've picked some brains on the forums a bit more. I also forgot to see if the clutch fluid had been flushed but assuming it's a similar process to flushing brakes(?), then that's something i'd be comfortable doing.

 

Yeah, he probably had those bits sitting outback anyway and just pretended to add them as a sweetener, but like I said, as soon as I walked back in to the dealership he knew my wallet was going to be opening!

They're also going to touch up the cosmetics and deliver it tomorrow (60 miles) for free, so all in all I think I did OK, what do you chaps reckon?

 

Thanks again for the advice, I'll pop some snaps up on here in a day or two.

 

Cheers, 

 

Billy

[bmart]

Congrats! I think you're a wise VFR owner! 

[Dutchy]

Welcome to VFRD from across the North Sea.

 

Hook up a small/simple voltmeter and tuck it somewhere in sight. The actual reading is not relevant, it is to give you a heads up, if while riding, something is amiss. Like <11 or >15VDC.

Once or twice a year if you ride a lot, inspect the coonectors in the string generator, regulalatr, strating solenoid.

 

If you had a blue/2nd gen Tenere you probably know what engine overheating is. no such worries with a VFR  🙂

 

[Squidbilly]

22 hours ago, bmart said:

Congrats! I think you're a wise VFR owner! 

Cheers dude, I think you're half right!

[Squidbilly]

21 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Welcome to VFRD from across the North Sea.

 

Hook up a small/simple voltmeter and tuck it somewhere in sight. The actual reading is not relevant, it is to give you a heads up, if while riding, something is amiss. Like <11 or >15VDC.

Once or twice a year if you ride a lot, inspect the coonectors in the string generator, regulalatr, strating solenoid.

 

If you had a blue/2nd gen Tenere you probably know what engine overheating is. no such worries with a VFR  🙂

 

 Thanks Dutchy, 

 

Are they known for electrical problems, or are you suggesting I hook one up as a bit of an early warning system?

That's good advice re. checking the genny, regulator and solenoid, I'll bear it in mind.

 

I had the 1991 3YF (3rd gen I think?) in blue. I never had any overheating issues, however I did have problems with the structural integrity of some of the gaffer tape and it was a PITA to fit in to the back of a Honda Civic!

[Squidbilly]

So a bit of a disappointing day today, my supervisor at work was being a bit of a twat and wouldn't me shoot of for an hour to pick up the bike. The next time they can deliver isn't until Wednesday 🥵 So no pics of my new mount yet, but you'll have to settle for my old Tenere in the boot of my car after getting stranded in Devon (long story......)

 

I've been feeling rough all evening though, hopefully I'm not to ill to go in tomorrow!

[Captain 80s]

2 minutes ago, Squidbilly said:

I've been feeling rough all evening though, hopefully I'm not to ill to go in tomorrow!

 

{cough, cough, sniffle}

[RLoibl]

You'll love the vfr Billy. Purchased mine in May, Ontario Canada. Came with a Delkevic exhaust, sounds greaat. Enjoy

[Squidbilly]

23 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

 

{cough, cough, sniffle}

Your medical diagnostic skills are second to none Dr 80s, as your prognosis was indeed accurate! I deteriorated rapidly during the evening. I was convinced that I felt the bony hand of The Reaper on my shoulder, however it was the spirit of Eddie The Trooper urging me to fight on. By midday I had made such a miraculous and sudden recovery, that I can only assume it was divine intervention. Imbued with a greater understanding of the fragility of life, I ventured out to Southend, the St. Tropez of Essex. It has been a good day.

 

19 hours ago, RLoibl said:

You'll love the vfr Billy. Purchased mine in May, Ontario Canada. Came with a Delkevic exhaust, sounds greaat. Enjoy

Thanks mate, glad you're enjoying her, a new can will definitely be on the cards in a few months.... 

[Squidbilly]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement champs, as promised, a couple of pics of my new lady.

[Presson]

Hey matey, welcome to VFRD from a little bit West of you in Herts. The electrics on your bike have been extremely well sorted from earlier generations and no one to my knowledge has reported any serious problems other than needing to replace a knackered battery. 

 

If you find the suspension hard, don't be afraid to wind out the rebound. For solo riding I'm finding at least 2 full turns out from hard on the rear shock and at least 1.5 turns out from hard on the forks. It's worth getting the static sag sorted for your weight; there's lots of articles on the net and some good videos on MCN on you tube if you don't want to pay a professional.

 

I don't know what mileage you've got but if it's over 15k miles a fork oil refresh would be highly recommended ( many will say do it at least at 8k but I'm just trying to be realistic for you). Just be careful with oil weight; if the person doing the work doesn't use the Honda fluid and says 'it's 10w fork oil mate'.  For example, Silkolene 10w Pro RSF oil is much heavier than the Honda SS8 or ultra cushion 10w oil. If you do use Silkolene Pro RSF the 7.5w is much closer to the Honda OEM stuff. 

 

Other than that, keep her clean and enjoy riding!

[Squidbilly]

On 10/13/2023 at 7:30 PM, Presson said:

Hey matey, welcome to VFRD from a little bit West of you in Herts. The electrics on your bike have been extremely well sorted from earlier generations and no one to my knowledge has reported any serious problems other than needing to replace a knackered battery. 

 

If you find the suspension hard, don't be afraid to wind out the rebound. For solo riding I'm finding at least 2 full turns out from hard on the rear shock and at least 1.5 turns out from hard on the forks. It's worth getting the static sag sorted for your weight; there's lots of articles on the net and some good videos on MCN on you tube if you don't want to pay a professional.

 

I don't know what mileage you've got but if it's over 15k miles a fork oil refresh would be highly recommended ( many will say do it at least at 8k but I'm just trying to be realistic for you). Just be careful with oil weight; if the person doing the work doesn't use the Honda fluid and says 'it's 10w fork oil mate'.  For example, Silkolene 10w Pro RSF oil is much heavier than the Honda SS8 or ultra cushion 10w oil. If you do use Silkolene Pro RSF the 7.5w is much closer to the Honda OEM stuff. 

 

Other than that, keep her clean and enjoy riding!

 

 

 

 

Hello mate, thanks for the welcome! Herts isn't a million miles away, only down the road really!

Funny you should mention a knackered battery, I had the RAC out the other night as mine had died! Luckily the dealership said they'll cover it on warranty so I've put a new Yuasa ytz12s and they should reimburse me.

 

I'm not sure if the suspension is hard per say, or just harder than I'm used to as the Dakar has travel for days! I think I just need to get accustomed to feeling the road a bit more I suppose,  Having said that, it had Motul 5100 10 weight put in a year ago, not sure how that stacks up against the Honda stuff, I'll have to a bit of Googling.

 

She's just ticked over to to 23k, but like I said, not long had new fork oil (and brake fluid), so I'll commute through the winter, get next summer's trip out of the way, then redo all the fluids anyway as that'll probably see me at about 8-10 K.

 

In the meantime, I'll certainly have a play about with the suspension settings. I've not had front adjustables before, but am well used to setting up mountain bike suspension for sag. Luckily three of my neighbors are bikers, so they can provide the extra pair of hands. I would love to go to a place that helps setup the ergo, but I'm not sure if that's something that's available as a service for motorbikes? I've been watching the Dave Moss Tuning videos on Youtube and there's some real good common sense stuff on there, but It'd still be nice to speak to a professional.

 

Cheers mate, I'm certainly enjoying the riding, keeping her clean and dry's a bit more of a challenge though. I use a cover, but where it's in contact with the bike the rain wicks through so she's wet in the mornings (no comment!) I'm going to Fabsil the cover to see if the helps, but I'm open to suggestions for a good cover as I'm just using a cheapo from Amazon at the moment. (I'm also worried it'll scratch her up with this wind we're having)

[Presson]

Are you certain you meant Motul 5100 in the forks; I thought that was engine oil?

 

Motul 10w fork oil is pretty similar in properties to the Honda OEM stuff. You'll know if the oil in your fork is too viscous when you run out of rebound lessening adjustment and it's still harsh at the front - don't ask me how I know this ...

Here's a link to a page with a viscosity table for a large number of fork oils.

 

https://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid

 

There's a suspension specialist in Wickford ( Black Art) and a place in BikeTe h in Rayleigh say they offer setup; I can't vouch for either of them though.

 

As for covers, mine sits in the garage but I generally find Oxford products very good and they do covers.

[Squidbilly]

On 10/21/2023 at 6:51 PM, Presson said:

Are you certain you meant Motul 5100 in the forks; I thought that was engine oil?

 

Motul 10w fork oil is pretty similar in properties to the Honda OEM stuff. You'll know if the oil in your fork is too viscous when you run out of rebound lessening adjustment and it's still harsh at the front - don't ask me how I know this ...

Here's a link to a page with a viscosity table for a large number of fork oils.

 

https://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid

 

There's a suspension specialist in Wickford ( Black Art) and a place in BikeTe h in Rayleigh say they offer setup; I can't vouch for either of them though.

 

As for covers, mine sits in the garage but I generally find Oxford products very good and they do covers.

 

 

Hello mate, 

 

Sorry not sure how I missed this post before.

Yeah, you're 100% right, it was engine oil that was done. I'd been working on the forks on the other bike and had a bottle of motul forkoil sitting in front of me so just had a bit of a mental fart!

The ride isn't necessarily harsh to be honest mate, I think it just took me a while to adjust from going from having oodles of travel on the Dakar.

 

I won't ask, as it sounds like the time-consuming lesson you learned is still painful! lol

 

Thanks for that link, it'll be useful in the new year when I do the forks (looking through the old receipts that came with the bike it doesn't look like they've ever been done) and might pop down to that place in Wickford once my wallet's recovered from Christmas.

 

I decided to sack off the cover in the end as it just seemed to be trapping moisture in with the bike. I commute 120 miles a day and it's pissing down most of the time, so as much as it pains me, she just has to live out in the elements for now. I'm looking at a Clarke Temporary garage for the new year, assuming the landlord isn't difficult with it being in my parking space.

 

I took the plastics off, gave her a good clean and a generous coating of ACF50, so hopefully that'll mitigate things as much as possible. Fingers crossed....

 

Now I just need to a C spanner I need to tension the chain, yes the one Grum specifically told me to check for (you can lead a horse to water etc...) as the chain and sprockets need replacing. Does anyone happen to know what size I need? I'll create a new post asking as well.

 

[Squidbilly]

Just to add, I nipped down to the dealership I bought her from and they sorted me out with the tool and shock spanner, so massive thanks to Belle Vue Honda in Southend, really nice helpful blokes!

 

I also picked up the seat cowl, so she's looking sexier than ever! 

[Grum]

16 hours ago, Squidbilly said:

Now I just need to a C spanner I need to tension the chain, yes the one Grum specifically told me to check for (you can lead a horse to water etc...) as the chain and sprockets need replacing. Does anyone happen to know what size I need? I'll create a new post asking as well.

Hi Billy.

Glad you got the all important chain adjusting C spanner.

 

Chain needs replacing! Sounds a little early at 23,000k's but unless the chain was neglected, tension and lubrication wise, then save your money, OEM sprockets should be fine for at least another chain. I've only ever used either RK,  EK or D.I.D. high quality Japanese chains and averaged well over 30,000k's per chain, with the four VFR's I've had.

My current 8gen has done over 94,000k's, regularly lube, clean and check the chain tension, I'm still running the OEM rear sprocket and has no visible sign of wear, however, I do have a new rear one to fit come the next chain replacement. (somewhere around 110,000k's !)

Throwing away sprockets with every chain replacement is not always necessary and will depend on a number of factors! Inspect them before binning them.

Where I live we don't add salt to the roads in winter, that probably also helps.

And yes with chains and sprockets YMMV.

 

Oh Yes - The chain size you need for an 8gen is a 525 with 110 links. My previous two chains were 124 links that I cut back to 110 (Inclusive of the Master Link). Standard steel sprockets are 16 and 43 tooth.

[Grum]

On 10/13/2023 at 5:14 AM, Squidbilly said:

Are they known for electrical problems, or are you suggesting I hook one up as a bit of an early warning system?

That's good advice re. checking the genny, regulator and solenoid, I'll bear it in mind.

 

The 8gen. has the best and most reliable electrics of any VFR. Numerous previous gen electrical gremlins have been overcome. My voltmeter tells me the charging system produces a rock solid 14.5v at the battery no matter the rpm or selected load eg. hi beam or heated grips etc.

 

Also, if your 8gen VFR, be it hot or cold doesn't start virtually quicker than you can release the Starter Button then something isn't right....they are that good.

 

[Grum]

10 hours ago, Squidbilly said:

I nipped down to the dealership I bought her from and they sorted me out with the tool and shock spanner

You won't be needing a "shock spanner" 8gen has hand adjustable rear preload. Might be handy for a 6gen owner!