Member Contributer panamawing Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 Good Day! I am thinking about buying a pristine, low milage 95! What are the pros and cons of this year and generation? I do not want this thread to turn into a generation bashing/comparison. So let's just talk about this year and model. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 Carbs and ethanol . Got any pic's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 What Switchblade said and some parts availability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skirack Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 As a proud owner of a '96 I can say that I truly love the bike. Parts are still readily available, but costly(especially plastics). I love the whine of the Gear driven cams and if you are good to the carbs the carbs will be good to you. Possible RR issues with stock unit, but easily remedied with a new one. No CPU, which is one less thing for me to have to worry about going wrong. It will feel different then your 6th gen(I prefer the set up slightly more to the 5th and 6th gen) so you should definitely ride it to see if it is right for you. A lot of this is personal preference stuff so take it with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 Stock size rear tires (170) may start to get harder to find in a few years. I haven't looked in a while, but I don't often see 170 in the drop down lists that often. OEM plastics are expensive, so if they are damaged and you want them perfect, you might have to repair and repaint them. R/r will eventually be replaced as on most VFRs. The carb drain bolts are easy to get to, so if you're letting it sit for two weeks, drain them. Otherwise, the 4th gen is my favorite and you will love every moment on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 My carbs have never been taken apart/serviced and when synchronisation was checked at 65,000km they were still within spec. Only needed minor adjusting. And I WHACK my throttle regularly.... Once a year a bit of carb cleaner in the fuel tank. Picked up a 3rd gen 8 spoker that allows 180 rear. (admittedly for the bling, not the beteterder tyre). Plastics may become an issue, but aftermarket is still available. But the one you look at is pristine you say. I still have the OEM R/R on it (with a large Pentium heatsink and VFRness for added piece of mind). Valves were never checked (dealer asked if I like burning banknotes for fun...) 75k kms, she still produces 98 horses.... a used engine will cost me perhaps $400 It boils down to lust... Look at her and if she moves parts no other bike does (within your budget)................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer panamawing Posted May 15, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 Thanks for all your responses so far. Keep them coming. Plan is to ride 3 hours west Saturday to smell, taste, and feel this beauty in the flesh. In the meantime with all your help I will be gathering information, experiences, knowledge, and opinions, good and bad! Bike is currently on eBay if anyone is interested in checking it out. Owner is not giving it away and I personally do not blame him. Bike like this doesn't come around that often IMHO. It is worth about, well what one is willing to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Carbs a negative??.......don't think so,........not with the 4th Gen, which is one of the smoothest, and most drivable bike out there when it comes to fueling from throttle stop to stop........ Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 Stock size rear tires (170) may start to get harder to find in a few years. I haven't looked in a while, but I don't often see 170 in the drop down lists that often. OEM plastics are expensive, so if they are damaged and you want them perfect, you might have to repair and repaint them. R/r will eventually be replaced as on most VFRs. The carb drain bolts are easy to get to, so if you're letting it sit for two weeks, drain them. Otherwise, the 4th gen is my favorite and you will love every moment on it. Yeah I would not ride mine for weeks and would have problems with carbs, mine was 93, dont get me wrong I loved the bike. Never thought about the tires I can see that becoming a problem pretty quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 There are still some good tires in the 170 size, but not as many as three years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Stock size rear tires (170) may start to get harder to find in a few years. I haven't looked in a while, but I don't often see 170 in the drop down lists that often. OEM plastics are expensive, so if they are damaged and you want them perfect, you might have to repair and repaint them. R/r will eventually be replaced as on most VFRs. The carb drain bolts are easy to get to, so if you're letting it sit for two weeks, drain them. Otherwise, the 4th gen is my favorite and you will love every moment on it. Yeah I would not ride mine for weeks and would have problems with carbs, mine was 93, dont get me wrong I loved the bike. Never thought about the tires I can see that becoming a problem pretty quick. Could be bad gas??, as my 95 always starts up and fuels nicely at the first try all the time, even after some weeks of sitting ever since I got it..... I once left my bike sit for almost a couple of months unridden when I went overseas on vacation last year and it still started at the first push of the starter button. Seafoam can be your friend if stuff is gunking up your carbs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 IIRC the forks are 41mm vs the 43 mm of later years (sorry for the comparo) - when I had my 95 I always wished for a more planted front end. The Dzus fasteners on the plastics make getting them off a breeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 I know I'm new to the VFR but I can say I was shocked at how dirty the carbs were and it ran so good. Every bowl had debris and even two of the slide diaphragm areas had crap in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted May 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2013 It is the gas. Pure gas no problems. Ethanol, it's hard to start after a couple weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 2002 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Plan is to ride 3 hours west Saturday to smell, taste, and feel this beauty in the flesh. Three hours west? That's the middle of nowhere! Good luck on your quest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I LOVE MY 1996!!! With that said, a 98 rear wheel will mount up fine with slight modification. The 180 makes the bike feel better. I have a 2000 also. Completely different bike from the forth gen. I love the forth gen! I had two of them last year a 95 and 96, which I made both match. My 96's twin now lives in Chicago. Took the guy a day to get here. He was buying it for his wife and he just absolutely loves the bike. I took him on an hour and a half test ride here in the mountains... He was sold! If you can find a clean one with low miles, that is just a bonus. I would not be afraid of one with 100K on the clock as long as the plastic looks good. I have got to say the forth gen gives me more smiles per mile than any bike I have ever owned. I have owned three so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer panamawing Posted May 16, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted May 16, 2013 Plan is to ride 3 hours west Saturday to smell, taste, and feel this beauty in the flesh. Three hours west? That's the middle of nowhere! Good luck on your quest. lol....especially if it was 100 miles south across the border...just kidding. You are right, in the middle of no where Nebraska! Should be nice get away on 136. Thinking I will be passing right through Franklin on the way...........Franklin, NE that is. I LOVE MY 1996!!! With that said, a 98 rear wheel will mount up fine with slight modification. The 180 makes the bike feel better. I have a 2000 also. Completely different bike from the forth gen. I love the forth gen! I had two of them last year a 95 and 96, which I made both match. My 96's twin now lives in Chicago. Took the guy a day to get here. He was buying it for his wife and he just absolutely loves the bike. I took him on an hour and a half test ride here in the mountains... He was sold! If you can find a clean one with low miles, that is just a bonus. I would not be afraid of one with 100K on the clock as long as the plastic looks good. I have got to say the forth gen gives me more smiles per mile than any bike I have ever owned. I have owned three so far. I agree on the miles. My 06 has 70+ thousand miles and it is just broken in IMHO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer texasvfr Posted May 16, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 16, 2013 Hey Mr.Panama- if that is the one that is for sale in Colo.- sure looks good in the pics! Good luck. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rangemaster Posted May 16, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 16, 2013 I love mine. The carbs are no big deal. If you can get non-ethanol gas without to much trouble it's worth the effort. (check on puregas.com for a place near you) If not, an ounce of MMO every tankful will eliminate the worst effects of the ethanol. The stock R/R is an embarrassment (or should be) to Honda Engineering, so plan on replacing it with a FH 012 Mosfet style. Tightwad can set you up with the wiring fixes. One of the few bikes you sit "in" vs sitting "on" and being a short guy it fits me perfect. 5th gen bars are about a 1/2 in. higher and 1/2 in. back so thats a cheap fix (compared to Heli's) if the reach is a bit long. I paid $3500 for mine with 3800 miles on it 5 years ago and it was 'less than perfect', but it was local and I hadn't seen one before or since within a days drive for sale. Good luck, wish I had the $ I'd go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resin Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Metzler tires are the ones I use. I just put on another set today. This time I went to the Mez 6 in the front, and I'm running a Mez 8 on my rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted May 18, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 18, 2013 Not sure if you have made a move on that one or not but my old '97 is for sale again here in Colorado. (Same generation as the '95) It was in fantastic condition when I sold it to addicted2tc last summer. Plus I gave her a 3 ring binder with every single receipt from original purchase through every part, piece, oil change, etc over the ENTIRE LIFE of that bike. When I sold it to her, I asked her to give me first dibs on it if she ever sold it. I wasn't expecting to hear from her in less than 12 months so I'm not in a position to buy it back right now. I'm not sure what happened but she sent me a pm saying that she was thinking of selling it as she had somehow broken her leg and ankle and wasn't sure if she would ride again. NO - She didn't wreck the VFR! Anyway, she said she didn't put on as many miles as she wanted and that it is still in exellent shape. low 40k Miles on it, striped/polished rims, K&N filter, D&D slip on, National Cycle ST shield, volt meter, gelgrips, soft bags. I still have quite a few pics in my gallery of the bike. I think she was looking to get around $3k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedViffer Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Are you guys really having trouble with ethanol mixes? Because I've had absolutely none.. I recently started my bike for the first time in two years, same gas was in the tank the whole time and it didn't miss a lick, I even rode it till it was gone without issue..I did pull the bowls first, and they were clean as a whistle, so I proceeded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted May 18, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 18, 2013 Are you guys really having trouble with ethanol mixes? Because I've had absolutely none.. I recently started my bike for the first time in two years, same gas was in the tank the whole time and it didn't miss a lick, I even rode it till it was gone without issue..I did pull the bowls first, and they were clean as a whistle, so I proceeded. You probably still had %100 gas still in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted May 18, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted May 18, 2013 The owners manual says the 94-97 VFR fuel system is designed to work with up to 10% ethanol, so the issue wouldn't stem from hoses and seals being eaten as I've heard can be the case with some older bikes. But I do see people having a lot more problems with fuel gumming up carbs when sitting for too long these days... probably as a result of ethanol blends. Either way... I would almost state carbs as an advantage. Smooth throttle response, less electronics to deal with (nice for project bikes), and less fuel injection induced possible weirdness (lean running under small throttle openings, surging, jerky throttle response at low speeds... etc). Some might argue these things make the bike more fuel efficient but I get 5mpg average better with my 4th gen than my 6th gen. Positives and negatives for both I guess. Back to the topic at hand... did you end up buying it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedViffer Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Are you guys really having trouble with ethanol mixes? Because I've had absolutely none.. I recently started my bike for the first time in two years, same gas was in the tank the whole time and it didn't miss a lick, I even rode it till it was gone without issue..I did pull the bowls first, and they were clean as a whistle, so I proceeded. You probably still had %100 gas still in it. Nah, we've had ethanol blends at pretty much every pump around here for well over 5 years, and even then, we have all been getting blends for a LONG time, they just started telling us about it recently with the rise of ethanol based fuels. The "gas-a-hol" deal has been going on since what, the 70's? Just a way for corporations to have a higher profit margin.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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