Member Contributer WillsVF Posted July 27, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 27, 2013 Firstly, a little on my thoughts of the new Pirelli Demon Sports. In short, brilliant. They seem to have made a real positive difference to the way the big VF handles. The route I travelled on the Macquarie Town Motorcycle Preservation Club rally covered a wide range of surfaces, smooth tarmac with tight sweepers, rough as guts pock marked asphalt, unsealed 'work in progress' sections, wet and slippery steel ferry boarding ramps, and damp early morning bitumen. In my opinion they handled every thing I threw at them with aplomb. 'Feel' is much better than any experience I had with the BT45 Bridgestones, and they are effected less by road surface irregularities-and trust me, there were plenty of those! High speed stability is good, I only saw 150km/h briefly while overtaking a line of slower vintage cycles. The only negative I think there may be is the compound is soft once warm and as I've read elsewhere they may not last as long as the BT45's did on my last big motorcycle. Time will tell! Some may notice in the pic above the rack and topbox is missing, it was there when I left home I learnt a few things about old V Four Honda's on the run, they vibrate and nyloc fasteners are a must Just before that pic was taken I noticed the rack wasn't sitting right, and on closer inspection both the front mounting bolts had loosened and fallen out! Only the back two bolts held it in place. There was a FJ1100 on the ride too who suffered the same malady. It was duly removed with riding mates '71 Triumph Tiger's tool kit and passed on the the breakdown vehicle for me to collect at a later date. Maybe I should stick with soft luggage............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer WillsVF Posted July 27, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 27, 2013 Further to above, this being my first decent ride on the VF a couple of observations and questions for those with all the ownership experience. I wasn't able to get any air in the forks for the ride, my pumps fitting is too big. Is that an issue? I had about 25psi in the rear shock, I'm 120kg. What do you guys run? The lever part of my centrestand was cut off by the PO to clear the aftermarket exhaust. I had been inserting a piece of steel rod into the hole while at home whilst working on the bike, and the day before the ride[typical]the rest of the lever part broke off, it was rusted through! Is this a common problem? And if the lever section is left on, does it tend to drag on left handers when 'pushing on'? I forgot to mention, on the way home yesterday the VF began to miss, lose power and eventually stop. My mate John on the Triumph to the rescue again[thanks John!]and while he road away to arrange the breakdown trailer[how embarrassing]I had a look. I though initially it was a fuel issue-maybe a fuel pump? Pull seat off, have a look around. When the carry rack became dislodged it was banging on the tailpiece so hard one of the igniter box plugs had come loose, and the missing and farting I had before it conked out must have been the intermittent contact made at the connection before it fell right out. Plugged back in, hit the starter and awaaay we go! Cancel that breakdown trailer please John..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted July 28, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 28, 2013 Sounds like a good ride. Ventura is apparently still offering the mounting kit for the F btw, another luggage option. I liked how it fit on my R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer WillsVF Posted July 28, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 28, 2013 Thanks vfrcapn, I'll look into the Ventura unit. Good bit of gear in my experience :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Kel Posted July 29, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 29, 2013 She looks good on street Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer WillsVF Posted July 29, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 29, 2013 Well, did another 300 odd kilometres on the VF yesterday, in company with brother Mick on his '07 K1200GT BMW. No hassles this time with bolts vibrating loose. Only fault I have noticed is a blown LH fork seal. Seeing as I don't have anything resembling a workshop I'll take the VF to the bike mechanic who has serviced it for the last eight years and see what more info on its history I can discover. The fork seal leak is bad enough to leave a slight dribble on the fork leg, then some spots on the bellypan. I had several chances to give the bike it's head on the ride, and I've gotta say that for a 30 year old machine that is no lightweight sports bike it really does get up and boogie! I'm very impressed by the stability and grip of the new Pirelli Demon Sports too. They continue to improve as they are 'scrubbed in'. As far as ergos go, I would like to fit a set of 'bar risers, if they are available. Even an extra inch would make a difference, I'm tall and my wrists and forearms were very sore by days end. It was less of an issue while travelling at 120km/h[indicated]with air pressure on my upper body but made countersteering tiresome at slow speeds. Anyone here fitted risers to their older VF's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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