Member Contributer thor294 Posted June 19, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 19, 2013 X post from the 6th gen forum (I just want as much input as I can get to help me make a decision :P) I just put 2 new tires on my 86, and a friend of mine with a RWB 2007 just messaged me again asking me if I still wanted it (he ran it by me September last year... 3k miles on the 07 and he wants literally nothing for it...). I know I will regret either decision I make. In a perfect world, I would keep my '86, and buy the 2007. Let my father ride the 86 or just keep it to have it... but I am only a contractor at my job, still living at home, need to pay health insurance, and I don't think I could take a loan out to buy the 800 without getting some money (or my GF murdering me) from my dad for the 86 or selling it (I did put it in the classifieds on this site and other sites to see what I could get for it). If I end up with the 2007 VFR800, are the real big upgrades a commander, intake(or just filter), slip ons, and sprockets (if i wanted)? will it make more power and get better MPG than my vfr750 (I average 35mpg on my bike, on a calm riding tank)... I rode the 800 and what a difference. The digital gauges, the radial tires, bigger brakes... it is truely a different machine. I didn't really get to ride it hard because I was nervous of riding his bike. I am not sure if I will just regret ditching my 86 :( Sorry for the long double post... I have never been so attached to a machine before in my life lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Buy it and keep the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted June 19, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 19, 2013 I wish man. I might have to... Hopefully I can manage my dollars :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 If it were me, I'd keep the 86 if you can only have 1 (or get both if you can). The 86 has a cool factor you can't match with newer bikes, unless they are limited run examples or such. Performance, yes the 07 is obviously better but the 86 is still capable. Plus, you own the 86. No muss, no fuss. The early vfrs are getting harder to find every year. I'd surmise in another few years you'll seeing its value start climbing. The 07 has lots of merits of course. Still, considering your situation and your attachment to the 86, I say stay with the 86. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 20, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 20, 2013 will it make more power and get better MPG than my vfr750 (I average 35mpg on my bike, on a calm riding tank)... I have never ridden an 86 VFR750 although the engine is similar to my 96, and I owned an 02. Power wise I would think the power to weight ratio will be similar. The reasons to exchange for the 6th gen I would think would mostly have to do with the things you already mentioned. Modern equipment, gauges, suspension, tires, brakes, fuel injection (if carburetor issues are a concern for you), etc... Plus a bike that only has 3000miles could be a bike you will own for a very long time. Personally I would not factor in fuel mileage unless it was a huge difference. I think people put far too much weight on this. The price difference between vehicles that get 5 or 10mpg less really doesn't add up to that much over a year or even the lifetime of a bike. If it gets worse MPG and that doesn't fit the budget... buy tires that are a little less expensive, or avoid going to the movies for a few months... etc. Just my thoughts :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted July 21, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 21, 2013 dude!... 86! 3 words.. GEAR DRIVEN CAMS!!! i am deaf and can tell you of the heavenly vibe.. the 07 doesnt have it!! never will! yes its still a cool vfr.. but not GDC vfr.. the 86 can be modded for better wheels and tires. heck. i even put a usd gsxr front end on mine and the matching 190 rear wheel. it was a snap.. yes i cheated a little bit.. back in 86 i was 15.. i could still hear, so YES i KNOW and LOVE the vfr sound! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer spinalator Posted July 21, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 21, 2013 Keep the 86 and buy a used 07 next year after another year of depreciation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I see this thread is just over a month old. What did you decide to do, thor294?. You shouldn't need a Power Commander on an '07, as the fueling improved with the '06 model year. Not to say it's perfect, but it's better than the '02-'05 bikes. Also no need to replace the stock air filter with an aftermarket model yet. Do it when you can afford to. Same goes for the exhaust and sprockets. Personally, I think it's better to run a bike stock for awhile, then change what is necessary, instead of changing just for the sake of it before you really put any miles on the bike. In answer to your fuel economy question, I think most 6th gen. owners get 40+ mpg on their bikes. Personally, I get 40-42 mpg normally, and a little less while rocking the throttle in the twisties. But I also tend to agree with apexandy in post #5 above -- a difference of 5-10% is pretty minor. Depending on your age I would be more worried about the cost of insurance premiums on a much newer bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Gas mileage? Is that even a consideration if the bike is running great? I get about 37-40 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted July 28, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 28, 2013 Still have my 86. trying to just keep both lol :P thanks for all the input guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer WillsVF Posted July 29, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 29, 2013 Go the '86. Had to sell my black one a decade ago due to budget issues, regretted it ever since Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duderadidea Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Keep the '86. Just wanted to put in my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR Capt.Bob Posted August 1, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2013 Don't you dare sell the 86. It is a classic and will never lose value and will be woth more in the future. Get the 07 for everyday rides. Both are RWB. Are you kidding me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rush2112 Posted August 1, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2013 +1 ^^^^^ what he said!^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted August 2, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2013 haha looks like I am keeping it I can't even find a buyer for ~$3500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman6 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Great decision!! I had to make a choice between my 85 gen1 and 2002 gen 6. The gen1 won! I wont kid myself that the 85 is a better bike but....it gives me more please riding it for a variety of reasons, and if I sold her I couldn't replace her but a gen 6 is an easy find. FYI There was a magazine article a month or so back where they compared a 86vfr to a Gen 6 VFR over a long distance ride and the 86 was preferred in many areas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted August 12, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 12, 2013 I have been looking for that article... it was the British "Bike" magazine I believe. April issue. I can't find it. http://vfrworld.com/forums/general-vfr-discussions/41567-british-bike-magazine-april-comparo-vfr800-vs-87-vfr750.html that is where I heard about it. too bad it was an 87! unless the guy was wrong, because I can't find the magazine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman6 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I read the article in the bookshop while the Mrs was clothes shopping. Would have bought it but the magazine was like $16 on this side of the globe!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted August 13, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2013 wonder how much it would cost for you to ship me a copy here in the states :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted August 13, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2013 Just read the article... Very good read! I will try to type as much as I can of it... "I look at Bruce. Bruce looks at me. We both look at two V4 Hondas, parked in a Portuguese motorway petrol station, glowing thanks to a pine-filtered sunset in Faro, in the south, near the sea. The red VFR800 VTEC is brand new, barely run-in when we rolled off the Bilbao ferry yesterday. It's the culmination of 27 years of VFR development and ought to be the best middleweight sports tourer the world's biggest motorcycle manufacturer can build. Soichiro and his team have had plenty of time to nail technology, hone ergonomics and polish rough edges into a seamless operator. Should be perfect. The spindly blue antique hails from the opposite end of VFR history. It's the first VFR, a 1986 missing link between the primordial, unreliable VF750 of the early 1980s and the NR750-lite VFRs that dominated sports touring from the turn of the 1990s. It has skimpy tyres, guesswork steering and damping that cost puts the pension in suspension. It cost Bike 800 euros from the small ads a year ago but has since sponged another few hundred: battery; bearings; chain and sprockets; brake discs and pads; wleded radiator and exhaust; throttle cable; oil change; air filter; etc. The clocks say 24,000 miles, but must be on the second lap. it looks raggedy-ass." I am going to truncate, as it is a 10 page feature... "We can't imagine any outcome other than the VFR800 proving superior to the 750. I plug into the 750's fresh battery, envying my co-pilot on the 800. The new bike has better rubber thanks to a pair of modern 17-inch rims with modern Metzeler ME4s, while the 750 has Avon Roadriders - a 16-inch at the front and an 18-inch at the rear. As we ride out of the car park, I sense their tread pattern ignoring the tarmac." .... "At least I'm not wrestling the 750 against its will. It's light and nimble, basically a pushbike with an engine, and its steering avoids the overweight tug-of-war oldies suffer from. But crude forks skitter off bumps and tyres chase mastic strips like a pair of bloodhounds on different scents. It makes plotting a direction slightly random. The engne is wonderful. It's a lovely, growling, droning unit, channelling Joey Dunlop at Sulby thanks partly to free-flowing (i.e. rotten) Motad silencers. It sounds and feels like engineering genius right there, between your knees, and no other engine configuration can match it. And even though you can't tell the cams are driven by gears, not a camchain, the mere knowledge is mechanically satisfying. It's not a massively potentmotor by today's standards, but it runs like clockwork, lazily smearing out its 84bhp across a broad rev range without significant peaks or troughs." They said the vfr750 got better MPG than the 800, which I don't believe lol. 38.5MPG for the 800 and 42.8MPG for the 750. Maybe because of the jet kit I have i get barely 35mpg on my 750! anyway... "Bruce and I swap (bikes). The 800 feels as new as it is. The suspension takes the load gracefully, the steering is direct and I can feel tyre grip. The bike has steady, sports tourer handling, but its riding position is more on-top than the 750 so the screen is lower and my head gets a bettering from the wind. And my legs and feet, free of heated clothing, feel the cold more on the 800. I look down at the new bike's faired-in lowers and I can't see the engine. The 750 has an old fashioned, lose-fitting fairing, wide enough to proect from cold. And the older bike's seat is comfier too - within 80 miles on the new bike I'm shifting about on its softer perch, relieving pressure points." .... "Neither Bruce nor I can believe the old VFR has so much going for it... on motorways. It's comfy, frugal, warm, and hasn't fallen to pieces." They are now cornering on dry roads "Smiles break out behind visors and speed increases. But not too much. The VFR740 is too elderly to pursue whatever sporting credentials it might once have had. Yet the current VFR800 is no sportsbike either. It's too heavy - some 25kg more than the 750 - and suffers from minor irritations that build, like grit in a gearbox, to a grinding paste of annoyance. The finicky fuelling and linked brakes were troublesome in the snow, and they're still a bother on dry roads. And now they're joined by VTEC switching from 2 to 4 valves at 7k RPM gives a nice top end boost, but leaves the midrange and bottom end feeling flat as a prairie. It feels like pointless meddling. " "As a package the 800 easily overwhelms the 750 on twisty roads, but if we spent a fraction of the 800s price difference on uprating the 750's suspension, tyres, and breaks the outcome would be much much closer" "'Sorry, say that again.' 'Errr, which one do you want to ride home?' asks Bruce. We're in the petrol station necking Red Bull at the end of a bleary-eyed blast in search of sun. The bikes are stained, coated in high speed, long distance grime. Journey ove,r Bruce wants to know what bike I'd do the reverse trip on." Heres the money shot "I pause to consider the VFR800's lineage, the many thousands of man-hours and billions of Yen poured into its shiny paint, fresh engine and chassis. I rewind the last 800 miles, through wind, rain, snow and,yes, through su, over mountains. Probably the 800... ...but would I? Sure, its handling and performance are on a different plane to the 750. But I think the 750 is more comfy, has better MPG, a better fairing, and I really, really love its chirpy, charismatic engine. As transport the 800 is better than the 750, but not by as much as its price and age would suggest. And bikes are as much about the innner, metaphysical journey as they are about the physical ride. If you're talking about transport for the soul, I would take the VFR750" my hands hurt :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman6 Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Thanks for the write up Thor its awesome.....oh and congratulations on keeping the 86 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 19, 2013 Thanks for the write up Thor its awesome.....oh and congratulations on keeping the 86 Thank you, and by the way... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Nice couple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thor294 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 19, 2013 Thanks. looks like you called it right away! haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted August 19, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 19, 2013 If you want to read another article about your '86 from back in the day, here's a Sport Rider comparo to the 4th gen published in 1996. http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/files/file/140-sport-rider-1986-vfr-vs-1996-vfr-comparison/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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