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New Owner Of 98' Vfr800!


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Hey guys just wanted to say hi! I'm Adam and a relatively new rider only having experience with a couple of twisty runs on my friend's old 74' cb.

Well here she is. This' the seller's pic but will take plenty of photos in all her glory soon enough.
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Seems like there are little things to do to make this a better ride. Customize suspension for my self and a tri-oval carbon deklevic exhast as being the first on the to do list beyond new owner maintenance. There is one thing that I'm already rapping my head around. I do love the red for these bikes it just seems like they're every where. I had an 89' bmw 325i and even though I repainted her the original cirrus blau, there was always that urge to paint it in British Racing Green. Now that's a color! Accented with gold and it's a winner.

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Here's an example of the matching BRG and gold. BRG would be a great over all body color followed up by a retro golden rally stripe...s. Try to get her across the side and reach a bit on the rear fairings. Would love to hear you're ideas about it.

There's much searching to be done on this forum but still have some questions. What vendors or manufacturers still provide new gear/mods for these bikes? I saw some one do an LED conversion and that seems like a wicked universal newer mod to do. Hearing some change out the front sprocket for the 16T for better mileage and better but dyno. Anything else y'all suggest?

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Welcome to VFRD from across the pond :beer:

Interesting sellers picture; you'd think he could have cleaned the mess from the floor!

And...........

the bike has the rare (Wolff?) underseat exhaust you will have no problem selling I'd say.

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I'd double think about selling the Wolf exhaust.

It's the HOLY GRAIL of VFR exhaust systems.

Made from pure unobtanium.

Right up there with a left-exit for a 1990-1993 VFR750.

If you ARE going to sell it, make sure you get a stock plastic undertray to put back on your bike, so you can sell the metal undertray along with the WOLF system, plus all the brackets and bolts, etc. Will make life easier for the buyer. It's nearly worthless to a buyer without the undertray and all the other brackets to bolt it up.

I couldn't find one, so I had to "make" my own:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/28435-custom-devil-dual-underseat-exhaust-system/

As for the LED's, if you're meaning headlights, they're all over Ebay. H4 LED conversion kit.

If you mean the taillights and signal lights, then whitelights.de has what you need, clear or smoked.

As for the British racing green, not really a fan personally. The 5th gen DID come in green though.

Pearl Conifer Green to be exact.

10009.1302179292.APRIL4TH_008.jpg

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Thank you for the welcome guys and thanks from this side of the pond! It's nice to know that there's actual activity on this forum by the look of the responses. It's a bit embarrassing that I didn't know that I had a wolf exhaust. Makes my delkevic post look like a noob post, which is pretty fitting for my situation. I had my biker friend in Los angeles take look at the bike to give me the green light to buy and come from up from San Diego to pick her up. He didn't say anything about that! Seems like this talk of selling will never come to fruition :) @ Veefer,I remember google finding your undertail fabrication. I can paint cars all day but can't weld for **** so was very impressed.

The mess in the garage would be explained by it being in Inglewood. No time to clean those garages! Though I was a heavy modder/garage mechanic and my 2 car garage could just fit my small car because of the parts, tool boxes and the likes. Before you go on about Inglewood, I bought my beauty BMW in compton. I remember, being the only white guy, walking to the seller's house and holding tight my stomach. I had a huge belly ache and just remember that this real hood looking guy came up to me and offered me tea to settle it. Doesn't matter what was in it, it worked and he was such a gentleman!

Now about the color scheme. This won't happen for a bit since I'm still in the process for buying my new gear and the bike. Got a Bell Vortex rally helmet, icon 1000 skelly gloves and an awesome Joe Rocket full leather perforated jacket. The jacket is great because the inner sleeve all the way down to inner body can be zipped off to uncover this high air flow material. Perfect for this riding season. But enough about that, I do like the green and I do like that... Honda race? It's just that BRG is well, just my achilles heel. Such a cruel cruel mistress indeed so I'll post plenty of pictures of the respray for you guys to look and decide. So happy that I don't have to respray with a metallic color.

And just one more thing. Do you guys have names for your bikes beyond referring to it as 'her'? I have epilepsy, has been taken care of since, so I had a "water pipe" that I called Sharapova. Being Polish I'm going to keep with either Tatiana or Tati for short. I hope I'm not calling Tati anything else.

Thanks again and cheers!

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Nice bike. My opinion is buy good gear...riding pants included. Chances are sometime in your riding career you will need good gear...

If you are new to riding, take a class or two at a local trackday or the MSF beginners' or the advanced classes. If you want to learn how to ride safely and as quickly as possible, a class is the best way to gain experience safely.

Learn about "the pace"...only one person can ride your bike at a time...when you are steering its up to you and your skills to ride safe, have fun and enjoy...ride at YOUR pace and what the road gives you...

As for the color and the exhaust, how it looks is the last priority...but it sure heats up the desire..if you have funds or time to support it...make it yours!

Welcome, learn, share, ride have fun, be safe...

Matt

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Thanks for the advise. Looking around for classes today. The last things I need are some pants and boots. The only problem is that I ride to work and will have to use the pants as my work pants. Just a little more digging in what can be appropriate gear. Do you guys have boots for just riding? I've seen there is a street casual look so you wouldn't have to change to go into any social setting. Realizing that those won't have the best protection if much at all. I just don't have a backpack big enough for a change of shoes and pants.

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Let me tell you that wolf pipe is THE exhaust system for the 5th gen. Having said that, I love my Delky pipe, sounds good and has held up well and cost me around 185$. That's a deal!

As stated, buy good gear! It is essential. Look around on motorcycle superstore or revzilla or motorcycle gear (.com for all) They make casual boots and shoes that are also protective. I ride a pair of Tourmaster Transition boots. They look a little goofy if you're not on the bike, but does it really matter? They are waterproof and have help up well the last year I have owned them. Great protection as well. As far as pants go, consider a pair of riding jeans perhaps? Also look at overpants, you wear them over whatever pants you wish and could take them off when you get to work, but they still offer impact and abrasion resistance. If you need a little extra storage, grab a tank bag or tail pack, there are tons of options, many are waterproof.

That is an awesome bike! I love my '98.

Live to ride, ride to live.

Enjoy :beer:

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Pull over protective pants,jacket and I removed after I arrive at work and motorcycle boots I replace with work boots. Every day that i ride it's the same routine !!

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Thanks for the advise. Looking around for classes today. The last things I need are some pants and boots. The only problem is that I ride to work and will have to use the pants as my work pants. Just a little more digging in what can be appropriate gear. Do you guys have boots for just riding? I've seen there is a street casual look so you wouldn't have to change to go into any social setting. Realizing that those won't have the best protection if much at all. I just don't have a backpack big enough for a change of shoes and pants.

There are types of zip-off pants that you can wear...mesh ones over your work pants if it is hot. I wear an Olympia mesh suit to work and just swap out a dress shirt once I hit the office...pants don't wrinkle under it...

http://olympiamotosports.com/category/catalog/air-essentials/

Buy a lockable top case and zip off and store until you need to go home...

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Great find, welcome aboard!

You may want to source a small heat shield for the section of the Wolf up-pipe that is just behind the right side peg holder...mine melted my booth heel even with the PO wrapping it in header wrap.

My wife said it looked a race horse with a broken leg (the header wrap not the melted boot) so found a carbon shield from Italy that was made for a Ducati of some sort and it doesn't look too bad.

+1 on the gear recommendations...after you have 2,000-3,000 miles under your belt find a Lee Parks Total Control class in your area.


When I used to have to go to an office (I office from home now) I would leave work shoes at work and change out of my riding boots when I arrived...YMMV

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Thank you guys for the input. I just laid my 87 vfr down after an 18 year old girl in her daddy's audi s4 pulled right in front of me on a narrow beach road. Had my bell vortex helmet and my icon 1000 but with no jacket. I was just going for a test spin but it's true that your life is in jeopardy 100% the time. Pants are definitely huge priority within this next week. It was 10< but my jeans are about gone. A great wake up call, which in the end will make me become a better rider.

On the brighter note, I can't wait to pic this guy up. You're all pumping me up too much with this wolf exhaust. Will take a look at this thing to see what it will need in the case of heat with the exhaust. If he put enough money and time into the wolf, I'm only guessing that he figured out how to not melt everything. Fingers crossed!


Hope to be able to see some of you in San Diego for a weekend ride. Love this forum already.

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And just one more thing. Do you guys have names for your bikes beyond referring to it as 'her'? I have epilepsy, has been taken care of since, so I had a "water pipe" that I called Sharapova. Being Polish I'm going to keep with either Tatiana or Tati for short. I hope I'm not calling Tati anything else.

Yeah, I refer to my bike as "Wench", She's a working girl alright, and really scoots when I slap 'er on the bum. Welcome to VFRD.

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my black VFR is "The Yellow Peril"

my black RC51 is "The Red Chief"

my black CB400 is "The Brown Hornet"

I am with you on the BRG, but most dont like TRUE BRG because is is kinda flat an dull

British_Racing_Green_429749_i0.png

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I got the Speed and Strength Coast is Clear pants. They are a bit long off the bike, but plenty of venting when needed. They run a little on the big side. But I can easily put them over my normal work pants.

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Awesome looking bike and Welcome to the Forum and indeed the realm of the VFR. You may now consider yourself spoiled to any other kind of bike. LOL

IMHO wearing the proper gear all the time is important as you just never know what's coming around the next corner or out of the next driveway. Might be a car, dog, child or wild animal and any of those can cause a problem to those of us on two wheels. Signing yourself up for a motorcycle safety course as others have mentioned is DEFINITELY a good idea. The info they teach will certainly help make you a better rider and I'm glad I took one back before I started riding.

In regards to your mention of the LED mods, if you are talking about modifying the headlights and going with LED, here is a link to the thread I started. Thinking back on the whole process now, I think the manufacturer of choice IMHO would be Lifetime LED's as the bulbs from this manufacturer seem to be a bit brighter and they come with a Lifetime warranty. The thread is quite long and I think has about 25 or more pages now but I did add a few of the manufacturers that popped up throughout the thread to the first post.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/76766-led-headlight-install-5th-gen/

Good luck with the bike. Ride safe, have fun, and don't forget to keep her shiny side up.

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Welcome to the asylum. You've acquired the best generation (5th) in the fastest color (red). Congrats. (I do like the idea of a BRG bike.)

I have had a few crashes in my riding history including surviving a 65 mph encounter with a deer on I74. One of the reasons I survived is because I was wearing an Aerostich Transit Suit. It is made from Gore Tex Pro Leather. Waterproof. Magic armor. I'd highly recommend you check this out. It saved me from being skinned alive. Mesh would not have been sufficient.

I wear them over jeans. Easy on - easy off.

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Thanks zoomzoom! Any fiddling around with the turn signals too?

I didn't switch the turn signals on the front or rear to LED's as the cost of the bulbs was just too much to justify (especially since the shipping cost was quite high) and you need either an electronic flasher of some sort or resistors (I think anyway though not one hundred percent sure) to slow the flash rate of the bulbs. As a result I left them alone. I did however change the brake light bulbs to LED towers (the bulbs were a gift from a fellow member of the forum). I think the bulbs themselves were about US $25 each though I'm not sure where they were sourced from. If you do change the turn signals or brake lights, be sure that you get bulbs that are similar in color to the lens they shine through. Ie. red bulbs for the tail lights and amber ones for the turn signals, unless of course you have clear lenses, then you just need the appropriate color bulb.

The LED brake light tower bulbs I have are certainly brighter than stock bulbs but compared to the cost of standard bulbs I'm not sure they are worth the extra cost. Just my opinion mind you.

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