fortyhourdays Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Hey everyone, I figured I should stop lurking and introduce myself. Jon from Nashville Tennessee area here. I am the proud new owner of Marriedman's 99 VFR. We've known each other on another forum for several years now and he ended up holding his bike for almost a month for me till I could make the trip up from Tennessee to Dayton, Ohio. What follows is a brief report of my trip to get it and my first impressions of it. 6am CST and I've got a 6 hour drive ahead of me with Dayton, Ohio and Marriedman's 5th Gen VFR in my sights. I'd borrowed and fueled up my father in laws truck and trailer the night before. I didn't stop once and made it up there by 12:40 EST. MM got off work early and was just pulling both of his VFR's out of the garage, both of which are absolutely gorgeous! MM took me on a loop ride around his house. I was sold after the first corner and had a grin on my face the whole time. After the necessary details of title transfer and payment were taken care of, MM says one last tearful good bye as I prepare the tie downs Food porn, Wendy's spicy chicken at a gas stop. Wow, that bike is following me awful closely. Maybe it will follow me home! I think I spent more time looking in the rearview mirror than I did the road in front of me. Did I mention how much I hate trailering bikes? Every little bump sends my heart all pitter pattering as I watch the bike bounce around behind me! I hit rush hour in Cincinnati, but missed it in Nashville. They sure were doing a lot of construction though. The highway was shut down to one lane for many miles I made it home just after 8pm CST and my shirt seems appropriate for my mood I absolutely love this bike! My other bike is a 1985 Honda Nighthawk 650 that I rebuilt the engine on in my dining room (pre-marriage) so the VFR is quite the improvement in all areas by comparison, and we sold my wife's 08 GSXR 600 in hopes of getting something a bit better for 2-up riding. My wife was very skeptical when I first brought the bike home. It looks so much more uncomfortable than it actually is. She thought it was going to be just as uncomfortable as her old Gixxer. I was sweating it a bit, but thankfully she was pleasantly surprised once we actually went for a ride. She said it was way better than the nighthawk, and having the top box and grab handles attached made her feel very secure. I can't believe how well this thing corners. I was taking corners the same speed I would have felt a little sketchy on the nighthawk and it just stuck right to the line effortlessly. My wife told me she thought I was taking it way slower than I normally do, but really this bike feels so in control that you think you're not going as fast. My nighthawk feels all wallowy in the back end compared to this. Amazing what "modern" suspension will do :). I really couldn't be happier, and my wife is happy too, saying if she would have come to the buy with me for the test ride she would have wanted to buy it too. Happy wife happy life :) Thanks MM for putting your blood sweat and tears into this bike and letting me reap the benefits. I'll post a few pics even though y'all are probably pretty familiar with the bike already, but I feel like a proud papa! Congratulations if you made it through that marathon of an introductory post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 WELCOME and good lookin bike !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rush2112 Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 Welcome and well done on the addition of MM's VFR... best generation, but I'm partial ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoothsailin Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Congratulations on the new ride and welcome to the forum! I purchased a 2nd hand '83 Nighthawk 650 (mine was midnight blue) nearly a quarter century ago from the original owner w/~ 6k miles. She provided many memorable rides (including my first through Deals Gap) and experiences over the next 4+ years and ~ 25k relatively trouble-free miles. In fact, I sold her to a neighbor across the street nearly 20 years ago who still rides her occasionally. While I consider the 5th gen my favorite of the two wheelers I've owned to-date, I've also felt the 83' & later Nighthawk 650 & the 700cc Nighthawk S to be some of the best all-around motorcycles produced in the mid-eighties. With shaft drive, six speeds (including a relatively tall top gear good for~3.8k rpm at 60 mph), air & trac (anti-dive) adjustable forks, preload & rebound adjustable shocks & hydraulic valve lash tensioners the Nighthawk was one heck of a capable machine. I can still remember one beautiful day when I rode her more than 700 miles from my home to Mt. Rogers and back. While the seat wasn't the greatest comfort wise, the riding position was upright, relaxed and relatively comfortable as I recall. If I had more room I'd be sorely tempted to re-purchase my '83 and restore her. Enjoy both (VFR & Nighthawk) while you can, for if you sell one of them it will be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 Welcome to VFRD from across the pond. Ole!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MaxSwell Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 Welcome to the asylum. I was considering MM fifth's also. But you were already in line. Sounds like she'll be well appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WERA910 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Awesome new ride! Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Awesome! I'll be in Nashville over July 4th...perhaps we can meet up~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 About damn time you posted over here! Welcome to the forum. Guys, I couldn't have asked for a better buyer. Knowing that the bike didn't go to a squid or a person who wouldn't appreciate the finer aspects of the VFR is a huge relief to me. When I first got that bike, i was so new to everything - motorcycles and wrenching in general. Learned alot on that bike and now it needs nothing. I know forty will take good care of it for a long time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyhourdays Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 Thanks for the warm welcome. @Smoothsailin: I definitely still have a real soft spot in my heart for my nighthawk. I'm definitely going to miss the simplicity of the shaft drive, hydraulic valve adjustment, and no fairing, those bikes really we're ahead of there time in a lot of ways and the best bang for your buck of that 80's genre IMO. Here's a couple shots of the "dining room rebuild" on mine after burning out a connecting rod bearing. @maxswell: it looks like you already have enough 5th gens, you can't have them all ;) @tnrabbit: I'll be in WV on the actual 4th, but I should be back in TN after the 6th. Will you still be in TN by then? @Marriedman: I'll treat her right :) have your girls recovered yet from you selling it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted June 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 14, 2014 Welcome fortyhour... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 @Marriedman: I'll treat her right :) have your girls recovered yet from you selling it? Just today I was washing the bike then clay bar, my oldest daughter said "you know, I like the color of this bike better." So I guess at least the oldest has forgiven me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.