Member Contributer Terry Posted March 17, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 17, 2016 BLS, that is a hard act to follow. I'm very impressed with your belt-drive VF500, I rode a couple of belt drive bikes (Kawasakis, a Z250CSR single and Z440 twin) way back when, and the shock-absorbing nature of the belt made them much smoother compared to similar chain drive bikes. But I digress. For me it all started in 1982 with a CB125T, two little pistons going nowhere fast! From there I graduated to my first real bike a 1982 CB250RS single (on which I won an economy run at 146 mpg!): My first electric start bike, a CB400N in very pretty colours: After this I moved to 4-cylinders, a mighty CBX400F: and then with the release of the VF500F, my first V4 Needing more power I moved to one of these little babies, the CBX750F I downsized for a bit and went back to a VF400F, in this delightful colour scheme. This bike was capable of a top speed of "Made in Japan" according to the speedo (or 210km/hr according to my mate with a GPz900...) Owing to a failed test ride (where I dropped the bike at speed...) I suddenly became the proud owner of this VF750F; after restoration it was a great looing bike, but the cam chains were a bother to a cash-strapped student: And so another VF400 was purchased, I got to play with this one at a track: Next up the first of my VFR's. I owned two of these lovely US-market 700's with appropriate Fox shock and cartridge emulators; still a favourite for looks: Back to a smaller bike for a change, VFR400 Pro-arm, so I could pretend to own an RC30... Have Honda ever topped that colour scheme??? Nope, didn't think so. Next up a pearl white VFR750F, again a fabulous looker and very capable handler with some mods, just some radial tyres away from perfection. Even the Missus liked it... I crossed over to the dark side for a while, with an RF900 Suzuki. A bit polarising for looks, but I loved it, especially in purple, and again with some suspension mods a very fine handler. Kept this one for 16 years (I blame the kids/houses/general domestic poverty...). Here I am taking my daughter for her first ride, she turned out to be a great pillion. Which brings me more or less up to date. I am now a Man of Two Bikes, with my VFR800 and also a matching VTR1000, both of which have felt the brush of my OCMD with suspension and other mods. These are the two highest mileage bikes I've ever owned, but with the suspension sorted you'd never know. Aaahhhh. happy days!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted March 17, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 17, 2016 I'll just keep my pics short with my 3 VF models.... I "learned" to ride on a friend's brand new '83 VF750F and bought my '84 very shortly afterward. I kept that for several years, then jumped to a Kaw EX500, a Kaw Concours, and then bought my "97 VFR that I kept for ten years. I thought I was jumping back to a new Kaw Ninja 1000 three years ago until I saw the insurance rates and circled back to my '07 VFR. Pretty sold on Honda reliability and the fact that they are not the best at anything but excel at EVERYTHING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted March 17, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 17, 2016 No picture of my 1969 CB250 R45 K100RS LM IV Current rides: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateRiderBen Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 There's a reason they call me the pup, but here's a chronology of the last 4-5 years of my two wheeled adventures. bike #1, 1985 Cb450 Nighthawk. paid the fellow 900$ of pocket change, saved money from work, and other various things. bike #2, 1994 Magna 750, kept the Nighthawk for about 2 months, and got bit by the, "lets buy something different bug" Picked this up with the money I made of the nighthawk and some more pocket change I saved. A cool bike, bothered by what I assume were dirty carbs and a torture rack of a seat. bike #3, 1996 Shadow 1100 ACE. I kept the Magna for about 6-8 months, and never fell in love so I sold it finally, and picked this black beauty up. Man oh man, what an awesome bike. It was totally tricked out by the first owner. Corbin seat was very hard and made my back hurt and at the time I was dating a girl who loved to ride so I figured I'd sell the bike and get something better for two up rides. Only had her for about 3-4 months. Basically the only thing I learned here is never sell what you love for a woman, as she dumped me to the curb about 2 months after I sold this. If i could find this bike I would buy it right back. bike #4, 1994 Voyager 1200. It had 4 speakers and a cassette deck I could plug my ipod into. Pretty sweet. By far the most uncomfortable bike I have ever owned. The seat was horrendous. It did cruise the highway nice though. Took my first long day trip ride on this, with the above mentioned girl. Went from Greenville NC to the Great Dismal Swamp state park for a day and picnic. It was a good time really. Unfortunately the ride back was miserable due to the horrible seat and a seriously negative gas gauge that kept reading empty after 100 miles. Tank was supposedly 6 something gallons. Lady went her own way not to long after and I sold it to a guy locally who still rides it. bike #5, I sold the Kawi tank and found the 1998 VFR800 a couple hours later, drove up the next day and it was mine. It was perfect. I loved it. Put 7000 miles on it over two years, 6000 of those were in the first year. It brought me here to VFRD, to Tmac '14, and to Myrtle Beach bike week '14. I learned to sport ride on this bike. Ended up wanting a little more torque and more comfort for my 6'4" frame and bought bike #6. bike # 6, 2007 Tiger 1050 ABS. Lucky i found this in the hills around Lake Lure NC owned by a British gentleman. It had been neglected for a few months but some service and cleaning and she ha served me faithfully for the last two years and 6000 miles. Overall an excellent bike that I have very few gripes about. Selling only to try something different, but sense I will return to a Tiger in the future. bike#7, I had no luck selling the VFR till a buddy came along with his 2013 CB500F and offered me a trade. I wanted small and light to play in the hills with so I said sure why not!? The last year and 3500 miles I have done on this little bike have made me a much faster and better rider than ever before. Corner speed, body position, and other techniques are amplified on a bike this small, as there's no keeping up with your riding buddies just relying on the 47hp parallel twin. bike #8 I just couldn't stay away, and when I saw this 1999 VFR i knew I had to rescue it. She is currently in pieces and will hopefully be up and running by Tmac 2016. Lots of plans for custom work and farkles to really make this bike my own. bike #9, And the fun continues, a fellow member offered me a deal I couldn't pass up for the CB500F, and soon to grace my garage will be a 2005 BMW K1200S... 167hp and 98 lb. ft. of torque, whats not to like? -PRB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeper Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 bike #9, And the fun continues, a fellow member offered me a deal I couldn't pass up for the CB500F, and soon to grace my garage will be a 2005 BMW K1200S... 167hp and 98 lb. ft. of torque, whats not to like? Oh no you just diunt! I bet I know somebody who is about to be very happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateRiderBen Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 bike #9, And the fun continues, a fellow member offered me a deal I couldn't pass up for the CB500F, and soon to grace my garage will be a 2005 BMW K1200S... 167hp and 98 lb. ft. of torque, whats not to like? Oh no you just diunt! I bet I know somebody who is about to be very happy. And who might that be good sir? Haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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