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A few Questions from a Noob


LouisPK

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Howdy all!

I'm new to the VFR world, Just picked up a '98 with under 10k on it and am wondering about a few upgrades/mods I'd like to do. I'm a long time Gen 1 KLR guy so am familiar with doing mods and such, just want to see what you good folks have tried and succeeded with for the VFR.

 

1. Heated grips - any recommendations on brand/technique? Is the stator up for them generally? 

2. Bar risers, I've seen aluminum insert style and proper full replacement grips, pros/cons beyond price?

3. Anyone go with a raised seat? My right hip is a little funky and doesn't like the tight of a crouch for too long. The seat needs a rebuild/replace anyway and I'm thinking a 1" addition would work. Anyone here monkey with such a thing?

 

Beyond that, I really don't care to do too much to it. If there are standard basic upgrades that you just do with a VFR (like replacing the Doohickey on a KLR) I'm all ears.

 

Thanks!

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Nice purchase. 

Rather than a higher seat I run lowered pegs, Buell pegs.  They need to be belt sanded at the mount to fit but other than that they are fine.  Around $50/pair.   

I also have a bar conversion on my bike for a more upright position.  There are some clip-on options to address this as well, I have a couple I tried before putting the bars on (I should get these up for sale).

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I have peg lowering blocks from BLS (Busy Little Shop) and it fixed my hips cramping.  I'm very tall, but even the 1" drop helped a ton.  My bike also came with ConvertiBars which also seems to help a bit, but not as much as the lowered pegs.  BTW, very nice find on a <10k mile 5th gen!

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3 hours ago, Mohawk said:

Do some searching on here & you will find  loads of info re the first two. The high seat would be a custom job. 

Thanks! I plan to

2 hours ago, JoelF said:

Nice purchase. 

Rather than a higher seat I run lowered pegs, Buell pegs.  They need to be belt sanded at the mount to fit but other than that they are fine.  Around $50/pair.   

I also have a bar conversion on my bike for a more upright position.  There are some clip-on options to address this as well, I have a couple I tried before putting the bars on (I should get these up for sale).

It's actually the bike of a family friend who got tired of riding and took meticulous care of it, he tried to sell it forever and finally ended up giving it to our family. Cool on the lowered pegs, Not being that familiar with sport bikes I wasn't sure if those were a thing for such a bike. I'll check 'em out. Make fixing up the seat cheaper as well.

2 hours ago, comradeQuestion said:

I have peg lowering blocks from BLS (Busy Little Shop) and it fixed my hips cramping.  I'm very tall, but even the 1" drop helped a ton.  My bike also came with ConvertiBars which also seems to help a bit, but not as much as the lowered pegs.  BTW, very nice find on a <10k mile 5th gen!

Good to hear the lowered pegs helped, it got to the point that it hurt to go for the brake pedal after a while. I'm going to try one thing at a time to adjust the riding position. I went balls out on my KLR and ended up wasting $ on mods that ended up cancelling each other out in some ways. It's a sweet ride, a few little faring dings and the seat is a duct tape custom, but for $0 it is a great ride.

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Nice find at under 10K miles!

 

I put the $40 Symtec heated grips on and they've been going strong for 12 or 13 years.

 

These lower blocks work very well: 

 

 

Enjoy the bike!

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