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CBR600RR to 2014 VFR DLX


vfrjp

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I'm new to this forum and thought I'd ask quick about the VFR. I have an 08 CBR600RR that is nearly perfect, only 1500 miles on it. I love it but I'm interested in something a little more practical for luggage etc. There is a 2014 VFR800 DLX locally with 14K miles on it and I'm considering trading for it.

My main preliminary questions are:

the owner isn't sure when the last owner performed a valve adjust. I've seen that this is an 8 hour job but some people seem to suggest I could go without for some time? When would I realistically need to do one?

I would want to find some hard cases as well. How much would these run me? are they decently easy to find.

How about passenger comfort? My partner is not real comfortable on the CBR- she's used to BMW 1200GS and other similar bikes. While I imagine it's not quite as comfy as one of those, how is it in general for a passenger- she's somewhat tall at 5'8".

 

One plus for me is ABS, i miss having ABS. 

thanks for any and all help.

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If you get a top box with the bags, comfort won't be too bad. The VFR is a great compromise for sport and tour. It really is as much sport as anyone needs on the street in my opinion.  I haven't seen prices on the new bags but the good news is they used it for several bikes and it requires no hardware. I've been considering an 8th gen myself.

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11 minutes ago, Sweeper said:

If you get a top box with the bags, comfort won't be too bad. The VFR is a great compromise for sport and tour. It really is as much sport as anyone needs on the street in my opinion.  I haven't seen prices on the new bags but the good news is they used it for several bikes and it requires no hardware. I've been considering an 8th gen myself.

I may just pick up a Givi top box to start with. 

 

VTEC not an issue for you? I've seen that some dislike it. 

 

 

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Pretty much any VFR is going to be more comfortable for both rider and pillion than any supersport.  The VFR's ergos, at least for the rider, are good for hundreds of miles per day.  I always rode solo, but put in many 400+ mile days, and even a few 600+ mile days.

 

I like the top box idea - at least one with a padded backrest for your passenger.  Sorry, not sure about price and availability of the OEM hard saddlebags, but I had them (the OEMs were Givi) and they were outstanding.  Worth every penny if you do any trips on the bike.

 

As for the valve check, I don't know what the interval is on the 8th gen.  I think it was 16,000 miles on the 6th gen.  If it's the same on the 8th gen, it's possible it hasn't even been checked or adjusted yet.  Really, I wouldn't worry much about whether it's already been done yet.  From what I remember, most owners never have valves out of spec, and even those who do it's usually pretty minor.  Yes, it's a pain, but not insurmountable.  If you're going to have a shop do it, just budget some money for it next year if possible.

 

VTEC was only an issue on the 2002-2005 6th gens, and even then it wasn't awful.  I installed a Power Commander III and oxygen sensor eliminators on my 2004 and it worked great.  Honda figured out how to smooth out the VTEC transition starting with the 2006 model year.  From what I've read, it's been a non-issue on the 8th gens.

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I have had the valves on my 8th generation checked twice in the last 57,000 plus kms. No changes were required. It is a time consuming and expensive job. In Oz it cost about $1400 including full service, air cleaner and new iridium plugs. As my bike gets older it is becoming hard to justify the cost, but I want to push the mileage up to 200,000 if I can, so I’ll continue coping it.

 

My previous bike was a Kwaka ZX6R Ninja, much like your CBR. It was a great bike and as fast as all get out, but the VFR beats it hands down on overall use-ability. Not as fast or quick in the twisty bits, just better.

 

The VTEC is easy to live with, doesn’t give a major power surge, just a magnificent sound. Used as a Sport Tourer your not often up that high in the revs anyway.

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I have an SW - Motech rack with a Givi top box on mine. It was less than half the price of the OEM and looks OK. I also have the OEM panniers and they make the Viffer a perfect tourer. Full price in OZ is very, very expensive, but I was lucky enough to score them second hand from a guy who trashed his bike while riding without them. His wife stopped him riding so he just wanted the memories gone. I was lucky and got the as new pair for $600.

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My wife likes riding VFR way, way more than CBR.

Although my CBR has been converted to track-bike with much harder suspension than stock.

VFR footpegs are lower and seating is more upright and comfortable.

Just sitting on them in garage, you can tell difference.

 

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8 hours ago, vfrjp said:

 

I'm new to this forum and thought I'd ask quick about the VFR. I have an 08 CBR600RR that is nearly perfect, only 1500 miles on it. I love it but I'm interested in something a little more practical for luggage etc. There is a 2014 VFR800 DLX locally with 14K miles on it and I'm considering trading for it.

My main preliminary questions are:

the owner isn't sure when the last owner performed a valve adjust. I've seen that this is an 8 hour job but some people seem to suggest I could go without for some time? When would I realistically need to do one?

I would want to find some hard cases as well. How much would these run me? are they decently easy to find.

How about passenger comfort? My partner is not real comfortable on the CBR- she's used to BMW 1200GS and other similar bikes. While I imagine it's not quite as comfy as one of those, how is it in general for a passenger- she's somewhat tall at 5'8".

 

One plus for me is ABS, i miss having ABS. 

thanks for any and all help.

Honda's recommended/updated valve check is 24k miles....the manual says 16k, but that has been officially changed to 24k.  FYI

I would HIGHLY recommend getting the VFRD Group header buy....it may not be too late?  It really does make the 8G come alive!

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There is a lot of chatter about this on the web. It would be great if someone could dig out the “official” Honda document that extends the check interval. To confirm it’s not just “fake news”. 

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Just called my local Honda dealer and they say Honda recommend every 16k miles.

 

As to your OP, the VFR800F is a superb ST bike but there are always changes you can make like re-conditioning the seats with gel pads, upgrading suspension etc but overall, it's a great bike (you are asking on VFRD so yr unlikely to get a negative response 😆).

 

The Vtec is hardly a thing any more in terms of rideability and much less noticeable than on previous models.

 

Do it! 👍

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12 hours ago, VFR78 said:

There is a lot of chatter about this on the web. It would be great if someone could dig out the “official” Honda document that extends the check interval. To confirm it’s not just “fake news”. 

Fake news VFR78. Possible typo error in a British mag. A kilometer/mile mix up by the sounds of things.

Cheers.

https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/87961-16000-mile-valve-check-extended-to-24000/

 

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16 hours ago, vfrjp said:

I may just pick up a Givi top box to start with. 

 

VTEC not an issue for you? I've seen that some dislike it. 

 

 

The only thing really noticeable about VTEC for me is that glorious roar!👍

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On 12/31/2020 at 6:05 AM, Grum said:

Fake news VFR78. Possible typo error in a British mag. A kilometer/mile mix up by the sounds of things.

Cheers.

https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/87961-16000-mile-valve-check-extended-to-24000/

 

The 2018 CrossRunner manual has 24k MILES, my 2015 VFR800FD manual says 16k MILES.

It is NOT fake news. 

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On 1/3/2021 at 6:18 PM, flya750 said:

The 2018 CrossRunner manual has 24k MILES, my 2015 VFR800FD manual says 16k MILES.

It is NOT fake news. 

Indeed it is not. 24k MILES between valve inspections on my 2018.

 

The 2015 Crossrunner Owners Manual also says 16k miles between them so clearly it changed after that.

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OK! OK!

 

The next question is why did Mr Honda change the interval?

 

1. Have there been improvements in the materials in the top of the motor? Are the older bikes still stuck with the shorter interval?

 

2. Did years of experience with the motor finally identify that they were happy with the longer interval? (Now about the same as an FJR1300).

 

3. Did marketing say they were losing sales because of ongoing maintenance costs and needed to change the interval? (just like Ducati did).

 

If it’s not number 1, I’ve wasted some significant dough!

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Yesterday contacted two reputable Honda dealerships 

The valve clearance check interval for the VFR800F has not changed and they have no official Honda documentation to say it has!

 

Agree with flya750, that the interval should be increased based on all the statistical information from a thread that thrashed out the need for valve checks some time back. 

But has Honda made it official? There's plenty of doubt.

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It bought u piece of mind.

 

 

My '97 had its valves checked for the first time in 2016 with 90,000km on the clock.  1 of 16 was just out of spec (too wide).

With used engines cheap as chips, it simply was not worth doing the checks as per the manual.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/30/2020 at 7:22 PM, VFR78 said:

 I was lucky enough to score them second hand from a guy who trashed his bike while riding without them. His wife stopped him riding so he just wanted the memories gone. I was lucky and got the as new pair for $600.

 

I unfortunately just became that guy too, bike (and I) got t-boned and my VFR totaled. I never even got a chance to mount two of the three bags.

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