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While looking through my old pics - not for anything VFR related, I came across this shot from late-2019. Probably washed it in preparation for a long winter's nap and decided to record the moment. I think the 6th gen looks pretty good from this angle.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure to drive to Jerez de la Frontera circuit (Spain) from my home Sintra (Portugal). A beautiful ride with a mix of highway and interior twisties roads. Highway until Beja exit on A2, than interior roads going from Beja through Rosal de la Frontera until Sevilla, can't miss it, it's nearly just keeping following straight. Just a bit before reaching Sevilla, a bit of highway and a Stop for a long waited dinner, I do recommend Mesones del Serranito, for bocadillo (swandich) and huevos rotos (eggs). After another bit of highway until reaching the Circuit. This time I just went to see my friend on a track day with his S1000RR tranning for Portuguese S1000 RR cup. One day I will ride there with our wonderfull VFR Happy Monday 😃

Hi Bumpers and Bumperettes! I am fine, thanks for asking guys. My health is still getting worse by the year and that was kinda what happened last year. Combine it with the let down of first block not being tunable by me and the fact that i had to start weekly purchases of LSU`s to keep up i just said fuck it. There is no Dyno close who will do RapidBike so the math stoped making sense with all i have to redoo to get shit proper and reliable. Some will say this project never made sense - i DO NOT AGGRE! All one can ask for in life is the ability to do something you love, and have the money to do it nomatter what it is and in a perfect world everything else should be shown the door! 298 days since my last post there is at least some news. I have ordered 2 more MyTuningBikes and enough sensors to sniff all 4 cylinders. I will have to strip her again, remove the headers and weld in 4 bungs. But first i will have to dyno my aprilia sxv and get her ready for a new owner and complete the FJ1100 restauration also going out the door! Getting rid of all the "noise" aka bikes i do not intend to use any longer will be necessary for me at this point in life. well, selling two and added one - cagiva Mito sp525 in very good shape, nothing major and a bike that is so rare i could not help myself, but the VFR will take presedence! To be continued - until completed!

New exhaust is a mash up of stock muffler connectors and cross-over with the rear sections of a Yoshimura 4 into 2 system. Found some gaskets that had the correct ID / OD for the job. The Yosh pieces were complete, but I wanted the cross over pipe and the secure, clamped fitment of the stock connectors. Plus I wanted to re-position the mufflers a bit. New ends of Yosh pipes got gasket compression slots with drilled ends. Had a subframe with a damaged left passenger footpeg mount, so I cut them off and smushed the stubs for mounts. Here's how much higher the new mount location will be compared to "stock". Cleaned up and radiused sub frame mounts and new custom struts for the mufflers. Real nice angle now and super solid.

Good looking 6th gen... Related to the winter blues..... winter is long and I do the winter teardown thing... But the wait.... I watch this vid several times a winter, I'm sure plenty of us can relate..

I always replace my ducks when they become excessively sarcastic.

I send a sarcasm sample out for testing every season to Derision Labs. Still concentrated and effective. Can probably go a couple seasons between testing.

Hi All, here's a brief report of the first ride after the mods on my VFR. Mods here: Well, as well as reported in the post, I didn't do extravagant or exotic modifications; it's something that most of you have already experienced. Thus, forgive the repetition. Well, I come out for the first ride of the year, yesterday. Nothing special; I was just curios to see the impact of the work. Of course,, winter conditions (low temperatures, slightly over zero, dirty roads) and worn tires are not the best preconditions for pushing hard, so I've been extremely cautious and prudent. However, despite of it, the differences were more than evident: Brakes are ready, robust, and finally I can manage them as it's supposed to be. I was afraid of some chattering, to be honest: I confess that I was afraid that the washers to shim the calipers should have made system vibrate, but it's not the case; everything is smooth and linear. The new frontend works fine; the forkbrace makes it stiffer, and you can see it in entering the corner, while you get in your hands a good and "faithful" reading of the road ahead The engine also runs very well; I didn't get big variations from the new coils; the sensation was just like when I was young, running a 2 stroke engine with a leaner carburetion. It's slighty rapid in revving and "cleaner" to the throttle response. Nothing huge or striking: it's just a pleasant sensation of improved readiness In conclusion, very happy of the work. It's not a revolution, but the bike is now closer to my idea of a VFR. No useless and fancy stuff aboard (no PAIR, flaps, D-CBS), no ugly and old coils bolted on the frame below my hands. Just a sublime engine into a good chassis. A VFR as it's meant to be

Recent issues from the last 15 years also speculate that this is the year they release the RVF1000R-R!!!!!!!!

Oh yes ❤️ Most of us surely has his own bat-cave to take shelter in.

Guess I'm an Outlier. Started riding in 1976, but bought my first V4 in 95, a VF700S. Moved on to a VF1100S, then a VF1000R, another VF1000R, an 83 VF750F. 97 VFR750, 90VFR750. As I'm getting on a bit started looking around 12 years ago for something different. Went to 4 consecutive Ecima shows as I was working in Italy and looked at pretty much everything. Nothing, well in my price range, stood out as anything other that lateral move from my VFR's. At the last Ecima show I went to I sat on a Africa Twin and to my surprise, flat footed it. Yeah, it was bolted to the floor and a beta model, big mistake. But I bought one back in the US, and knew before I got back to Maine from where I bought it in NJ, that it was a mistake. Kept it for 5 years, but realized that at 5'7" and 150lbs it was never going to work.Sold it and had another look around. Transalps, Triumphs, Kawasakis etc. Looked at everything. Hate to admit it as I'm a form follows function guy, but quite a few new bikes are just not that good looking in my eyes. Never sold any of my V4's, so riding was not an issue, but what did I finally do after about 2 years of looking? I bought a 2001 VFR800 with 11K on the clock. I am 2 weeks away from punching the the 70 ticket, so I'm aware my riding has a sell by date coming up, but that's where I ended up, again.......... Between the 97 and 01 I managed just about 10K last summer/fall. Looking at a bit more this year if all goes well.

Well that was more of a dick response than I was expecting. Maybe you could try reading a post and considering its merits before turning into a social media flame warrior. I was referring to the SMC and preventing it from moving so the calliper stays where it ought to. Any means of locking the SMC will do, and using a cured epoxy to fill in the void will do quite nicely as all it is doing is replacing the fluid that normally sits in there. I was not suggesting that the epoxy would also be in the brake lines. I'm not sure that I understand what your rational objection to that is, but I try and stay open minded to the views of others so let us know. As for your comment about the master cylinder ratio when drilling using all 6 pistons up front, maybe you missed the comment "and use a larger bore front MC to match". I've actually done a delink on my previous 5th gen, the "proper way" by replacing the fork lowers with VTR parts, CBR600F4 callipers, CBR600RR master, cbr600F4 rear master and joined hoses at the rear master, and I have worked through the maths of master to slave hydraulic ratios by spreadsheet to ensure I understood what I was doing.

This little rascal sitting on a shelf in my shop has a different take...

I had been curious about running oil for more than 1 season, so 2 seasons on the VFR and I sent a sample to Blackstone Labs, Fort Wayne Indiana. They suggested I could run another season before the next oil change, maybe send another sample in October.

Problem resolved I thought I would bring the group up to speed on finding the problem to the "Loss of throttle control and stalling" after I purchased this bike I had only taken it on some very short trips due to the issue with the stalling, I decided to take the bike out and see if I could figure out what the common denominator was with the stalling, what I found was it was happening when I would be slowing down and it was shifting down in response to the decreased speed, what it was doing was not releasing the clutch enough at low rpm and causing the bike to stall, along with that I was also having it stall at times when just sitting at idle and that is what caused me to take longer figuring this all out, I had two issues, one was the clutch issue and the second was varnished injectors due to the low miles on the bike and it had sat for a couple of years before I bought it. So I dosed it with 12oz of Techron Complete fuel system cleaner and then ran it out on a "Closed course" wide open to clean the injectors and then ran the transmission calibration on it and between the two services it completley solved the stalling when slowing down and the stalling while idling issues, plus the transmission shifts smoother then it ever has since I've owned it! Regards, Kent

My other bikes are a Kawasaki ZZR250 mini sport bike bought as a winter bike many years ago & eventually treated to some TLC & restored to nice condition. As I'm sure you know from my VFR I can't leave things alone, so its well modified & waiting on a 315cc Ninja 300 engine & wiring loom/instruments transplant. A slow burn project. Handling is ace. It's more recent cousin is a Kawasaki Versys-X 300 (now 315cc high compression) going to be my cheap mpg slow tourer when I retire soon. Gets 300miles from 17L if you keep it below 60mph. Again bought as a winter bike new back in late 2017. Since the winter need ended in Covid (now work from home) it has had a lot of upgrades & will be finished soon. You can check it out here. https://www.kawasakiversys.com/threads/new-panniers.233579/?post_id=1742639#post-1742639 These are a very underrated machine with a loyal following. I've out toured & out ridden some mates with BMW R1250GS's both on & off road 😁

Multistrada also, 2016 and then a 2020. Although I hung on to my 5G VFR and added another. I've looked at the Suzuki GT and GX and the Tracer GT, they have great reviews but the build quality didn't seem as polished as the Honda. But maintenance costs on the older V2 Multi are ridiculous, one benefit to going back to a Japanese bike.

I would be pretty wary as amazon is rife with knock off stuff that is very poor quality. I don't think it's worth the risk to save a little money and then come back to bite you. Just my opinion.

Oh, there's A LOT a "man in the street" can do on a bike, with a bit of fantasy 😁 I.e., here's my beloved (and heavily modified) CBR1100XX. Believe it or not, I cut out half a hundredweight from its shoulders, stiffening it at the same time. and there's even more under the cover... Further to the forkbrace, we live too far, unfortunately; but let me dig into my old HD; I could find the drawings and send'em to you (pld give me your email), so that you may manufacture'em by yourself

Rear brake set-up copying what I did on the RC26. Front end going in 1988 VFR 41mm lower triple and RC36 upper. RC36 bars. Quite a bit of wiring re-routing involved with moving the fuse box off of the triple clamp. Everything plugged in there.

I've test ridden both the 660 and the 800 when I was considering swapping out the Crossrunner. The 660 lacked the punch of the VFR and whilst the 800 was a great ride, it costs a lot and I'm still a little doubtful of the build quality of a bike that would have to be ridden through English winters. Neither of them are a replacement for the VFR1200 though. I decided to keep the Crossrunner as my commuter (170 mile round trip) until I retire in Jan 26 as it is simply brilliant. It's a proper VFR but with a really easy riding position which I need at my age. This has brought me to my VFR1200F. I love this bike. I've spent a lot on making it a better, fun ride and able to tour too but the riding position takes it toll and so I've purchased a VFR1200X Crosstourer. I know the hp is well down on the F but everything else works for me. I've only managed to take her out for a short check ride (bought unseen, 5 yrs old with less than 900 miles on the clock and a full Honda annual service history and I had 2 weeks to hand her back so she needed a test ride) and I believe the bike will give me what I want, Shaft-drive, bigger fuel tank, perfect riding position, big luggage and that motor. She's stuck at the back of the garage atm and for various reasons, wont be coming out until my new double garage is built and I can move the CR and CT in along with the F and Fi-1 coming over from my son's garage. I wouldn't mind a test on the new V2 Duke but I'm not a big fan of all the tech (more to go wrong?) and it's very, very expensive so unlikely to really be a contender. The CT was a bargain imo and I can't wait to get her sorted and regularly ridden.

I've discovered simular.... I can't sit bolt upright on a bike for an extended period..tailbone goes "Hey you!" that knocks out quite a few bikes.....I need to have some lean forward. Maybe that is why I never like Helibars..

I don't believe they were sold in the USA, you had the original Ninja 250 (1986-2007) right up until the new 250R was released in 2008, the rest of the world got the ZZR from 1990 depending on country, until the new 250R was released in 2008. Mine is a 2001 model imported from France as UK only got them in 91/92 IIRC. They are slightly more powerful than the Ninja 250 & make around 26hp at the wheel. My 315cc project will take that to circa 44rwhp which the chassis is more than capable of dealing with. I have added a KR1-S front end, with cartridge fork internals with twin disc's & an Ohlins shock with KR1-S alloy swingarm. It handles like a scalpel & makes the VFR feel like a bus 😂

I use to be 5’7” but at 72, I’m a fair bit shorter😳. If I had an Africa Twin or KTM Adventure, I’m reasonably sure it would fall over, a lot. RC79 with the low seat is all I can handle, but I do get sore knees and neck. My Viffer now has 115,000kms on it, so maybe I need to find something new.

I think other engine interesting configurations have spoilt me, I test rode a GT but it had too much in-line rasp for my tastes, but a decent handler and nice ride position. I have also ridden the NT1100 but that felt a bit vanilla and I was happier when I jumped back onto my ST1300. I am hard to please. I wish Yamaha would do a proper GT version of the MT-10; that engine is magical, smooth, FAST, sounds great, and in spite of reports does not use more fuel than a VFR unless you engage the afterburners frequently. The 17L tank is a limitation as realistically the low fuel light is on at 13L used, compared to the VFR at more like 17L, but the ride position and leg room encourage you to keep going.

While there's no way I would sell the 5th gen or the Valkyrie, (too much TLC emotional equity in them)(never say never) I always peruse newer bikes too. In the tradition of N + 1...... I am looking at the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT. Havent pulled the trigger, but its tempting....some good deals going on...

I will be taking a close look at the Tiger Sport 800 when they have a demo available locally. I have a few bikes that are 'additional" to my two VFR800s. A Yamaha MT10SP which has a banzai motor, upright ergos and an amazing chassis, but really needs a bigger tank, and you pay the price for the handling with a fairly jarring ride at times. I also have an ageing 2005 ST1300 which is big and heavy but dances well in corners and has all-day ergonomics and a fuel tank to encourage that. The rising price of bike registration here is making me reconsider my many-bikes approach. Hence the interest in the Tiger Sport.

I loved my last 6th gen and never planned to sell it. When my daughter started riding, I got her a CB500x and then started riding it myself on occasion. After riding it in the mountains, I realized that lighter and more comfortable was a good thing. I was in my early sixties and had no plans to two up or do long days on the open road so I started looking. The CB was a great little bike for carving up tight mountain roads but only had 48hp. I ended up with a Tiger660 that has the same chassis specs as a early CB500X but 79hp and hard bags that don't require an ugly mount. Best of both worlds now. The Tiger will run circles around a VFR in the mountains, can tour comfortably, and is even fun on the track. I know of seven or more VFR owners who have switched to the Tiger660. If you need a little more, there is the new Tiger800 sport. No experience with it yet.

https://youtu.be/VX94IAB31qs Wakey wakey

The winter has me doing a bunch of simple and not so simple maintenance. From oil changes, to new stator, valve checks and SS lines... I decided to record the whole thing! The first episode is an easy one. Oil change and some adventure stories. If you're into this sort of thing, enjoy!

That's why we have the forums... It's the VFR aDdicts support group! 😄

In late 2014 bought a 91 VFR while working in England. In late 2015 I sold it when my job finished, with one caveat. I kept the rear rim. The new owner was incredulous, but considering the price I was asking plus I had a brand new rear that went with the bike, he couldn't pay me fast enough........🙂 and quickly found a replacement. That rim was on my 97 for 74,000 miles, and is now on my 2001. I must say the 8 spoke looks rather nice on the newer Gens......

This past year I did not change the oil before storage due to unforeseen circumstances. Its been eating away at me all winter. LOL. I'm a little OCD when it comes to my machines. I will swap out the oil in the next few weeks with riding season around the corner. I only rode 3000km last summer so I wouldn't think the oil is disgusting but it still eats away at me. (10/40 synthetic Motul) Any one else out there like me. I know some guys who run the same oil 2 summers straight. LOL. Ride safe this spring and enjoy your VFRs. Some of the best bikes ever made.

The Guest/Rain bike... Getting some nice pieces, mostly from the replaced parts on the RC26. F2 wheels, F2 forks with RT Springs and Emulators. RC36 Brakes. Rebuilt Fox Twin Clicker II with new 24" res hose.

Oh, you'll probably be seeing more of the same. Thanks to browser cookies and trackers you'll probably see ad space on random sites you visit in the future showing similar products. 😇

I don't care what bike it is or what aftermarket seat it has, any long duration ride I'll toss an air cell seat pad on it. Good ones have a gap for the tailbone and will keep downward pressure on your padding and not pointy stuff. Keeps all caboose complaints to a minimum.

Used the winter months to replace fluids in my 02. Changed the engine oil and filter, fork oil, dust caps and oil seals, brake fluid and brake pads on the rear. Coolant is a year old so I skipped that. Noticed the rear caliper wouldn't slide so I partially disassembled all calipers and cleaned and greased the slide pins. Fixed an oil leak at the stator cover by replacing the gasket. Reused the gasket once before. Didn't hold for too long. Removing the old stuck on gasket was a faff. Stator still looks good.

Looks kinda cool as a Police Bike. Luggage and a passenger's ass helps hide the hideous tail.

I saw this week that the NT1100 is coming to the US this year. Not a huge fan of it visually but it might be ok as a sport tourer.

If Honda had a simular offering as the GT, I would be on that... I'm looking for the GT to be a multi state tool, only mods will be seat and windshield.

In 2020, after owning my 6th gen. for 14 years as my only bike, I bought a BMW R nineT Pure. As I got older, the ergonomics of my VFR started to take a toll on long days and trips, to the point where my neck and knees hurt after several hours or 300-400 miles. I just couldn't do it anymore. I know a set of bar risers and lower footpegs would have helped, but I was also just ready to move on to another bike. I chose the R nineT Pure for several reasons, but most importantly it put a big smile on my face right from the start of my test ride. The boxer twin (this being the older air/oil-cooled version) is different and has nice character, the ergonomics are somewhat sporty, the bike is somewhat versatile, it's more basic than most new bikes, it's reliable, very customizable, it was affordable, and it looks great in my opinion. I miss my VFR sometimes, and I have considered buying another one, but I doubt that will happen. There are still a couple other bikes I'd like to experience, so one of those will probably be my next bike, maybe a few or several years from now.

Well, OK. After 30 consecutive years owning a VF or VFR, I traded my 7th gen for a 2017 Multistrada. Loved my VFR1200F but I wanted the TC, corner-sensitive ABS, rain/tour/sport ride modes, seven inches of suspension travel, and more upright riding position. Never looked back but...I miss my VFR's. If Honda made a 9th gen with, say, a 900cc V4, all the electronic bells and whistles, sport touring, under 500lbs (OK, I'm asking a lot, but still...), I'd buy it in a second. Right now my track day bike is the ancient RC-51, and my long-distance bike w luggage etc. is the MS. We'll see what's next. The new Daytona is pretty cool, and the latest Ducati 900 V2 is barely 400lbs, so who knows? edit: yeah. they're all red

Speaking of which, that thermostat housing reminds me that when I fitted silicone water hoses to my yellow 5th gen I found that one or more of the OEM spigots (is that the right term?) seemed a little under-sized (or the hose over-sized!), and one possible solution to that is to install some adhesive-lined 1" heatshrink tubing onto the spigot before fitting the hose. I purchased some relatively thick heatshrink for that purpose, but I never got around to installing it. (Could also help with thermostat housings damaged by corrosion.) Ciao, JZH

Shorter update: I bought it! I will be putting it on my blue 5th gen, so I will need to make a new mounting bracket and some other parts. Ciao, JZH