VFR Capt.Bob

Its always situational. Sounds odd that she won't let you ride it with cash in hand. I would go with your gut. Tell her exactly why you want to ride it. Safety inspection means less than nothing to me.

I bought my present 99  VFR with out a test ride. It was immaculate. Guy is a BMW MC sales manager at a local dealership. His garage was immaculate. He even offered me a test ride. Probably not the smartest move but I said I'll do that on the way home. no regrets.

2ct or a road2ct would be my choice. In fact my usual was  PR2ct rear and 2ct front. Trying out the dunlop roadsmarts this go around. They beat the pilots IMHO.

On 7/20/2018 at 9:21 PM, thepretender said:

Bob are you going to use your Delorean to get there and how to transport the bike?

Just funin with ya, this post was for a January ride.

I may ride GMR early Sunday though depending on if any appointments to see my home come up. Trying to sell and move to the Mariposa area.

Mariposa is nice. Hope it works out for you. I guess I shouldn't have had that last whiskey before I posted up. LOL. 

I am in. I think. Been too long since I turned a wheel with you guys.

Very very nice. I have a very similarly modded VFR. I was thinking where is the big bore kit then realized the 848 designates the rear hub mod.

Love this bike.

SmokeyMt.Tim. Hope to visit sometime. I'll ride that Harley.

About the nicest 500 I have ever seen. Welcome Joey. 

On 2/16/2018 at 2:17 PM, slowbird said:

 

 This guy has a video about touring mistakes and goes on this long rant about top boxes and some unrelated story about a friend buying a bike just because of a top box. After watching that video I can't take any advice from him.

Thumbs down for him and his "advice"

He is more of an extremely experienced adventure real world tourer. Not like the weekend wannabes. Think about an innocent tip over and your plastic glorified top box breaks. Now you have all your stuff un secured. He is an out of the box thinker so to speak. As oppossed to a person who speaks first and let's the thinkers try and splain him. Forgive him his accent and personality. It's what I enjoy about him. Now go check out the rest of his videos. LOL

This guy is pretty enlightening about motorcycle travel. He travels the world on his XT660. He does a whole series on the subject. And his pronunciation is entertaining as well.

There is always some fluffy selling points to make this years offering sound as though now is the time to buy. I have owned a 86 VFR700 98 VFR800 and replaced that with a 99 VFR800. There is a very good case to be made that early 5th gens are the best but to be honest they are all great bikes.

Thing of beauty. Did the F2 mod to my  86 VFR700 back in the day. I never corrected the geometry completely like you did. I lusted after a RWB CBR900r another riding buddy had so really appreciate the body work mod you did. Brilliant work. See avitar photo for reference. I ended up selling my 86 to a friend and bought a 98 VFR800. I thought it interesting that 86 and 98 are the same numbers when you turn them upside down. 

It does fulfill the missions the Tuono is less competent at. If you can get it in the $4k range do it.

Just now, Rogue_Biker said:

OCmoto.com is toast.  The Facebook page is fading quickly as well.  

 

We're back to texting rides again.

Damn. Some good people over there. Seems to be the way of social media. 

14 hours ago, Rogue_Biker said:

Nice one Capt. I like!

 

BTW we’re riding this Sunday. PM me your cell so we can text you info.

PM being sent. My tires are a squared off mess from all work and very little play. Need to ride.

BTW. What happened with OCMoto.com. I can't connect with that forum anymore. Did they retire it?

My wife is sort of responsible. We were looking at "what ifs" in personal plates on the DMV web sight for her new to come electric vehicle Chevy e Bolt.

When we saw it was available she said i had to get it.

Who steals a VFR? I think just riding a 99 Honda VFR800 is a good enough theft deterrent for me. I think all the disc locks do is increase my chances of a tip over. Twice to date. May be a personal problem true but the likelihood goes way up if you put that little thing on your disc then after a long days work you gear up and load up the bike and anticipate that moment of clutch release and the ride home but ..errch! bam!. Disc lock strikes again.

I am really impressed with the Driven rear sets on my FZ1. They also make a set for CBR954. I will think on it and get back. 

Yep. I spent some time on Craigslist looking at some Italian sportbikes yesterday. Tempting. My FZ1 may finished.

I think you are going to have a lot of fun with her. Peter Egan said all real motorcyclist know red black and white are the only three proper colors for a motorcycle. You should go visit a ducati monster forum and see what mirror work best with it. I think most of us old timer VFR guys are closet Ducatiste's. 

The newer 18,000 mile valve tune goes a long way to justify the switch.

Wind protection and crash protection would be my two first mods. With your body weight the stock suspension should be great. That second swing arm holding the plate and sigals will have to go.

First off I love your MotoGuzzi. They are so authentic and purpose built. I look at the V11 sports lustifully and think one day when the kids are all finished with college and moved out I will have one in my garage next to several other bikes like KTM Adventure, my VFR and a rotating spot for sporty track bike. Looking forward to more on this one

Is it part 21 oil seal? If so it is just a matter of pulling the old one out and pressing new one in. Not sure if there is a c clip securing the seal or not.  I have done them before. Just be careful with installing the new one. Wet it w oil and put some plastic wrap over any parts of the shaft that might tear the new seal. Also make sure you install it in the right orientation. A shop manual is helpful for definitive answers.

Will look in my shop manual tonight after work. I have a 5th gen and had a 2nd gen as well. Need to make sure we are on the same page .

I have a work day scheduled for that day that may be cancelled. If so I will be going.

If you are using the centerstand while working on it you can establish the oil level in the sight glass and extrapolate the oil level to the other side. There will be some residual in the gear shifter housing 

I take it you just changed the oil with some fancy expensive synthetic brand and are not want to waste it. 

I think you can do it without changing the oil if that's what you want to do. In fact on the centerstand and normal oil level you may just get some residual. Remember to put cellophane plastic wrap over the splines on the gear shifter shaft before installing the new seal to protect it from chaffing and damaging it. Honestly you can probably leave the gearshift cover in place and just use some picks to pull the old seal out.

Good luck to you.

18 hours ago, Urbanengineer said:

I was trying to figure out how I'd make the rear stand work, but this is brilliant.

What brand is that stand? Would go nicely with my Honda racing rear stand.

Also just FYI. You can utilize the centerstand to lift the front off the ground with no front stand. Think CS is a fulcrum. Use a tie down to anchor the rear wheel against the ground to loft the front. Good solution for all front end work including steering stem removal and bearings.

Just need a low secure anchor point for the tiedown.