RC79NC001

Damn that is sexy !!!

Rolled my VFR out into fresh snow for an obligatory photo op !

Final Odometer Reading for 2021... Keep the good times and the VFR miles rolling !

Hi RC79NC001, Thank you for your donation of 100.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

3rdbike I appreciate your compliment. Glad You enjoyed it.😃

Return of the Michelin Man In 2021 I enjoyed 3 consecutive sets of Michelin Pilot Road 2 Tires.. Set 1; Installed April 7 replaced after 6552 miles; Set 2; Installed July 30 replaced after 6711 miles; Set 3; Installed October 27 ...LIFE TBD...riding these into 2022. Feel after 6000+ mi... It seems that most tire reviews start with a glowing report immediately after installation. I say HORSEFEATHERS to that . Just about anything short of cardboard pizza boxes is going to feel better than those worn out, squared off buns you just removed. What readers really want to know is how do those tires feel in the last 1/8th of use ( ie 7/8 to 8/8 )? Did the rider feel confident enough to ridem’ hard to the very end or did You “tiptoe through the tulips” just to get by ? I consider myself to be a “post aggressive” street rider which means only wicking it up when conditions allow. Any aggro street riding always includes ( repeatedly ) uttering the phrase ‘This Is Not A Racetrack”. I’m also at times content to ride stealthily and try to not draw attention to myself. The beauty of the VFR is that it can pretty much handle the whole gamut from banging through the gears @ redline to 4000 rpm short shifting. I’ll focus on the last 2 weeks in the life of set 2. October in the Carolinas is usually a fine month for any outdoor activity. The temperature is moderating and aside from diminishing daylight hours you can encounter perfect weather. I had a 3 day weekend and endeavored to ride back to my hometown in northern AL. It’s a 480 mi ride and my favorite route is a mixture of Interstate, Unlimited Access 4 Lane and “Knotty” 2 lane highway . My well worn path home includes Hwy 64 from NC into TN and then Hwy 72 in AL. The TN portion of 64 is especially choice as it follows the contours of the Ocoee river. If you are lucky and traffic is light, the 10 mile 2 lane stretch along the curviest part of 64 is a treat. Throw in some 18 wheel trucks and a slow moving RV or three and it’s not delightful at all. Well the planets aligned Friday. I pretty much had the aforementioned section to myself. It was sublime. The PR2s had around 5000 mi on them ..they steered and gripped perfectly. It had been almost 3 years since the VFR had traveled this route... time had been kind to it. Suspension upgrades, scrubbed in Michelin tires, a well paved twisty road with light traffic make for great VFR memories. It wasn’t a race but, my time from home to Alabama was a new personal best. Heading home Sunday morning early start. Ccccc..COLD...maybe 48 degrees at dawn. I figured after the sun got higher the Temperature would make it to 60 but, I think the max for the day was only 55. No glamour here..just hightailing it east on Hwy 72 at 5 to 10 over the posted speed limit. Interstate through Chattanooga and then slicing east on Hwy 64. Brrrr. Heated grips are good. Trying to keep the speed down between Bryson City and Waynesville. NC State Troopers are lethal...about writing tickets. VFR vs GS The easy way home would have been to take I40 into Asheville but, I wanted some variety. NC Hwy 209 is a twisty ribbon of blacktop that would also get me to Asheville in a more circuitous and entertaining fashion. Let’s Go ! It had been years since I sampled 209 ,the last time aboard my SV650S . My VFR was on a maiden voyage here. I found it to be just as fun as before. Somewhere between Spring Creek and Hot Springs I looked in my mirrors and there was a BMW GS a few feet off my six. Game On ! Accelerate Hard in 3rd or 4th gear up to redline. Brake hard for the next switchback. Repeat repeat repeat.... Aside from the occasional cager crossing the line in oncoming traffic it was a hoot. When we rolled into Hot Springs NC the GS rider peeled off to meet with friends. We had already exchanged helmet-off pleasantries and he complemented me on my smooth technique in the curves. I pretty much grinned all the way home after that. Flat Rear Tire I really like these PR2s. I was starting to think they were perfect, immortal even. I was wrong. I had the last week of October off. One tenative plan was to ride to Louisiana and back but, the forecast called for colder and wetter conditions than I wanted. Oh well, as consolation I’d take day trips on the sunny days. I was on a new road outside Asheboro NC. It was a narrow farm road, not new but new to me and it was checking all the right boxes. Elevation changes... check. Occasional direction changes right over a rise in the road...check. I was having fun at a relaxed pace when suddenly I thought I heard the chugging sound a tractor makes. The bike felt strange as I went through the next series of turns. Hmmm. I stopped, put the side stand down and had a quick tire inspection including a swift kick to the rear tire. I guess this was the denial phase. After accelerating away it was quite apparent my VFR did not want to change directions. Yes, the rear tire is probably flat. Less than half a mile from the quick stop I halted at an intersection put the bike on the center stand . You know how you look for a nail or sometimes it’s hard to see ? Not this flat. There was a large hole in the center of the tire. Whatever it was that made the hole was not in the immediate vicinity. That was no tractor chugging sound I thought I heard ! WTF did I run over ? At least the hole looks repairable. I’ll spare you all the gory details. I carry a traditional tire repair kit and a (nifty) electric pump. This usually helps to ward off the evil flat tire spirits ..I made repairs. Got the job done before dark. Checked the air pressure a few times on the way home and made an appointment with my trusted shop to install the next set of PR2s...which were sitting in my garage. Darn it, really wanted to break the 7000 mi mark on a set of these. Maybe the next set will be luckier...and you can ride them hard to the end. Forget the Pizza Boxes ! Summary I would recommend Michelin Pilot Road 2 Tires highly. They are predictable, durable*, ride well and are cost effective. These tires once broken in have excellent feel. About 1000 miles in on the first set, I figured I had a winner and ordered two more sets ! Alas my enhanced work/travel schedule this year limited my riding but, I will buy more in 2022. Actually I just ordered 2 sets today ! *Not immortal.

The most significant unscheduled maintenance has been the valve adjust at 60000 mi. Otherwise Synthetic oil every 4000 mi and a new oil filter every 8000 mi. Suspension front and rear upgraded at 18000 mi and refreshed at 60000. This is a wonderful motorcycle....

88888 Mi Today....

Trying what ? I ride "aggressively" most every ride in or out of vtec. We also have lots of law enforcement where I ride. Too much VTEC sounds like tickets and even a trip to jail. YMMV of course.

It shows what a fantastic design the VFR is ( all generations ). Fun and efficient if you need it to be.

A Fuel Efficient Beast Gen 8 is. Thanks to Grum for a previous post touting the efficiency of the 8th Gen. It’s true. Yesterday I went for a ride. I rode until the low fuel warning light came on . I kept riding. When I filled up these were the numbers. 308 Miles. 5.43 Gallons of No Alcohol Unleaded to fill the tank to the very top. That works out to slightly over 56 miles per gallon. I was not trying to maximize fuel economy but, I Never was in VTEC mode either. Most of the riding was done in rolling hills and at one point I was Stuck in stop and go traffic ( road construction ) for at least 10 minutes. When the 1 gallon remaining Warning started flashing I became more conscious of not wanting to run out of gas before I reached The gas station ( with no alcohol gas ) I wanted to patronize. That did not prevent me from passing an aggressively driven truck going up a steep hill.

944 Porsches are my weakness.....argh. Lucky for me I love riding my VFR so much that it keeps me from other distractions.

Forum members please ignore my last posted references to MotoGP anything... That sounds ridiculous... I just don't use my back brake....much. and prefer CL pads when the fronts wear out. TGIF !!!

Here's my front pad only history. Original Pads replaced at 33801 Mi with Ferodos ,did not care for the way the Ferodos felt. They were replaced after 18290 Mi with CL set 1. Ferodos replaced at 52091 Mi with CL Pads. CL1 set 1 was replaced after 20200 Mi with CL set 2. The pads you see in the picture are CL1 at the end of life and CL2 at the beginning. The CLs suit my aggressive MotoGP wannabe style. I suspect the rear pads will remain OEM well into the 100k mi zone.. I watch a lot of MotoGp and try to copy the style.....discreetly on the street. Suspension upgrade in 2018 probably a factor in increased riding aggression...and resulting tire wear/ brake pad life.