Howdy from Down Under.
So a little while ago I bought a VFR750.. in 1992. It was a 88 model and a lovely bike and great sound, but as a youngster with too much money, 6months later I bought a 93 Fireblade.
A few years passed and a bunch of bikes later, I bought a new 98 model VFR. I sold a VTR1000 for the VFR and it was pretty much the same power and I could easily mono it without the clutch like the VTR and with the remus pipe it sounded fantastic.
That love affair lasted a year or so and then on it went. Some bikes and years later I bought a 04 VFR Vtec in 2014 but there was no longer love there as without the gear drive I felt an aural loss and the VTEC was not pretty. A friend bought it, who ironically had a 95 VFR750 and now enjoys the occasional blast on the VFR800.
With the exception of the VFR in 98, since 96 I have only owned twins. Guzzi - which I have 3 currently, ducati, harley, VTR's, TRX850's, buell, but there was always a good chance that another VFR would come along and today it now sits in the garage.
Since I had the Blade in 93, none of my bikes have stayed standard, some a lot less than others ! The Blade got an RC30 swingarm and marvic wheel upgrade in 94, my first guzzi in 96 became what was to become my first cafe racer out of many, and my next guzzi V11 got a lot of changes as well. Possibly the most modified was my TRX850 that I did in 2016. Virtually unrecognizable with R1 forks, triumph speed triple swingarm, hyperpro shock, ducati ducktail and seat, custom pipes, R6 radiator, handmade headlight and triples clamps.
Anyways.. the VFR800 is a 99 model with about 85,000km on it, and sounds terrific, but doesnt look so great. But as you can tell I like to tinker and make stuff and thats why I bought it.
Over the next year or so, I will be making my style of a modern version of the Cafe Racer concept. I haven't seen too many VFR's that are my style so to speak, so hopefully it will turn out nice.
Basic concept is a naked with USD front end, vfr800f rear wheel setup (in the post as I write), brembo rear caliper - strangely enough I made a caliper plate for a VFR800 swingarm that I mounted to a VTR1000 (thats another story..), TLR or similar radiator, some nice rearsets, single speedo tacho classic acewell gauge, suitable ducktail/rear end and a nice set of pipes.
Below are the TRX, ST2 duke and Guzzi V11 so you can see where the VFR will go to over time. I'm really looking forward to sitting on this and hearing the engine whir like the precision instrument it is.. come along for the ride too.
and the caliper bracket I did for the VTR
The builds are on my flickr pages if you're interested https://www.flickr.com/photos/knumbnutz/albums
No doubt I'll be asking a million questions, so bare with me.
Cheers Neil