Wald

Welcome from the Northeast. Nice rig!

I am tempted, but luckily I am too far away. Still drooling over it though!

I run similar pressures 2.3 front 2.7 rear. On hot days 2.2 front and 2.6 rear. all solo rides

I may try the Mitas. Your description is similar to the Shinko 011 behavior. They are stiff, warm up fast and turn in quickly. Last up to 3000 miles on my 4th gen and my Hornet

Sweet bike! Welcome to the sanctuary from central CT!

You fellows cursed it! 1" of snow this morning in central CT!

A lot of great comments. I went the direction of stiffer springs and higher viscosity oil on my Hornet 600 and it worked out pretty good. The proper spring rate for proper sag is the first important step. I then changed the oil from 10W to15W. The rebound damping was a tick to slow in the beginning but knowing that oil degrades over time, after 600 miles or so the rebound was almost perfect. Unfortunately, it also slowed down the compression damping (the 600 Hornet has a bottom price point USD fork, no adjustment) so far, it is satisfactory but I am planning to install gold valves in the future. These are my 2 cents. BTW, Dave Moss Tuning YouTube videos are a great tool to learn about suspension tuning.

Welcome to the forum and good luck hunting for a nice vfr!

I had good experience with car wax/polish. The solvent in there removes brake dust and grime pretty good. I typically use cotton wool (more common in Europe) to scrub it with. Good luck!

Agreed! Strangely, I find my VFR with clip ons more comfortable than the "naked" pretty upright Hornet 600. However, the old knees are becoming more problematic with the footpeg position on both.

Aah yes, I still remember my last snow ride on May 1st many moons ago going home from the army base. Same thing, just parked the bike and went to sleep for 12 hours. cannot wait to wake up the queen from her winter sleep. just waiting for one more rain storm to wash of the salt off the roads

Hi Wald, Thank you for your donation of 50.00 USD. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

Welcome to the forum! I would probably start with just replacing the cam tensioner on front and rear and perhaps the guides if the tensioner were rattling for a long time. However, there are more qualified sources to comment on this forum.

I would do it differently. Set static and dynamic sag first (check Dave Moss Tuning videos on YouTube) to approximately 30% of travel, then start with damping settings. When all set and done, push down on the seat area where your weight sits, bike standing, not on a stand. Front and rear should go down approximately the same amount of travel. This is would be my to start with setup and adjust from there depending onyour riding style. It is also important to service the fork (fresh oil) as there is quite difference in damping after 6k miles of riding. A dialed in suspension makes a world of difference. These are my 2 cents.

Do you really want put your life in the hands of aliexpress?

Nice memories, this is Monte Brione (the lower flat part) in the background. I have been there mountain biking as well. Great times and food!

Welcome to the forum. You picked the right bike!

Welcome to the forum! Nice bike! Based on the looks of the rear tire, you know what to do with it!

Well obviously I could just look at the manual, but where is the fun in that??? To be fair, it is not the most helpful picture Yes, this would be too easy!😂

As Bmart said, same here

Wow! Great story and execution. This bike is beautiful! Thanks for sharing

This sounds quite normal to me. My '97 does the same. It always starts within less than a second, revs around 2000 rpm, I adjust the choke immediately, pull the clutch few times and off we go! I close the choke after 200 yards already. We need to see some pictures!

Remember, tires are a wear item. The more fun you have (more sport than touring) the faster they wear. I am getting 3000 miles on front and rears. Getting close to buy my own tire changer (although the Harley shop only charges $25 for mounting and balancing)

If you look up oem parts for your vfr on Revzilla or Partzilla, there should be a screen showing the on board tool kit with all tools listed, some might be still available and some not. CMSL in the Netherlands is a good source for older parts. I completed my toolkit this way 3 years ago

Pretty cool idea and execution! Can you manipulate the bike to put it on the center stand? This will take the load off the front tire. I store my bike in the same garage place but without a dolly (on a center stand) I may think about your build for next winter.