The Phantom

Now there's a man who appreciates a good V4.

I used to think the 4th Gen would become 'the' collectable VFR, but I actually agree with the article regarding the 1st/2nd Gen. Personally I'd go 2nd Gen for the 17" wheels, but the thing with collectibles is that it's not always about outright performance.

For anyone who owns a 1st/2nd Gen - start tracking down the original bits now if you've got aftermarket kit on it. Collectors will always pay a premium for the bike that is totally original, or at least has the original bits in a box accompanying the bike (same goes for cars).

Looks like stock kit to me.

Looking good Andreas!

Agreed, Stoner started in 2006 on the LCR Honda, and in rookie year on a second tier bike he took a pole and very nearly a win.

Had he started on the Repsol Honda in 2006, with - for purposes of equalisation - someone like Valentino Rossi working behind the scenes as a test rider, and Rossi's old crew working for Stoner - how many titles and records might he now hold?

All due respect to Marquez, but it's certainly a combination of talents both on and off the bike that have seen him do what he has done.

I think this is a labour of love :)

The rear hub may need to come out of the swingarm - even VFRs that haven't gone into rivers can have corrosion problems here.

If your footpegs are going to be very difficult to restore, you could replace them - 1996 and earier CBR900RR footpegs bolt on, as do 2007-2008 R1 footpegs.

Bumped, for CornerCarver and Mohawk. You're welcome

Great job!

Just a typical Dutch dyno graph... you can even see flying elephants if you look at it long enough.

Well put. And to add to that - Abraham, Hayden, Laverty, and Miller will all be on more or less the same machinery. So we'll see who is actually a fast guy out of that lot. I'd expect Abraham and Hayden to run closer to the top ten than they have, and Laverty and Miller to be well in the top ten. Hayden may surprise if he is physically 100%, I'm a bit worried about that and would hate to see him retire due to past injuries. It was hard to see Spies and Vermeulen depart for that reason.

I am most interested in seeing how Loris Baz goes on the Forward Yamaha (basically what the Tech3 team will be running), and his team mate Bradl might also go well on the same bike. I've been a Baz fan for a few years now and I think he's just starting to hit his stride as a racer.

Aww I like Karel... he seems to be the sort of guy who can smile no matter how bad a day he's had.

Of course we'd all be like that if we never had to wonder about where our next meal was coming from...

(but really I do like him, he is fast enough to be there, albeit as a backmarker)

On a 4th Gen I have had good success in reaching the rear downpipe bolts at the head with a bunch of 1/4" drive extensions and one uni-joint.

I've also removed swingarms without special tools - I made a large hex-head key by finding a bolt that fit the hex, and bending it at 90 degrees, and I used a hammer and large screwdriver to undo the castellated locknut (which I removed without damaging it).

Once I had the locknut off it was easy to take an old socket and cut it up with an anglegrinder to make a tool for re-fitting it.

I posted to OzVFR, no bites yet. Coming up to $Xmas could be a problem for some.

There is a very good candidate 5th Gen clutch cover on ebay motors at the moment... about as cheap as they come.

No worries. Given what he's done to one of his 5th Gens, I daresay you and he will get along fine

VFRD member Luigi is in Italy.

Hi Brad, sorry to hear about the dooring but sounds like it worked out as well as it could have.

Great review. This VFR is interesting me a lot more than any others have since 1998...

This just hit OzVFR... the 8th Gen VFR reviewed, Aussie style :)

If you missed Sepang Moto3, find a copy... very interesting race.

A similar problem happened to a friends 4th Gen - yep, split the cases to fix it.

Suggestion, don't sell the old tb's until the new tb's are in and running happily :)

Nice work! Looks like they will give good protection in a drop, got to look after that clutch over

2007-2008 R1 rearsets?

Please find me a project like this locally ;-) woohoo kudos great work.

Here you go

Great work Rovari!

Good luck with it James. I know a few people in the 'drive big things for a living' game and it seems hard to get work, hopefully you'll find something in the industry that allows you to use your experience.

Clever... looking forward to seeing the outcome.

Welcome James. You know your stuff, are you gainfully employed in the moto industry?