TimC

Seems like a pretty good price for a new 8th gen, IMO, but like boOzzIE said, add $1,000 for the needed maintenance. You might be able to scrub the tires in so they're salvageable, but I would count on replacing them pretty much right away. Replace all the fluids, check all the hoses and seals for cracks, check all the electrical connections for corrosion, etc. Still, if you do that and it's $1,000 Canadian, you've basically got a brand new bike for $7,500. Also, insuring a 5-year-old VFR has to be cheaper than insuring a much newer one, so you could count that as a win. 😉

Agree. A beautiful interpretation of the traditional HRC RWB paint design.

Great ride report and photos! Thanks for posting them. Seeing those pics, I really need to get out west on a bike someday. Major props to your buddy for riding a Triumph (Daytona 675?) all that time. My knees and back would've been screaming bloody murder after just one day, or maybe only a few hours. 😆

Another weekend, another long ride. Actually, my longest of the year so far. Yesterday morning, I set off for Zanesville, OH, where Ohio Route 555 begins. I decided to slab it most of the way down, just to make time, so I've have more time to ride the good roads in SE Ohio. I did 555 South to Ohio Route 7, and while taking a break decided where to go next. It had been several years, maybe 10, since I'd done the western portion of Ohio Route 78, so I headed west, again slabbing it to make time. When I got to 78, I took it east all the way to Woodsfield, where 78 intersects with Ohio Routes 800 and 26. BTW, 78 east of Woodsfield is boring. Some nice scenery, but not a challenging road at all. From Woodsfield, I took 800 South to Route 7. The last few miles of 800 are really terrific. I stopped on 7 for a few minutes to contemplate what to do next. I thought about heading east and hitting a few more fun roads, but decided instead to start heading home, as it was already 4 pm and I wanted to get home before dusk. (Deer and rural highways, ya know?) I headed back up 800, and took it well past I-70 before riding some more 2-lanes all the way home. A great day. Felt really good, hitting some nice apexes, and generally riding a little faster than I have been. Not actually fast, of course, but quick for me. One or two "oh crap" moments, but really only one, and that was when the rear tire stepped out an inch on some fine gravel I couldn't see. (It gets really old looking for gravel all the time, especially on right-handers. Such is riding in SE Ohio.) 485 miles for the day, and now I'm over 4,000 for the season so far. I'm a bit over halfway to my goal of 8,000 for 2020. I don't usually set mileage goals, but I really want to see 100,000 on the VFR's odometer this year, as I believe it will be my last with this bike, and 8,000 miles will get me there. It's just about time to move to something with more relaxed ergonomics, but I'm enjoying this one last season with 'Veronica' very much! One other benefit to a good SE Ohio day is the profile of my tires. After my weekend trip to Indiana a couple weekends ago, I noticed my rear tire already starting to square off a bit due to all the straight miles, plus extra weight of the hardbags and their contents. Checked that tire after this latest ride and it's back to being a nice "U" shape! Edited to add: A couple other members have messaged me recently to talk about doing some rides together. I'm up for it, but maybe not an all-day ride. Like many people, riding is partly therapy for me. It's how I get away from it all, and from everyone else. I'm not anti-social, but I really value my 'alone time' sometimes. Of course, we're also in the COVID era, and while I'm not paranoid, hanging out with other people (other than family members) makes me a little nervous. So if you hit me up for a ride and I didn't respond asking if you wanted to go this past weekend (or any other time), please don't be offended or take it personally. As people sometimes say when they end a romantic relationship, it's not you, it's me. 😉

My only other bike is an old Schwinn Homegrown, with full Shimano Deore XT gruppo. Old school for sure. 🙂

I totally thought that was a KLR at first. With those wheels, knobbies, and handguards, it's easily mistaken for one.

The white looks nice, but dated IMO. I like the more "serious" look of the black wheels. Personal opinion only.

That's impressive mileage for six years! I used to ride that much, and hope to again someday. 🙂

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. 😆

Congrats on your VFR and welcome to the forum!! 🙂 I'm guessing your bike has been lowered, judging by the handlebar locations on the fork tubes. Which would mean the rear was probably lowered, too. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing for you, but even if you don't need it that low, this being your first bike you might be more comfortable flat-footing it at stops for now. You can always raise it back up for more cornering clearance later if so desired. Have fun, be safe, and keep the rubber side down!

Rode to central Pennsylvania last weekend, with the goal of taking a route I'd mapped out last winter to a BMW dealer shop in Tyrone. The route was okay, but the roads weren't that great. They looked better on paper. Did see some very nice scenery among the rolling hills, and rode through Punxsutawney, home of the famous groundhog. 🙂 The dealer has a nice inventory, and I wanted to check out (again) the R1200R and RS, both of which I've seriously considered to replace my VFR. I keep leaning toward the R, but I'm worried I'll miss the wind and weather protection of a fairing and larger windshield. I almost bought a 2016 R with bags and an Arrow exhaust at this dealership last winter, and I really wish I would have. Oh well. But the main thing I went to look at was a mint used MV Augusta F3 800. What a sweet machine. Unfortunately, even though it's almost affordable (asking price $13K) it's a pure sportbike. The footpegs are impossibly high, and it's a bike I could ride maybe up to 30 minutes at a time, between trips to a massage therapist - or a chiropractor. Still, it was worth checking out, just for fun. Hit a little bit of rain on US 422W, and ducked under an overpass 'til the worst of it passed. I didn't pack rain gear, as I thought I'd be well west of the where the rain was going to hit that afternoon. Anyway, no damage done, and I was dry within 15 minutes. Temps in the afternoon swelled to the mid-80s, which made stopping anywhere miserable. Thankfully I was able to keep moving most of the time. I got a little over 400 miles in for the day, and the VFR was flawless as usual.

Sorry that happened to you. 😞 I've often been nervous trying to get my 6th gen onto and off of its centerstand. I used to only get it down from there while sitting on the bike and rocking it forward. Just in the last year or so I finally got comfortable pushing it off the stand while standing next to the bike. Anyway, everyone drops their bike once in a while, including me. Once or twice while moving it, and once or twice while on it. Not the end of the world. After the first time though, I bought a set of frame sliders. Worth every penny.

Re-reading your ride report, I was reminded of one of the dumber things I've ever done, on or off a bike. Several years ago I did a tour with the goal of riding the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not really that ambitious of course, and plenty of people do this. My mistake was doing a good chunk of it in very thick fog. The first day was great, and I got off the road just before dusk, not wanting to risk collision with deer. I think I stayed in Roanoke. The next morning was chilly and damp but not terrible. As soon as I got onto the Parkway, I was shrouded in fog, the worst I've ever seen. I could barely see 10' in front of me most of the time. It was pretty spooky, and I could see zero scenery. I came up behind maybe 1-2 other vehicles piloted by people as dumb as me. I wasn't worried about hitting someone in front of me since I was going pretty slow, although the couple times I did come up behind someone it was a little freaky having taillights appear out of nowhere. But really I was more worried about someone hitting me from behind. I stopped a couple times to rest and try to warm up, which didn't work out very well. Finally, somewhere near the southern terminus of the Parkway the skies cleared up and it was actually a nice day, and I was able to see some nice views and take a few photos. I would liked to have taken a few photos in the fog, but I was worried about my camera getting ruined in the damp air. I should have abandoned my trek early that day, maybe at the very next off-ramp, gotten down off the mountain and tackled the length of the BRP some other time. What a terrible experience, but definitely a memorable one.

What a gorgeous bike. Sorry you might be parting with it, but it sounds like you have plenty of other options already on hand. I think you'd have to find the right buyer to get much of a premium price at this point. As gmtech94 said above, Honda made plenty of these, so while they only made the RWB anniversary paint one year, they aren't exactly rare, and there wasn't anything unique about that version other than the paint. Not to dis it of course, it's still an amazing machine! Also, it's funny that VFRs either seem to have low miles or high miles. I don't see too many that have what I'd consider average miles for their ages. Thankfully, I think there are still buyers for older VFRs. I've actually thought about replacing my current VFR with another one, but I'm more likely to just move on to another bike entirely. Anyway, good luck if you decide to sell it!

I can't speak for all generations of the VFR, but my 6th gen offers decent weather protection, even with the stock windshield. I can duck down and put my knees in tight to the tank and avoid some rain, at least for a short burst. But riding through a steady rain you're going to get wet. This obviously isn't a full-blown tourer, but it's decent. Same goes for colder weather. I only wish I had heated grips, but I never got around to adding them. Agree. I don't have an aftermarket exhaust, but Jamie rebuilt a rear shock with a stiffer spring for my weight, and one of the best mods on my bike is the Sargent seat. It has lasted years, but probably needs to be redone at this point. But one of the best things about the VFR in my opinion is that you don't see them everyday. I like having a bike that's a little rare where I live. Plus, anytime you go into a shop and start talking to people, when you say you ride a VFR they'll invariably nod and say, "Nice bike." That's pretty cool. As for mileage, it's great to see so many 8th gens with some decent miles already. I don't have a photo, but my 2004 is nearing 96,000 miles. I'm seriously hoping to see 100k on it before the end of the year. I didn't ride much from 2016 to 2018, averaging just 1,500 miles per year, otherwise I'd have hit six figures already. But I'm fairly certain this will be my last season with my VFR, which has been my only bike since August 2006.