TimC

Nice find, congrats! Even if it takes some time and money, what a great thing to bring a VFR back from the brink. It's not something I could do, but huge kudos to you for taking it on. 👍

Thanks for the correction! Very interesting that they're stored under the seat when not in use. Dare I say genius design?!

Congrats on your VFR and welcome to the forum! 🙂 You wouldn't want to use the passenger grab handles to tie down the bike anyway. I don't think they are metal (I know they weren't metal on at least the 5th and 6th gens) and could be prone to snapping under a lot of pressure, especially being over 30 years old. Good luck with the trip!

If I remember correctly, I'd always read that out of the various engine configurations a V4 was the most expensive to build. (Probably the most complex, too.) Makes sense to me, and I'm sure it's one reason they continue to be rare. These days it seems only higher end Ducatis and Aprilias get a V4. If there are other makes featuring this engine I'm unaware of them.

I don't think heated grips are too special on BMWs. Lots of bikes have them. I wish I'd had them on my VFR. I only mentioned them because it is an electronic doodad. 😉 Also, I agree with you -- they do nothing for the front of your fingers subjected to wind chill, but they do make riding in colder temps a little more comfortable. If I did more cold weather riding I'd buy heated gloves or handguards. And the point from @DwhiteSchrute is well taken. My 6th gen. was 16 years old with just over 101,000 on it when I finally sold it over a year ago. No rust, and most of the non-wear components were still original. We'll see how my BMW fares the next couple years, but I doubt I'll keep it anywhere near as long as I had my VFR. Here are a couple photos for @bmart -- one from the day I bought the bike, and one on the Skyline Drive from last September.

Speaking only for my BMW, a 2020 R nineT Pure, it's been mostly a gem. This has the older air/oil-cooled engine, and is a fairly simple bike for the most part. No advanced electronics other than ABS, automatic stability control, and factory grip warmers. I've put 12,000 miles on it in 16 months since I bought it new and have had just one issue - a bad front wheel bearing, which was covered under warranty. (3-year warranty is standard, by the way, compared to 1-year on most Big 4 bikes.) It did use some oil the first 10K miles, but that's not unusual for this engine. Other than the bad bearing, I've had zero issues, but again, this is a pretty simple bike compared to most newer BMWs. I've very active on an R nineT forum, and there are no common issues with this model. In fact, they're very reliable. But my Beemer is no VFR. People don't generally put the miles on this bike that we've put our VFRs, though I'm trying. 😉 But seriously, it's hard to beat a VFR, period. I really miss my 6th gen. sometimes. I don't see how the NT can replace a VFR. It's just not the same.

Awesome. I've wanted to join you all the last couple years and it just hasn't worked out. I was hoping to do a ride to that region this year regardless, and right now that weekend is open for me. Hopefully it will stay open so I can attend the 2022 ride with all you hooligans! 🙂

Everything I've read says gas starts to go bad after 3-6 months. 3 months is probably the longest my bike will ever sit at a time, but I'm still a fan of adding fuel stabilizer when the bike is parked for at least a month or two. I've also read it's not good to just start the bike in the garage and let it run for a while each month it's parked. Going to ride it is different, but we're not supposed to fire up the engine and just let it idle up to normal running temperature. My standard practice has been to add fuel stabilizer to a full tank when I park my (fuel injected) motorcycle for the winter. If there's a nice enough mild winter day to go out and ride, I'll go out, but will also try to refill the tank before I get home, and add an appropriate amount of fuel stabilizer for the number of gallons I just added back to the tank, since I don't expect to ride again for another month or more.

Congrats on your new FTR, and what a beauty! 🙂 I've liked the FTR since it came out, but the first gen. was just too tall for me. Now that they're a bit lower and have put standard street size wheels (and tires) on it, it's a more attractive option. If I didn't already have a naked standard I'd consider buying a new one. Would love to read a review if and when you have time to write one.

Lots of good reasons on that list, and many of them true for me. 🙂

Happy New Year to all my VFRD friends! 🙂 I managed to get one more ride in on 12/31, too. It was overcast but warm enough here in NE Ohio, around 50 degrees. It was a nice way to end a pretty good year of riding for me. Everyone have a terrific and safe 2022! 👍

Congrats on your 7th gen! 🙂

We've already seen one consequence of hybrids and EVs here in Ohio. Two years ago the state legislature increased the annual registration fees by $100 for hybrids and $200 for EVs. The increased fees offset the loss of gas tax revenue from people who buy less gas. The gas tax helps pay for transportation infrastructure, so the thinking was since hybrid and EV owners don't buy as much (or any) gas they have to be taxed some other way.

Since I don't own an EV, I have no idea what it costs to recharge at a public charging station, or if there are differences in pricing when it's a normal charger vs. a supercharger. I think many EV owners just build charging time into their trips if they need to charge en route, especially during long trips. Bring a book, play games on your phone, or walk to the nearest restaurant and get a meal while you wait for your car to charge. Not as quick and convenient as gassing up your vehicle, but not the end of the world either. One of the car review channels I watch regularly on YouTube is TheStraightPipes, which is run by a couple slightly goofy guys (Yuri and Jakub) from Ontario. Usually when they have reviewed EV cars they've chosen a public charging station to test with the car, and sometimes there are compatibility issues. When it works they say how long it took, how much life they got the battery up to, and how much it cost. My impression is that yes, it takes some time, and that it isn't cheap. Whether it's more or less than buying unleaded gas/petrol I have no idea, but I don't think we can say fueling EVs is a radical savings from buying regular or even premium unleaded. Maybe it's cheaper to charge at home, but on the go be prepared to pay like you were hitting the gas station.

My only real problem with electrification is the lack of manual gearboxes. No need to shift an EV, which is one reason I haven't considered buying one. "But the instant torque," people will say. Whatever. I've never been into drag racing or pure speed. I have more fun rowing my own gears and going fast in the corners, and ICE are fine for that. I can't see new ICE vehicles being banned here in the US, or at least not for a couple more generations. The auto industry lobby is too powerful to allow the government to ban the sale of gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks. Yes, it could happen, but I don't think we'll see that for many years, probably long after we're all dead. And even then, it would only apply to new vehicle sales, not existing cars, trucks, and motorcycles. All that being said, EVs are the future, whether we like it or not. The infrastructure is being gradually built, range is improving (in cars and trucks anyway), and prices for new EVs are now affordable for the average consumer.

I was hoping to catch some of the race on TV but didn't. I don't really follow F1, or much other racing either really. But I'll add that few people on this side of the pond follow F1. NASCAR yes, but generally not F1 and Indy Car. Regardless of league, it's frustrating feeling like the guys in charge are putting their fingers on the scale to help certain drivers win. Do it often enough and fans will feel the whole thing is rigged, so why bother watching the races, let alone attend one?

Thanks for sharing those photos. The Triumph and Nortons are gorgeous. There are no indoor motorcycle shows in North America this winter, though there were some outdoor ones this fall. As I may have said before, the first chance I'll have to see the new Honda and Suzuki ST bikes will be if and when they show up on a Big 4 dealer showroom floor. And judging by what I expect will be low demand for these bikes, I don't expect most dealers will stock them. 😕 I'd seen a photo of that new Speed Triple model elsewhere, and it looks terrific. That big, ugly exhaust can looks really out of place on it, but I suspect Triumph and the other brands know the first thing buyers of bikes like this do is a tail tidy and swap out the OEM exhaust, so why spend money putting a nicer unit on it from the factory? I also just did a little reading on the Norton. I hadn't even heard about the latest attempt to revive the brand. I also saw the prices for the V4SV bikes, and they are astronomical. Good luck to the the part company, TVS, on the launch of the new bikes. Hopefully enough very wealthy people will buy them so the company might eventually produce machines mere mortals like me can afford.

Welcome to VFRD! 🙂 Thanks for sharing that photo of your gorgeous 5th gen, too!

The last few helmets I bought Scorpion and HJC, and were cheap but decent quality. The problem is the Scorpion I have now is just too loud. What's weird is it's the same model I had before and was happy with, but I think they changed the design a couple years ago. Even with a chin skirt it's noticeably louder than my previous lid. So I've been shopping on and off since this summer for another new helmet. With the discontinued Shoei RF1200 models on sale or clearance in many places and online, I thought of picking one up when I saw a good deal. But I've tried on that helmet a couple times and it always seems like the eye port sits low over my eyes, like the helmet is tilting forward. I could probably attach a small pad in the forehead area to correct this, but I like a helmet to fit right from the start. 😕

The only large car ferry I've been on was the one from South Baymouth to Tobermory, Ontario. I was doing my tour around Lake Huron and decided to take the ferry instead of riding around Georgian Bay. Between getting to the terminal early to assure I'd have a spot, waiting for the ferry, the 2-hour trip, and disembarking, I probably didn't save that much time. But it was nice to relax on the boat, get some rest during a long day of riding, and get a hot meal onboard. This boat had a full kitchen and even a gift shop. The day was overcast and the trip across the water was cool and misty. Really neat experience. I included a few photos below. This was the first time I ever had to tie my VFR down, and all they had was some twine rope. I was a little worried but it was fine. The water was fairly calm and the boat was very steady. But after that episode I bought a set of decent tie-downs in case I ever need to take a ferry like that again on a tour. Two other car ferries I've been on (sorry, no photos): There's a small ferry that crosses the Ohio River between Fly, OH, and Sistersville, WV. It fits several cars. I've been on it once or twice. It's a very short ride, is pretty cheap, and does save some time traveling further to one of the bridges that cross the river. But mostly it's just kind of cool to be sitting on or standing next to your motorcycle on a floating platform in the middle of a large river. I almost took the ferry just for the fun of it during my last SE Ohio ride, but decided to skip it. Maybe next spring. Kanadian Ken and I took a very small ferry from Ontario to NY state during a tour around Lake Ontario. It was tiny. I can't remember where it was exactly, but it was on the NE side of the lake and saved us a bunch of time vs. riding east to the next bridge to cross over. It's a very short ride. When you get to the other side, as soon as you roll off the boat you're basically at the border patrol shack. What made this crossing more memorable for me was how much of a prick the US Border was, the first and last time that's happened to me.

How did this devolve into an oil thread?! Not that I'm innocent here.

My riding season ended a few weeks ago, a little earlier than hoped for, unfortunately. There is a rattle in my BMW's front end, and it took me a few tries before I diagnosed it as bad front wheel bearings (probably). This should be covered under warranty, so I have an appointment at the local dealer shop in a couple weeks. Around the same time I figured out the problem the weather got cold and wet. Then a couple weeks ago when the weather was very nice for November, I had a medical issue that kept me off the bike, and now the weather has turned very cold again. So I guess it's just as well the bike is out of commission for now, otherwise I'd be tempted to keep riding it. I'm sad my season is over but I'm not too disappointed. It was a good year. I got one decent trip in this year, one epic overnighter, and a several long days, including a few SE Ohio rides. As for winterizing the bike, I used to do spring oil changes on the VFR instead of end-of-season. I never noticed any ill effects, but going forward I'm changing the oil and filter as part of my winterization routine before I store my bike in the garage.

Welcome to the forum! 🙂 That's an impressive fleet. Thanks for sharing the photos!

Good point. I don't figure half a tank or so of lower octane once in a while is going to do much harm, but I at least like having the choice. My current bike takes premium, as does my car. 😞

I mostly agree with the mileage thing, but I think any bike sold as a sport-tourer should have at least a 200-mile range, especially if it takes premium fuel (though I have no idea whether those new bikes do). I've run into a situation once or twice where the small town I stopped in for fuel had one gas station, and it was 87 octane only. As for the 'Busa, if I wanted a hyper-tourer, I'd go for a Concours 14, with its OEM hard bags and more agreeable ergonomics. 😉