TimC

I'd love to attend, but I'm already booked for a wedding gig that Saturday. 😞

I don't think the MO review was very negative, but let's call this out: Moto journalists who spend days on the track and on amazing Spanish and Italian mountain roads during all-expenses paid manufacturer launches of Fireblades, R1's, and Gixxers aren't going to get too excited about a VFR. Of course they're going to underwhelmed and unimpressed. Despite the writer saying everything has been improved and it's a darn good bike, that review leaves you feeling half-hearted. The bane of the VFR's existence has always been writers trying to compare it to other bikes. It's slower than a GSX-R. It's less comfortable than an ADV bike. It doesn't handle as well as a supersport. It's more expensive than most middleweight bikes. And on and on. Instead, they should compare other bikes to the VFR. If they did that, they'd say the Gixxer is faster than you need for a streetbike, so the 100 hp VFR makes total sense. It's more nimble than an ADV, and less twitchy than a pure sportbike. You can ride it all day, too, as opposed to bikes with clip-on bars. Its weight is a plus on iffy pavement and in high winds. It's more refined than most other middleweights. When you turn it around like this, some of the 'negatives' are actually positives. I've always thought the VFR was one of the smartest, most well-rounded streetbikes you could buy. But so many people want a bike that does just one thing great, instead of a bike that does several things well. I loved my 6th gen. I used it for commuting, long single day rides, weeklong trips, and corner carving (to the best of my abilities). It was also pretty reliable. Not perfect, but I'd say better than average.

@Denber -- Don't worry about being on a non-VFR. Last year I think about half the attendees were on VFRs, and the rest were on a nice variety of bikes. (For example, I was on my BMW.) Everyone is friendly and they're good people. Have fun and ride safe! 👍 I can't make it this year, but I hope everyone has a great time!!

The last few years I had my 6th gen. I favored the Mobil M1-108, but I also used the Bosch 3300 a few times. Another cheaper but decent option for me was the Purolator PL14612.

That is both a scary and impressive amount of work for a bike I'm sure you didn't think you'd have to put that much into before you get another Africa Twin. Kudos to you for all that work and finding parts as cheaply as possible! 👍

Just amazing work, Seb, and an amazing story and photographic documentation of your whole project. Congrats on a wonderful build, and I'm so glad I got to see it in person! 🙂

That's a great update!! 👍 But jeez, what a hassle to get your driver's license reinstated. Considering that all the morons we see who make idiotic and dangerous moves on a daily basis get to keep their licenses, it's incredible it will take months to get your license back. I guess safety first, but I'd worry more about the average boneheaded cager than you on the road! Anyway, onward and upward! 🙂

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Must...resist...posting in...an oil thread... 😐 Ugh. I can't help it. Here we go. A little context first: I bought a like-new, bone-stock 2004 VFR in August 2006 with just 4,200 miles on it. I rode it. A lot. I sold it two years ago with just over 101,000 miles on the clock. I changed the oil regularly, every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, depending on what oil I'd last put in it. Shorter intervals for regular or semi-synthetic, and longer intervals for full synthetic. The engine was still funning as smoothly and strongly as ever when I sold the bike. When the local Honda dealer shop changed the oil (which they did a few times in the early years of my VFR ownership), they probably used whatever they were supposed to, hopefully the Honda oil, but I never asked. I did a bit of research a few times over the years as to what oil I should use when I changed it myself. Opinions varied, as did the data people posted, just as we've seen forever. When I changed the oil myself, I believe I started with regular automotive 10W-40 oil. Valvoline or something decent. Then as the bike got a little older and the mileage increased, I switched to "high mileage" semi-synthetic 10W-40. I tried a different viscosity when my CCT started clacking, hoping the oil would help. (If I remember correctly it didn't make a big difference.) In the last several years I had the VFR I went back and forth between the Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40 and regular automotive full synthetic Mobil 1 10W-40, usually opting for the later because it was cheap at Walmart, who usually had it in stock. By the way, I think in the early years I used a couple cheaper oil filters, but soon started buying better ones. K&N, Mobil, etc. Motorcyclists talk about oil a lot, but not as much about oil filters, and we probably should. So here's my point. I'm no scientist or expert, but judging from my experience and the bit of reading I did along the way, as long as you use good oil in the right viscosity, your VFR will probably be fine. I put 97,000 miles on a 6th gen. VFR over 14 years, using a variety of oils (and filters), and never once had any kind of issue with the engine (not including the failure-prone CCT). If you are racing or doing track days on your VFR, subjecting it to extreme use often, I can see the value in pinpointing the exact best oil to prevent mechanical failure. You can do the same to help ensure engine longevity for decades to come. But for average use - like mine was - choose what you like within reason, and you'll probably be okay. That's just my opinion, take it or leave it.

Is there a local number for the hotel so we can contact them directly? I'm pretty sure that's how I made my reservation for the event this past May.

If we're talking cars, my 2018 Miata I bought new just over four years ago has over 55,000 miles on it now. I know that isn't impressive for the average car or truck, but a Miata? Hardly anyone daily drives a Miata year-round, especially in NE Ohio. So yeah, I kind of proud of it. 😄

Fantastic! I think many people have dreamed of a 5th gen mill in a 6th gen chassis. I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing the final results! 🙂 And the Ducati looks amazing. As sleek and sexy as their newer sportbikes are, the older ones just have more character. Maybe call it panache. Very sorry to hear about the crash and the damage to your 5th gen, but glad you were generally okay. And yeah, medical bills suck. I have excellent health insurance, but even with that a 3-day hospital stay and minor surgery last November has been expensive.

I have a db killer in the SC-Project exhaust on my BMW. It sounds good as-is, but I'm tempted to pull it out to hear how much louder it is without the baffle. I'm not a fan of loud exhausts, but I am curious so I'll probably give it a try soon.

I installed the R&G sliders on my 6th gen, too. One bonus of the sliders is if and when you drop your VFR, it will lay at a bit of an angle instead of flat on its side. That angle helps you get a better grip on things to lift the bike back upright. BTW, drilling my fairings was one of the most nerve-racking things I ever did to my VFR. It worked out just fine, but my pulse was racing at first.

I was going to add DOT reflective tape to my old 6th gen's OEM hard bags years ago, but never got around to it. I still have the tape in my tool chest. 😕

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Wow. Sorry for all the bad news, but of course the most important thing is your family is okay. Bikes and even houses come and go, but I'm glad your VFR survived both the fire and that idiot tow truck driver. Why on earth would a guy to treat someone else's prized possession like that?! Anyway, good luck with the house rebuild, and I hope you find some time to ride this year! 👍

Those photos make me want to go to the garage and give my motorcycle a big hug.

I was curious, so I looked it up. One of the photos in the ad shows the odometer to be 53,348 km. The seller made a typo, simply putting an extra "5" on the front. 😉

I sold my 6th gen. two weeks ago. Ending odometer reading was 101,012. 🙂

Hit this a couple weeks ago on my '04. Bought the bike from its first owner with 4,225 miles on it in August 2006. My goal for 2020 was to see this number on my VFR.

I think that's impressive mileage on a VFR for just six years. Well done! 🙂

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