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Everything posted by TimC
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I think most dealers' shop mechanics do decent work. But not all them have a passion for it. To them it's probably just a job, like many people feel about their work. Which is to say they might do it well, but when it comes to working on our motorcycles, we probably have much more concern about it being perfect when we do our own work vs. when a shop mechanic works on it. As for plugs, it stinks having to pay a dealer shop for something that didn't really need to be done. But knowing it was done and now won't need to be done again for years is some peace of mind. And if you're doing these things yourself, in the long run plugs and filters are cheap enough that if you do replace them more often that is needed you're not really just throwing money away.
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Welcome to the forum! This is the absolute best place on the planet to find the information you need for all things VFR. And if you can't find it via a search, just ask! 🙂
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Unfortunately, no. I sold it a couple months after buying my current bike. There have been several times I wish I'd kept it. But I haven't ruled out buying another one at some point! 🙂
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Congratulations on your 6th gen. and welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA! 🙂
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At least you get to wear out the sides of tires. Very few decent curves where I live, so my tires always get squared off and worn to the cords before I can even try wearing the edges off!
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I don't think that's fussy at all. When I was shopping for a bike to replace my VFR, it had to have character. I ended up with a BMW R nineT Pure, which has tons of character in my opinion. Thanks for that information on the Suzuki, and good luck with your search for a VFR1200!
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Welcome to the forum from northern Ohio! Also, great fleet you have there! 👍 I'm curious what would lead you to part with the GSXS1000GT+ so soon. I've looked at these, thinking it would make a nice sport-tourer to replace my old 6th gen. VFR I sold a few years ago.
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You said the rear tire is now touching the ground when the bike is on the centerstand. Is that a fairly new tire, or a worn one? With my old 6th gen. I found there could be a pretty big difference with how much the rear tire was in the air depending on the brand/model of the tire and how new or worn it was. Congrats on the weight loss!! I've lost 20-some pounds this year, and hoping to lose much more. It definitely makes a difference in how I feel on the bike, and the responsiveness of the bike's suspension. Also, glad to hear Traxxion did great work for a low cost and turned it around quickly! 👍
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Sounds like a great trip, Seb! Thanks for sharing some details and the photos here. Sorry to hear about the problem with the rear shock. I don't think I've seen that many blown seals like that. Any idea what caused it to fail?
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Sorry to hear about the health issues, but hopefully as you said you can get some riding in before you just can't anymore. I don't know any professional mechanics with their own shops, but if you have to use a dealer shop call State 8 in Cuyahoga Falls. They worked on my old 6th gen. a few times and did fine. Shop rates are high everywhere, so the more you can do yourself the better. Good luck with it! 👍
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Welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA! 🙂
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I watched my 2004 leave in the bed of a pickup truck a few years ago. I was sad to see it go, but happy it was going to someone who was as excited to get it as I was back in 2006.
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I am going to shut down vfrd soon
TimC replied to HispanicSlammer's topic in Site Comments, Help, & Support
I'm sad to hear VFR will soon be gone, but I completely understand the reasons. Huge thanks to Miguel for all his hard work on this forum for the last couple decades. It's been the best resource possible for all things VFR -- organizing rides, maintenance and repairs, and a great community of like-minded people who love these fantastic machines. But it's been so much more than that to me. For several years this was my favorite spot on the web. I spent way too much time here, and was a real post-ho for a few years. I made some great friends, attended a few T-macs/Spring Memorial Rides, and learned how to work on my bike some, at least to the best of my meager abilities. (A good friend and occasional riding buddy I met through VFRD has helped me countless times with maintenance and a few mods, too.) I would even hang out here on a Friday or Saturday night, just cruising the threads for whatever interesting stuff I could find. I owned my 6th gen. a little over 14 years, and put over 97k miles on it. And though I sold my VFR about three years ago, I still visit here often. I can't offer much in the way of technical and mechanical knowledge, but I still enjoy the forum. And I have to say my VFR ownership would not have been nearly the same without this forum and the people I've met, ridden with, and hung out with over the years. VFRD has been a truly special place for me. And for all that, I will say it again: Thanks, HS. And to the Mods and to the community in general. 🙂 -
I'd love to attend, but I'm already booked for a wedding gig that Saturday. 😞
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Welcome to the forum! 🙂 I've never restored a bike, and I'm only a half decent DIY mechanic sometimes, so eternal props to the people who buy and restore old motorcycles. If you have the time, money, and patience for this project you can probably do it. But I doubt anything will be easy with it. Good luck and please post your progress as you go. Hopefully at the end you'll have something special for all to see!
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I watched that video when it come out. I watch most if not all F9 videos, which are generally great. I thought Ryan laid out some great points about the pros and cons of each engine configuration. But I do wish he had included some details on ease vs. difficulty of maintenance, long-term reliability, general fuel economy, and service costs.
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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.
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Hello from SF Bay - new(ish) to bikes coming from cars
TimC replied to timmoer's topic in Official Welcome Forum
Congrats on your 5th gen. and welcome to the forum from Ohio! 🙂 -
@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!!
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Nice 6th gen. VFRs aren't exactly rare, so if you loved your '03 you should be able to find another 6th gen. easily enough. If you want to spend more, there are 7th and 8th gen. models around, but not as many as 6th gens, from what I've seen online. Barring a VFR, if you're looking for a mid-sized sport-touring machine with factory hardbags, I'd look at the Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX, Suzuki GSX-S1000GT, and BMW R1200RS (or the newer 1250 version). You could also look at the Kawasaki Concours 14, which is more on par with the VFR 1200.
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Here's a 2001 with only 1200 miles on it...
TimC replied to jroberts427's topic in Fifth Generation VFR's
I don't think it's all that shocking a 2001 motorcycle would have only 1,200 miles on it. Many people who buy motorcycles only ever use them as occasional weekend toys. It's not unusual to see bikes for sale that only saw 100-200 miles per year. The motorcycle's condition, as least outwardly, seems to reflect the low mileage. Assuming the odometer is correct, maybe there's a story behind why this VFR mostly sat all those years. -
Welcome to the forum! I agree with @bmart -- I'd go with a 5th gen. over a 4th mainly due to the new bike being fuel injected. But they're both great. I've seen some fairly tall riders and fairly short riders on VFRs over the years. Even without bar risers and a footpeg lowering kit, if you're a bit flexible and nimble you might be fine. Personally, I always recommend riding a new-to-you bike in stock form at first, then determine what you want or need to change.
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Congrats on your 6th gen. and welcome to the forum from Ohio! 🙂
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Congrats on your 8th gen. and welcome to the forum! 🙂