TimC

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

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!

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

Congrats on your 6th gen. and welcome to the forum from Ohio!  🙂

Congrats on your 8th gen. and welcome to the forum!  🙂

On 3/26/2023 at 8:12 AM, bmart said:

On the 5th gens, my R6 track bikes I primarily have been using Mobil 1 M1MC-134 for many years. I've also enjoyed the Bosch 3300 on the VFRs. They used to recommend the Mobil M1-108. Even my cars have similar filter recommended for them: Mobil M1-110 & Bosch 3310. I'm not sure if you can reach folks from where you are, but I've called and talked to the oil filter engineers more than once with detailed questions. 

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.

Welcome back to VFRD!  🙂

I sold my 6th gen. a couple years ago now, but I'm still here harassing the locals once in a while.  This forum is just too good to give up, plus there's always a chance I'll buy another VFR eventually.  😉

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!  👍

Welcome to the forum from Ohio!  🙂

Welcome to the forum from Ohio, and thanks for posting those gorgeous photos!  🙂

Congratulations on the deposit and welcome to the forum!  🙂

Checking over and possibly replacing fluids and checking electrical connections are all good suggestions.  Check the date codes on the tires, and if they are over 6-7 years old I'd consider replacing them now.  If the tires are several years old, at a bare minimum check the condition of the rubber.  Is it harder or softer than new tires?  Are the sidewalls free of cracks and discoloration?  There are tons of internet posts and articles on tires, but if the tires on your VFR are iffy at all, it's better to replace them.

As for ergonomic changes, I recommend riding the bike as-is for a while and finding out if you're comfortable on it with the current setup of handlebars and footpegs, or if you want to change their positions.  I was happy for many years with the stock bars and pegs on my old 6th gen. VFR.

Good luck with the rest of the purchase process, have fun, and ride safe!

I've only ridden a 6th gen, but from what I've read the 8th gen only improved on what was already a great bike.  If you are happy with the ergonomics of your 3rd gen - and I'm assuming the 8th gen's ergos would be similar - I'm sure you'd love it.  Newer bike, better suspension, fuel injected, more reliable, factory luggage, many available farkles, etc.  I considered one myself before buying something completely different.  Good luck finding a nice one that's perfect for you, and hopefully you can get a test ride!

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!  🙂 

Congratulations on your 5th gen. and welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA!  🙂 

On 2/5/2023 at 1:09 PM, Oregonian said:

Locals ride all summer long, but we follow the wildfire smoke apps daily to pick routes.  

What a tragedy there are multiple apps for to monitor and check routes for wildfire smoke.  😞 

Sounds like an amazing trip, even on four wheels!  🙂

My wife and I have been considering a West Coast trip, too, but only California.  We just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and want to do a special trip, and driving Highway 1 was one of our first thoughts.  Unfortunately, we're leaning toward something else now, but we will do that CA trip someday!

I agree the gun carry thing gets overblown in the media.  The US is not the wild west.  Same thing with the 'defund the police' movement.  There's a lot of media hype.  You will be fine.

The one thing I will say is to check national and local news sources on the web for any problems with the roads you want to drive.  There have been landslides, fires, etc. that have closed roads or regions of California the last several years.  It's isolated, but you might save some time and heartache knowing ahead of time you'll need to detour a couple times.

What a shame.  My wife and I are planning a West Coast trip for later this year, to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (which is next Monday).  We're planning to rent a convertible and drive Highway 1 at least one day we're there.  Hopefully it will be clear of landslides during our visit.

Sorry to hear you had to source another engine for your VFR.

FWIW, my old 6th gen. had a bad CCT, and it did not sound like that.  Mine was more of a clickety-clack sound, which would increase in speed slightly as I opened the throttle, but disappeared once the throttle was opened a little more.

Good luck getting the bike back to 100% soon!  🙂