TimC

Thanks for sharing that experience. I'm just glad the thing didn't break while you were riding. I was afraid reading the 'preview' first few sentences on the homepage it was going to be much worse.

Congrats on getting your 7th gen. back! Hopefully it won't need much work, but it sounds like you're prepared for just about anything you find.

Welcome to the forum! 🙂

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 love the photo of @slo1 on the Suzuki, because it reminds me I don't need fancy hard luggage, cruise control, or pretty much anything else to tour on my naked bike. Just strap your stuff down and go. And check it once in a while to make sure everything is still there. 😉

Welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA, and thanks for sharing those photos of your sweet VFR! 🙂

I bought my old 6th gen. at age 37, and sold it at age 51. Most years I averaged 8-9k miles on it, though there were two seasons several years ago where I only averaged 1,500 per year. Thankfully I got my mojo back a few years ago! I loved my VFR, but my body started to protest during long days and trips, with my knees and neck aching due to the VFR's sporty ergonomics. Lower foot pegs and bar risers would have helped, but after 14 wonderful years I was really just ready for something else. (Not that I was ever bored with my VFR.) My current bike's ergos are still somewhat sporty, but a bit relaxed compared to the VFR.

Congrats on that silver beauty! 🙂

Congratulations on the VFR1200F and welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA! 🙂

Congrats on picking up a nice VFR project, and welcome to the forum! 🙂 Sorry I can't help you with any of the bike's problems, but I can tell you for sure 40k miles is absolutely fine on a VFR. It has tons of life left in it. My 6th gen. was running just as well at 101k miles when I sold it as it was at 10k miles.

Excellent work and post! Thanks for sharing the story, photos, and descriptions. 👍 I wish I had the time, patience, and skills to do things like this. But while I may not be a guy who can restore a bike, I definitely appreciate folks who can.

Sorry to hear about the issues with your older VFR. I can relate to being rusty with wrenches once in a while. Easy stuff I can do, harder stuff I either take longer than average to do, or I ask for help from a good friend who is a much better mechanic than me. I can also relate to neglecting riding. I'm a musician on the side, and when I got busier a several years ago I only averaged about 1,500 miles a year for a couple years. I guess I lost my passion for riding at the time. Thankfully it came back in spades the last couple years. Good luck getting the 750 back into full running condition and enjoy the season to come! 🙂

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.