TimC

Another vote for Dunlop Roadsmarts here.  I have a set of the 2's on my Beemer now and love them.  I got a great deal on them last summer since they were discontinued.  If you can find a set, you might see a deal on the 3's since the company is now making the 4's.

Awesome.  Thanks for sharing your write-up and photos!  👍

Welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA!  🙂

No, high gas prices won't keep me from the trips I have planned for this year.  Nor from riding in general, including SE Ohio days and other long days on the bike.  If that means I need to reduce spending in other areas of everyday life to keep enjoying one of my few passions, so be it.  I'd also be willing to sell a couple small items of value to finance my trips this year.  But hopefully it won't come to that.

Congrats on your new 8th gen, and welcome back!  🙂 

Reading through this thread again...very sorry to hear about your divorce, @pdx650.  That really stinks.  If there is a bright side, if you're single you can go ride as much as you want and never have to worry about a resentful spouse.  Anyway, I hope things get better for you soon!

Great video!  Thanks for sharing it here.  The only bad thing is watching things like this really get me itching to ride, but the weather is just too cold.  Still, it makes me look forward to some adventures this year!

A couple observations:

• Holy crap, those tar snakes!  Those must be hell in the summer months when the temps rise.
• I think we don't realize just how active our front suspensions are until we see them in action in videos like this.

Congratulations on your 7th gen. and welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA!  🙂 

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.  👍

13 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

3rd gen handles are cast allloy.  They could certainly take some direct side-to side stabilization, but the passenger peg mounts are the best option.

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.

3 hours ago, bmart said:

Those are really cool llooking bikes. Pic?

 

Can you explain to me why all of my BMW nuts are always talking about heated grips? I've never understood them, as they heat the wrong side of one's hand and limit grip choices (not to mention you have to install them on every bike!). When I lived in colder climates, I did like my heated gloves and vest. 

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.