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Hi all, thanks for running and contributing to this awesome forum. I'm from a village in Quebec, Canada. Couple of weeks ago I acquired a 2003 VFR800 ABS with ~11 000 km (~7000 miles) on the clock. I hadn't understood the motor at first while test riding the bike, as recently I had had experience only with off-road thumpers and inline 4s, but a bit later it grew on me a lot and now I just love riding it. Also, I find the stock suspension is decent bordering on good 🤣 🤐. Initially I wanted to buy an ST1300, but now I definitely prefer the VFR as a long distance universal tourer, and a fun machine in general. The bike was in a pretty good condition in general thanks to low mileage, but of course I wanted to make it good all around. I replaced a partially rodent damaged air filter, changed oil (which still looked ok when drained) for Rotella T6 15W40 with a new filter, cleaned some blocked breather tubes, changed coolant with Honda antifreeze (old coolant looked like the same Honda stuff and was clean, but I did it just in case, and also cleaned the inside of the expansion tank from sediment). Cleaned the chain from some kind of whitish chain lube with kerosene and switched to gear oil, which in my experience is the way to go with motorbike chains. Sprockets look new . Also cleaned the calipers and installed new EBC pads, installed a couple of missing nuts and clips. Lastly got rid of the bar risers and beefed up the charging part of the wiring and cleaned and greased all electrical connectors I could reach. I'm planning to build an active RR myself and replace the OEM one. I've tested all major electrical components and for now all is good. A lot of things to do are still on the table, which can be good if you look at it at a certain angle, but the bike is a good runner already and I enjoy riding it in plentiful local twisties a lot.

I have always wanted to ride Beartooth Pass/hwy, Going to the Sun road, Independence Pass and many other roads along and around those area. I was going to go last year but my 4th gen gotten written off and my replacement VFR (My current 5th gen) was untested. Good thing I didn't attempt a long trip with it as I had to replace the Stator and R/R eventually. After some planning and some modifications to the bike (helibars, windscreen, Sargent seat, luggage racks) I embarked on this quite distant journey from my home in Toronto, Ontario. The plan was about 14 days but due to some Forest fires would end up being 11 days and just under 8,000kms/5,000miles. DAY 1: Toronto, Ontario to Ottawa, Illinois I left "bright" and early at 6am. I packed the VFR the night before. Luggage was a Givi 46L top box and 2x 22L side hard-bags. I strapped a tank bag to the pillion seat with emergency tools, tire repair kit etc etc. Regular Tank bag infront of me with miscellaneous stuff. Fully loaded the bike would rock backwards onto the rear tire when on the centerstand. I had to remove the top box whenever I wanted to lube the chain. lol First couple hours the Bike felt a bit "off", laden down with all that luggage but I got used to it. I encountered some light rain when it was time for my first fill up so I put on a rain jacket. I made it to my crossing into the U.S. without delay and without getting very wet. I decided to take a tiny ferry across to the States from Walpole Island, Ontario to Algonac, Michigan. It was an odd little ferry but real quick and easy. Cost me $5. The deck was wet and I just sat on the bike and held the brake during the crossing. On the American side there's a tiny little guard house for the US border. They asked a couple standard questions and I was on my way. It was on and off rain showers and I changed my route westward to get around the worst of it, but the rain gear stayed on until west of Ann Arbor, MI. The old PR3's did their job too. I made some stops here and there but I knew (and planned) that Day 1 was gonna be hard slabbing so I kept on. Some of the last legs of I-80 was a parking lot and I couldn't figure out how to use the Detour function on my new-to-me GPS. I eventually got to my stay for the night. An AirBnB in Ottawa, Il. Day 1 aprox 978kms (608 miles)

Hi I was unfortunate to have a blowout on my rear tire while on my way home a few days ago. So I had to get a new set of tires for my 2010, VFR1200. After reading comments on this and other sites and some other research, I decided to again buy a set of Michelin Pilot Road 4 tires. That is what I had on. So then came the big search to get the best deal. I am in Vancouver Canada. I am close to the US border so not a big deal to go get tires down south. We do have a number of good places up here, but I always like to shop around for a deal. Someone on this site mentioned a (previously unknown to me) supplier down south with some great deals. Then just to get my ducks in a row I compared all local dealers in Vancouver. That turned out to be an eye-opener. I got a price quote as high as $762 Canadian. That price still did not include an environmental fee of $10, installation $100 plus 12% tax. Total $976 Canadian.($725 US) Down in Trump world that same set is $343 (US). With the exchange rate US to Canadian that is $461 Canadian. Shipping would be free to my US postal address, (yes we Canadians do that) but then I have to go pick it up and bring it back and have it installed. Taxes and installation will put that at around $590 (CA) Not all the local Vancouver shops were out of their minds. Two places stood out. I want to make it clear I have no contact with them and get nothing from this post. In fact they will not even know who I am. But here goes. http://www.2ndgearmotorsport.com/ 2nd Gear Motorsport in Coquitlam, BC. All fees, taxes and installed $631 (CA) so $469 (US) Bayside Performance did it all in for $612 (CA) so $455 (Trump money) https://www.baysideperformance.ca/ Just saying; All you riders in Trump Land. Look up North. There may be some deals to be had.

Just completed a loop around Lake Superior and it was a great ride - barely a bad road once we got off the prairies: On the Canadian side, it's spectacular between Thunder Bay and Sault St. Marie On the US side, it's flatter but a lot of great roads in Michigan and Wisconsin We did the ride in 5 days - it was a lot of fun but would have been more enjoyable if we took an extra day or so.

Well, what can I say? We are at it again! After a long hiatus on here, Im finally taking a ride worth mentioning. I had to get back to my career and recover from 2 years on the road, got married, bought a home, did the whole 9 and been having fun! My same buddy and I (and possibly a cousin) are headed out again, but this time, with much more knowledge about routes, what to expect, long distance/endurance riding and all that. This time he has a FZ1 which is about a thousand times more comfortable than the R1 he did it on last time. In the last thread I talk about all of the reasons why we didnt make it and there were many many mistakes made on our part, the biggest being unprepared and the 2nd being weather... which kind of goes hand in hand with preparedness. We have decided to ride a shorter route this time and not be so foolhardy. The last trip we had to ride 350 miles just to get the starting point and from there is was 1550 to canada. This time, we are trailering to El Paso which is where we will start. The route takes us to Scobey, MT, which is coming in at 1358 miles. Im thinking 200 shorter will be a huge help! The FZ1 is averaging 160-180 a tank of gas so we have greatly cut down our stops(8 stops at 15min per stop), which lowers our moving average down to 61mph, much more attainable. We have better gear, better time of year, better comforts on the bikes (GPS, phone mounts, music, unlimited verizon mifi for streaming services) to keep us entertained and less stressed. We should be heading out from El Paso on the bikes on friday, may 22nd, weather permitting. Countdown has started. Currently going over electrical on bike and getting her back up to par.

Hi guys. I’m currently the exclusive Canadian distributor for the Screaming Banshee horn system (www.screaming-banshee.ca) and wanted to offer my fellow Canadian members an awesome deal on this product for the Holidays. I actually discovered the product on here when someone posted about their Kickstarter project since the inventor rides a VFR. I bought one of the first ones, absolutely loved it and after a summer of riding with it and a few avoided close calls, I contacted them to offer to translate the website in French so people in Quebec could know about it. Then one thing led to another… Anything that can help us be less invisible on the road is an incredible plus for all riders as far as I am concerned and that is the main reason why I decided to embark on this venture. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the product, it supplements your current useless oem horn and allows you to signal your presence by being heard and seen in a fraction of a second. Tap your horn button and your oem one works. Hold your horn button for more than a half or a quarter second (there are two settings) and an insanely loud 135dB horn kicks in, pulses for maximum effect and the system also automatically flashes your high beams. This all lasts for as long as you hold the horn and stops as soon as you let go. The website has videos and a complete FAQ but don’t hesitate to ask here or to contact me directly for more details. As you will see on the website, there are a few different models to choose from (black, chrome, split or plug and play). So I am offering free shipping (usually 15$) and a 10% off discount to fellow VFRD members. You can contact me directly instead of ordering on the website and I will send you the PayPal invoice. You can also like us on our Facebook page here. Take back YOUR place on the road! Thanks and safe riding. PH