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Well, if you're going to jump into the 3-cylinder pool, a V-3 is a nice Honda twist with a homage to the V-4s

Given a choice I would go with black to keep with the red/black/silver combo.

Yes I did. Moved to STO eventually, but then kinda lost interest in most of the group after a while. My girl is still in touch with some of those folks on Fakebook. I don't do the mass social media thing. The "Before The Snow Flies" rides are some fond memories. Haven't heard anything from GTS Rider in a long time. Last ride we did was Portuguese Pass in 2013. There were 4 of us.

😎

Last night I decided to switch out the worn Road 5 front tyre for a tasty new Bridgestone T33; I've got T33s on my 6th gen and they seem to be a great wear/grip/feel compromise, and they are a little cheaper than the Road 6. I will give Michelin credit for making a tyre that is easy to mount/dismount, it took only a couple of minutes to get it off, the T33 usues a stiffer carcass that wants to hang onto the beads, but was not too challenging; I use a couple of nice levers and some hard plastic rim protectors, plus soapy water and a bit of perspiration. I use a garden spade as my bead breaker, just pretend you are digging into the sidewall and jump on, this has been successful on all but the toughest tyre so far, which was a T32GT on my ST1300; I had to devise a different method for that one. I was expecting to be able to remove the ugly line of steel balance weights with the new tyre, but I (wisely) left them in place until the new tyre was mounted, and based on the very slow speed on the balance stand, the wheel is near enough to perfect, so the rim itself must be a source of inbalance. Earl is now ready for another decent test ride this weekend but unfortunately the weather gods may have other ideas.

White '93 VFRs really do stand out. I like the look of my '09 a lot, but the '93 is even nicer.

Some updates Bought a more off-road capable rear tire for the Transalp, was on great sale, -45% of list price The Zephyr Cafe.... I have geathered a few bites A rear fender whit light from a Yamaha XSR 700, turn signals, a loop for the frame The support for the seat is ready. Next to cut the tail to fit the loop, but rain prevents as I like to do the grinding outside... So what to do Started cleaning the carbs Just to notice they are not Zephyr 550 carbs, but 32mm CKVs off a ZX600C5-10........ Jets seems stock but needles rised quit a bit..... Should have known better factor is high again... Well we have to see, they (carbs) are ultrasonic cleaned now.. And tube between carbs not in good shape... Hmmm

Because if I go with white, I'm going to spend too much money on a 8 spoke rear. 😁 Plus a friend has white wheels on his 07 Anniversary. He did paint the front fender the same red as the accent stripe which looks good IMO.

Seeing this has become the subject at hand.... About wheels. I'm torn between Black and Bronze wheels. The bike will be painted Italian red. Is there a shade of bronze or maybe any shade will look good with the red paint? I would like to get the opinion of everyone in the class. I want the bike to stand out a little but not be abomination or I can just stay with the black.

It's no use, Lorne. White wheels on a VFR is a Marmite/Vegemite question. I had my '90's wheels powdercoated black at the first opportunity! However, black wheels on a '93 "fridge" model would be an abomination... Ciao, JZH

Yes, but too bad about the exhaust sound... Ciao, JZH

I hope this will be the basis of a new VFR…

Did you used to hang out on sport-touring.net back in the day? Your avatar looks really familiar. Back when the site was any good I used to live in the LA area and would hang out in the SoCal regional forum. That was back when I had my GSXR-750 and Daytona 955i (sold the former to get the latter).

Reminds me of the south Sierra rides we used to do.

I used paint stripper to remove the black from my 5th gen wheels. It practically fell off unlike the white primer on the 4th gen. That stuff was really stuck! I just give 'em a good polish when I swap new rubber on.

I bought a set of race-stands when I had the VTR1000, and have kept using them with the MT-10, very handy bits of gear but no real use if you want to do any work on the rear suspension. You can get a really good "decent from 3 feet away" finish on all of the black bits on the VFR (e.g. sidestand, centrestand, front subframe, lower triple clamp) using a small brush and a pot of semigloss enamel. Just degrease and scrub away as much surface crud as you can first. Follow me for more handy tips.

Mmmm...6th gen bodywork, 5th gen engine and 8th gen wheels is a pretty sweet combo. That back wheel (which is also on my 7th gen 1200) is a work of art. We have a member (Highside) local to me that has/had a burgundy 6th gen with tuned 5th gen engine, R1 forks, trick shock and some sexy (Marchesini?)wheels. Actually he sold me the the gold wheels that are now on my 6th gen. I also have a nice 8-spoke rear wheel in black in my Mancave that was too nice to leave sitting in a breakers yard; that one also originally came from the same source. I had the rims on my '86 powder-coated in white and being the OEM colour they looked fab, but you either need to be anal about cleaning after each ride or just give up. At least the powdercoating had a nice gloss which helped. When I had a previous '86, I used oven-cleaner on the rims; I'm sure one could abuse that and corrode the rims but it worked really well if you were careful and quick.

Ok ok, I can see your point on white wheels with a tri color bike. Not on a red,or yellow VFR. I had thought of the bronze color on a red bike. For sure it's all smiles when I'm riding this amazing bike. There is definitely no profit I'm looking for. My VFR is a keeper when I get done with it.

Its been quite awhile, but the father/son riders -- The "Carvers" used to post quite a lot on this forum... and they built that RWB bike in the last photo with 8th gen wheels and brakes, PLUS installed a 5th gen engine in it, I think headers too..... I drooled so much over it that I offered to buy it!

I love having a centre stand on my VFRs, and wished Honda equipped the VTR1000 with 'em. However my stand has gotten scabby after 100K km and 16 years of riding. But it sure looks like the rear exhaust pipes block access to the bolts. I suppose I'll have to refinish it in place - but not till next spring and warmer temps.

Why not white? Though anything other than dark grey/black looks great in a tricolore VFR. Perhaps this comparison will help you choose.

If you are in this game for profit then you may have missed the point...smiles per $ is where it is at.

Had a good laugh on that one.... I know exactly what you mean! Budget? What budget?

Wow, what a really nice looking VFR. Thanks for sharing. Wish I could find one of those tanks bras.