Considering an '06

Greetings all,

I was going to wait until actually making the purchase to post a formal intro thread, but after reading up on things a bit I wanted to ask some questions before heading out to look at the bike tomorrow. The electrical gremlins that seem to be notorious on the 6th gen models have me a bit concerned. I'm leaning towards swapping over to the VFR from an Italian twin partly because I want to do more touring and partly for reliability...so the electrical woes cause some concern.

That said, it appears that the recalls for the wiring harness were for the '02-05 range...is it safe to assume that for the most part Honda rectified the issues on the '06+ models or is it something I still need to check?

Here's a pic of the battery area, I know it's tough to tell from a picture, but the connectors look ok to me at this point. My current bike has made me much more knowledgeable on charging systems, fuses and electrical overheating!! I'd very much like to leave that behind me:wink:

Also, are there any other typical issues that I should be checking for tomorrow? The bike appears nice and clean. Bike is bone stock. Can't wait to see it.

 

I had a white '06 and had no problems whatsoever with it. Never even a hint of electronics issues. I traded her in at 15k miles on a 7th Gen but I wish I could have kept both to be honest. If the bike is in good shape, buy it and love it. You'll be happy you did.

 

Hi, I just bought a pearl white 06 myself, and having come from supersports (just sold my race ready 08 ZX6R), it was a bit of leap for me, but, I'm loving it so far. You say that the bike is "bone stock", but, from that photo, I see an aftermarket electrical connector of some type... maybe someone added a "farkle" or two.... LOL

 

I'm pulling the fairings off my 06 soon, I need to wire up a power source for my gps. I'm also off to Deals gap in 3 weeks so I want to make sure nothings gotten toasted after the 20,000 kms I put on her last year.

I thought that was the cables for a battery tender.

 

Yep, that's just for the Battery Tender. Same exact spot I kept mine.

 

My Bone stock white 06 just turned 79,000 miles. Yup miles. I have replaced a rectifier, timing chain tensonerorizerwhichimicobs and that's about it. Buy it. So long as it is White. Those red ones are so damned slow and are full of problems. All their riders have attitudes.

I have damned near wore the paint off this one so time to throw some money at it this winter. Hate the thought of taking it off the road for a couple months though.

 

Timing chain? On a VFR?! (sorry Randy, couldn't resist having a little dig)

 

I dunno. It was some sort of tension adjustment equalizing dampening uplifting penis enhancing thing. Now you gone made me look it up. Lifter assembly tensioners or sumpfin. I definately was not the ball joints or torsion bars anyways.

 

So I wound up passing on that particular VFR. It was just not well cared for and so the search continues.

I will say though that after a brief test ride I'm a little concerned with the ergos. I've been on sport nekkids for the past 5 or 6 years after stints on supersports and so going back to even a modest sport riding position seems really aggressive for me. Now I didn't ride the thing long enough to know if it will cause me any issues, but I definitely want to go for lots of comfort on my next bike as I'm planning on putting some good miles on it. With that said, how has the stock riding position been for you guys on your distance trips. I'm 6' with an aching knee so comfort is key for me. I know there are options for raising the bars, etc but I'm not sure I want to start retrofitting a new purchase right off the bat.

Thoughts?

 

I have a 98. Bought Heli-bars and never fitted them so I sold them here.

Perhaps I was just used to the CBR and the VFR feels pretty upright to me compared to that. The 954 isn't down on the tank like a lot of sportbikes. Hell, the wife and I did our honeymoon on the 954. She doesn't like riding on the VFR vs. the CBR. Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years either. :crazy:

I would say just try it for a while and if you want bar risers they aren't that expensive. They cost less than a set of tires and will last a lot longer. Everyone told me that I would definitely want the Heli-bars. After riding the VFR for a while I realized that I definitely did not want the Heli-bars. All of this stuff is really personal preference. You will have to ride it a while before you know what you like.

 

How difficult is it to find the hardbags for the VFRs? There are a number of nice, clean bikes around but most don't have the bags with them. Being as I want to do some good touring this could be a deal breaker for me.

 

Cerk:

1. Don't know about how hard it is to find used hard bags; but finding new ones is as easy as logging on to:

2006 Interceptor Accessories - Honda Genuine Accessories - Honda Powersports

They ain't cheap but they do work great.

2. Try not to be too influenced by Presidential Prime Minister Randy. When riders of white VFR's operate them north of the 49th parallel they become delusional and begin thinking they are almost as fast and reliable as beautiful red ones. The only thing we seem to agree on is that the meds they give us to stop grinning at the end of VFR rides don't work worth a damn.

Best of luck!