Small body + VFR fan + just got my permit = VFR as first bike ?

Hello guys,

So here I am, new guy in the forum, asking the question that can mark the beginning of a whole new adventure. I've seen the other forum threads and I've read many of your opinions, so I'm just going to detail the specifics concerning my situation :

- I'm 170cm tall, 62kg. Not a particularly strong man, but not a weak one either. Let's say : normal.
- I just passed my bike permit in France. The test here is particularly complicated, with lots of low-speed maneuvers and timed high-speed slaloms, emergency braking, and evasion techniques.
- I did 30 hours of circuit training before getting my permit with a Kawasaki ER-6, naked. I think its called a Ninja in the US.

I'm roughly confident with the motorcycle skills that I have acquired until now. I was thinking of getting me a Honda CB-500, as "everybody" told me that it was a great bike to begin with. However, I saw a VFR (RC36) and really, really, fell in love. When I found out that it was within my budget, I started really thinking about buying one as my first bike. I don't want a motorcycle to "ride fast", but to experience nice sensations, hugging the road, and traveling around the country.

What scares me a bit is the weight (roughly 40kg more than the ER-6), and the potentially the cost of the fairing in case that it falls down. That being said, as the bike won't cost me a lot of money, it's not that dramatic; however I wouldn't like to get hurt while badly negotiating a turn.

I'm guessing that the question is, considering my training and my morphology, is the VFR a reasonably good bike to learn how to ride? Is the VFR a particularly dangerous bike? And what do you guys think about this one?

Honda vfr 750 Motos Rhône - leboncoin.fr

Thanks in advance for all your comments !

Pohl.

 

Here is my take on it.
If it is what you want then buy it.
better to learn how to ride on a bike that you will be riding for the foreseeable future, then get a bike as a learner, only to get another & have to relearn most of what you thought you knew because of a change in bike charactoristics.

 

Hey Phol,

Welcome to the madhouse - from Chatel in the French Alps!

Firstly your weight/height is pretty similar to me and I am VERY happy with my even heavier VFR800ABS. So assuming you take care for the first few weeks - especially at slow speed, then you will find a VFR is a great choice for your first big bike. Just take it easy until you get the feel for the bike and its balance.

You should consider fitting tip over protection - as these bikes can opt for horizontal parking mode with very little warning and once the weight starts heading for the deck your best bet is to get out of the way as 62kg is never going to stop it.

Personally I would recommend getting a set of RG Racing crash bungs - http://www.rg-racing.com/browseBike/Honda/VFR800_v-tec/2006.aspx - these bolt right through the frame so can handle a drop and help protect the bike and you from being trapped under it. They are not cheap as the kit includes a replacement coolant bottle to make space to run a strengthening bolt right through the frame.

As for the VFR advert - I wonder if the advert has a mistake - 157,000KM? Its definitely possible over 20 years - but that works out at around 8,000km(4,900 miles) per year. So that bike has done a huge mileage and if the mileage is right then personally I would TAKE MY TIME and keep looking as the right bike is out there. Just remember at that sort of mileage pretty much everything on the bike will be VERY tired so you could be picking up big bills for things which eventually go on high mileage bikes like suspension steering forks, brakes etc.

However looking closely at the pictures - especially the painted wheels the bike appears to be in excellent condition and I suspect has probably done nearer 15,700km - and if that is the real mileage then its a very fair price.

You might want to compare with this one of similar age and which costs 100 euro less with only 110,000km - Honda rc 36 vfr 750 Motos Savoie - leboncoin.fr

Personally I would ring the seller and find out what you can about the bike's history - how many previous owners - how often has the bike been sold - why are they selling it? has it been crashed? any known issues. You definitely need to visually check the bike electrics - you will see there are loads of posts on here about people having electrical problems - like dead RR units, cooked batteries and melted wiring looms and connectors. Make sure you have read up the relevant posts (search for Rubo) on here and make sure you really know what to look for and where. As both VFR's are private sales its definitely worth asking another biker to come with you to look at the bike - if you don't know anyone - just contact FFMC in your Department and they will probably be happy to put you in touch with one of their members who is willing to help a new biker.

I hope a VFR works out for you - please let us know how you get on.




Skimad4x4
Proud member - 6th Gen Militia # 218 - European 1st Division

 

Welcome! That is a really nice lookin '92 and looks well-cared for. That being said, I put the page through google translate and it seems to have almost no information. 157,000 km is a lot (97k miles). I have seen posts from a few folks around here that have 5th gens with that many kilometers. I would suggest seeking some advice before buying, like what to ask the owner and what to check.

As far as a 1st bike, it sounds like the government of France made you do some worthwhile training. If you felt okay on a Kawi 650, I think you'll be fine on a 5th gen.

...

And that 5th gen you're looking at is sexy! Enjoy and good luck with the bike shopping.

 

Bonjour, welcome to the madness. That bike look sweeeeet. Hurry and get her before it is gone. Clean 3rd gen is hard to come by. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

+ 1
That girl may look good but her tits are already stretched pass belly button.
Go for fuel injection 5th gen.Easier to maintain and great bike.Unless you know how to work on carburetors etc .It looks like you are new to motorcycling so go with FI

 

Hey, thank you all for your replies. This feels like a nice, international community (Englishmen in the Alps, nice !).

So I called the seller, and the mileage is accurate. It seems that he has been the bike's owner for the last 15+ years. He claims that nothing needs to be replaced before the next 10.000 km. Brakes, clutch, and tires are good. Still, I will check it out once he's back from vacations, in 10 days. On the meantime I will keep an eye open for other VFR's in the region.

Unfortunately FI VFR's are out of my budget, costing on average 1k EUR more.

I'm gonna contact some insurance groups as well, as that can potentially upset my wallet big time.

I'll keep you guys posted !

 

For a new rider insurance can be a deal breaker so its important you get quotes before committing to buy anything. I got my cover via the FFMC who have a special mutual policy exclusively for bikers which is with AXA - Club14.com. For me they were a lot lower than other quotes.


Skimad4x4
Proud Member 6th Gen Militia # 218 - European 1st Division

PS there are quite a few members of VFRWorld in the Alps!

 

Yup, so I contacted the insurance group and fortunately they proposed me a relatively cheap, though tricky, solution. I need to find me a VFR of at least 20 years of age so that I can insure it as a "collector vehicle". AND insure a main, utilitary and cheap bike, for the daily commute (something smaller than a 500cc would be nice). That way, the insurance for the VFR will be at around 110 EUR the year, instead of 1400 EUR for me. Quite the difference, huh ?

Now I just need to find a good VFR, 1990-1992, not so far away from home (Lyon), under 2k EUR. Might not be an easy task! :tongue: