Western MD '06 VFR800

Hola,
New member from Western MD and a fairly new motorcycle junkie. Current bike inventory is a 2009 Speed Triple, 2013 CB500F, and just sold of a 2007 919. I also just picked up a 2006 VFR800 with 26K mi and a ton of touring accessories. I got this bike as an intro to sport touring with the emphasis on sport, since I think that covers more of my needs. So far I'm very impressed with the bike and I owe it to these forums for guidance in choosing this bike. I've been creeping for a while and have a good idea of what I'm going to need to look out for on this bike. So far, the bike seems to be in fine mechanical condition, but I just took it down to the shop for its first valve inspection and a full service for a fresh start. I'm looking forward to touring with the wife, but hope to spend the majority of the time loaded down cruising on some 6+ hour trips by myself. I'm in the process of planning my first trip so that should be fun.

That said, the only things I look to improve on this bike, and am open to suggestions on each, are:
Increase wind protection for pillion. Right now the wife's head gets buffeted pretty bad. I have a MRA touring screen and a GIVI that hasn't quite done the trick so I'm considering clamp on deflectors and a new set of helmets for our SMH10R's and improved aerodynamics.
Smooth out the throttle which gets a little jerky. The bike has a PC3, but I'm thinking the PO was using the zero map so if anyone has a suggested map for K&N Filter, Stock Exhaust, O2 restrictors that would be appreciated. I think I'm going to keep the stock pipes for cruising comfort and fix the mapping for fuel mileage and smoothness.
Get rid of slack in the clutch. Not sure if it is an adjustment thing or not, but I'm hoping to reduce the travel required for the clutch to engage. I have Pazzo levers on it now and end up sitting at lights revving the engine up trying to get the clutch to grab and start moving.

Other than these few small gripes I can see why this bike is favored so much. A lot like my old 919 in that it seems like it can do everything well and be comfortable at the same time. Plan for now is keep this thing for as long as possible and try to squeeze out as much touring experience as possible to help me make a smart upgrade to a better tourer once the time arrives.

Joe

 

Very cool...keep us posted on your adventures and welcome

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

Welcome to The World! As far as your pillion goes, you'll want to get a custom seat if your wife is going to be in tow for long rides. I have a Sargent seat and although better than stock for me, it is only a minor improvement over the stock seat for the wife. In hind sight I probably should have gone to a local shop and had a custom seat made for long range comfort. Regarding your PC3, you can try other maps, either downloaded from Dynojet's website or from other members, but best results will come from a custom map done by a Dyno tuner. You may want to clean out the clutch reservoir and bleed the line, another member had a similar issue and it turned out the return orifice was clogged.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthre...le-to-adjust-clutch-bite-point-5th-gen-VFR800

 

Thanks for the advice. I think that website may be a great starting point that I had not thought of so I'll give it a shot once it gets back from its checkup at the dealer. Also, I have a Corbin/backrest as well as a topcase with backrest that should help considerably for the wife, just have to figure out a way for her not to slide down into my seat during casual braking. The PO gave me a airhawk seat that we have yet to ride with so I'm hoping that helps with that issue. Otherwise, the first thing we'll add to the list for a future upgrade is a kick-ass stock seat.

 

Welcome aboard, cool that the bike came with all that luggage. Ride safe

 

Yeah I was pretty excited that I wouldn't have to spend another dime on the bike as far as accessories go. Hope to jump right into some longer rides.