Hello from East Tennessee

Right on, I'm going to hopefully check it out this week. When I'm looking at the bike I'll pop the seat off and check the r/r and the connectors. I have the search narrowed down between two 5th gen vfr800fi bikes, a 98 and an 01. The 98 has 24,000 miles and the 01 only has 5,800 miles. I'm hoping I will have one of them real soon.

 

The valve check is a religious issue. Asking about it is like asking which oil to use, or if one should get an aftermarket rectifier.

I do not think one will get chatter from these valves tightening from wear. Performance issues would most likely crop up first. Performance can be a very relative thing though. How do you know it is not performing like the day it was built?

TA-Rocks opinion is a very popular opinion here. Many others do one check, say a 32k check. Some of us do see these bikes as fine vehicles, like a Lamborghini, and want to know that the valves are in spec at some time in the bike's life. Some percentage find their valves in spec into relatively high mileage. Some find out of spec valves at a 16,000 mile examination.

You can point to the factory service manual where Honda recommends checks of the valves at 16,000 mile intervals as part of the negotiation. Whether that is too aggressive a maintenance schedule is up to the owner to negotiate.

 

Yup! That's me for sure. Lol That's why I'm so excited about the 5th bikes with the gear driven cams.

 

View attachment 37030 View attachment 37031
Here's some pics of the hawks I had a while back. The cb750 nighthawk was an awesome bike, I bought it at the dealership i worked at. It was a used bike someone traded in and I had to buy it. I rode it almost every day for 2 years and I would still own it today, but someone offered me 3 times what I paid for it. Couldn't turn down a handful of cash. lol
The vtr1000f superhawk was my baby, It was brand new still in the crate at the dealership where I worked and it was the very last 2003 candy blue in stock. They sold it to me at cost! I had to un-crate it, build it, and pdi it on off the clock. I really didn't mind doing that at all! I sold it about 3 years ago, I just could not ride it comfortably anymore. When I took it out on rides, my legs and back would cramp up so bad I just quit riding it and bought the orange sportster in the earlier pic. Then I picked up the road king and sold the vtr. I enjoy the Harleys, but not having a Honda in the collection just makes me feel incomplete. lol

 

Great post, thanks.

What are typical sport bike costs to dealers, percentage-wise?

There is something wrong with the attached pictures. Click on them yourself to test.

 

Darn. I posted them on my computer, but I'm on my phone now. The pictures come up when I click the attachment link . I don't know why they didn't post like the other one.
I don't really know what the typical mark up is, but I can tell you that the bike on the showroom for was $10,999. Plus dealer fees and set up fees. They sold it to me in the box for $6,999 plus tax tag and title. No dealer fee or set up fee. All in it was 7 something.

 

Thanks. It makes sense that it is a high markup for something that has a year-round flooring cost.

 

Did the attachment work when you clicked them?

 

Not from my phone.

 

Very nice!

There was something wrong with your rear tire though as it was smoking badly. I can see why you got rid of it.

 

Bwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yea, I could never figure out why the front wheel never stayed on the ground either!!! layful:

 

Hey guys,
What would be a reasonable price on a 1998 vfr that appears to be pretty clean but has a little over 69,000 miles?
They want $3000 firm, but I am really concerned about the high miles.
It also comes with a Corbin seat, stock seat, aftermarket exhaust, stock exhaust, and an extra set of tires. The wheels have been chrome plated, and the chrome is starting to peel off.
I haven't seen this bike in person yet, and of coarse they are boasting about how clean it is, but would three thousand bucks be too high of a price with that many miles?
Thanks for bearing with me and answering all of my questions about all the bikes I've been looking at. I really appreciate everybody's help and knowledge about these bikes.

 

Chrome plated wheels on a 98? Walk, no run.

If you're willing to drive, just need to widen the search. for example. Only 24K miles, new tires, 2 bros high - mount exhaust.

3400 is a bit high, but he says OBO.

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/5669464282.html

 

Do you mean run away from it? Or run to buy it?
In all honesty, chrome plated wheels are a con for me. I like the stock black wheels a whole lot better.
What do you think about the high miles?

 

Run away. You're going to have to factor getting the wheels sorted to your liking on top of that cost now. Mileage for price is hard to say, most guides (NADA, kbb) don't really consider mileage part of the equation, unless the miles have in turn effected the condition. According to KBB an excellent 98 should be right around 2500. That could be one with 25 or 75K. If the bike has been cared for with the basic oil changes and hasn't been flogged, 70K really isn't what I'd consider high mileage for these engines. They're generally under stressed and low rev cruising. 100's of thousands isn't unheard of.

I think if you're patient you'll find one with lower miles and wheels that don't need attention

 

How about this, 24K. Helibars installed (huge bonus, money wise and riding comfort)

https://tricities.craigslist.org/mcy/5606168510.html

 

Hey V4toTour, I have already gone and looked at that one. Looking at the pictures, I was sold. I was set on buying it with out question, but those pictures make that bike look a lot better than it really is. That bike has been sitting out in the weather for a very long time. It's really dirty and all of the metal is pitted and oxidized pretty bad. I was very disappointed when I went and saw it in person. If it looked like the pictures, I would have bought that one weeks ago.
But, anyway, thanks for looking around for me. I know I'll find one sooner or later. Lol

 

Oh V4toTour, also thanks for the info on that other bike too. I was kind of thinking the same thing. I'll probably take that one off of
my list. There is another one I'm intrested in, it's two hours and change away from me. That's probably my limit on driving to find a bike. Once I drove almost 3 hours to pick up a car from craigs list, and it was not at all what was advertised. I told myself I'd never do that again. It's almost been the same way with these bikes, I'm getting tired of looking at beautiful pics, and then seeing something completely different in person.
That bike in Charlotte looks great, but it's three hours from me. Judging by the garage that bike is kept in, I'd say that's probably a good one, I'll send him an email and ask some more questions. That's probably my limit on driving tho.