New to the vfrworld, have questions...

Hi all

Just signed up after lurking here for a while. Currently riding an 82 Suzuki but the wife says I can upgrade if I find something comfy for her. In rides the VFR!

I'm going to look at one on Saturday. It's a 99 with 24xx miles. No history on the bike, but I know it's had a fall over. Bent the brake lever and scratched the plastic a bit. Not too bad or even noticeable from a few feet. It also needs a new rear tire.

It's from a dealer that doesn't allow test rides, but has a 30 mile guarantee. Seems like a great bike, but want to make sure. So here are the questions:

What to look for in general?

I haven't heard a V4 since the 80s when a friend had a 500 Interceptor and another with a Magna. I've done the youtube thing for aftermarket exhausts, but not sure what to listen for with stock...

What would you check to make sure there hasn't been a wreck?

What price would you expect to pay?

Anything else that I'm not thinking of?

I'll use the rest of this site for the mods I would want to do, but just wanted a little advice about the initial purchase.

Thanks!

 

Missed it

Well, I missed that bike. Someone else bought it before I could check it out. Thanks for everyone that read my post!

It is interesting that I didn't get any feedback. No answers to the questions, no "welcome to the site". Not even a "hey, this post should go in the XXXX thread".

Back to lurking I guess...

 

I wish I couldh have given some advice about that specific bike, but I have not yet purchased my VFR.

I can tell you that I have been checking prices on Craigslist (nationwide) as well as Ebay Motors on a daily basis. I believe that by doing that you can get a good idea of fair prices for the bike you are looking at. It's amazing to see how many of them have light damage from falling over.

 

thanks

Well, I'm a bit ashamed of my last post. Just re-read it and realized how presumptious it was. :redface:

It makes perfect sense that other people use the new posting lists instead of going through each forum. Being new to the site, I was reading through each of the introductions from that forum. Mine was the only post with no replies and also the only one with questions (at the time).

I was crabby about missing a bike that seemed like a very good deal, but it wasn't anyone's fault here on this board. Even if the questions had been answered, I would have missed it. Timing is everything.

My apologies to all. This is a fantastic site.

I'll keep looking and hope to join the ranks of vfr owners.

 

Clinghoffer. I wish I could tell you that you didn't want that bike because it had a salvage title, an ugly chain, and a rusty muffler bearing, but I don't know for sure. One thing that is fur sure is that www.kbb.com and/or a historical ebay search will help you with pricing on any bike.

What to look for is TLC.

What to listen for is noises that don't sound right. If you don't have the experience to know what might not sound right, do you have a friend who can go check it out with you?

What to check - is the chain & sprockets in good shape? is the air pressure in the tires what it should be? is the tool kit all there? Is the owner's manual there? Are there maintence records? Is the title clear?

The 5th & 6th gen models are mature enough that they're really are not problems I can recommend for you to look for in the bike... they don't have design issues. The engine, frame, components have evolved to not have issues.