Got my Viffer back! Wot a bike...

I dropped my '99 VFR off at Berkeley Honda on Dec. 1, the day I bought the 600RR. It was almost on it's 16K service interval, so I figured if I was going to be in Singapore until the 16th, why not leave the VFR at the dealer for the service work. Major service completed, everything except for a valve adjustment (figured that at 15,330 miles, valves would not need adjusting, as they never did with my CBR600F2, and CBR600F4i at this interval, and those don't use gear-driven cams), new chain, sprockets, fluids, rear brake pads, and regulator/rectifier was installed. Had the brake and clutch fluid replaced as it had never been done since new. I asked the dealer about the chain, and he said it was definitely in need of being replaced, as it was past it's service limit for stretch.

I just picked it up yesterday; while the owner of the dealership was warming up the bike, I was inside talking to the sales manager about it. "Yeah, you got a good one, that generation was the best. When they came out with the current generation in 2002, sales just plummeted." Interesting I thought, perhaps the reason that the 6th gen VFR is in it's 7th year of production is that Honda is keeping it in production until they have fully recouped their amortized development and manufacturing costs. Stands to reason that if sales of the current gen VFR were nowhere as strong as the 5th gen, it would take longer to recoup costs.

When I walked out to talk to the dealership owner warming up the bike, he said, "Well, this thing just runs so smoothly and quietly...this is really a nice piece." Well, I kinda knew that already...:smile:

I hopped on and rode home...my overwhelming thought riding home was "G*d D*mn! This is such a good motorcycle! Why didn't I buy one of these years ago???"

As the Brits say, "Wot a bike...."

 

I don't know... for some reason I find this disrespectful to me and my 6th gen. Why it needed to posted I don't know. But I am getting quite tired of having to defend my bike. :smash:

 

Jason - you've just got to let it roll off of you. There is a lot of unwarranted bashing out there. In this case, it was just a dealer's opinion. I'm sure that if I rolled my 6th Gen in there to spend a ton of money on service, then he'd be telling me how great the 6th Gen is.

I've owned both the 5th and the 6th, so I actually have a credible opinion about the two. To me, I don't prefer one Gen over the other. They both have pros and cons. They are both great bikes. There are so many 6th Gens out there and with it in its 7th year, I find it hard to believe that they don't out number every other generation out there. Just take confidence in knowing that you're 6th Gen doesn't give anything away to anything that came before it.

 

Ya your right... I tried for a good hour or so. Think I'm ok now. Thank you.

 

I'm really glad you think so highly of your machine. I edited my earlier post due to it being somewhat inappropriate. My apologies, I should have never gotten sucked in to such a trivial thing. I really should have my coffee before I post.

 

Well, remember Jason, I didn't say it; I was quoting Scott, the sales manager at Berkeley Honda, and he made the comment regarding the context of sales volume. He has to sell VFRs as part of earning his living. Given that, he brings a different perspective than most of us might have, and likely has facts at hand that we do not. I presume he was stating facts about the sales of the 6th gen vs. previous generations.

Personally, if I couldn't have found a 5th, I would have bought a 6th gen VFR. They're both great bikes, in my opinion. In fact, I can't think of a VFR I wouldn't like to own. I'm just regretting that I didn't start riding them sooner.

No disrespect intended, honest.

 

Hey Jason, what ever bike you happen to own is always going to be best.
older gens are more sport orientated and those guys like that. our bikes lean more towards touring. gen 5 was only in production for 3 yrs so not a lot of them around try and find agood used one in our neck of the woods ,very rare. if sales plummeted after for gen 6 then why is honda still making them? 7yrs is a long run with just a few cosmetic changes. if they were losing money that bike would of been long long gone. IMO your RWB is one the best looking machines out of any vfr!! almost as fast as silver :biggrin:

 

The reason Honda may be still making them could be to recover the costs of development and manufacturing. VFRs are at the pinnacle of Honda's engineering, as their engineering specification and build quality is so high. Honda's view may be that they want to continue to sell the bike to recover those costs. This is the only reason I mentioned Scott's quote...it wasn't to be disrepectful of 6th gen VFRs, and certainly not their owners. Scott's statement about sales keyed a thought in both my and a friend's minds (he heard the statement also, and also used to own a 5th gen as well) that the reason that the bike is now in it's 7th year of production is that Honda needs to recover the costs of development. If sales are lower on a given model, it will take them longer to recover those costs, and those development costs are significant. Especially with a bike with the engineering specification of a VFR.

On the other hand, it could be completely the opposite, sales could be so good that Honda wants to keep milking the cow. This is what happened with the Acura Integra...it was in production for 8 years, unchanged. When I talked to an Acura guy about it, he said Honda continued to make the Integra unchanged all that time because sales for it never dropped off.

And I agree, the RWB VFR is amongst the best looking of any of the VFR designs....really beautiful.

 

All of us like to have our egos stroked. I am sure Mr. Puma Cat was on cloud nine for the rest of that day. I know when someone compliments one of my bikes,whether it be for its looks or design, I kinda feel that I was just so damm astute to have purchased that particular model machine that I should have been given some kind of award or something. Anyway each generation
of the VFR has their share of strengths and weaknesses. I dont think any of this was intended as bike bashing. One thing for sure VFR's are probably one of the most uniquely designed and reliable machines of their time. With that said I have to go meet my wife for some last minute Christmas shopping. Good Holiday to all. eddie

 

puma cat, seems like Vfr is a more popular bike across the pond so it stands to reason sales for a gen 6 could be stronger there. in north America we seem to gofor bigger liter bikes. I understand what your saying about recovering costs but if they haven't done that after 5yrs the bike was a flop and it would of bin dropped.should be interesting to see whats going to happen in the next few yrs if a gen 7 comes out then us gen 6 owners can bash that

 

Just got back from my local dealer.... Had to get some of the Spray Polish so I can finish up my last detail before my bike goes into complete hibernation. Its nice to hear that dealers still even recognize VFRs. The salesperson that helped me get my bike is either purchasing a 2008 VFR or a ZX-14. He was not thinking VFR until he rode one recently and was reminded of how great it really is plus he recently had a bad experience with a new 14 that he doesn't like being reminded of..... cold tires with that much power don't make friends easily!!!:nono: Anyway, all this comparison talk about generations exists with just about any relevant vehicle produced. I'm sure we'll all compare the next generation to the 6th and 5th gen bikes and point out all of its good points as well as the negatives. Its what we do. VFRs probably will never sell here as well as they had in the past because people buying bikes in the "sport" catagory want race bikes with lights so they're street legal. I don't ride one of those because it isn't practical for me and I want some comfort but still want enough performance to keep it intiresting. I was just sitting on a new Ducati 848 a few hours ago. I love it for what it is but I wouldn't have it as my only bike... If the next gen VFR goes all sport some of us will be happy and some of us will not. I think its still around because it sells enough to keep it available and doesn't cost much to produce. Theres really no reason to change it.... it works pretty well as it is.

 

Chomper,
My understanding is that the VFR has been, and continues to be, a strong seller in Europe. It's excellent capabilities as an all-rounder is probably the driver for that.

Regarding the various gen VFRs: To my way of thinking, these are all beautifully engineered and executed motorcycles. And, for me, it all comes down to value. If a particular generation bike represents value in the mind of it's owner, then potentially contrasting views shouldn't be an issue in the minds of VFR owners, they're just different views, that's all. Along as you find your VFR a compelling value proposition for you, that's all that's important, to my way of thinking.

 

You're exactly, right, Eddie. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, not for what Scott said, but because the riding experience was so enjoyable. Part of this is due to the fact I only had my VFR for about two weeks before I took it in for it's 16K interval service Dec 1, so I haven't had much time at all to ride my "new" bike, and the next to the the last time I rode it, I had battery charging problems to due to the old R/R bugaboo, where I was damn near stranded at a gas station.

It was just a pleasure to ride it home with everything working properly and running so smoothly from a service after being away from it for three weeks. While my new bat-out-of-hell Millennium Falcon-fast CBR600RR is sitting in the garage, the entire time I was in Singapore the first half of this month, all I could think about was riding the Viffer again.

 

He was not bashing you personally. He was just sharing with the world how much he loves his bike. I think everybody does it, in some way or another. All VFR's are awesome bikes.

 

Great thread, keep it up, Happy Holidays everyone.

 

Well aware of that. I was actually speaking as a gen 6 owner. Puma Cat's quote from his dealer just happened to be the last plinko block that crumbled my patience, no hard feelings Puma. :sorry:

Yes I took it personally, and if some are going to say that they don't bash the gen 6 then their full of BS. Being a proud new VFR owner I honestly didn't see it coming. Thats all this was about.

Anyways, I'm done. It's obvious how I feel. I appreciate those who helped in putting my exploded brain back in my head. I am taking stewart's advice...

Puma, you do have a awesome bike, enjoy every second that it will give you.

Happy Holidays to all.

 

I wasn't bashing anybody. Just citing some thoughts as to possibly why this currnet gen is in it's 7th year of production. That and that I love riding my bike.

No hard feelings taken, Jason, and VFR bashing was never my intention. Personally, I think all the VFRs were/are terrific bikes. As I said in my very first post here, I've been literally wanting to own a VFR for 20 years.

Why I waited so long, I just cannot figure.

Regarding any new generation bikes, personally, I hope that Honda does not forego the do-it-all capabilities of VFRs, especially the riding position and comfort level. I think Honda has very consistently hit the sporting/touring capabilities of this bike, and that is partly why it is the legendary bike that it is.