sweet - dude - sweet

sweet - dude - sweet

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well, i had been looking to clutter the garage some more:

during the last year i cleared the cobwebs from the last bike i bought nearly 15 years ago; a 86-750-RWB. got her out, fresh fluids, new rubber and chain, and rode her most of the year during the high $ gas fiasco. tons of fun as i now have a great low-key commute.

all the while im thinking that she is just too nice (and getting more collectible)to put out there as a daily driver. 17K on the clock and no dings or excuses.

ive been looking for some time for a daily rider, and found that since last buying, that prices had increased significantly. i had always been a $3-4k kinda bike guy, and thought that i was not gotta find anything decent in that price range. i was thinking that i was gonna have to pull 4-6 bills out to get a decent bike that i could be happy with.

i looked at ZRX-11/1200- loved the retro styling and would make a great daily. almost bought a Sprint-1150 with 5k miles for $5k. looked at FZ-1, but probably too hyper for my taste. looked at SV-650/1100- had a prev hawk NT-650 that was great. was ready to go for the lowest denominator: a CBR-600 as they are great bikes and plentifull, and i was very happy with the prev one i had.

but then- magically: a 99-G5 in red appeared close by on CL that sounded too good to be true. a bone stock, one-owner red with 13K on the clock. small pics that looked good for a great price. caught the guy 1st- told him if it was what he said, that i would take it. met him thur, shook his hand within 1 min and said its mine.

$3000 got a never dropped or blemished G5 with seat cowl, the big service manual, complete toolkit, hondaline soft bags, mag tank bag, 8 qts of honda oil, 2 filters, complete owners books, cargo net, and a clean 1 owner title.

his story: bought it new, now no time to ride, preg wife that says its gotta go, and he didnt have a good argument otherwise.

a prelim cleanup this AM revealed body work with nary a scratch. the best in the biz honda cleaner/polish brought out a wonderful red gleam that i didnt think i was crazy about, but now am smitten.

its got half-ass pirellis super corsas, and a in-spec chain. only dirt at all was the kind you want: a little grime on the chainline from lube. i think it will cleanup nearly spottless.

the ride home gave 3 immediate impressions compared to my G1: its light feeling. the brakes are WAY evolved. and it sure is refined with the stock can.

i will post some pics soon.

hello fellow G5ers :thumbsup:

 

welcome to the madness again!

 

Welcome to VFRW! pictures please?!?

 

you lucky SOB! lol
good job and welcome aboard!

 

Score! Some folks around here have made some sweet deals lately. I think the people who do not know what their VFRs are worth are starting to get rid of them.
Keep your eyes open for more bargains!

 

quick update

had time tue for a little proper maintenance-

front body off for inspection. those new push/pull clips are sorta funky. didnt know or care about last oil change, new dino is called for. OEM filter is on tight. tighter than not having the filter wrench and only bare hands can overcome. the PO did all dealer service- good to see they follow proper torque values! so... i dumped in the honda oil the PO included until i can get a wrench and refill her with my preferred rotella-T synthetic. he also gave me 2 honda filters, but i will find the right Pure-One can for the job. it took a smidge over 3-qt without removing the filter to get to 1mm below the high line at the window. also added about 4oz of 50/50 mix to the coolant tank. i have been using H2o and water wetter in the 86 and will likely flush and refill with same mix for the G5 as well for the summer. the fluids on both handlebar pots look clean and full for now.

front pipes were a bit dirty but cleaned up nicely. a little bit of rubbin and lovin cleaned up other small areas of grime around the lump. both of the side plastics were dirty on the inside so a little attention there was also called for. spent a little more time near the back drivetrain area removing lube gunk. as predicted- it all cleaned up nicely.

buttoned it all back up and grabbed the honda spray magic. i swear i think i may be addicted to the smell of that stuff. :redface: as i am waiting for my tag to arrive, i went for only a quick dash over to a buddys house to circ the fluids and check for any weirdness. none found. it was however idling at approx 1600 which i did not notice at pickup. it didnt sound bad, or wrong, just smooth. a quick adjustment revealed the old familiar lumpa-lump-lump-lump to which i am accustomed to on the old bike. about 1100 seems about right to my ear. i cant bear to think about not hearing the GDC. i think i got the right year for sure! :thumbsup:

my initial impression still stands: it feels quite a bit lighter than my 86-750, and the brakes are oh about a million years ahead of the 86 technology. it sure revs quick on the centerstand, and seems to get to 6-8k on the counter much faster that the old bike. but, its strange because it doesnt even feel like its even starting to wind up yet, even though the MPH are definately climbing quickly. my 750 dont snarl until about 7-8k. i havent been above 8k yet on the new bike, but cant wait to get to know the powerband on the G5.

this thing looks and feels like a gentlemen's steed, and i not sure that i qualify as such. i have always felt that the bark of my 750 with the supertrapp cans was spot on for my taste.

next steps- a set of conti road attack sport milage are approx $400 installed at my local guy. ive never had contis before (on a bike), but think they would be a good fit for the G5.

pics soon (but its just another red G5)

PS- the damn thing is a freaking BEAR to get on centerstand compared to the G1. its a leverage thing.