Hello good people of vfrw

Another newbie here, first bike I’ve owned, spent 3 years researching and learning to ride (msf) and getting license. LOVE IT. I can totally understand the motto: One world, one bike. She has been doing everything exceptionally.

Deff. would recommend against getting this bike as a first bike, she's a bit of a bear on the throttle, I’ve learned how to be very careful with the wrist, and she is soooooo damn hot in traffic.

Like I said, have spent the last 3 years reading the mags, looking at motorcyclists go by on the road, kicking tires at the dealerships around me, spending way to many hours on the interwebz trying to choose the right bike for me. I had decided on a newer fz6 for quite some time, was really close to signing the papers for a new one, but just didn’t for some reason. I kept looking, worried about weight factors and commuting and traveling and and and and......

Started looking for a VFR about 6 months ago, and believe it or not found it locally on Craig’s list in April. I know, I know, but again, on an amazing stroke of luck, I actually knew the guy selling it. He owns three bicycle shops around here, and I have talked to him before about one of his cars (04 v70r. very pretty.) It was a 06, with the tall heil bars, a powerlet port, a matching rear seat cowl, and the factory hard bags (a huge plus). All with only 706 miles on it. I told him I wanted it on the spot, and we signed the papers a few days later.

It's been 4 days over two months, and I just rolled through 3000 miles this weekend with a spur of the moment jaunt up to Danville, VA. I figured I’d look for VIR. (Didn’t' find it, I’m going to get a map next time). The last two months though have been an eye opener, both practicing in the parking lots and out on the road. I commute on it, so I am getting used to not being seen (next jacket is going to be Day-Glo yellow I think).

But the shear pleasure of even tooling along behind some jackass too busy reading and shaving and pooing and driving to enjoy what a beautiful morning he is commuting in is indescable. I'm not a particularly religious man (well, next to my parents, that is,) but every day I’m on the bike I find it much easier to pray and thank God I’m here doing what I’m doing. (Just for those worrying I’m not paying attention, this is usually taken care of along a long straight stretch of road with no turn offs what so ever. I live out a bit in the boonies.)

So I’ve found I’m very happy I went with the VFR after all. She's about 100lbs. heavier than the other bikes I was looking at (fz6, cbr600f4i, yzf600, sv650, etc.) But I find that this is actually an asset, since I’m such a .... big guy. 6'3", 240lbs. It’s got almost all the room I could ask for, and all the torque I need. And coming from a pair of old civics, believe me, that's an eye opener. Just a side note, the rear wheel lugs are the same as the ones on my civics. lol

Found a few problems:

1. Good God that seat sucks after 2 hours. Looking for a replacement, maybe even the first thing I change.

2. LOTS of wind into the helmet. Looking for a taller windscreen to throw more wind over the top, instead of into. I would like to keep the undercut bottom, where it lets in airflow into the cabin. It's very hot here in the south, and I sweat like a pig anyway.

3. Cruise control. Thinking throttlemeister bar ends or trying to find maybe a good electronic one. Up in the air for now, prob. short term fix is a wrist rest.

4. Brakes. The first thing I always change on my cars (bit of a car nut), the brakes just don’t offer the initial bite I would like, and seem to fade much more rapidly (like on the same stroke) than a car's do. I attribute this due to the much smaller thermal mass being heated/cooled (less liquid). The only thing this bike didn’t have that I really wanted was abs. I find the linked brakes to be very beneficial to me, the newbie, mostly because it already applies some rear brake with the fronts. I've been practicing using the foot and the hand brakes at the same time, and differently (had to break me of trail braking), but I would like some greater stopping power.

5. Top bag. Looking at the givi big one, with a backrest assuming I ever find a passenger. It would be nice not to lug all my stuff around with me wherever I went. Whoever said "Just a hop on the bike down the road" isn’t wearing enough gear. FF helmet, jacket, gauntleted gloves, jeans (soon to be real riding pants), boots, earplugs (wind noise gets me after 5 min. otherwise she's a sewing machine), etc.

6. Frame sliders. Very afraid of cutting open the fairings, but I think it's been down at a very slow speed, so they are already a bit scratched.


Well, if you've read this far, I congratulate you. There will not be a test.

I will be searching for fixes for all the above, as well as tires (I try to find curvy roads, but I’ve already got a flattish stripe in the rear). Thanks to all who have been contributing to this board, I’ve trolled for the last several months, and your words have not gone unattended.

God I love being me. I love riding this bike. And for the first time in a long while, I’ve found a bit of joy.


Fred.

 

Welcome aboard, Mr Rodgers. (thought you were dead)
Good luck on getting her tweaked the way you like it.
Ride like everyone is trying to kill you.

 

Zero gravity double bubble windscreen. Try them here at ZGOutlet.com

 

Welcome to the madness friend. Drewl offers some great advice: Ride like everyone is trying to kill you. There are products out there for all the issues you mentioned. Just a matter of finding what will work best for you. I've had my 07 for nine months, covered 8K miles, and have changed only the handlebars (helibars). Other mods are sure to come in the future, however.
Keep the shiny side up brother, and again, welcome to the madness!:biggrin:

 

I knew in my heart of hearts that Mr. Rogers was not dead.

 

Welcome Mr Rogers :smile:

If you can get them then M R A screens are very good quality and a excellent fit.

As for the brakes, first thing to try would be slide some new HH Sintered pads in them there calipers and bed them in properly. That should give you all the bite you want with less fade :biggrin:

Do a search for cruise controls as i have read a few threads on this site where guys have had problems ( inc offs ) due to these things sticking on at inapropriate times

As for tires, i use Conti Road Attacks and love them :thumbsup:

But i dont want to open that can of worms, and i dont have my slippers to hand !

 

first off welcome to the vfr family and hope u love yours as much i do mine keep the maintance up probley and she will last you a long time. as for some of ure questions 2 seat brands come to mind corbin and sargent i have a corbin and a lott of people have a sergent tires i run michealen pilot roads i currently have about 13000 miles on them and there not hurt yet they do okay in corners but a very long lasting tire since i do all of my every day commuting to work hope this helps