2000 vfr suspension mods

hey gang. tomorrow, i'm off to pick up my 2000 yella vfr :thumbsup:. the owner tells me everything is stock (suspension wise). the bike has a tick over 17k miles. what sort of suspension mods have folks done to their vfrs? i'm so stoked to get back into a vfr saddle again!

cheers!

 

Seems like the consensus is Ohlin's rear and racetec front. Pretty pricey to do both, but that is what folks talk about. I am still stock so I cannot speak from experience.

 

There's not really one singular answer. What works best for you depends a lot on two factors 1) what you want from the bike and 2) how you have to spend. Here is my guildelines that use when suggesting suspension setups:

Basic - To get started you'll need $150-200. That will get you new fork springs and a new shock spring. Depending on your weight you might not need both, but chances are very good that you would. A good suspension starts with the proper spring rates, so this is a must-have anyway. For riders who are not very demanding this might be all that is needed.

Intermedate - This is where 90%+ of people are and therefore is the biggest grey area. I suggest replacing the compression valves in the forks and reshimming the stock rebound valves. Out back you can either revalve your stock shock (which works very well, actually) or choose to have a CBR929 shock modified to fit. You can also further upgrade the CBR shock with different valving for extra improvement depending on your budget. Forks and shock revalved as described is a terrific setup that works great for aggressive street and trackday riders. You would need to invest an additional $400-600 to get to this level.

Expert/Racer - This is where you would get into upgrades to the rebound valves in the forks and a full aftermarket shock. My opinion is that aftermarket shocks aren't worth the expense on the street. I've ridden and tuned many Ohlins, Fox, Penske, WP, etc. shocks for both street riders and racers. The conclusion that I've come to is that it takes an expert level racer to be able to use what an aftermarket shock has to offer. Keep in mind that you are after the last fraction and would be paying $1000+ for it. Deflection in the forks can become an issue, so a complete fork change to something inverted would help. Figure on $500-1000 to make that happen. As you can see, costs go up considerably at this level!

I hope this helps!

 

A free and easy mod is to crank up both the rear and front to max and also pull the front forks up 10 mm. The ride's a little jarring but the performance makes up for it!

 

i've used racetec on other bikes so that'll be an easy fix for the front. the compression valves and rebound valves are a great idea. i'm glad to know that i can replace the rear with a 929 rear shock. a bit more adjustability is nice and these ought to be available on ebay. thanks folks!

 

If you are a street rider you might consider just the compression valves. That's how I setup 75% of the forks I do. Reshim the stock rebound valves to match and you would be all set.

The RT rebound valves work great too. The compression valves get you 80%, the rebound valves the other 20%. That's why I only install rebound valves in bikes that are dedicated for track use.

 

Nice to see I can improve my 5th gen (98). I could not tune it to match what I had on my 1st gen vf1000f.

I had a vfr800/A rear shock (modified by Jamie to fit) and RaceTech Gold Valve emulator in the front. Rear was raised 45mm (15 of it to compensate for the smaller radius tire on F2 wheels) and I dropped the front 15mm. I am not an expert and part of the nice setting I had was pure luck. I though I would be able to do the same on a 15 years younger bike with stock suspension.

Does RT provide compression as easy to fit than the emulator for the VF1000F? And for the rear?

duB

 

The install of the Gold Valve is not quite as easy as the Emulators. It requires full disassembly of the forks and the internal cartridges. It can be tricky, so most people opt to have someone else install them.

As for the shock, you need special equipement to disassemble and reassemble the shock. It's not something "you can do at home".

 

I've got a Penske shock on the way and I'll most likely go with HyperPro fork springs, as they worked well on my last ride.

 

A couple of months ago, I was out riding my new-to-me 2000 VFR 800 in my neck of the woods (Hwy 33 - lovely twistys and sweepers). Had set the sag properly, front and rear and was satisfied with the front action but, the rear was unsatisfying. Met up with a rider who had had the same model (since sold) and his advice was, "Spend a grand on an Ohlins shock and the bike will be perfect." Okay, that's a thought but, do I really need that? I run an '07 Gix750 at the track so if I want real speed and decent suspension that includes compression damping, I'll just ride that on the street.

After much back and forth, and recognizing that the VFR is my sport-tourer which I don't take to the track, I settled on sending my stock shock to Race Tech (Corona, CA) for a rebuild/gold valve. (I've used them before for my '86 Nighthawk 700S and was pleased with their work.) I checked the RT site and for me (174# rider), the stock Honda spring was PERFECT for my weight. Like really perfect - RT's range of springs available would've been either too soft or too hard. While my bike was disassembled, I took the opportunity to clean some typically hard to access areas, replace linkage seals, bolts, etc. and lube everything up.

Anyway, rec'd my shock back Monday (after about 3-1/2 weeks) and installed Wednesday. Took her back up Hwy 33 for a shake down ride this morning. WONDERFUL! Very smooth and composed! Quite an improvement over my 16k mile stock shock. Big, BIG smile on my face! The total cost was ~$430. Since I didn't need a spring, it would've been about $105 cheaper but, I wanted my stocker bead blasted and powder-coated a distinctive color - I mean, ya gotta right?! So my vanity cost me an extra Franklin. Gotta say, I'm really, really pleased! Oh, and the extended time at RT was due to my powder-coating request, otherwise, I think it would've only been a 2 week turnaround.

In short, my experience has been positive.

 

Dam! $430. on a stocker! Wow, ever heard of Ebay? This shock would work great on a vfr.

VTR1000F SUPER HAWK rear shock rear PENSKE SHOCK 101570 : eBay Motors (item 330408691535 end time Mar-04-10 13:35:02 PST)

 

Ah, yes, I am familiar with "the Ebay."

Ya know, I was looking for a simple solution that would provide competent suspension. As I noted, the goal could've been achieved for $325.
Re: the VTR shock: 1) In my research, I didn't come across anything suggesting that the VTR Penske would work for my bike. Maybe that info is out there and I missed it. Entirely possible. 2) If I did know it would work, that auction was not running when I was looking for an upgrade. 3) If I knew it worked and also won the auction, I'd probably replace the spring to suit me anyway, as well as have it refreshed - both being additional costs.

My solution was no muss, no fuss for me and I'm happy. You're suggestion is past the "use by" date for my project but, I'm sure others on the forum will benefit from your posting.

 

That's pretty typical response I get from Gold Valve installations I do on stock shocks. I've said it many times, but it still holds true that folks often overlook upgrades to the stock shock as a viable option for increased performance. I charge $280 for a Gold Valve and new spring. For that price I think it is a very good value. You'd have to spend at least 3x that much to even match what an upgraded stock shock can give you.

I'm glad you are happy with the results!

 

I bought my Penske new for $800. for my old GSXR600. When I got the VFR, I paid $400. to have it reworked for the VFR, New spring, rod, clevis and valving. Nice thing about Penske shocks is your never stuck with the one you bought, because there a completely modular design. So you can buy a new or used and have it reworked for $300.~ $450. for most any bike. Best shocks on the market(IMO).

 

I must agree - of all aftermarket shocks Penske are head and shoulders above the rest. Second place goes to WP actually, those are really nice too. Bang for the buck still goes to upgrading the original shock - no contest.

 

Great thread - Kudos to Jamie. I have a 2k VFR and I am in NYC. I took my bike to GMD Computrack and had the suspsension done on my VFR. I have racetech springs and gold valve kit with a Penske shock in the rear. Forks were revalved. I am more of a tourer but do get into some aggresive rides and trackdays. If you have the cash GMD is well worth it.

 

I just now did this on the front of my 1998. I think it really helped!

 

I was told there was marginal benefit in changing the valves on the VFR (I did it anyway). If you just got some ohlins springs and re-did the oil that should be a big improvement for not much (excluding suspension mechanic costs). I am not sure there is any huge diff between racetech and ohlins springs.

Rear shock prices vary from $450-1100. I guess its get the best you can afford. Having the external adjustment is awesome if you race but would be of marginal benefit otherwise (in my opinion).

I have ohlins valves, springs in the front and H0801 rear shock. Bloody awesome but I found after 1-2 months that my rebound setting was wrong and 2 clicks made the bike handle so much better.

Whatever you do make sure you have someone knowledgable adjust the SAG etc.

It was $100 extra to get my sag adjustment done by professionals once all the gear was installed. Very worthwhile.
I

 

I really want to do the racetech fork springs. Seems like tools to do this would be over 1/2 the cost. But then I would have the tools, eh?