Hey all, thinking of buying a VFR

Hey all,

Walked into my local dealer yesterday and the first thing I came face to face with was a beautiful VFR800 Vtech.
It was just screaming buy me! I had to plonk a deposit down there and then!

Currently I ride a yammy xt660r so the two bikes could not be more different.
I was hoping that I might be able to get some insider intell instead of all the sales hype,
for example what can I expect from the VFR?
Any common faults etc I should look out for before I settle?

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Cheers all

Mole

 

Make sure you get a fair price, most good deals in the states are in the 7,500-7,000 US $ range new. Try to get a complete tool kit and make sure your seat cowl comes with the bike as well. Really a good deal for the best all rounder on the market IMO, enjoy!

 

Welcome Mole, you haven't meantioned what year model you're looking at, the Gen 6 / Vtec has been in production from Oct '01 until late last year.

The early Gen 6's had some recalls so make sure they've been done and after 2006 Honda changed the VTec point to come in 6,600 instead of the earlier versons 6.800 and drops out a little earlier in the Rev range around 6,100rpm to make it a little smoother, besides that their are mainly cosmetic differences between the years,

Huge leap from an XT660, the VFR is a fantastic fall off a log easy to ride allrounder of a road bike.

Want to hit the twisites yep love them it handles supprisingly well and when pressed can hang with sportsbikes, want to commute* no problem its well balanced has good midrange torque and fantastic mirrors, want to tour on variable and sometimes iffy road surfaces yep can do that as it has compliant suspension, great fairing protection with a good range and hard bag / top box options.

* One thing to be mindful of is while slow summer city commuting the engine temp normally runs a little hot with the fan cutting in at 105C so change to guage to Ambiant temp and only worry if the bar underneath goes flashing red then make sure you stop immediatly but I've never seen it. :smile:

 

Taa for the info guys.

I test road the VFR yesterday and I have to say the bike is amazing! Very very comfortable and very well placed on the road.
The bike I have bought is an 2008 model VFR800 Vtech with ABS, checked its service history etc and all seems good. Very low mileage too only 3319 miles on the clock! The bike is like brand new. It came with full set of colour matched Honda hard panniers (top box and sides), as well as heated grips, cobra alarm system and the single seat cover was also included.

On the road I was amazed at the power and low range torque the bike has. First time I overtook a car the front end lifted and I was doing 70mph before I knew it. Very impressed with the throaty exhaust noise when it is opened up, yet when you are bimbeling about town it is very quiet and sedate. The only thing I noticed which concerned me a little was when I removed both my hands from the bars whilst rolling (not that this is done often) the front end started to wobble allot. This wasn't a major issue as when I have both hands on the bars there was no wobble up to 80mph (as fast as I took it on the test). Being used to brakes on the XT that need a good old squeeze to stop you, that dual braking system is definitely something new to me and takes alittle getting used too, but i'm guessing its more beneficial in the long run.

Where exactly is the tool set kept? If there isn't one I'm sure my old man will have one lying around from his various Goldwings some where.

Any more tips and tricks would be great. Also if there are any guys and girls on here from the Derbyshire area UK then Id love to have a natter and possibly meet for a ride some time.

Cheers All Mole

 

Unfortunately there is not much room for a full set of tools unless you use the hard bags. The undertail exhaust doesn't leave much room under the seat. I carry the proper allen wrenches, a universal socket, a socket wrench and screwdrivers ( I am limited even more so by a power commander).

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum. You've made a wise decision...the'08 model has been tested to be faster, and handle better, than every other year ever produced.

 

Congratulations Mole and welcome aboard. Do post up some pics too. :thumbsup:

 

The Tools are kept under the seat, make sure you have them or go back to the dealer and ask them to provide one as the chain adjustment tool is unique and would be harder to adjust the chain without it.

If you haven't found it already the seat can be removed with the key lock just above the rear hub on the chain side of the bike and use little thumb lever ( forget if its the same on the Gen 6 ) behind it and lift.


Re the wobble, is that with the Top box and panniers on at high speed ?
It has been noted as an issue on some Pans and to a lesser extent on Gen 6 VFRs under certain conditions, also how far through the triple clamps have the forks been dropped if a lot then your bike will have very quick turn in but be a little unstable at speed on sweepers.

As for UK rides your best bet may be to sign up to UK VFR " bikersoracle.com/vfr " although sadly it is a much less controversial ( read entertaining) over there theses days.

Their Technical area is excellent especially Odies Technical guides but VFRWorld is better for errr the Worlds view of VFRs.

 

Cheers for the welcomes and the Info.

Unfortunately I'm out in Saudi Arabia at the moment whilst my bike is being road redied and having its final PDI checks! So no pics just yet! Will have some in 4 weeks though!

Ill get on to the dealer and get them to check the tool kit and ask where abouts the forks are placed.Cheers for the heads up.
The wobble only came when I took my hands off the handlebars completely, eg when my jacket wasn't zipped up enough I zipped it up whilst rolling. When I have one or two hands on the bars there is no wobble at all at speed!

The panniers were on for the test ride as I wanted to see what the bike was like loaded. Without them it can only get better!

 

While the earlier 6 gens came with a small tool kit, by '08 Honda only included the spanner wrench (chain and rear susp adj. etc) and a small bag to contain it. The OEM kits that came with the earlier 6 gens can still be purchased from Honda although I don't recall the cost.