Hello all. I have been riding about 8 years now and have but about 45K miles on both my first bike (which I still own and commute on) and my 2nd bike which I sold a few years ago. Long story short, my 1st bike has been starting to show signs of its age, and I have been on the hunt for a suitable replacement for it. Since 90% of my riding miles are commute miles I needed something I could ride day in and out for my 60+ miles mixed highway and city riding. I wanted it to be sporty so I could have fun in the mountains when the weekend came, but mostly I wanted it to be comfortable to ride all day and do some light touring with a few possible over night stays somewhere. Now I have had the Supersport bike (my 2nd bike) and it did not last long. Trying to deal with heavy rush hour traffic made me realize that while it may be a great bike, there are bikes that do what I need a bike to do much better. So endless hours of research, drooling, budgeting, waffling, more research, brought me to consider several makes and models. So I checked craigslist on a regular basis and waited for the ideal bike to present itself. Last Friday I think it might. I found a 2003 non-ABS VFR with higher mileage and a few scratches but overal appeared to be in great shape for a very reasonable price. So if all goes well tomorrow with the bank, I may be joining your ranks. Any suggestions, tips, and thoughts are greatly appreciated.
:welcome: Jrocket and good luck with your hopefully soon to be new to you bike. I have an 03 w/ABS myself and couldn't be happier. I've ridden a lot of bikes I'd like to own but for now I'm a single bike owner. The VFR will never go but I may add to my collection. I also commute on mine on a daily basis cause I can't bear to be without two wheels for very long!
Welcome JR. I think you will be happy if you choose this 03. I have and 06 with ABS and very much like you, I commute every day 100 miles round trip. Since August 06 I have racked up over 92,000 km ( 53 K miles give or take) and have not looked back. Showes no sign of failing so long as maintainance is kept up. But you already know that
Welcome Jrocket! I think you will love the vfr. You might want to get a replacement seat (I have a Sargent and really like it) if you plan on some long days on the bike, but other than that, it is a great touring bike.
Welcome aboard! Can't go wrong with a vfr, a bike that's so versatile. Good luck on your transaction and do post up some pics.
+1 on the sargent seats. I was lucky enough to find a Rick Mayer custom seat for my '02 and it's super comfy! http://www.rickmayercycle.com/gallery/Honda_Interceptor.jpg
Yes, also +1 for a Sargent seat, I have one as well. Cebu, holy hell man, that thing looks like a throne, does it massage yer butt while you ride???
I commute about 60 miles and I can say I couldnt of picked a better bike, it is comfortable and sporty enough to have fun...
Iti is official. I now have a 2003 VFR sitting in my garage. The only downside that was unexpected is the battery may require a replacement in the near future. After a few stops on the way home the battery did not have enough juice to start it. The previous owner said he has not been riding it lately, and if it has not been on a tender it may have either been low on charge or not holding a charge. We will see what a few days of riding/battery tender will do. I will try to post up some photo's later.
