Some noob questions about my 'new' 86 VFR750

Some noob questions about my 'new' 86 VFR700

So I just got this bike as a trade for one of my Audi's, and have some questions, I'm totally new to motorcycles in general. The bike has 25k miles on it, and is in real nice shape, just has a couple of cracks below the seat on the rear fairing, and a minor scrape on the crank cover on the right side and the right side pipe. It's got super trapp pipes on it and as far as i can tell is otherwise stock.

I was going to sell the car for $2000 (ideally) but I think I got a decent deal here, I've read almost nothing negative about the bike. Seem like a decent deal to you?

Also, I see a lot of people are doing wheel and suspension upgrades, are there any really affordable upgrades that are must haves?

I'm not a big fan of the paint scheme, I prefer something less flashy, but we'll see. I may do a partial streetfighter setup as i'm sure i'll end up dropping the bike at some point and don't want to damage the nice relatively freshly painted fairings. I want to paint the bike maybe a semigloss black or something, but that seems to be rather taboo around here if the bike is still red white and blue...

 

You did very well on your trade. A great bike and if you decide to keep it suspension mods are in order to really enjoy it.

 

Well i'm sure I won't be tearing around corners on this thing anytime soon, but I always like to check. One thing I would like to look into is brakes though, Is there someone that sells SS lines pre made or do you have to get them custom built?

 

Not a big fan of the paint scheme?? Want to paint it black ??

NO one on this site would approve unless they're suffering from youth-induced stupidity like you may be. It would be a crime !! Kids paint their wrecked stuff black after they crash, not before......unless the bike is stolen !

If there is anything you don't love about that bike, you just don't understand what you have there, Bunky !! Sell it before you ruin it.

 

Seriously, before you paint it black let me find another set of body work to be painted and trade me the factory painted set. I will make it worth your while.

 

Welcome to the zoo, from the looks of it you did pretty well on that trade. Stainless brake lines are available from several different sources. A quick search should turn them up pretty easily. There aren't really any 'easy' wheel/suspension mods; but it's pretty easy to upgrade things from stock. Lots of info here in the section specifically for this generation (Gen 2) and in the mechanics section.

And if you'd like to turn that murdercycle back into an Audi, let me know...

 

I would definitely trade someone for bodywork in not so nice shape if i were going to paint it, I found out it was repainted at the body shop next to my work, I'm going to ask how recent it was tomorrow. I think it may grow on me, i'll be leaving it be for quite a while.

And I think I want to keep the bike, but I suppose it depends on what Audi you're talking about...

But seriously, I kind of want to take the fairings off at least temporarily, as this is my first bike and they're in pretty nice shape. Does anyone have pics of what these look like without the lower/mid fairings (probably leave the upper for instrument/headlight mounting simplicity).

 

If you are dead set on not keeping the stock paintjob, here is my .02

There are most likely forum members that would rape, pilliage, and murder to get fairings in as good of shape as yours. Sell or trade your fairings to someone here on the forum that needs them. You could make a little money on them to fund your upgrades.

You could probably pick up a set of fairings that arent quite perefect, or are already repainted, and paint/modify them to your liking.

 

Yeppers !! I took off the lowers when i first started on the VFR, less to worry about as a new rider, and you can see where your feet are if you need to when touching down.

 

Well like I said, I won't really be doing anything (save removing fairings to keep them safe) for a while, but if ever I do decide to paint I'd not paint this bodywork, don't panic. I do appreciate a nice condition classic vehicle, I have to witness people doing horrid things to vintage Audi's a lot. Is it safe to paint things like the radiator and crank/clutch covers? I especially want to refinish the right side cover (I keep wanting to say passenger side) since it's already scraped up. :behindsofa:

 

hey if you plan on going with a different paint scheme i would gladly trade with you.

 

The true sad story is that no one has ever been able repaint any sidecover to proppaly match the exact original as far as i know....except the '87 black covers.

The Factory has a monopoly on Factory finishes, and it's not something you can do well at home.

 

Congrats on the VFR score. First things you will want to works on after you get the brakes sorted out is your suspension- you will want to get the proper rate springs for the front forks and get a new shock for the rear, Works Performance still makes shocks for these models, I think Hagon still makes this shock also. If you can score a used Fox Twin Clicker or an Ohlins that would be optimal. If your tires are worn out you might want to replace them, the stock sizes will do just fine but realize you will be limited in your options, not a lot of 16" and 18" tires in these sizes.

 

The bike is pretty mechanically sound I think, but I can't buy a vehicle without upgrading it... So maybe some SS brake lines and good fluid/decent pads. That's cool that Ohlins made a shock for the bike... I'll look into suspension. Is the shock the same as the newer or older VFRs the same? I thought i read that they changed the fork diameter at some point.

I assume it's good to run full synthetic in these, maybe 10w40?

I also just realized i should just vinyl wrap the bike. Protect the paint, make it more low key, and completely reversible! We'll see though, the more I look at it the more i'm starting to like the RWB.

Seems there's quite a few options for swapping wheels... Any that don't require machine work? Or at least not much of it? Affordability would be another thing i'm concerned about.

 

Congrats on the swap man...u really have a diamond there man. and these animals will kill for a set of fairings. man they are pretty hard to come by. but i would definitely suggest riding the bike this year and then over the winter swapping suspension...its not that hard and not really that easy...but as long as u make a few friends on the site, they will be willing to help.

 

Yeah, the bike is clean enough that I think it'll be perfectly fine to ride for a while. Took the fairings off today just because I wanted to check it out, and i'll be leaving them off for a while, and my bike savvy neighbor came over and took it for a spin, then gave me some pointers and told me to take it around the block. So I went up and down the street in 1st/2nd a couple of times then rode around my neighborhood for most the night. So far... I love the bike. I can tell it's got loads of power later in the throttle for when i'm ready and is surprisingly easy to control considering the weight and displacement. Still a little uneasy when moving slowly and turning sharply, but I think I got the hang of it pretty quick. Going to get a proper helmet (was using my mtb helmet and some airsoft glasses) and jacket this week, then hopefully register and insure the bike. Then have to take the safety course... So many initial expenses...

Anyways, like I said, I really dig the bike, I think the V4 with the supertrapps is one of the best bike sounds I've ever heard, at least in person. 35mph feels like 65 right now, but I can't wait to ride it more.

Here it is sans fairings, I think it actually looks ok, I was worried it would look entirely silly with just the upper fairings...

 

Paradox - I know this is not going to happen but I do recomend you take that great example of a RWB VFR and park it up or sell it. Buy a smaller bir to learn on and then move up to the bigger bike...in like a year. If you dont you will trash that great example(or yourself), if I wasnt on the other side of the world I would pay enough for your example that you would be happy -/ examples like that cannnot be found over here. Anyways good luck either way and enjoy but take care!!

 

These VFR's tend to be a little high on the center of gravity (like my CB750) and you must use quite a bit of countersteer at low speeds. Once you get going the bike is pretty easy to handle.

 

Well I can appreciate where you're coming from, but I really like the bike and I would prefer to keep riding it. Don't worry, I'll be as careful as possible...

And dukie, how low of speeds are we talking? I just watched a bunch of videos on countersteering and I think the next time I'm out i'll experiment a little bit.

 

Stop to maybe 5 mph, very low speeds.