New VFR 1990 owner. Would like to restore 77k any suggestions

New VFR 2000 owner. Would like to restore 77k any suggestions

Hi All, I'm a Honda (and VFR) virgin having owned big twins (usually Beemers) so if I ask dumb questions apologies in advance.
Just having bought a 2000 800 VFR I have fallen in love with the ride, looks and the response, not to mention the sound from the aftermarket Yoshi pipes. Feel the suspension could be improved as well as the plastics which are showing their age.
Looking for help on the following really basic stuff, also new to Aus so don't know my way around the bike world here:
1. Removal of fairings
2. Fluid changes oil, coolant, clutch & brake
3. Any suggestion on improving the suspension I'm 193cm and 100kg (6'4" amd 220lbs) now you see why I rode Beemers
4. Looking at purchasing "1998-2001 Honda VFR800 Factory Motorcycle Bodywork Kit: H-VFR800-9801-F-50TH-11-1P | Five Star Fairings" which include a screen, fairing bolt kit and all plastics except for the seat cowl. Has anyone any experience of these guys and their quality?
5. Can get a set of stainless header pipes for her as well no improvement in performance just looks, not a priority but what thought as where to put the cash?
Any suggestions for improvements on handling, tires, mechanical and cosmetics would be welcome especially from anyone in Aus and more specifically Sunshine Coast area (which has some of the best riding I've ever come across in the Hinterland):
I've attached a few pictures of the old girl now you know why I want to restore.
Thanks to all and love my VFR
The age has been corrected. This is thanks to Rollin-Again see post below.

 

You indicated that you bought a 1990 VFR which is incorrect since the pictures you posted are for a 5th Gen VFR not a 3rd Gen. I assume it was a typo since the bodywork you are looking at is for a 5th which is what your pics show. If you don't have a service manual yet they are available for download on this site. Welcome aboard!!

Rollin

 

Welcome to the World. From the pix, on my computer anyways, those plastics dpn't look too bad. Can they just be cleaned up with some elbow grease and good polishing compound? Painting, if you get it done by a shop, can be expensive. I took all my parts off and down to the shop for painting. No cracks or dents to repair. The pearl paint job cost me $1300.00 here in Canada. Pricing could very well be different there, but I thought that was fairly expensive, I guess there was a lot of hand sanding which drove the price up.

Post up pix when you get the thing looking more purdy than what it is.

 

Sorry Guys, as Rollin pointed out it is a 2000 model NOT a 1990. Yeehaa! Had good advice earlier as to repaint or get new plastics from the site I mentioned above. Will try my hand at sanding and re-spraying and if that fails take it to a shop. This what on the lines of what I was thinking of

 

Thanks Rollin Thanks for your input and knowledge. At your suggestion I'm about to download the manual. As I said I have no clue so all the help possible would not go astray.
It is great to be able to tap into a resource such as this forum, great bike and cool people to get help from.
Thanks

 

She's a road whore. Why put lots of money into to turn her into a garage girl. Do the maintenance, and ride her like you stole her.











BUt of course its your bike now. DO what you want.

 

Point taken, but I have a couple of bikes and this one is just calling to look good. Even a whore wears make-up so the john feels better

 

How is it running at 77k? I believe if I had some money to spend on my 98 it would have to be in the suspension. I agree that cleaning her up is always good. It just seems to feel better when your riding a clean bike. But at 77k the suspension has to be worn out. A very popular route for the rear shock is to upgrade to a cbr 929 shock and to have a fellow member jamie ? (Can't remember his last name) to 're-build and set it up for you. I believe he also does forks too.
As for your bodywork I would think you could save some money by doing the prep work yourself and having someone just do the paint for you. Good luck

 

Hey Zulufox

As taylor65 mentioned, you could get a CBR929 shock built up for you by Jamie at Daugherty Motorsports - Motorcycle Suspension Performance and Modification. He built up a shock for my bike and it made a world of difference in the bikes handling. My bike now has over 65,000 km's and still runs like a top and a member here, 34468 Randy, just turned over 160,000 on his bike as I recall so you should have maaaany more happy miles of motoring to go.

As for the body work, you may find that the fairing panels just need a good polish. Repainting bike parts can get expensive as they are more difficult to paint due to all the curves. The body panels are also more time consuming to prep due to most of the sanding having to be done by hand (or so the guy who has painted a few of my bikes for me has said) and this can add a great deal to the cost of a repaint. From personal experience, I might suggest that the prep work and painting be done by a pro (again this is personal preference) as a paint job is only as good as the prep work, and if the prep is not done well, the paint job will show it. The other thing you can run in to is an unwillingness of body shops wanting to paint parts that someone else has done the prep work on since they don't know how it was done and if it was done properly. JUST a thought.

The body work on my 2000 VFR suffered from many a year of neglect when I bought it and all it needed to return the panels to their original lustre was some wet-sanding and polishing. I had thought about repainting my bike, but I ended up polishing most of it and just re-painting the lower cowls because they were badly rashed up with rock chips from all the trips up and down the less than stellar roads the previous owner (as the PO put it) used to drive it down on a regular basis. If a color change is what you are looking at (as per the posted picture) then maybe find someone you would trust to do it, and maybe ask around where you live.

Good luck with the project and welcome to the site. We all know you will enjoy the ride.