3rd or 4th generation

Hello, I'm looking to buy my first street bike and the vfr sounds like a top contender. My choice would be a 3rd or 4th generation. This forum seems to promote the 4th generation due to parts being more available. I'm wondering if someone can list the differences between these two generations. I'm also wondering if it's harder to find parts for both of these older generations than it is for other bikes of similar age.

 

3rd gen body parts in good shape are pretty rare, and certainly rarer that 4th gen body parts. This is mostly because the 4th gen only came in one color, and the 3rd gen came in several colors. On that point alone, 4th gen seems to be the the best choice.

I'm also kinda biased...

 

Low mileage 3rd Gens that are in good condition are pretty hard to find nowadays and parts are also hard to find, especially bodywork. Because of this I would definitely not recommend one as a first street bike since the chance of dropping it and damaging it at some point is pretty high. 4th Gens are much more plentiful and they are still relatively easy to find with low mileage. As far as power and overall handling the 3rd and 4th gen are pretty comparable in most aspects so there won't be much difference. I would highly recommend buying the newest bike you can afford even though you would be happy with either. What is your budget and what is your past experience with riding motorcycles??

Rollin

 

Hey there weaver and welcome to the forum. Having owned both a 3rd and 4th gen VFR my personal preference would be the 4th gen. Most of the preference would be that I preferred the looks of the 4th gen. Owning an older bike always presents challenges with finding available parts and the VFR is no exception. I would say that both the 3rd and 4th gen bikes are harder to find parts for in both the factory and after market parts area, but I think a lot of owners here would admit to the VFR having an above average reliability rating. The only exception there might be in regards to the VFR's electrical system (namely the regulator/rectifier). If you search the site for regulator/rectifier I'm sure you find no end of opinions and suggestions on the subject.

There are still parts available for the older VFR's but they are much harder to come by, especially when it comes to fairing parts. The newer the VFR you are to purchase, the better the availability of parts. The major differences that I can think of would be the obvious body style differences and the 3rd gen bikes have a 5.5 inch wide 8 spoke rear wheel allowing the fitment of the more common 180/55 R17 motorcycle tire, versus the 4th gen's 5 inch rear wheel which uses a 170/60 R17 rear tire. I also recall a thread at some point talking about a difference with the carbs.

Overall both gens are fabulous machines in their own rights and I think you would be happy with either generation. Be forewarned though, once you have owned a VFR you won't want to own any other kind of bike. You might even become a, shhhhh, a fanatical VFR lover, just like the rest of us.

Once again welcome to the site and welcome to the funhouse. Don't forget to post up pics of the bike once you get it, as most would say, without pics it doesn't exist.

 

Na don't get a 4th gen, they're APOC

 

Thank you everyone for your input. I've found a 1991 3rd gen for 2500 in excellent shape with 30,000 miles. But I think I'll keep looking for a 4th gen.
I'm afraid my budget is $2500, but I've decided I'd rather ride sooner than later. My street riding experience is limited to a motorcycle safety course and several short rides on a friend's v45 magna, v65 magna, and a 750 shadow. In my youth I rode 2 stroke motocross bikes and bought another one about 3 years ago. I really like what I read about the vfr but also am considering a 1200 bandit. The regulator issue is very prominent everywhere I look. It doesn't concern me too much unless it takes out the wiring harness. Is that likely? Other than the plastics are parts readily available for the 4th gen vfr?

 

I am a former Bandit 1200 owner and would definitely choose a VFR over the Bandit any day. The Bandit has nice power but you'll eat up alot of fuel if you are throttle heavy. In addition to this the handling and flickability of El Bandito is poor compared to the Viffer. The VFR is much more maneuverable and has more than enough power for most riders and it is sporty enough to be able to keep up with pure sport bikes in the twisties if you have the skills. If you tell us where you live we can help keep an eye open for some VFR's for you. You should easily be able to pick up a 4th Gen VFR for $2500 or less with less mileage than the 3rd Gen you found. Like we all stated before parts will be much easier to find and it will be several years newer.

Rollin

 

I was gona pipe up and recommend a Rebel 250 but won't :tongue:

What about a tasty Ninja 650/ER650/Versys650???

I liked EL Bandito but could never find an anniversary colours (blue, white) that was'nt trashed or high-mileage. 30,000 for a gen 3 bike aint that much really, you wont start experiencing problems until the 50,000 mark and NO, you wont have to replace the wiring harness. Thats just me tawking though...Happy purchasing, its fun having the power of the dollar in your hand...

 

I was seriously thinking along those lines because those types of bikes are way easier to find, and for the same money a much newer model can be had. I think I would be disappointed in the performance department though, especially when my wife is on the back. I thought the vfr would be a nice compromise for power but still deliver good comfort and and decent mileage.

 

Thanks Rollin I really appreciate that but alas I live in North Dakota and have found 2 vfrs thus far. Both are 400 miles away in another state. But if anyone has any leads it would great. Do you think the vfr will feel doggy with two up riding compared to the bandit? I understand passenger comfort to be good on the vfr, comparable to a bandit.

 

If your gona take the little miss-uss on the back of a 20 year old bike, and want a decent ride, in most cases your gona have to upgrade the rear shock. My significant other rides on the back of my viffer and the ride does'nt suffer because of the above modification I did years ago, (still need periodic rebuilds mind you.) Gas mileage varies on the attitude of your right hand. Mine seems to be heavy, when I have "little precious" on the back, we are relegated to 75 mph tops, still have to get up to 90mph to shift into sixth, then its just droning along...there are always concessions to make...

I had a friend that had a Bandito 1200 and used to take his little miss-uss on the back, they were both fairly larger people. He had a ragged out bike and did fine. Since then, he got a deal on a metric crusiser, (think its a Vulcan 900?) and cant stop talking about how great the "cruiser is for two up riding" and tries to sell the cruiser thing to me by telling me, "you gota get a cruiser-sicle." F that, I dont wana sit on my tail bone and ride 70mph...

 

Back when I owned my 97 VFR (about 5 years or so now) the larger percentage of my riding was done with my (now) wife. I can not honestly say that I was ever wanting for an increase of power. The V4 has incredibly good torque for a motor of its size and I used to ride with a guy that owned a 99 Busa, and he always commented on the fact that about the only time he could really get away from me was in the straights. I must freely offer that both bikes were around a similar weight and that I had a weight advantage of over 100 lbs. We switched bikes one day and the only thing I can comment about the Busa is that, personally, there comes a time when too much horsepower is, well, too much. The guy who owned the Busa commented on how easy the bike was to flick back and forth (an odd comment I thought) and that my bike had really good power even considering what he was used to. The other thing I found with the Busa is that in the tight twisties I spent a lot of time shifting gears, whereas the VFR only needed 3rd gear and a twist of the wrist. I think the thing I liked best about my 97 was the ridiculously good fuel economy. Even when riding at a moderately brisk pace with my wife on board (combined the two of us weighed in at 300 lbs, though not anymore I am sad to say) I could still get 40+ miles per gallon.

As Ridervfr mentioned you will definitely want to do something with the rear shock of the bike as my 97 at 30,000 miles was spongy to say the least with just one on board, and not exactly confidence inspiring with two. Best to give Jamie Daugherty at www.daughertymotorsports .com a look. Jamie rebuilt a shock for my current 2000 VFR800 and man, what a difference is all I can say, and certainly money well spent IMHO.

Good luck with your search and I hope you find the last bike you'll ever want to own.

 

4th gen VFR

I thought I would contribute to the discussion comparing the VFR to the bandit as I have two 4th gen vfr and a B12 right now. I also have a 2001 Triumph Sprint RS and and a lot of seat time on my friends 5th gen vfr.

The VFR is the best compromise in my opinion. The bandit ha tremendous torque but you only miss it on the VFR if you ride the VFR and bandit back to back. The Bandit is very front heavy compared to the VFR (more noticeable when not heavy on-throttle on the bandit) The bandit is also slightly shorter wheel base than the 4th gen VFR which doesn't translate to quicker steering but makes it feel less stable than the VFR at higher speeds(notice I mentioned less stable than VFR, I am not saying it unstable).

The VFR is pretty comfortable for pillion. I have ridden on the back of my VFR with my brother on a 150 mile hop to pick up another bike and I am 6ft, 180lbs and was okay.

Power is a subjective thing but I never felt it was lacking in power even when going 2 up. That may be because I don't try to accelerate as hard with a passenger.

On the 4th gen I feel more like in sitting in the bike vs on the bike on the sprint, bandit, or 5th gen vfr. I think the 5th gen is a slightly more comfortable though.
I want to say the 4th gen, the bike becomes more like a part of the body more than other bikes in my list.

I second everyone who said to get upgraded suspension. I have a penske shock and Racetech in forks on the '94 vfr and stock suspension on the '96. The aftermarket suspension when setup for your weight and riding style is tons better than stock.

Also I want to mention that when checking out bikes Factor in about $500 if the chain is worn , tires are old(~3 year old) or worn, and bike still has stock brake lines. The valve adjustment on this bike while not hard is tedious and will cost quite bit at a shop. But you don't have to do it very often on the vfr. If possible bring a multi-meter and inspect the charging system before buying. If it is failing it will cost you anywhere from $60 to $300 to fix depending on what needs to be replaced.

Good luck with the search.

 

I definitely say go with the 4th gen. I did and I haven't looked back (except to see who's behind me ;-) ). It's fairly easy to work on. People love the look of these bikes too, I get more compliments than the guys on the CBR1000's I ride with.

 

Fourth gen is more "refined" in many subtle ways.

 

man i feel like i missed the wagon on this one (i have third gen) guess i need to get a 4th gen now too lol

 

Get a 5th gen. Fuel injection is AWSOME carbs are for the birds! The best viffer I owned and the one I miss the most was my 1998 gen 5. What a great bike that was, fuel injection 112hp and no stupid vtec engine.

 

^ you definately know about avatars based on what I see above in those stripes, gota love it, far as picking the best "viffer" I think you will always get 10 different answers from ten different owners. The original question was narrowed down to: which one was better, Gen 3 or Gen 4.

Throwing in the Gen 5 bike is fruitless cause the original poster was going for 3 or 4. I own a 3, so I am biased towards it. I rode several other 3's years ago and none where like mine. I think every motorcycle and car ride differently even if they are the same yr, make, model. You could have a kick arse middle of the week build vee-hickle, or you coulda been stuck with one of those Friday night/Monday morning builds. In that case, parts inevitibaly, fall off. Gen 3, or Gen 4, either is a nice carbureted (read-last-for-ever) bike.

Having wrenched on old decrepit carbureted bikes of all makes and models, I can tell you this, they are always re-buildable. I have seen re-sleaved English Amol carbs with brass inserts. You name it, I have seen it or at least heard of it. Far as FI goes: I have worked on over 100 Bavarian Manure Wagons, and learned about the FI systems fairly well. One of the main parts is the injector. When they get stuck "gummed up" its possible to have them professionaly cleaned (sonically) or you can do some tricks of your own. The german stuff is the only OLD FI stuff I have seen out there. Rubber parts perish and such, fuel pumps take shits, and such, but for the most part, you can get them back on the road.

Far as fixing a 20 year old Japanese FI bike, the jury is out because one of the few that are out there are old Kawis, and a few odd ball hondas etc>? I wouldnt want to own one, thats for sure. If gawd-forbid you have to replace an injector or one of the many other sensors, you might as well put you head between your legs and kiss your chained wallet gud-bye...otstir: And btw, I always hated the v-tec/linked brakes/abs. car think bikes when ever I rode them...so your right on one count...Cheers

 

OK, if he is limiting himself to a 3rd and 4th gen because of money, then what I'm saying very poorly, is that I have seen many 5th gen bikes in the 2500.00 to 3500.00 range. Thats stupid cheap for a bike I paid almost $10000.00 in 1998 new! If its about price, then fine, but there is always a sweet deal out there if you look hard enough. If he only wants a 3rd or 4th no matter the price, then go for a 4th, I had one new....great bike, loved it, got T-Boned on it, and it was totaled. Messed me up too.