1992 VFR750 for track use

I am looking for another track bike. Just a few years back I was still racing, but got laid off due to a downsizing event, and then went unemployed for 2 freakin years. Went back to school, did some side jobs on this and that, ended up making it through and now can look for another track bike.
I think I found it; 92 VFR, currently is a street bike, and it had a slow slide on the left side, has rash only and nothing is even bent. Runs and shifts real good. My concern is this: the bike has 55,000 miles on it. On a bike I want to use ONLY for track duty, is the 55,000 something I ought to worry about?
The bike comes with tank and saddle bags, and a rear stand. Guy is asking $1800 and he flat out said that if I bring cash, we can really deal.
So what do you guys think? Is the 55,000 something to think about, or is it a non-issue for one of these engines that was seemingly pretty well cared for?

 

I have seen many people get VRF's up to 100K+ miles with routine maintence (oil and valves) so as long as the paperwork or you have a real strong feeling that this bike really was taken care of I would say go for it. Also if you get it and dont need the saddle bags I would be more then glad to take them off your hands (will pay). Just my 2 cents.

 

Just a couple of thoughts,

I used my 91 (3rd gen) for a few track days and it had 26k on the clock. I ran out of cornering clearance waaay too early. I had to ride it like I was in the rain, hanging waaayyy off the bike and putting a ton of weight on the knee pucks. Raising the rear end helped but it still wasn't really good. Then after running the crap out of it, as you tend to do on a track, she started to smoke a wee bit.

If I were hitting the track again, I would check the classifieds on NESBA and SBTT as there are always guys selling really good track bikes all set up cheap.

Motorcycles - NESBA TrackTalk Forum

Here is a track bike!

2003 Suzuki GSXR750 track bike $3,600 - NESBA TrackTalk Forum

or this

2004 gsxr 600 - NESBA TrackTalk Forum

oh god I should have stayed off that site, now I want a track bike :hss:

 

Hey Jethro,

I hear what you're saying, and I had already thought of those things. My CBR's always had clearance issues too, but I altered my riding style just like you did on your VFR, and I made good with those CBR's. But it really does cause you to have to work harder than on a bike that does have good clearance.
I have been to the WERA classified section already, and I will definitely check out the NESBA site as well, thank you for the links.
I agree about the GSXR 750....we raced a 2002 GSXR 750 in the 3 hour endurance a few years back, and I think the 750 is the ultimate track bike, bar none. It does everything you want a race bike to do, and it does everything well.
I'm having many guys recommend I try an SV650 Suzuki this time. The things are supposed to be great race bikes, and they are all over, all set up, and cheap. I may look into it, but I have personally never been on one.
I appreciate the feedback, thank you.

 

Of course there is always the thought that riding a slow bike fast is more satisfying than riding a fast bike slow. I have to say that laying down good laps on an old VFR does raise a few eyebrows and that can be fun too.

I think that if I had the chance to get back on the track, I would probably look for a CBR600 F4i or a 600RR but that is just because I'm partial to Hondas. I've seen a few guys start out on newish 1000cc machines, only to switch a year later to a 600cc machine and they were actually faster and more confident. It's a funny thing though. My brain says get a 600 but my heart says RC51. I guess I'm just like everyone else in the end. I tend to make motorcycle decisions with my heart, not my head.

This is what it is all about! Here I'm stalking this tribal 600RR on my 5th gen. We are just coming under the bridge at Road America. This is the left hander (turn 13) just after Canada corner. Of course the bridge is gone now and so is the drama of hitting cold wet pavement under it. I eventually passed him by out braking him into turn 5 but he made me work for it. Too much fun!





Now some 3rd gen porn shots! It was too pretty to track!

 

Yeh agreed about an SV650 for track use. I could never whip my third generation in a track envirnment. Just because its an emotional involvement, used to have an 93 EX500 and a y2K Ducati 900SS dedicated race bikes. Now I am stuck with a Ysr50 going to go-cart tracks to drag patella, its a hell of a lot cheaper than the big bikes thats fer-sure...

Rubber side down always :smile:

 

I'll bet the laughs you have are just as real even if the speeds are lower. Christ I would need some serious Yoga classes to ride a YSR!

 

I have to admit it though; despite the good rep for longevity these engines have, the 55,000 on the odie makes me nervous, so I'm gonna pass on the bike I believe.... And if the clearance issues are truly as bad as Jethro says, then that's something I want to avoid. Been through that on two different CBR's.
So the search continues.....and I have been going to the NESBA classifieds now and again. Seems that new ads show up on there every few hours....there's something on there for everybody, including YOU, Jethro!!:thumb:

 

Yah I never fail to find something on there that would be nice to have! There are times when you can score big time when someone is getting out of doing track days or changing to a different bike.

 

I rode a 97VFR for 4 years on the track. Although it was fun I learned it was a street bike first and track bike second. Upon returning from VIR I knew I wanted to focus on track riding only or more than street anyway and sold the 97 to fund the Yamaha TZ125 for track riding.

I know the owner of the 2003 Gixxer 750 on the NESBA board. Good guy and a good bike. You cna probably wheel and deal with him too. Also agree that an SV650 is awesome as well as any of the modern 600's.

If you don't have the cash, the VFR can surly do "double duty" but that old technology is just that...old. I had to really work to get the 97 to turn in at speed.

I think everyone should do track days, even if its only one or two a year so do what you can on what you can LOL!

BZ

 

The thing I keep trying to remember though is that a bike like this is going to be competing against similar older machines, so everyone in the class will essentially have the same handicaps since everyone is on older bikes. As far as a track day instruction bike, I think it would be fine for that.
I want to stay away from an inline engine if I can. I have ridden/raced inlines forever, and now I want to try something else. As great as a GSXR750 is, I think I'd rather have something else this time.
And Bubba, what do you think of VIR?? VIR (north course) is my favorite track of all time, and I have raced many places. I love it down there.

 

So it sounds like you are planning to do some vintage racing then. I was thinking along the lines of a track day type activity.

What is the class that you intend to compete in?

If I were planning to campaign a V4 Honda in a vintage series, I would likely go for a 2nd generation machine. It's just as powerful as the 3rd gen but lighter. The front wheel is an odd size so you would want to do a front end swap to get a decent 17 inch hoop on the front to open up your tire options. It doesn't have the single sided swingarm which is one of the reasons that it is lighter but it has other redeeming qualities. This was the last generation where Honda actually promoted the VFR as a competition machine and it won races so it is the logical choice to me. All tweaked out, they look, sound and ride awesome.

Just a slight retraction on one statement there. Honda did market the 3rd gen as the road equivalent of the RC30 and there were similarities between the machines on paper but in reality, nobody took one to the track because it was strongly biased towards the street.

I don't know, these are just my ramblings. What do you think Bubba??

 

I will answer you gents together!

2007VFR:

VIR scared me half to death. It is very, very technical, and very, very fast! I rode the Full course were they combine North and South and then rode the short Patriot course the next day.

I didn’t have the best day on the Full course. A guy ran into me (he wasn’t paying attention) and it’s not designed like the purpose built race tracks I have ridden on other places. It’s literally like someone walked around the landscape with a bulldozer behind them following making the track. If you turn in on the wrong spot well BYE! Off the track you go! My buddy Curt went down in turn one on his R6 due to early turn in. Well he ran off and went down anyway. He said he knew it was over when he turned in LOL!

Each turn or set of turns on that track are so unique. I have told other riders it’s hard to describe what it’s like till your riding there. The Roller Coaster, second time going down that I literally said in my helmet “Who the F designed this track!?” Youtube videos simply do not do that complex justice.

The second day on the Patriot course was a hoot until we got rained out before lunch. I hadn’t had that much fun on the track in quite some time and as a result it’s what inspired me to sell the 97 VFR I had to fund buying the TZ125.

God willing I will go back to VIR as I don’t want to do VIR Full again but would love to do North or even the South course. NESBA runs double, sometimes triple days down there with a North, North and South combo. At the very least I want to run Patriot again. That is so much fun for a 1 mile long track. Or I will do a school like Cornespeed on the North Course. There is an ex-two-stroke racer who is a coach for Cornerspeed and I can get hooked up with him for some training.

Jethro:

If he is using the VFR in a antique class, then by all means run it!

For aftermarket parts I would certainly get the tail riser from Thurn Motorsports in Germany.

The VFR was a lot of fun on the track and I don’t bemoan anybody who runs one. I did Penguin Road Racing School last year and a guy was riding his Goldwing in the beginner group. He was having a blast and learning. Yes a VFR and Goldwing are different, my point is I am kind of a “rung what ya brung” person. Just be careful with the delusions of grandeur that the VFR is based off the RC-30 so there the same mentality. I don’t think that’s a problem here, but that is what I have seen with others on different makes. The other thing I have seen and experienced is riding an older heavier bike is how they do not like to turn in when going fast without some effort. That’s probably the biggest shock to a track rider on old equipment. But 2007VFR used to race in the day so an old tank of a bike won’t surprise him.

Hell a good friend of mine has a 1993 GSXR750 with the 1100 motor (A.K.A. The 7-11) track bike and the motor has been worked, it’s a 5 speed and it’s a tank, but Jeff loves fighting it into turns. He said once it’s tuned in it really stable, but getting it over requires some ‘work’. That’s what I ended up hating about the 97VFR. It was work to ride it with any speed.

In the end, post up some pics 2007VFR. Nothing like seeing some old skool action on the track.

Keep us posted.

BZ

 

Yes I've been on the track with some piggish handling stuff before, especially when compared to bikes today.
What I can say is that I don't know a whole lot about racing vintage stuff, but I know I like these V4 engines and I think it would be fun to race one.
Jethro, you asked what classes I'm looking to run. I went to the Moto Series rulebook to try to see where a VFR fits in. Honestly, in terms of the vintage classes, I am kinda unsure where it would run. The classes are not like they were a few years ago so I got a little lost trying to figure it out because there's no specific mention of the V4. Moto Series used to be Fasttrax, and Fasttrax was where I started racing, and then I did a couple years in WERA and nearly went broke from traveling expenses alone....but it was a damn good experience and I'd do it again.
But anyway, if somebody would like to go to Moto Series - Motorcycle Track Days Schools Racing and check out the vintage classes, please do. And then tell me where you think a VFR would be.
Bubba, what is your opinion of what Jethro said, about a gen 2 VFR being a good vintage racer, and perhaps even better than a newer generation since it's just as powerful, but lighter? I tend to agree, just from the little I do know about VFR's, but what do you say?

 

My short response is I would steer clear of running a first or second gen VFR for vintage racing UNLESS you bought a race package form someone.

I met a guy who was racing a 91 VFR in WERA V7 class I think they call it or others say "old man racing". Its early 90's bikes. Parts for the 3rd gens can be found on ebay pretty easy and the engines are damn near bullet proof.

I recommend posting up on the WERA forum and asking what class V7 is and were your VFR would fit in. Mongo and the gang are usually pretty helpful. Just don't ask what oil to use or tires to buy. Thats when they get nasty LOL!

BZ