Various questions about the bike

Hello all,

My names Simon & i thought i would come join the forum to ask a few questions about the bike from owners & users of the machine.

I've just returned from the Isle of Man TT with my previous bike ( Aprilia pegaso strada ) with a big end bearing failure. I'm absolutely mortified by this as i really liked my last bike. It didn't even do a lap of the famous course due to the engine knocking.

Yesterday i sold the bike to a breakers because the expense of the repair outweighed the bike cost. So now it is that time once again where i start looking for a new bike so here goes with the questions.

Firstly & most importantly for me is size. I'm a very tall lad at 6ft 6inch tall so the aprilia being built around a adventure bike frame was ideal although not fast enough.

So is the 5th gen VFR suitable for a tall rider like myself ??

I've set myself a limit of about £2 grand to spend on one hopefully with some change is there anything i need to be looking out for when buying one. As i have no experience with these bikes i have no idea if they have faults & what to look for with a bike of this age. Are there any tell tail sounds or sights that should put me off buying a bad one ???

& my final question at present is what are they like for parts & service in general ?? Do they eat any parts regularly or are they a solid all round bike. I used to use Honda bikes for motorcross & they were brilliant were the CR's & generally bulletproof machines. Honda always seem to put together a cracking bit of kit so this is one of the reasons i thought the VFR would be a suitable bike for the job.

Cheers

Simon

 

Welcome aboard. Sorry to hear about your previous ride. Bummer.

I'm 6' 2", so you still got me by a few, but I find my 5th Gen to be plenty comfortable. Stock seat sucks. If you buy a VFR, you'll definitely want to have the seat custom molded to you, or go aftermarket such as Corbin or Sargent. I have a Corbin and love it.

With your height, you could consider adding Helibars or similar, as well as potentially dropping the footpegs (can't recall the name, but a search of this site should point you in the right direction).

These bikes/motors are strong, but almost every VFR up until about 2006 suffered from inadequate charging/wiring as respect the Regulator/Rectifier. Again, use the search function on this site, you'll find more info than you know what to do with. Here in the US, a maximum of $200 would upgrade the R/R and wiring harness. Other than that, the engine is usually rock solid.

Suspension would be money well spent. Front and rear. Does stock work? Yes. But its weak. Appears it was designed for a person who weighs about 160 pounds.

 

I can;t speak for the 5th gen you are asking about, but the 6th gen is like a Timex watch. It just does not stop. Well hardly. Mine has over 100K miles and other than a burned stator, this bike has not stopped. That stator burned out last spring with something like 90K miles or so on it. And that was during a 5 month 7K mile trip so it was being worked hard.

My ride was quite comfortable for me. I am considerably shorter that you. But I do have several aging injuries that come into play too. I measure up at about 5"10. Used to be taller until my belly pulled my head down a bit. I think the geometry on the 5th gen is almost identical to the 6th. One of my trips to California, I rode Reggie's 5th gen for several miles and did not notice any difference between the two.

 

Thank you for the replies so far guys its great to get some good promising feedback on a bike i really want as my next ride. Its also encouraging that i can fit mods to the bike to cater for my large frame. All being well within the next couple of weeks i should have raised enough funds to purchase my next ride.

It does suck both the bike breaking down & having to use my legs for work once again. I tried using the peasant wagon aka a bus & it was full of screaming teenagers leaving school. NEVER AGAIN !!!

Simon

 

Got my 5th Gen from a dealer for just under £3000 a year ago.
Seeing lots of 5th Gens selling private for £2000 atm but if you aiming at one in that price range make sure they have looked after the bike and solved any problems already.

Look around the forum, it's a mine of information on 5th gen faults and what to look for. Like the regulator/rectifier and general electric problems. Should be sorted by the previous owner already if done a few miles.

Congrats in advance for getting the best bike in the world

 

I am 5'11 and LOVE my 5th Gen....the motor is a jewel and some liken it to be a better motor than the 6th gen otstir: I bought mine used a year and a half ago with 17K miles and I have 24K now and it is rock solid. As a "preventive" I did do the conversion to a Mosfet R/R from Roadstercycle.com (they have a complete kit) and I put on a Sargent seat. As far as the suspension goes, you can live with it but I decided to get mine done by Daugherty motorsports and it was the best money I ever spent. Seats and suspension are owner preference but the R/R and it's wiring is the one thing that needs to be looked at if not done. After that it's all gravy! These motors can go 100K easy if cared for.