Bike choice

Hello all,

I just recently joined this group, but haven't yet purchased a VFR, so not a full member in spirit...

I do have a question for the forum: I'm looking at two different bikes, and would like to hear the group's opinion.

Bike #1: 2002 with 25K miles and luggage (and a few other mods like pipes, etc) for $4k

Bike #2: 2006 with 8K miles basically stock for $6

Both have ABS.

Would it be better to get the newer bike so that there is no issue with the VTEC configuration and the lower mileage (and buy some luggage), or save money and get the luggage?

Somun

 

I would go with the newer bike, most if not all of the issues with the 6th gen were worked oot with 2006 and up.

 

My vote is for #1.
Bike #2, plus luggage will end up costing $7k and up by the time all is said and done. That would be too much money in my opinion.

 

do you need the luggage? In ohio at least #1 is a fair deal as far a year/mileage, #2 would be a lil high, #2 if you get him down to 5500 or so.

more importantly, if you want to go fast, get the silver one.

 

I'd go with the newer one. Mofo is absolutely right about the cost. I differ with him in that I think that extra cost for the bike and luggage will be worth it. My reason for this is that a 12 year old bike with 25k miles on it *might* have problems, especially if it wasn't maintained well etc. The 2006 with 8k miles however? It is very, very unlikely that that bike will have any issues. That being said, it's not a big risk, and if there is a significant issue with the 2002, you would have money left over to address it.

 

My votes for #1, see if it maintained & hasn't been dropped or crashed, and the recall addressed-with the extras and at 4k I would jump all over it. Mines a 2002 and had the recall addressed by the PO before I bought it , not one problem. Runs like a champ

 

If it would me I pick the 08 and will make change to my taste.
If I am in a budget then the 02 would be no brainier

 

25k miles on a VFR is nothing!!! The differences between the older and newer 6th gens are pretty minimal. As far as the VTEC goes it is equally annoying on both newer and older so I say go for the older bike and save a few thousand and get the goodies included . The most major issue with the older bike is electrical related and this work is covered by Honda under their dealership recall. Other than that you can pretty much expect to see 100k miles or more if maintained properly. Valve check is a waste of time IMO as long as you don't see any performance issues.


Rollin

 

Seems evenly split between the two bikes; which is what is affecting me to, and hence the question to the forum.

As a reference, here are the two listing:

Bike #1: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/4264082744.html

Bike #2: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/4281290916.html

Steven

 

I like bike #1 for the price, color, and bags.

 

I have the 6th gen. Given the ages and mileages # 1 seems to be the better buy. Except that it has been dropped, and has no rear seat cowl. But the cowl is easily available and not that expensive if you want it. The electrical problem has probably been addressed and if not, the recall on the earlier models is still free I think. Issues were corrected before the 06 came out

The 02 had staintunes pipes which is a huge plus in my books. That right there is close to a thousand dollar upgrade. If mine was newer, I would be getting a set of those for it, but I have more than 100,000 miles on mine and no one seems to know what life I may expect out of it so not planning on spending money on that upgrade right now.

The 06 is definitely the fastest colour though. But I wished that I had purchased the luggage when I bought mine new. As it is, I bought used ones for about $400.00 then paid another $400.00 or so to get them painted the same colour as my ride.

Tough call on your part. Good luck.

 

BTW. Check the spacing of the faring to the bike at the edges. The owner claims it has been laid down a few times. The tabs that the fairings are attached to can bend or break easily. Make sure that is not an issue. I would be pulling those fairings off for an internal peak if I was serious about buying that one. If the seller has an issue with that, then walk and don't look back. For that matter, I would be doing same thing for the 06 even though there was no mention of a drop. Dropping these is not the end of the world thought, just something to keep in mind.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthre...?highlight=you+dropped+you+bike+how+many+time

 

I vote for #2. STOCK IS KING ! Newer V-tec would be better.

 

The big mistake here is thinking that an ad on Craigslist is the gospel. Another is listening to anyone who has never really had either of the bikes and is going by ads on Craigslist..

 

#3 find a 5th gen. :tongue-new:

 

Finding a cherry '98 or '99 would be the very best plan.

 

If the scratches on bike #1 aren't too bad you would definitely be getting a much better deal on it. As I stated before the mileage shouldn't be a factor and you would be getting the best upgrades possible for the bike with the Corbin Seat, Factory Luggage, Heli-Bars, Throttlemeister, and Staintune exhaust. If the scratches bother you too much you could always get the bike repainted or plasti-dipped and still come away with an overall good deal. The Staintune exhaust is also the best sounding exhaust made for the VFR in my opinion. Staintunes are made in Australia and they are very difficult to find used since I don't believe they make them for the VFR anymore.

Rollin

 

Why '98 or '99 model? Back before VTEC and with gear driven cams?

Something like this one: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/4282118701.html
or: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/4279914976.html

I am leaning towards the 2006 or later models, with lower miles, since I don't want to dump a lot of money into new chain, fork oil, rebuild shock, etc with an older/higher mileage bike.


Steven

 

My opinion is "get the newest bike you can afford. Since I could only afford the high mileage bikes I would probably opt for option #1. 25K miles is nothing for a Honda but you are correct, it will probably need normal maintenance items with that many miles on the clock. If you can afford it go with option #2. As for luggage, I have two sets of soft bags. Both were cheap. I used the small Cortech bags for a day trip to Arkansas. On my Colorado trip, this summer, the bigger Chaise Harper bags were cavernous, versatile and invaluable. I have no complaints. I use a tank bag for my daily stuff and have never wanted more.