The best generation/year in your opinion...

No, I don't think it is. The power is very controllable - even with the VTEC. Also, the handling is awesome and it is still a fairly light bike, so it is not difficult to maneuver even at slow speeds. Start of easy on the throttle and as you grow with it and get more comfortable, you can slowly ramp it up.

 

Yes, no, maybe, depending on your size and weight you may like to give an SV650S a whirl, its sporty, forgiving with enough power to have fun without getting you into trouble and light enough to muscle it back out if you do.

Bought my SV650S looking for something to ease myself back into biking after a long break, I wanted a bike grunty enough to feel real without worrying about the odd oops breaking it, for confidence and roadcraft building it didn't disappoint. :smile: Only the call of long distance made me look to the VFR.

Sometimes I miss my SV's easy going puppy dog like playfullness and with a Yoshi tri oval its nice VTwin sound but overall must admit it is a lesser machine when compared to a VFR.

 

6'1 168lbs.

 

The SVS might be a little tight for you leg room as the riding crouch is similar to a GSXR, the Naked SV has a little more leg room.

The thought of the SV comes from getting a bike easy to ride thats light, cheep and chearful to make your mistakes on while learning road skills without worrying about how expensive the VFR's plastics are. Others may have suggestions on similar machines.

 

Which is a detonator for the colour debate...

:tongue:

 

Really? Man, I'm liking my 4th Gen more and more... I love those screws, you can pop the fairing panels off in under a minute.

Before I bought my 4th Gen, I test rode a 5th Gen. I thought the fuel injection was too jerky. The carbeuration on the 4th Gen is silky smooth by comparison.

Also, the 5th Gen bars were too low for my taste. The 4th Gen is *almost* too low, but I've been really getting used to it.

Another thing... for some reason, there's a huge price difference between 5th Gens and 4th Gens... I see clean 5th Gens for sale in the $4.5K to 5K range, but I picked up my clean, low-milage 4th Gen for $2800.

Maybe it's a few lbs heavier than the 5th Gen, and maybe it's a few HP short, but I still love my 4th Gen. It's a *very* stable & smooth ride, has massive fuel capacity, and the motor is tuned for mid-range, real-world power. If you want a sport touring bike and you're on a budget, what more could you want?

 

As a rider who has owned like 9 sportbikes. I'd say the 86' would be perfect. Its cheap, you won't have a heartattack when you inevitably drop it, and with the proper pilot can hang with anyone. My best friend has one, a 20+ year rider and he smokes liter bikes in the turns, its so fun to watch!! Just keep in mind some of these bikes are well over 500lbs which is alot of bike for a beginner no matter the power.

 

I didn't realize that this would be your first bike. I would recommend against the VFR as a first bike. Not so much because of it's power (though, IMO, it does have too much power for a new rider), but because of it's weight. Make no mistake when reading our comments about how "nimble" it is or whatever, this is a heavy bike. It's relatively top-heavy, too. If it starts to tip over on you, you'll have a narrow chance to save it before it's on the ground. And once the VFR is down, you're looking at some serious $$$ to get it back to pre-fall condition. That, or it will be glaringly apparent that "this bike has been dropped."

There are a lot of reflexes and automatic, muscle-memory kind of skills that you're going to learn on your first bike. How to make low speed turns, 3-point turns, sudden stops, etc. These are the times that newbies drop thier bikes. For a new rider, the VFR would be a total bear in these situations. Hell, I came very close to dumping my VFR yesterday, and it's my 3rd bike. You'll be better off if you get a naked bike to learn on and build confidence with. Something with a lower center of gravity. Something without expensive parts that will be toast if it drops. If I were you, I'd pick up a used SV650, or maybe a V-Strom 650 if the seat height doesn't bother you. Put some frame sliders (or crash bars) on it and you'll be pretty much impervious when the first drop happens. Not "if it happens", but "when it happens", trust me.

 

Well I have owned a 3rd gen and currently have a 4th gen.

I can only compare those two models and they are very similar, but the 4th gen does feel lighter and the seating position is a little different but not by much.

I know this sounds odd but they are so similar, but very different. I remember when I first got on the 4th gen hard and started to corner and I swear the 4th gen turns in quicker, but other times it feels like my 3rd gen.

Anyway, I feel I need to ride a 5th gen before I could give my opinion regarding this matter.

I can say this, there is not much difference between the 3rd and 4th gen. I guess it would be like sleeping with some girls twin sister...the same but different LOL!

O-ya, the previous owner of the 4th gen put tail risers on the bike, so that changes it too.

BZ

 

i ride a vfr built 94 to 97 for 11 years now and i still enjoy it a lot.
it ran about 50000 miles with no problems at all.
i europe you can get one for about 1.800 to 3.000 €

 

Kind of discouraging hearing that it may be too much bike for me. :frown: I've road cruisers from time to time and have had a little experience on sport... I would hate to have to re-evaluate my wants but that is why I asked for your opinions... who better to give advice, right? I wish I had access to one to get the feel of, the weight distribution and what not.... it would be a bummer to have to start with a cbr or a.........gsxr.

 

The 4th Gen is clearly the best. Awesome styling and a great motor.

 

They are more powerful and less forgiving than a VFR which means a possible worse choice. The suggestions given are to get a forgiving, easy to ride, less powerful first bike in order to practice and build up your road craft first. A VFR in all flavours is a great bike to aim for after building up skill levels.

While maybe not cool there is a freedom when riding something like an SV650 or the new Kawasaki ER6 in progressively being able to learn throttle control with less chance of accelerating yourself into trouble. Lastly being lighter easy to manouver you have less to worry about dropping it with a parking speed oops.

 

best gen?

Well guys and gals ,like one of you said before, we should be creating VFR
unity and not division, I have only riden one and thats my 2000 5 gen. that I bought as a semi basket case . I have to say that I've really enjoyed putting this broken machine back into running order. If all the various generations of VFR 's are built with the attention to detail as my 5th, I would have to say ,in my humble opinion ,that all the VFR's are really fine machines. One thing ,everyone raves about the gear driven cams on the gen 5's, really whats the big deal of how the cams are turned and whats this super noise that the gen 5 emits with its gear driven cams? thanks eddie cap

 

Too true, all the VFR models have that same billet quality about them including the Gen 6, areas that I thought my Gen 6 was better than my Gen 5are in clutch and gearbox with a noticably nicer lighter feel and the way the Gen 6's forks work straight up, even with some fettling the Gen 5's are still not quite as good.

The V4 sound with good can's is just as good on either. On tour there is no difference as I wear ear plugs but and heres the but on boring 40 minute work commute which includes slow traffic and bumpy city back streets the Gear driven cam noise does lend a sense of occasion to the trip enough to make the bike feel special enough to be sorry at those poor folks commuting on dull droning R1's etc and never fails to induce a permanent grin by the end. :smile:

 

The only street bike I have ever owned is my 4th gen. I learned how to ride on the street with it and have had nothing but fun on it since I bought it a year ago in May. Maybe it is because I have had no other experience on a street bike that I have nothing to compare it too, but I feel it will be hard to find a better bike then the VFR.