What am I getting into

Ok I found a 1999 on cl for a bodacious price, going to look at it this weekend. Sounds like its generally been taken care of, some cosmetic issues (cracked seat, faded paint) suggesting it was stored outdoors. 50k mi. Has MOSFET. Owner says it needs chain, sprocket, front tire. I would be a bit surprised if valves have been checked, will see what records the guy has. I'm assuming there's gonna be some "deferred maintenance" to take care of.

I like working on bikes, have had two SR500's, an old ducati and an old I4 BMW. The SR's were race bikes, I've had them apart down to splitting the cases with the help of a friend who used to race ducatis and was a honda mechanic professionally. Doesn't make me a tech but its fun and part of the appeal old bikes have in my eye. I've also worked on my wife's Ninja 250, which is a fantastic bike but kind of a pia to work on.

I have been itching for a gen 5 VFR but maintenance-wise, it looks like its an order of magnitude more complex than the bikes I've been working on. Just hoping I'm not getting in over my head. I moved about a thousand miles away from my gear head buddy, who just rolls his eyes anyway when I talk about the VFR, but then he's never really loved anything with more than one cylinder that was made after about 1978, and he also rolls his eyes when I talk about tear-assing around colorado or Utah or Arizona for a week at a time, as opposed to flogging vintage bikes around the track, so... The appeal of the VFR is obvious I guess.

So how much of a pain is it to maintain these things? It can't be as needy as the ducati (nothing is that needy) but it can't be as easy to work on either, I don't imagine....

 

5th gens are rock solid. Only issues I'm aware of are the R/R. (But then again this is all Hondas) and the circuit board behind the gauges can have some corrosion issues. Make sure the clock isnt resetting everytime you key it off. And all the info is displayed, odometer, temps for outside and engine (engine temp shows - - until it warms up to about 100ish) If you have a meter handy, would be worth to pop the seat and check charging voltage at the battery above 3K rpm.

If the bike's been stored outside I'd visually go over all metal stuff make sure there's no excessive corrosion.

Valve check is what it is, nowhere bad as the vtaaaaAKkk though. Vfr is shim under bucket, like mostmodern sports bikes. Adjusting clearance will mean new shims and removing cams, which is super simple on the vfr. No tensioner or chain to worry about dropping in the crank. Simply line up the notches on the cam and holders and plop back in place.

 

Regular maintenance is simple
Valve adjustment would be tough but many of us have skip the valves job and the bike still run fine after thousands of miles :wink:
If the price is a steal then get it. Perhaps take some pictures posted here so other can give you more input. Good luck

 

50000 miles is just run in! I'd be surprised if you have any issues within the crankcases that would need attention. It would appear that the valve gear is understressed so clearances don't seem to change much at all.

Around the periphery...different story, but also less complex. You obviously know about the regulator/rectifier issue, and on a bike that has been stored outdoors you might also have issues with corrosion on electrical connectors. The FI system is very dependent on the sensors and these seem to be very reliable but don't like dodgy connections, but troubleshooting is pretty easy. I've added a voltmeter to mine, just to keep an eye on the charging voltage as early warning of the R/R failure.

I've got a very similar age/mileage VFR and I have replaced the thermostat which had jammed open, but otherwise (touches wood) the bike runs like a Honda should. Mechanically they seem to be very solidly built and there's no shortage of stories of high mileage. I have gone down the path of rejuvenating brakes and suspension but have left the engine mostly alone barring oil, coolant, filters and synchronising. One accessory part I have fitted which I strongly endorse is a FactoryPro shift star kit which makes my ageing Honda change gears like a Suzuki (sorry, was that sacrilegious???).

Others have replaced the rubber hoses in the cooling system (and there's a lot of them!). I don't find the bike difficult to maintain and as you probably realise there's lots of helpful souls here (and a downloadable shop manual).

Just do it Dave!

 

If it's been stored outdoors (as mine was) prepare yourself for some seized bolts.

 

Don't forget the rodent factor!
They love to set up house in the VEE between the front and rear cylinders as well as in the air box. Then once the condo is constructed they lay about and chew on the wires while they basically screw themselves silly and make babies and piss on yer shit.




But once you get it all cleaned up, you will have a shit eating grin like this guy!


And then you can celebrate like this guy!

 

Thanks for the replies and the encouragement! I frickin hate being bikeless, sometimes a man has to hit the highway.

@mellodude: Sweet.

That's really the whole thing in a nutshell.

Gen5 VFR is Honda with a chip on its shoulder quality wise, really amazing on paper. They had me at "ceramic lined cylinders." Although looking at the gear driven cams, and comparing that to the rubber bands that held my otherwise excellent 2-valve L-twin together, what can you say.

The traditional wisdom for touring out west -- which is the plan -- was, either do it on a Harley or a BMW, because everybody can fix a Harley, and because BMW's don't break. That's old advice. My first bike was an 07 Dyna and that thing was bulletproof; and BMW's do in fact break, often catastrophically (note the exploding shaft drive feature). I thought my 900SS was more reliable, although in a different dimension than we discuss here; it's just an engine in a frame, once you fix the el cheapo wiring there's not much to go wrong, really. (Rubber bands, cheap wiring... what were they thinking?) At any rate, nowadays I think Honda machines meet the criteria for touring the Wild Wild West, with the ST1100 being, admittedly, probably the most practical choice. Practical schmactical! I didn't see any ST1100's at the Barbor museum and that's pretty much that.

@jethro911: I am LMFAO. I get the feeling the guy was riding the crap out of the thing, maybe a combination of other responsibilities and not willing to put $4-500 into the bike at the dealership to get the next round of maintenance done. So hopefully no squirrels. Fingers crossed we are talking about bleeding brakes, replacing fork seals, spooning on rubber and putting on new chains and sprockets. That's pretty much the sweet spot in my mind -- the things I can do that would be a bad investment to have the dealer do. I will say this, it looks spotless in the photographs.

 

Hmm. Well it looks like crap. Paint severely oxidized. Tank looks ok, probably been replaced at some point. Starts sluggishly but runs well. Rear brakes don't have any bite. Some oxidation on handlebars. One fork rusted and pitted. Chain and sprockets filthy and need replacement. Oil level low. Maintenance history unknown. Steering head bearings bad. It kind of sounds like owner drove the crap out of it, only brought it in when it broke (you know the type) and he put 30k of its 50k miles.

Still looking.