To leave or not to leave is the question

Maybe the OP will take Knight with him riding bitch.

 

I ride a 6th gen and put on copius miles. I too am 6-0

No issues with wind protection or with wrists. I have HeliBars and an MRA Vario Touring screen. If the HeliBars aren't cutting it, then go with ConvertiBars. They have way more adjustment I found.

I pull about 500-600 miles on a normal touring day comfortably without batting an eyelash.

I'm getting on average about 40MPG.

Throttle is smoothed out with PAIR valve removal, snorkel and flapper valve mods. A PCV will entirely solve the issue.

 

Yes i sold it because of the R/R..... I know the song and dance for the repair(s), the decision was made sitting on the side of the road 1,500 miles from home, I've been honda since i could ride two wheels, never had a bike leave me stranded, knee jerk reaction? Yes! No regrets as I've had the chance to try a 6th gen.

 

Notes on MPG, with as you know the 4th was getting 50+ pretty much routinely. Now I've only had this 5th for a while and find the mpg is quite the topic here. With me I saw a worse, done some what deliberately 38ish, all town down stop and go with short burst going from one end of town to the other using the freeway so on ramps where a hoot, pretty much a hard core push to see how bad I can get it. Now with half tank freeway and the other half driving around on the norm, I'm seeing 45-47mpg on the last two tanks. On one full tank use on a spirited ride up in the hills I was actually surprised, right at 50 mpg, 4 gallons 200 miles, so it can be all over the place, but so far not to bad considering. But yea there's no beating the 4th gen here. Back when I would whale on it up in the twistys, I'd see 46, best was 58mpg

 

Buy a 5th Gen. bike do the needed fixes and be happy for ten years! Gear driven cams are the difference between a bike that needs major work at 50000miles and one that needs work at 150,000. They reduce friction by over 30 percent. ...and they sound awesome, and give the bike an air of sophistication that very few bikes have! Honda seems to have changed focus. The last VFR that nailed it was the fifth gen. Sixth gen.bikes seem to have afew too many issues and the vtec adds unnecessary complexity. I actually like the linked brakes. They do add a measure of stability and if a person doesn't like them they can be reworked.
In the end you must ride it,so get a bike that fits you and most importantly one that you like.

 

To all that had positive post I thank you, for those that did not....Thank you as well!

The question generated due to the fact that I've ridden street bikes since I was 16 and I'm sitting at 48 now, that's a lot of time in the saddle.....all but one has been Honda's (Stupid Ducati mistake) including Interceptor's before they were cool, yes the VF models! Not one has ever left me calling for parts on the side of the road, never! My life changes put me on the road for longer trips and I would like for them to be done on Honda's, I just find it disappointing that the brand I've enjoyed so long needs parts in my saddle bags to make it there and back....Is it worth carrying the parts to continue riding what I've always enjoyed? Maybe...I will say that several of you that responded with very informative responses regarding the 4th and 5th gen have changed my mind on leaving the brand, as for which gen, I believe from the descriptions I would be happy with another 4th or try the 5th gen and will move in that direction.... As for the ones that responded with the (Question Honda? You should leave!) approach, thank you! It makes us appreciate the helpful informative post even more.

6th gen was delivered to the new owner today, on the hunt for ANOTHER VRF......And for the 6th gen owners, no offense meant, for whatever reason it just didn't work for me (Short legs, tall torso)....Beautiful bike, love the looks but just didn't work....Oh, and for what's it's worth, when I purchased the bike, the flapper valve and other mods were done, the bike rode and responded like it needed a fuel map, I put all back to stock and it ran much much better! Again, no disrespect, great machine just not a great machine for me

 

Kind of vague aboot when VFRs were "cool". 1990-93s were raved aboot in most of the world press. Fixes for the R/Rs that crapped oot were posted even then.

The monoshocks on these bikes were crap too. Until some dude figured the shocks oot (Works Performance ??) they were not rebuildable. Centerstands were extra as were seat cowls.

Fucking RRs left me stranded twice and short more than a few pesos. I'm 6' 1" which may have something to do with all that but I'm not sure.

 

I know I am late to the conversation, but I completely understand where you are coming from in regards to not falling in love with the 6th gen VFR. I wanted to like it so much but we just never meshed. I came from a 5th gen to the 6th gen because I wanted some of the modern amenities afforded by the updated design. Yes the suspension was better on my '07 than my old '99 as were the brakes... but everything else just fell short IMO. The snatchy throttle has more to do with your familiarity with the buttery smooth characteristics of the carbed 4th gen I believe. While I did find the 6th gen low RPM fuelling to be shit, the '99 wasn't much better. Feathering the clutch is what worked the best for me in those situations.

I think you will find the 5th gen a better match for you than a 6th, but you will still have the issue with the snatchy throttle.

 

Well I pulled the trigger and stayed in the Honda family with the purchased of a 1998 VFR with 10,500 miles...Truly show room condition.

marriedman-You are correct, the 5th gen is a great bike and better feeling than the 6th gen is many areas IMO...... Maybe because my rectifier was dying but the throttle felt much smoother than my 6th gen.

So the fun started Monday when I purchased the bike and road it home (9miles), installed new tires today, road it to a friends this evening to show my new toy, after leaving I was soon back knocking on their door looking for a ride home! Rectified!! If it wasn't in such great condition I would park my truck on it....Frustrated? Yes! Keeping it? Yup!... Great ride, the bike just feels refined over the 4th gen which felt more edgy, which I like and feel I need to have both gen bikes!

I've ordered my Rick's rectifier this evening, harness coming tomorrow, still looking for a battery that will match the charging system.....I think I'm being tested by the Honda-Gods!

 

So at least now you know why this one was for sale, so when you get all the new bits, cut the plug off the rec/reg and the harness and solder and heatshrink the wires together