Hello from Cornwall UK

So I went and bought myself (my husband may disagree and say we have bought ourselves) a VFR 2006. I already have a hornet (09) so this is a play bike. She has a few issues in the Stator area, but is off to be assessed and serviced on Friday. Currently she is sat in the back of our van and thankfully the weather is shite which helps curb my desire to take her for a spin. Although I’m a little vertically challenged I not unaccustomed to tiptoes on a bike, I’m just hoping I don’t find the weight an issue.

So anyways, I thought I would say hi. Can’t wait to post some piccies up of my beautiful VFR against the beautiful scenery of Cornwall. I will also be probably shouting for some guidance on mods and mechanical stuff from time to time.

0DF25A99-A1CD-46BD-969F-81A8300A23E3 by Dena posted Mar 5, 2019 at 1:02 PM

E188FC34-71C0-4C7E-9170-5C89D1D2EACC by Dena posted Mar 5, 2019 at 1:03 PM

 

Hi and welcome,I am a short arse as well and I find my 4th gen a bit lardy moving it around the garage and on my gravel drive way but not too bad when riding it, hope you enjoy it

 

Welcome Dena have a browse through the site, you’ll find lots of mods for your new bike

Where abouts in Cornwall are you?

I’m heading to Mullion in June 20th then head back to Bath the next day, spent many happy days in my youth there

 

Thanks for that. I am hoping I will love it. Lardy and short arse in one comment - a quick glance could result in a reading of lardy arse

 

I’m in St Austell I often pop down to Mullion, to do a spot of camping on glorious weekends, or a days ride around on the bike. We are planning to head up to bath for a long weekend this summer too. Thanks for the tip re mods shout me nearer to your visit eh!

 

Welcome! I'm in love with my 06! Just a couple of little things to sort out what looks to be from the previous owner. Have a blast!
You have ABS too! -nice

 

Welcome Dena! As mentioned, there’s lots of info here on how to make your bike suit you better. One mod/repair many of us have done, myself included, is to replace the Stator with OEM and replace the RR with a Shindengen (FH020AA or SH847) along with an installation kit from www.roadstercycle.com. Don’t be tempted by the “inexpensive” (read: cheap) stuff you find on eBay, do it right and look into Roadster cycle for a quality kit.

As far as lowering for your height challenged position, look at shaving the seat down, mostly the sides where you inner thigh meets the seat as this may allow you legs to come a little closer to the bike, possibly giving you that little extra you need to get your foot more flat on the ground. Otherwise there are plenty of post here on the forum on how to lower your ride.

 

Welcome to the World lass. One of our moderators is very much vertically challenged. She has an 06 as well and has shaved her seat back quite a bit and has completed many very long rides without problems related to that.

Side note. I took my wife to the UK for two weeks celebrating and anniversary and fell in love with the place. England of course but my roots go back to Scotland, home of the best whiskey known to man. The other side of me originates in Ireland but I don't admit that to many.

Stick around.

 

Hi Dena and welcome to the MadHouse

Once you get the charging system sorted out these bikes can cover immense distances with the likes of Randy seeing the speedo heading around for its third lap. I would still consider adding a volt-meter to the bike - so you can see if the charging system starts playing up again and head for someplace safe before the energy in the battery is drained and you end up stranded on one of the narrow roads down your way.

As your bike still looks in very good condition I should warn you these things do like to take an unprovoked nap from time to time - this 38 page thread should give you ample evidence. https://vfrworld.com/threads/you-dropped-it-how-many-time.44298/

Basically these bikes are a lot more top heavy than your Hornet, and especially with a fairly full fuel tank they can be quite a challenge for lighter and shorter riders. Especially at slow speeds or when parking them, they can swiftly pass the point of no return at which point the best advice is to get out the way - rather than try and save the bike, as a quarter tonne of bike landing on you is not a good thing and its so easy to wreck your back trying to be a hero.

You may want to consider fitting R&G crash bungs which I know work and are a very worthwhile add-on which will minimise any damage during a low speed tip over, and more importantly will minimise the risk of your leg being trapped (broken) if the bike lands on top of you.

Other modifications you may want to consider is getting a dealer to help you set up the SAG for you. It is always a good idea to record the starting position and each adjustment you make, so if you want you can always revert things if you are not happy with the result.

As for lowering - assuming it is currently at stock height you should be able to lower the front a short distance through the triple tree and achieve the same lowering at the rear - which on an ABS bike is fairly easy by using the suspension adjuster knob. You may also want to try out other motorcycle boots like the TCX T Lilly Goretex, which are good value and yet a top spec boot with great protection and very discrete raised heel. If you intend putting the bike on the centre stand it is a good idea to ask someone to help steady the bike until you get used to the technique needed. It gets a lot easier if you first ride the bike wheels onto a scaffolding plank to reduce the height you are attempting to lift the bike.

As you will see from the thread linked above - putting these bikes on the centre stand has contributed to a number of tip-overs. PS if your bike does end up on its side - please don't try and pick it up alone, ask for help - not many people can lift these bike unaided and you certainly don't want to exacerbate any damage by dropping it a second time.

Have fun ATGATT



SkiMad

 

I think you mean “Shaved her motorcycles seat”

 

Thank you for spending the time to give me some tips - very useful thank you.

You have just confirmed the most likely path for fixing the charging problem. I will know more over the weekend hopefully. When she is back home I will also be doing the pair, flapper, and snorkel mod too - seems relatively straight forward (famous last words of course) and a nice way to familiarise myself with the new bike. She will also be cleaned within an inch of her life lol.

With reference to lowering the bike - I’m not a fan. I will see how I get on with the bike once I have set the pre-load. It’s the weight combined with my height that might be a challenge initially until I get used to it - I do like a challenge I initially had my hornet seat lowered but had it put back because I didn’t like it at all.

 

Hi Randy. Thanks for that - I will see how it goes with the bike, my preference is to ride her how she is and learn some new skills. I am very mindful of the weight which might change my mind.

Wow Irish and Scottish - fine to shout that in England, perhaps not in either Scotland or Ireland lol. I’m right at the other end we have a beautiful county here, absolutely perfect for biking - all those twisties ❤️❤️❤️

 

Wow what a welcome message thank you so much for taking the time out. So much useful information in there. I particularly like the page on how many times peeps have dropped their bikes. I have had two drops so far - one being a few weeks ago when I made a stupid decision to turn on an adverse camber, did a lazy turn and of course my foot didn’t find any tarmac. The other was back in the 90’s when I was getting used to my very first ‘big’ bike (a CBR600 - pre f/rr split). Of course I dropped my KTM250 bike hundreds of times over many years motocrossing when I was in my 20’s. I prefer nowadays to ride a little more... er... lady like lol. Talking of lady like... heels.... oh.... lol... I am more likely to drop my bike with heels, no matter how discrete. It’s only been a week since we bought the bike, and I have been getting in some extra squats and core exercises to deal with the extra weight. I will report back - my enthusiasm might be blinding me to reality right now I hate lowering bikes, or seats, preferring to learn some new skills etc. However, this bike could prove me wrong and I might look at my options or go for a shorter bike. My rule of thumb is - as long as I can get one foot down and the bike is not too heavy I will be fine, even if I have to slide my bum to one side to stop. I think your suggestion of crash bungs is fab. I didn’t know you could get them for the fairings - I shall look now

Thank you again for your helpful ‘hello’

 

OMG, that BBC Poldark was SO romantic !!

 

Welcome, and great first post! I hope you get your electical sorted out. Keep us updated as you get to know your new toy.

 

Hi Dena welcome to the forum. Nice place down there, we visited several years ago.

 

Thanks SlicRic I'm hoping I will get on with the weight - otherwise another CBR might be in order lol.

 

Hi Fink Thanks for the welcome. Where did you visit?

 

Hahaha yes... never watched it myself don't really do TV much. I've just inherited one after a few years of being TVless and it's only hooked up to Netflix. We do have a comedian here that posts up youtube videos of 'very cornish' versions of the tv series - those are hilarious.

 

Thanks RllwJoe I hope so too or it would seem that we actually bought a mule! I will definitely keep you posted.