Hey all, new to these forums. Just picked up a 2001 VFR800 yesterday. My favorite bike of all time, super happy I found one. I'm a pretty new rider as well, just started riding regularly a month ago, even though I've had my motorcycle license for 15 years, haha. My first bike is a 1985 Honda Nighthawk 650. The VFR is a completely different animal haha. Much more powerful, and yes, heavier. It already had some mods done to it: Sargent seat, Two Brothers slip on, double bubble windscreen, Heli bar risers, and heated handgrips. Just over 17,000 miles. Any tips on getting it up on the center stand? My Nighthawk is super simple, just downward force from my leg on the center stand and it pops right up, but I'm having trouble getting the VFR up. Here are a couple of pics:
If the preload is low on the rear shock it can affect getting it on the centerstand, but you may find a little relief if you dial it up a bit harder.
Welcome to VFRW. Great first post with photos and all. regarding your centerstand,...... I find it best to place my right hand under the sub frame just in front of the passenger foot peg mount and lift with that hand/ arm, place my left foot on the centerstand with a lot of weight, and pull back on the left handle bar all at the same time. It helps to be wearing boots or shoes with hard soles ( i.e. no tennis shoes).
Hi EJ and Welcome to the MadHouse. Congratulations on adding photos with your first post - it looks like the previous owner has already added several extras which suggests the bike has been well looked after. So good luck with the new bike - now get some pre-winter rides in whilst the weather holds. As for the centre stand two thoughts: (1) These things are top heavy and can quickly pass the point of no return especially with nearly full fuel and take an unintended(expensive) nap. Many drops seem to occur with the bike nearly or totally stopped with disasters getting the bike on or off the stand among the more common occurences. None of us want to drop our bike but even larger riders can struggle and potentially do their back in trying to save a bike. So I fitted R&G frame sliders and as you can see they have been well tested over the years, and once it is past the point of no return your best action is to get out the way as it will hurt if you end up with a leg trapped under a quarter tonne of motorbike. Thanks to the tip over protection it keeps the bike from crushing bones etc and every time the bike survived unscathed and once upright able to ride off - no harm but damaged pride. https://vfrworld.com/threads/you-dropped-it-how-many-time.44298/ (2) It is difficult to tell from the photo but the previous owner may have already lowered the bike or indeed the springs have simply compressed in the 20+ years since it was made. Either way if the bike is now sitting lower it will make using the centre stand a whole lot harder - as you are raising the bike a lot more, and of course the side stand lever is only designed to work with the bike at standard ride height. So what to do. The cheap fix is to lay a scaffold plank on the garage floor and ride the bike onto it when you want to use the centre stand. Just make sure the plank is narrow enough to fit between the main stand legs so you can lower the main stand to the ground either side of the plank. Stand on the main stand lever and it should be a lot easier. Until you get used to the bike you may want to get help from a friend when putting the bike on/off the main stand. I eventually knocked up this solution - which works perfectly - bike on side stand place behind rear wheel and roll bike up onto the plank then raise onto the main stand. Take Care - ATGATT SkiMad
Thanks for all the welcomes and the tips! @skimad4x4 that's a good idea with the plank. I'm thinking the suspension may have been modified at one point in its life, as it feels quite on the soft side, and when I first sat on it, the seat height was lower than what I was expecting. I'm 5'8" so I'm on the short side, so I was quite surprised with how much foot I can get on the ground. Also, I have to lean it ever so slightly to the right when I'm sitting on it to get the side stand up. I'm also 220 pounds so I'm sure weight plays a factor regarding that. Factory service manuals - are they easy to get for these?
