Time for some 6K observations

So at this point I've had my '00 nearly five months and have run up just over 6,000 miles on it.
It's been an interesting transition. I'm getting later in my riding career, some 54 years in. Not-quite-retired, I have had some good time on my hands to be picking up interesting used bikes and bringing them up to riding standards and then, most often, selling them.
I had a standing search on Cycle Trader for a fifth-gen VFR because I've been reading for decades that it's the most perfect motorcycle ever built. Now, I'm mostly a Kawasaki guy but hold Honda in high regard. I've had a couple of six-cylinder Wings that were truly excellent machines.
This VFR popped up in a city on the other end of the Chicago metro area and was being sold by a fellow, it turned out, I knew from a couple of decades ago in the local chapter of the Concours Owners Group. Small world stuff, there.
The bike was a bit under-maintained and I think had been mostly sitting for the last couple years of this owner's nine-year tenure. The previous owner, I learned from the included receipts, did quite a bit of upgrading, to my considerable benefit.
However, the tires were 14 years old and the coolant possibly older. The chain was newer but kind of kinky.
The bodywork was generally good with only a couple of minor scratches and the deal included the beautiful matching Corbin Beetle Bags as well as a good Sargent saddle set.
Once the Pirelli Angel GT2s were installed along with the fluid changes, I got on the road. It was kind of rough-running there for a while, which I posted about here. It took a few tanks of fuel laced with StaBil Marine until it evened out enough to be satisfactory, if still nowhere near as smooth as the Kawasaki ZX1100E (GPZ) it "replaces".
Second order of business was doing a handlebar conversion, as my old neck, damaged long ago in a work fall (I fell through a roof I was building on a hot July Saturday- don't do that!) won't tolerate the low bars.
A couple of iterations of that resulted in a solution feauturing the obsolete Heli Multi-Tour Sport handlebars mounted in a Moto-CNC fork tube-top mount. This is my second set of these from a fellow in the UK and I have been very well pleased with both. The kit was about $165 shipped and fit perfectly. Very nice.
I had to order new, extra-length throttle cables from Motion Pro, which I have done several times in my handlebar-raising career, and the previous owner's Galfer stainless lines were able to be re-routed in a way to make them reach. As noted elsewhere the electrical cables have plenty of extra length hidden under the instruments for the police version and only needed loosening.
The riding position is now fairly upright but not completely, and thanks to the marvelous Helis' adjustability, I was able to clear both the windscreen and tank... barely. And the wrist angle is all-day comfortable, even for these old, worn-out carpenter's hands.
After a few months of the Beetle Bags, I broke down and got a Givi sidecase rack to go with the topcase rack I'd already installed. The Beetles are gorgeous and drew many compliments, but they just don't work well for anything longer than an easy day trip.
The Givis are not so attractive, to say the least, but they hold much more and are easily removeable, a big benefit for such things as tire changes and chain maintenance.
So now, the bike has gotten on my good side, to a degree I did not necessarily expect in the first month.
The power delivery is quite good and in real life can do what's needed, and once the tach's wound up it goes pretty well.
The weight and size are close to ideal for this older rider. My current "traveling" bike, an FJR1300, is just plain getting heavier by the month and I don't find myself throwing a leg over it nearly as often.
This is getting to be an issue as age intrudes on the motorcycling life. Back when I was on my BSA, I could not have imagined being restricted by aches, pains, and structural issues that getting to 70 has produced. But that's how life is, and I can see the day when an SV650 or even a Burgman might be all that can be done.
So the VFR gets the call most often now of the eight or so bikes in the garage. Just looking at it makes me want to reach for the 'Stich (despite the yellow color, which my eyes just cannot get good with). (I catch myself calling up photos of the Conifer Green ones across the Pond longingly.)
The odo shows almost 37K now. I am depending on the usual Honda quality to carry on for some good length of time.
The photo is of the previous, Beetle Bag version. I guess I need to make some of the current edition.

 

Nice bike! My '00 VFR story mirrors your's very closely.

 

IMHO the yellow is the best.... faster than those slow red ones

 

Ah, shades of the old GPZ1100 listserve. There, many thought red was swift but we Pearl Greenish Black bike owners knew better.