04 vfr, new owner, anything to know?

Just bought an 04 VFR. Have not even ridden it yet, though i have ridden them before.

I have worked at motorcycles dealerships for half my life, so I am familiar with motorcycles in general, and these bikes to some extent.

I have an 08 G1K as my primary bike, but I am getting old and recently did a 330 mile ride on it and just was not having fun. It was actually painful.

So I saw a VFR that i really liked, and having ridden them before while working at a dealership decided it would be still sporting, but much more comfy and better suited to longer rides.

Just wondering if there is anything that is commonly wrong with these bikes that i should know of? Common mods done? Anything i can do to make my VFR experience the best it can be really.

The bike is red, and the previous owner powder coated the wheels red to match. It's a bit too much red for me though, and i will most likely have the lips painted or coated silver to match the frame and break it up a bit. Plan on getting some soft bags (hard bags are way too much money for what they are) for it.

Also plan on getting this electronic cruise control I saw recently. An automotive type cruise control that has been adapted to motorcycle use.

Anything else i need or should want? Problems to avoid?

Thanks in advance.

 

As far as standard mods:

1) Gut the exhaust (there are a ton of guides on here) or new exhaust

2) Sargent Seat

3) Power Commander

4) K&N filter

5) Some shorter folks do the wishbone to lower the bike a bit

6) GPS (RAM mounts etc for touring)

7) Cruise/Heated grips

8) Fender Eliminator

9) Peg lowering

Pretty standard comfort/sport bike stuff. Some people also have so pretty interesting wiring/power supply mods to run all their gadgets if you do some searching in the forums.

 

The earlier 6th gen. bikes had a dash wire harness recall. Check with your local Honda dealer to see if your bike is included in the recall and definitely make sure to have that taken care of if it is. Some of the '03 model VFR800's also had a recall for leaky proportional control valves in the LBS system,but that recall might not apply to your '04.

An aftermarket pipe to uncork the motor and let that glorious V4 sound fill the air,and a Power Commander to help smooth out the power delivery.

If you plan on doing longer rides then ditch the stock seat and pick yourself up either a Corbin or a Sargent aftermarket seat. Some people swear by the Corbin,some swear by the Sargent. I couldn't decide so I got one of each.
Some people also go for taller bars like the Helibars,and a double bubble or touring windscreen.

Enjoy your new VFR800 in small dosages. Long term exposure to the VFR800 will cause your face muscles to get permanently stuck in a Big Shit Eating Grin which cannot easily be removed with a hammer and chisel. :lol:

Congratulations my friend,enjoy the ride!

 

Thanks guys. The bike has Leo Vince slip-on's and I assume a power commander. (has a power commander sticker, as well as several untasteful stickers) I will have it dyno'ed for sure, and tuned if need be.

Is an aftermarket seat worth the cost? i will have to put some miles on the bike to see if the cost is worth even the idea of it.

I have a 1490T Garmin and a Ram mount for my g1K, I will have to get another mount for this bike.

I have seen a very trick fuse box made for motorcycles that's like $100. I planned on buying it for this bike. Neat in that you can have either constant power, or only ignition on power depending on how you place the fuse's.

I have heard about the wiring recall from Cyborg, the guy who told me of this site. I will check it when i get back to town and am actually able to get my hands on the bike.

I am not short so i won't need to lower it. Not sure about heated grips. I don't plan on a lot of riding in cold weather, but then not many people do and yet we still get stuck in it.

thanks for the advice so far.

 

Ultimately that's up to you to decide but I can tell you this,if you plan on using your VFR800 with the stock seat for longish rides like the one you just did with your Gixxer 1K your ass will definitely HATE you. :mmph:

The stock seat is okay for squirtin' around town on and the occasional "bike nite" but out on the open road after about an hour or so you'll just wanna toss it in the dumpster.

 

I bought a Corbin, and it was worth every penny. Never tried a Sargent so can't say anything about it, but if you plan on any long rides then I recommend getting one of the two.

 

This makes me semi unhappy...lol I thought this would be good for long rides as is.

I will have to look into it. This is going to eat into my Kimber fund

 

Congrats, I just bought a 2004 Honda VFR800 also. Looking forward to riding again, though it feels different than what I remember how my 1987 Honda VFR700F2 was like. Thanks for starting this thread, it was exactly what I was going to ask also.