Gen 6 VFR = Poor handling?

Keep us posted with the progress, Rainbow, I'll be looking for some suspension in a bit and keeping my options open...

 

Another 6th Gen owner here. Something is wrong with your bike. Like tink, I see no point in speculating about the problem(s). The shop will diagnose it. So, without conceding that you have a "suspension problem" let me say that the 6th Generation's stock suspension, while well below average for a sporty motorcycle, isn't dangerous or unpredictable.



















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Well, having read all you guys have said, having dropped the front about 8mm and also having put new tyres on, I think the problems are mainly a combination of worn tyres and crappy stock suspension. I have the new tyres and I have now ordered an RT10 shock from Maxton, which should be here in a couple of weeks. Once I get the shock installed and at the same time have the front forks rebuilt, I think that should solve my woes.

 

Frankly, it sounded like a bad front tire to me, but I wasn't about to speculate like the guys on Car Talk do.



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Certainly I had not realised how squared-off my tyres were. (I've been doing a lot of highway miles lately and just didn't even notice it.) Still, I am a 103kg guy, so the stock suspension is simply not good enough for my weight.

 

118kg here and whilst the suspension is clearly dot completely up to the task, I still find it predictable and confidence inspiring - even 2 up...

 

Strangely enough, my Hayabusa actually handled much better with a pillion passenger on board.

 

Can I ask what the cost was incl. shipping...???

 

Certainly you may! - £490, which breaks down into £415 for the shock and another £75 for shipping. I requested that shipping be via DHL/FedEx, so I assume that the £75 encompasses that.

£490 equates to AUS$750, so this is definitely cheaper than an Ohlins HO203 shock, the cheapest of which I found was about AUS$870 landed.

 

I really need to learn the metric system. Lol

 

It's a base 10 system, so even Americans should be able to learn it...

Anyway, what is it that is perplexing you?

 

I also found an ohlins for around that price but that wasn't sprung/valved for my weight or riding style... Defo bookmark them for after the tassie ride and a few other big bills... Thanks mate...

 

I ride in a very "spirited" manner with a group of spork bikes on twisty roads. We will ride for about 10 hours a day and I have no problem keeping up with everyone, I am currently on PR2s and before that was on Pilot powers. I liked both but want something a little sportier than the PR2 so I am going to go with the S20. FWIW one of the guys I ride with has a VFR and he would let everyone pass him because he did not feel confident in the corners on his Metzeler tires. He got a set of S20 tires and he is a completely different rider and said the bike has a completely different feel.

 

I'll chime in with some useless information, I've owned 5th gen, 4th gen and now a 2nd gen, and they seemed to all be pretty close in handling. I've also owned some Ducatis and compared to them, the second gen seems the closest (don't know why). However, the crummy stock rear shock defiantly hinders all of these bikes. If you can afford a real shock and some custom front fork tuning do it.....turns the bike into a whole new animal, really no BS. I have a Fox Twin-Clicker on the second gen now with 17'' wheels, wow squids on the mountain can't believe the old dude can keep up. And my neck doesn't hurt either.

 

Yes, thanks for that. - I have already ordered a Maxton RT-10 shock and will be getting my forks done by the local race guy.

 

Sorry, I stupidly forgot to mention that they also add VAT on top of the quoted prices, so the whole thing ended up cost a little more than the equivalent Ohlins shock...BUT...I honestly expect it to be at least as good in terms of quality and superior in terms of performance, given that it is being set up for my bike and my weight.

 

Sorry, I stupidly forgot to mention that they also add VAT on top of the quoted prices, so the whole thing ended up costing a little more than the equivalent Ohlins shock...BUT...I honestly expect it to be at least as good in terms of quality and superior in terms of performance, given that it is being set up for my bike and my weight.

 

Rainbow, you are about to unleash the full potential of your VFR! Have fun swapping the shock. Honda's designers could have made the task a lot easier. But they didn't.












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I want to propose an idea to somebody out there that might have the where for all to do it. That is to make an easy bolt on retro kit for upgrading the forks on these older viffers and or all them. Not emulators, but real late model inverted badass forks. Something that does not involve the use of expensive specialty tools like 30 ton presses, welding, lathe's, mills, etc to do the upgrade. It would require a standardized donor fork model/bike, something that was prolific enough that the donor parts are easy and cheap to come by. I would think a middle to late nineties squid sport bike like GSXR is a good candidate. I have suggested this to Heli-Bars and they are looking into it, but I'm not holding my breath on it. I think there is a market here for it, and I for one would buy it; because it is cheaper for me to upgrade my bike than both buy one and/or get permission to. You know what I'm talking about... Somebody out there any ideas? My thinking is that the retro kits would not be for just viffers but some of the other popular "classic" sport bikes, such as GPZ's, KZ's, RZ's, RD's, CB's, etc..

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I made the jump and replaced my 750 4th gen with a gen 6 ('03) and did not notice any of the handling issues you described. The 6th gen is quicker on the turns and better balanced, albeit heavier. Like many here said, there is something wrong with your set up. Keep us posted...