Hello, All, After a 4 year absence, I am planning on returning to the world of 2 wheeled life. I have been riding off and on (more on than off) for over 30 years (yes, I am an old fart). I started life racing a KZ1000 for my local central FL Kawasaki shop long before I bought my 1st street bike ("as long as you are living under my roof......"). My 1st bike was a 1977 KZ-650 I bought new when I was stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver, CO. Man, I loved that bike! It was the perfect balance of motor and frame. I used to rip all the guys with KZ1000s a new one up in those Rocky Mountain roads. Rode that bike all over while in the Air Force. Even had her shipped to Guam when I was PCSed to Andersen. Let the Air Force after 5 yrs and returned to FL for college with the old GI Bill. Sold the KZ to a guy on Guam. Got back to FL and figured a scooter was in order for college. I bought a 1983 Interceptor (VF-750F -the 1st year). WHAT A BIKE! She set the world on its ear in '83. Rode that one all through college. Finally sold her after my new wife put her foot down. Graduated, went to work for Texas Instruments in Dallas in 1989. Finally needed a 2nd set of wheels and the wife oked a new scooter. Found a new, left over in stock 1992 VFR at the local dealer. Grabbed her for about $1,500 under list. That trusty steed made it to 192,000 miles before she spun a main in 2008. Sold her to a friend who thought he would take a stab at rebuilding the bottom end. He did and she is now at a little over 210,000 miles and still running fine. So, I am back in the market for a VFR. I really like the 5th gen (fuel injected and still gear driven cam system). Found one nearby in yellow (a 2000 model). She completely stock with the exception of a Sargeant seat with 25,237 miles on the odometer. He is asking $2,900 and I think I can get it for between $2,700 and $2,800. If anyone knows of ANY other 5th gens in the Central Texas area for sale.... PLEASE let me know!!! I would prefer a red one, but color is not critical, just a preference. Any issues with the 5th gen I should know about? I will peruse through the 5th gen forum as well. Anyways, glad to be back in the world of 2 wheels real soon. I hope I can contribute to the forum(s). Later, Dale 1977 KZ 650 1983 VF-750F 1992 VFR 1987 944 Turbo
If you are looking at a 5th gen. with that mileage and a Sargent seat for less than $3k you should JUMP on it. Oh yeah ... I hate you. The only real issues with a 5th gen are dodgy reg./rec. and old suspension. The reg./rec. is easily replaced. If you buy one and can't be positive it's 100% functional, it isn't terribly expensive. The long term fix is to change out the connectors or solder the wires. For suspension, it's just that it was never a stellar sport setup and now it would be older. You can easily upgrade to a 929 shock from Jamie Daugherty and have the forks rebuilt with better internals. Anything beyond those two things is really preference. One extra I HIGHLY recommend is changing out your clip-on bars to a Superbar conversion. Welcome to the forum and good luck on finding your 5th gen. That yellow 2000 is the BEST version (IMNSHO). otstir: Jose
Welcome to the highway to insanity and frontal labotomies. Being the old fart you are, you will fit in fine. I am a little youth challenged myself and not nearly as experienced as you for riding. My riding days started August of 06. Prior to that I was a virgin. Stick around and enjoy the comradery here.
Dneid, I was going to warn you about Scubalong. He tends to abandon those who are down and in need. Bugga. Took him about 20 minutes to realize I was no longer behind him last spring.
Hey, All, Well, well, I can see that this forum has the characters I had when I started what became the VFR Homepage YEARS ago. Gotta the zany VFR types running around the world now days. But, hey, we do know what is THE bike to throw a leg over for damn near anything. My '92 was an amazing bike and she NEVER left me stranded anywhere. So many rides all over the US over the years. 3 to Deals Gap for the Dragon from Dallas. 4 from Dallas to Colorado, 3 to Utah from Dallas, 1 to Silicon Valley from Dallas, 2 to Montana from Dallas for fly fishing and Glacier. If you have never ridden the Road to the Sun in Glacier, you MUST put that on your bucket list RIGHT NOW. Go ahead, I will wait while you write that into your list.............. I will pinging you all on the VFR I am looking at. I figure for $2,800 to $2,900, I can ride her for a few years and probably not lose a ton of money. The first thing I will want to understand is the regulator issue and the fix for that. I will take my multimeter with me the next time I look at the VFR (prob Saturday) and check that out. I am an electrical engineer (used to design LDO regulators in silicon - yeap, I am a certified propeller head with 9 chips in production still) so electrical work won't scare me too badly. The suspension thing I will need to sort out over time. I had Lindeman in San Jose rebuild my forks and shock on the '92. Made one helluva positive impact on handling and flickability. Plus, I went down one size in profile on the front tire and pulled the forks up about 3mm in the triple clamps. WOW! Cheap solutions that had a HUGE impact. ok, I tend to ramble far more than I should. I'll close for now and keep you all posted on the VFR. Later, Dale '77 KZ 650 '83 VFR-750F '92 VFR -00 VFR 800? '87 944 Turbo
Welcome aboard hang on it's going to be a crazy ride... Awe gezz you all ready have ran into Scuba and Randy what a pair. but can't go to wrong listening to em As far as the 5th goes , pretty much a great bike, with those miles I'm surprised it's not all ready been picked up. That a bargain if it's anywhere close to being taken care of, that and this is my opinion, the yellow one is the faster one, but don't tell anyone... Yes the Reg/RR thing is a PITA, but it is an easy fix. for you no doubt a no brainier. On the suspension, sounds like you're all ready in the know. Lindemann or LE engineering ( LE suspension) sad to hear Jim passed on, he will be missed by many, He personally set me up, and couldn't have been happier. they're still a great outfit, so drop em a call and get their feed back. The 929 not a bad way to go, but it's still a stock Honda shock, From what I've gathered I'd lean more towards the Penske. Here's a fun read http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/10770-rear-shock-white-vs-ohlins-vs-penske-vs.html Then there's the linked brakes pro's vs. cons here...
