Spokane, WA // New 5th Gen 1998 VFR to the area

Hello All,

I picked up this 1998 VFR800FI from the Seattle, WA area and brought it home to Spokane June of this year (2023). Bought it with 16,700 miles and it is running great! I have put about 500 miles on so far and the ride is fantastic.

My prior bike was a Suzuki 1981 GS550T that I sold about 8 years ago, I was never really able to do what I wanted to with it. I had dreams of making it a cafe racer, which fortunately the next owner of it was able to do. I also had some range anxiety, it seemed to want to be starved of fuel after about 30 miles.

So far I have worked through the basic maintenance things; oil change, spark plugs, filters, coolant flush. Working toward a brake/clutch bleed but at the moment they feel okay. The most major issue has been a fuel leak that developed in July.
- Ended up being the o-ring that seals the fuel level sensor into the tank, the o-ring was hard and squished flat when I removed it. I guess 25 years of being compressed has that effect.
- Diagnosis - I suspended the tank above the bike from my a-frame ladder so I could fill the tank, keep it connected, and see under the tank. I was able to see fuel dripping from one of the bolts.



Modifications prior to me:
- Delkevik 8" slip on exhaust
--- Sounds and looks amazing, but a little loud for daily/long rides. I think I may move to the 14" version.
- Switch for the radiator fan, fan only turns on/off with the switch
--- Not sure why a previous owner would do this unless they wanted the fan to always be on. Any other thoughts? The bike doesn't seem to have an overheating problem.

Planned Modifications:
- Upgraded rectifier
- Seat Upgrade
- LED lighting (maybe, if can find the right replacement)
- Voltage meter with powered USB
- Stainless brake lines (longer term)
- Luggage (Thinking just a rear rack, possibly the right saddle bags)
- Anything else I can do to make it as robust as possible

Glad to be a part of the group!

 

Welcome to VFRW CozyGrizzwald!

You may want to hold off on the LED lights until after you upgrade the R/R. Reason being, LED's use less power and the R/R will need to shed the extra aperage thereby making it work harder.

 

Welcome! I actually just installed this rear rack that one of the fb members sells. Works well, but no option for saddle bags with this (fine with me since I don't want to make the bike wider for lanesplitting).

 

Posting the link to the FB person may help some people...

 

I'm not sure I would advocate it. It's a good product but took 6 weeks to arrive from Europe to US when the seller quoted 1 week.

That said if you still want it... https://bscustoms.pl/produkt/stelaz-pod-kufer-centralny/

 

Welcome! Clever way to check for the leak. Upgraded R/R is almost a must, and a new seat will make a huge difference.