Successful conversion/upgrade

[pdxfj]

For those who have attended the past three West Coast Rallies have met our token cruiser guy Dave.  At this years rally Dave got to ride my bike for a good spell up a very twisty road and he very much enjoyed it.

So we went to a local dealer and he tried on some bikes.  FJR1300, ST1300, FZ6, VFR 800, etc.  He was able to take a VFR for a spin and liked the feel.  Although the bikes were a bit of out of his price range so I did some hunting and came up with a very good deal on a VFR.

Dave is now the owner of a very nice '98 Honda VFR 800FI for a price that was too good to pass up.  I rode 6 hours (round trip) to take a look at it then went back a few days later to ride it back to Portland.  It's in my garage for the time being as it needs tires and a few other minor things.

[simi_ed]

Mr Bean, please tell Dave Congrats! 
I guess we're not going to pass him so easily next year.

[andyb]

Nice piece!  Gotta love the sound those things make to boot, nothing quite like a V4 singing.

[mikeholzer]

A good friend of mine rides a 2002 VFR 800, also in red. We trade bikes sometimes; he's impressed with the grunt of my FJ, but I can't help but admire the the nimble handling of his 800. The V-tec is impressive, too. Your friend has bought well.

[Mark Olson]

well that is just great .I knew this day would come. Dave must have gotten tired of everyone passing him, although he sure whipped that cruiser around pretty good.

so we gotta change his rally name from "cruiser Dave" to "sporty Dave"

[simi_ed]

He's christened, "Sporty Dave".  I like it.  And that makes his wife "Sporty Lisa"!!

Any other nominations?

Ed

[pdxfj]

I had made comments to him for a while about moving to the ST world of bikes.  It wasn't until he rode my bike and realized how much better it handles compared to the Shadow did the light finally dawn on him.  He could haul the Shadow around in the corners quite well, but it wasn't an easy task.  He was quite surprised how effortless it was to toss the FJ around compared to the Shadow.

This bike is a good place to enter the ST world.  Didn't cost an arm and a leg to purchase so if he ends up not liking it at all he's not stuck with something that he's making payments on. 

The VFR is a nimble bike and the weight difference between it and the FJ is very noticeable.  The bike has a Yoshimura slip-on and makes a nice deep tone.  That along with the sound of the gear driven cams is some very nice music.

Those who chatted with him at the rally were very helpful in him moving this direction. 

[carsick]

 I see you've ruined another one. You know, there's only so many cruiser riders left. What if they go extinct?
Oh wait, never mind. Carry on.

[Mark Olson]

I had made comments to him for a while about moving to the ST world of bikes.  It wasn't until he rode my bike and realized how much better it handles compared to the Shadow did the light finally dawn on him.  He could haul the Shadow around in the corners quite well, but it wasn't an easy task.  He was quite surprised how effortless it was to toss the FJ around compared to the Shadow.

This bike is a good place to enter the ST world.  Didn't cost an arm and a leg to purchase so if he ends up not liking it at all he's not stuck with something that he's making payments on. 

The VFR is a nimble bike and the weight difference between it and the FJ is very noticeable.  The bike has a Yoshimura slip-on and makes a nice deep tone.  That along with the sound of the gear driven cams is some very nice music.

Those who chatted with him at the rally were very helpful in him moving this direction. 

Yeah, he is gonna be happy with the vfr, no chrome to polish.

At the rally  he mentioned he would like a bike with more of a sport ride but didn't want something he had to work on all the time.

send best of luck and have fun.

[Dan Filetti]

The VFR is a great bike.

One thing about those VFR's, they go through regulator rectifiers like FJ's go through slave cylinders.  Symptoms: he'll be riding along and it'll stall, then act like it has a dead battery, then a few minutes later, it'll start right up again and stall many/ then a few minutes, late.  Eventually it'll kill the battery and leave you stranded.

I have known three guys with VFR's and one of them had 2.  Years range from 1987 to 2004.  All 4 bikes needed at least one reg/rect one, the '87 needed 2 -that's 5 reg/ rects for 4 bikes, not great odds.  Seems like a weak spot for these bikes.  It's a simple job to replace them; while helping one buddy we timed ourselves, took 9 minutes -hint, you can do it without removing the rear cowling.  just pull the screws on the cowling, and pull it down a bit, two bolts hold the reg/rect to the side of the sub-frame, and it's got a clip-style connector a few inches towards the front of the bike.  Seriously simple to replace.

Anyway, you may want to tell your buddy to order one prophylactically -cost is +/- $100.00 but given their tendency to leave you stranded with little warning, I think I would, and I think I'd carry it around with me to...  One last thing, OEM vs. aftermarket does not seem to make a huge difference, at least from my small data sample.

Just passing this along.

Dan

[mz_rider]

I think the VFR's reg problems are heat related. A work colleague had to replace the unit on his bike and he also added a "cooling kit" consisting of a PC fan.

Stuart

[simi_ed]

That's better than camshafts, like my '84 VFR.  4 sets in 12,000 mi.. including the bad set that were installed at the factory!  Time for new bike. 

[andyb]

Yup, if you remount the r/r assembly someplace where it's got a chance to stay cool, and/or add a fan to it, they last significantly longer.

[rktmanfj]

The VFR is a great bike.

One thing about those VFR's, they go through regulator rectifiers like FJ's go through slave cylinders.  Symptoms: he'll be riding along and it'll stall, then act like it has a dead battery, then a few minutes later, it'll start right up again and stall many/ then a few minutes, late.  Eventually it'll kill the battery and leave you stranded.

I have known three guys with VFR's and one of them had 2.  Years range from 1987 to 2004.  All 4 bikes needed at least one reg/rect one, the '87 needed 2 -that's 5 reg/ rects for 4 bikes, not great odds.  Seems like a weak spot for these bikes.  It's a simple job to replace them; while helping one buddy we timed ourselves, took 9 minutes -hint, you can do it without removing the rear cowling.  just pull the screws on the cowling, and pull it down a bit, two bolts hold the reg/rect to the side of the sub-frame, and it's got a clip-style connector a few inches towards the front of the bike.  Seriously simple to replace.

Anyway, you may want to tell your buddy to order one prophylactically -cost is +/- $100.00 but given their tendency to leave you stranded with little warning, I think I would, and I think I'd carry it around with me to...  One last thing, OEM vs. aftermarket does not seem to make a huge difference, at least from my small data sample.

Just passing this along.

Dan

That's not just a VFR thing, it's a Honda thing, IMO.

My CB550 was the same way, among many others.

Randy T
Indy

[Dan Filetti]

Yup, if you remount the r/r assembly someplace where it's got a chance to stay cool, and/or add a fan to it, they last significantly longer.

Interestingly enough, my one buddy and I have talked about this some.  He's read on various forums that this may not be true.  He tells me that he's read where folks that have relocated and/ or even hooked up a fan, have had to replace them eventually. 

For his part, he basically sees a new R/R every few years (+/- 6-10) as the cost of doing otherwise good business.  For my part, I'm not sure what to believe.  On the VFR, it's already located fairly far away from the motor heat/ exhaust.