Old man MarJay, that Old Man MarJay...

[kramdra]

[Moxey]

Snap! got mine 2 week ago.

https://i.imgur.com/ytCOvfb.jpg

Don't really think they're 'old' man bikes, maybe middle aged

I'd recommend fitting a voltmeter, I got one off ebay thats supposed to be waterproof (yet to test), mounted something like this.....

https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/uploads/1185263231/gallery_11167_3227_7230.jpg

I wired it in using a fuse tap saves frying a battery and melting wires when the reg/rec inevitably fails (unless its already been upgraded to mosfet and the wiring harness to boot).
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Current: 55 FZS 1000S, 02 FZS 1000, 77 CG 125, 04 XR 125 Some Bike Pics...
'I was too busy paying attention to pay attention'

[ADSrox0r]

Just mosfet it, don't wait for it to fail. When it goes it likes to kill the stator and battery. Cost of an OEM stator is arse puckering, you can go the rewind route but it's a gamble. There are alternative cheaper stators but they NEVER last.

The initial outlay is worth the peace of mind, there's nothing worse than getting on the bike to go home after work and she won't start because of a dead battery due to charging circuit failure.
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Current bikes: '08 VFR 800 VTEC(yo) , '07 ZZR1400 Winter hack: '95 Aprilia 650 Pegaso Currently lusting after: RC30

[MarJay]

Reg-Rec is definitely on my list. My understanding though is that 2000 (Fi-Y) onwards bikes have a better reg-rec?

I'm really hoping the slight waywardness of the front end is down to head bearings because if it's had a front-ender the bearing recesses could be damaged. At the moment there is about 2-3mm movement front to back at the front wheel spindle so I'm hoping it's just the bearings are loose. It feels like a good bike overall. The oil is clean and up to the 'max' mark, the gearbox feels tight. The rear sprocket is a bit worn, so I'm going to replace those, and the chain has seen better days so that's going too. The brakes aren't great, but they work and the front pads are worn down. I have new pads on order, so I'm going to strip and clean the calipers when I do those. I think with this work done, it'll be a perfect commuter.

Reg-rec is going on the list of things to check right now. *Writes*.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[ADSrox0r]

[kramdra]

Red looks a fuck ton better

Disagree about the reg - stator will be a seperate failure, often noticed at the same time. Recommed:
Oil change.
Check wiring - remove the redundant and often melted connector between stator and regulator.
Fit a dual temp/volt meter. Commuting in winter it is nice to know air temp.
Get stator cover off (10 min job, new gasket) and check for oil sludge/ heat marks on insulation. If it looks bad, multimeter out and measure it.

Used, perfectly good, low mile stators should be available at a resonable price.. 20 quids.., so not a massive problem, may be a shared part with other bikes, cbr6?
Where as the regulator costs atleast twice as much. Do not replace unless it is faulty.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

What's the consensus on the first gen EFI viffers? Iirc they're heavier. But is build quality still amongst the best? And what's the fuelling like? I instinctively prefer carbs - but have definitely ridden EFI bikes that have fantastically smooth mapping. And I do like the idea of not having to worry about carbs gumming up or just suddenly going weird. Then again, I hate the check engine light style shit that comes with fuel infection. There's an early EFI bike for sale locally - though blue - and I've been tempted several times. That said, I also know a guy selling a decent red carb'd one for two grand - which is too much. Price is justified on the grounds that it comes with a crap load of luggage (which tbf is decent hard stuff), plus stainless system to fit, and sundry other bits and bobs. I just wish he'd offer it for 1500, and split the detritus - but he's not gonna.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[stinkwheel]

[ADSrox0r]

I'd take a 5th gen over an early 6th any day. 'A' model 6th gen were a bit of a turd, 'B' model (2007 onwards) ironed out the VTEC issues.
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Current bikes: '08 VFR 800 VTEC(yo) , '07 ZZR1400 Winter hack: '95 Aprilia 650 Pegaso Currently lusting after: RC30

[MarJay]

[myvision]

Are these as good as they say?
I've been offered a 98 model as a swap for my Hornet.
It's got over 50k on it what should I be looking for when I view it?

MarJay how is it in heavy London traffic?
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VFR800FI, YZF600R Thundercat and FZS 1000

[ThatDippyTwat]

[MarJay]

[MarJay]

So I'm part way through my third week of using this bike to commute to London and so I thought I'd post up a few more of my thoughts on the bike now I've got a bit more used to it:

It's a gentleman's express. It's comfortable, but it can go reasonably quickly. Motorway is probably where it is happiest. It does go around corners but it does it in a kind of grumbly way. Like an old fighter who has proven himself over his life, and doesn't want to fight but will do it when pressed. it doesn't feel wayward in corners, just unwilling which I think I prefer to too twitchy or too stable.

I'm getting about 54mpg, around 200 miles to reserve which isn't too bad I don't think.

How I load the top box is critical. If I don't ensure all of my gear is sat as low as possible in the box, the front end becomes twitchy and it tramlines badly when filtering. It's almost dangerous when it's like this, but by seating my bag as flat as possible into the top box and making sure my disc lock sits against the base of the top box, I can almost completely elmimate it. Ironically it's twitchier since I had the head bearings adjusted, but the rattle is gone and it does corner better. There is no longer a 'no mans land' between accelerating and braking.

The clutch is HEAVY but you don't need to slip it as much as on, say, the street triple. You can let out the clutch at 2000rpm and trickle along fairly happily. I've ordered an Oberon clutch slave cylinder because it currently slips and makes a graunching noise if you pull away too hard when the bike is not completely hot. I'm told this is the clutch pushrod, so I figured a lower effort slave cylinder would kill two birds with one stone.

The engine is weirdly smooth and yet vibey. It has tingling vibes through the left hand footpeg sometimes.

I accidentally wheelied it on the way home the other day. Just a few centimetres above the tarmac, but nevertheless I did. Perhaps the top box was overloaded! I haven't even done this on the Street Triple! It wasn't even off the clutch (which does slip a bit... see above), it was simply through a hard opening of the throttle.

The engine power is linear, but it does make some power. You can go quick if you want, but it's not quite as exciting or dramatic as the Street Triple, and it's not quite as grunty or deep sounding as the Buell. It's not as dull as my old TT600 though, which actually surprises me. I've avoided fully faired bikes because of that, and now I'm not so sure I was right.

The Dual CBS is totally stupid. It gives no benefit, adds unnecessary weight, forces the use of what are effectively 2 pot sliding calipers and makes maintenance complicated. It barely stops the bike anyway even though I did a pretty thorough brake overhaul last weekend. Don't get me wrong, they work and the Dual CBS is not intrusive but I can't see how it's better than other braking systems that are actually able to stand bikes on their nose. Especially to an experienced rider. Honestly I'd rather have an ABS equipped bike with conventional unlinked brakes, and for me that's saying something. With decent brakes the bike would be a pure pleasure to ride, as it is you have to do a LOT of planning ahead, especially on the motorway. Whoever insisted that this bike have Dual CBS is an idiot. So many areas are so much better than other bikes and it's just let down by mediocre complex overengineered brakes. Maybe some of the poor braking is down to weight? If so this is pretty much the only area that an excess of bulk is really an issue in day to day riding.

The dash is excellent, the air and engine temperature gauges are useful, the fuel gauge works and I've now got used to the tiny speedometer after being used to the large digital LCD on the Triumph. It's not a bike that urges you to seek the top end of the rev range, and seems a little bit gruff and grumpy when doing so (see above) but when you do it does move you forward... not fast... but with some small level of urgency shall we say? It's quite flat for a reasonably modern 800cc four. It should probably have at least another 10, maybe even as much as 30 more horsepower.

It was a good buy. For what I'm doing with it, it's pretty much ideal. If it had better brakes it would be a masterpiece IMO, but as it is it's just a good bike. In terms of bike per £ it's fantastic. I spent a bit on new chain and sprockets and having the head bearings tightened, but it's still good value. I'd have probably had to spend similar money on any bike I bought for this job.

{edit} It's familiar. I wondered why certain aspects of the bike just seemed 'right' to me, and then I remembered how similar it should be to my first 'big' bike, the VFR400 NC21. The comfort is similar, the riding position not far off, the power delivery is also similar and it has a similar character. It definitely has a bit of character, unlike say a CBR600F, but it's not an interesting character like a Buell or the Street Triple. It's a little bit too competent for any of that really. I suppose it's not a bad thing, and it makes it better for the use I have for it, but it means that as an only ride it would be very easy to be tempted away to madder or more practical or more comfortable bikes depending on your weapon of choice.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Robby]

If you have an odd clutch rattle from it, balance the carbs.

I know what you mean about the smooth-yet-vibey thing. My old 750 used to send my fingers to sleep. It was quite old and quite shit though.

Oddly enough, I was also up in Peterborough a couple of weeks ago getting a new bike for the London commute, but mine is a new Guzzi V9. Proof that an air-cooled engine can meet Euro 4 emission limits, as long as it doesn't make much power.

[MarJay]

[Robby]

Not the Bobber, I went for the roamer, and its yellow.
I sold the orange Harley to buy it. The guzzi is a lot easier to ride slowly than an XR1200.

[MarJay]