vfr 750 first big bike?

[KevlarPants]

heya.
I've got a lead on a vfr 750 (not sure of year etc yet).
Now, I should be able to get a very good price on it.

So, do people have any opinions as to whether or not this would make a decent first big bike?

I'm guessing though that its very much a subjective thing.

Can anyone tell me what vfrs are like 'to live with'?

any thoughts appreciated.

[Zen Dog]

I bought a 94 one as a first big bike, after riding 125's for 4 years.

It was a perfect bike for me, very easy to live with. Lots of useful little features i.e. digital time clock, fuel gauge, no fuel tap, good grab rails, centre stand, easy chain adjustment. Very comfy (good for 3-4 hours riding) but still bloody fast. They are about 90-100bhp and does about 160mph (although i havent taken mine over 135 indicated), and it took me about 6 months before it stopped scaring the crap out of me when i really opened the throttle up. I still have a tendency to wheelie when i have someone on the back...

The major things to check if you are going to look at one (aside from all the normal stuff) is the exhaust, esp. the collector box, because they rot and cost about £600 to replace, so have a good look. The other thing is the regulator/rectifier as they go quite regularly. To check this, start the bike and rev it with the lights on. Check the lights get brighter as you rev. If they dont, budget for a new one from david silver spares, they are much better than the originals and the one i bought is still working.

Overall, the VFR isnt the latest rocketship, and its not a track toy, but as a road bike, its pretty much perfect. I wont be getting rid of my VFR until i write it off, or it blows up.

Hope this helps.

Zen Dog
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Current - '94 VFR750FR (Dead), '00 VFR800FI, '11 600 Hornet - Previous - '11 CBF125, '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

[Groove]

Main things you missed out kevlar,

How long have you been riding 'smaller' bikes?

How long have you had your license?

How old are you and are you restricted to 33BHP?

Is the insurance insurable if you are?

Do you feel you could handle the power?

Groove
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|| Past: 1991 Kawasaki ZXR 250 ~ 2003 Honda CBR 600 F Sport ~ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R B1H 636 ~ 1999 Yamaha R1 ~ 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R J ~ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R B1H 636 ~ 1998 Honda VTR1000F Firestorm ~ K1 GSXR 600 Track bike ~ K6 GSXR 1000 ~ 2006 Speed Triple 1050 || Current: 2005 R1 https://www.adrucore.co.uk

[KevlarPants]

Ah yes, I was riding my 125 for about a year before it got knicked.

I've only just passed my test.

I'm the wrong side of 30 (or perhaps the right side when talking about insurance).

As for the power, well I'm not silly. I think I would be ok (I ride like I've got miss daisy on pillion anyway).

Ultimately the insurance may put an end to it. ThinkI'll pop over to ebikeinsurance and have a look.

Other bikes I'm looking at are a canyon 500 and a sv650s. So, a bit of a range there.

[Groove]

You kind of sound like you have already made up your mide


Insurance should be fine at your age
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|| Past: 1991 Kawasaki ZXR 250 ~ 2003 Honda CBR 600 F Sport ~ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R B1H 636 ~ 1999 Yamaha R1 ~ 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R J ~ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R B1H 636 ~ 1998 Honda VTR1000F Firestorm ~ K1 GSXR 600 Track bike ~ K6 GSXR 1000 ~ 2006 Speed Triple 1050 || Current: 2005 R1 https://www.adrucore.co.uk

[Zen Dog]

My insurance prices were pretty good for the VFR, £275 tpft i think. Im 25 btw.

Zen Dog
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Current - '94 VFR750FR (Dead), '00 VFR800FI, '11 600 Hornet - Previous - '11 CBF125, '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

[syl]

[colin1]

it depends what you want the bike for
id say its a bit expensive for just commuting
not quite agile enough to be just used for short blasts at the weekend

but its great for making a powerful bike feel safe, stable and comfy. It will only scare you if you ask it to.

It wd probably be my first choice for long distance riding.

The VFR750's are older than the VFR800's but a lot of people prefer them due to the lower servicing costs and more predictable power delivery.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[KevlarPants]

Thanks for all the input guys.

In many ways I like the vfr750. I had a quick play on one last summer, and was very impressed by the 'quality' of the bike (compared to my kmx, not hard I guess).

Like most people I did my DAS on an er5. It was lots of fun but at times I was a little unimpressed by its performance. For example I only really seemed to use 1st and 4th gears (2nd and 3rd seemed mostly pointless I mean). So I would like to see if I can get something with a bit more oomf.

That said, it'll be jan at the earliest before I can make a purchase (christmas, house buying etc). An in-law sells bikes so I'll go and have a play and see what feels good. I do like the look of the new er6s.

But dang it, its soooo frustrating not having a bike right now. I see all these people on bikes in the morning while waiting for my stinky overcrowded bus and ... well, I'm sure you get the idea.


As for what would I use the bike for? Well, a short commute to work. Riding for fun in the evenings and weekends and taking the odd long distance spin. Bit of everything really.

[colin1]

yeah thats true, i forget about that, it definitely has a real quality feel to it.

I reckon you shd try a big trail bike like dominator or a big supermoto like wr450. They are great in town, and the dominator wd be ok on distances too. They look a bit big, but they are really agile at low speeds as they are so well balanced.

I wdnt use my sportsbike in town, and only got it for country roads cos i've got a scooter for in town. If i had to have just one bike, Id get a big trail bike or supermoto.

You may still prefer the vfr750, but its worth trying different things so you can know for sure.

Or you could split your budget and get two bikes. I ended up doing this, and highly recommend it.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[cerberus]

I too have just passed my test and I have just bought a VFR750FJ. the only reason I bought it was because it extremely tidy and was going super cheap on ebay. I figured I could sell it on or swap it for more suitable machine.

It may be 18 years old but it looks damn fine and has obviousely been fairly well cherished.

I was a bit aprehensive about having such a reletively large capacity machine as my first "proper" bike. I had all kind of visions involving scaring myself silly and getting a million penalty points on my license with the first 23 minutes of ownership!

I need not have worried.

Its as docile as you want it to be. The engines has bags of torque so if, through inexperience, you find yourself in too higher gear for a corner, so what. The engine will grunt around on a tickle of throttle.

You want to overtake a car? don't worry about changing gear, just open the throttle and concentrate on getting past safely.

A recent run from Derby to Matlock, demonstrated that, most of the time, the gearbox and brakes were reduntant. I could tootle along between villages just rolling on and off the throttle, using grunt and engine braking. All this meant I could concentrate more on things like safe road positioning, other traffic, speed limits etc.

The bike seems to do everything with reletive ease from the daily commute to a fast shlep up the motorway. And all with no aches and pains.

A VFR750 really couldn't be any easier to ride.

Don't get the impression its a boring bike though-dance on the gearlever and give it some beans and it will easily re-arrange you facial features with warp drive acceleration and you'll end up like me, doing a damn good impression of the Joker from Batman with a grin wider than a very wide thing.

Top bike and I'm glad I bought it.

[hedjehog]

Not much to add to what cerberus rightly says.

I have recently bought a VFR800 (not the VTEC version). I had a GPZ500 as my first big bike.

I can say I do notice the extra weight and bulk of the VFR, but only at <15 mph speeds.

However, the brakes, handling, comfort, weather protection, power ... are all far superior!


hedjehog
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1988 CG125 BRE; 2000 GPZ500S D7; VFR 800 FI-X; 1980 CB 250 RSA; 1998 FZS 600 Fazer; 1986 Honda C70 E