VFR400 unreliable??

lalaland · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 01 May 2004 Karma :

I am currently looking for a VFR400 for my first big bike and so is one of my mates.

He's been out today to a couple of dealerships and one of them in Doncaster has told him not to bother with a VFR or RVF (400) as they are unrealiable. Is this true?

I am on a budget with only Â£1500 (can go up or down by Â£200 or so) as my limit to spend on a cheap second hand bike and there seem to be a lot of VFR400 bikes around at this price (I want the nc30) but I am worried about buying one and spending most of it's time at the garrage getting repaired and costing me lost of cash.

Anyone got any experience with this?

(I thought Honda's were meant to be reliable?)

andrew · Mister Road Rage Joined: 03 Feb 2002 Karma :

To be honest I think they're wrong, if you don't look after them then yes they can be unreliable but it's like that with anything really. The engines are bullet proof and the bikes are solid. If you can afford one I would say go for it.

sv_cath · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Karma :

My other half had a VFR400NC30 for about 2 years. It was totally reliable as far as I remember (took us 2 up to Le Mans!) but I do know that Honda parts can be expensive if anything goes wrong.
The VF750 is the only Honda I know of which had real reliabilty issues.
Hope that helps,
Cath

rossi_46 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 03 Jul 2003 Karma :

I own a vfr400, and yes, i've put more money than sence in to it, but it's relibale because its been looked after.

Just go through the vfr400 your thinking of buying with a fine tooth comb, also take a mate thats clued up on bikes.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

Sounds like the salesman is trying to sell you something else!

If he thinks that a honda V4 with gear driven cams is unreliable, then he's living in Lalaland!

Oh... Laughing

____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
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rizzla · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Karma :

the most common fault with these bikes seems to be the Regulator/Rectifier it over heats but you can replace it with an after market one now.

lalaland · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 01 May 2004 Karma :

Thanks, that's exactly what I want to hear. I am buying one as my first bike.

my other mate is considering one and another mate is going for the GSXR600 (unrestricted) for his first bike, not just his first big bike, he hasn't had any other bike in the past. Is this safe? Confused

Stew · Posted: 14:09 - 06 May 2004 Post subject:

I had an NC30 (well, kinda still do, my fiance now owns it) and never had any major problems. When I bought it, it was a bit tatty and needed a bit of tidying up and a service. New battery and reg/rec and it was all good again. So long as it has been regularly service a VFR400 NC30 should be very reliable.
Just check the bike over properly, as you would with any bike you were looking at buying and ask for any history. A lot of VFRs have been race/track bikes at some point so look for anything which points to this.

Oh, and are you from Donny then?
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Luke_Retrofly · Silly Lesbian Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Karma :

Hi
Ive still got my NC30 too. Great bike. Strange that the dealers said its un reliable becuase I think evryone Ive spoken too have said the engines are bulletproof <quote. They are probably talking about the reg/rectifier or battery as these are often known to go but you can pick them up pretty cheep on ebay. My bike does have some kind of gearbox problem but im not sure why.

You can usually pick VFR's cheeper than the others, probably becuase you can get older version which have more miles etc. I found that CBR400 and ZXR400's a bit pricey. You will probably get a VFR for Â£1.5k than anything else.

Luke

dainesefreak · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Apr 2003 Karma :

Tut, how dare they, it's a Honda!

On a slightly different note, how are VFR400's on service costs? I thought I'd heard that they were difficult to work on which can mean Â£Â£'s in labour, right/wrong?

Stew · Posted: 15:05 - 06 May 2004 Post subject:

They are very small and everything is tightly packed so some jobs can be fiddly (even removing the sparkplugs is a pain in the arse and they are expensive too at around Â£10 each). More major jobs such as valve clearances and mechanics will often say "oooh, that'll be expensive coz its fiddly" as they dry their teeth, but then mechanics like to say that anyway.
So long as you have a rough idea of what you are doing then the jobs are not really much more difficult than any other bike, just expect a few more scraped knuckles.
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Robby · Dirty Old Man Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :

It is a reliable engine, but its far from perfect. Despite the reputation, a fair few have had engine failures or annoying niggly problems.
Remember they are all getting old now. I think the NC30 went out of production around 1994, and started in around 1988, so any you find will be between 10 and 16 years old. Despite what people say about engines going on forever, 10 years is a fair age for one (Look at the prices of 10 year old cars), and its a very long time for shocks etc to still be in good nick.

Absolute cunts to work on. Anyone who designs a bike where you need to move the radiator to get to two of the plugs needs to be dragged outside and shot.

By all means consider one, but a soft 600 (old CBR6, GSF6, Thundercat) would be a cheaper choice all round and easier to sell when your time is up.

All hondas are not reliable. I've had one that was just a bit arse, one that died for as yet unknown reasons, and one that played up a bit, calmed down, got sold, and played up again.

Luke_Retrofly · Silly Lesbian Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Karma :

Sash · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 05 Feb 2004 Karma :

I say get one!

I find mine a great confindence builder for a 1st bike (or 2nd Wink

)- and love it lots! Embarassed

And as for servicing, just had the clutch replaced tonight (last owner obviously thought a hammer and screwdriver was the way forward Evil or Very Mad

) and it only took 45mins all in.

But you need to take someone with you that knows what to look for because I must've looked at half a dozen before finally found one in decent condition.
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v4forlife · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 31 Mar 2003 Karma :

as soon as i saw the title i thought to my self 'fuck off are they!!'
when i bought mine the bloke said the only thing that he has ever known to go wrong are once in a blue moon the head gaskets go, other than that, its a 400 cc c90.
check the bike through and through and youll be fine.
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lalaland · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 01 May 2004 Karma :

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm going tomorrow, cash in hand, to look at one and hope to get it if it's right.

I'm taking my mechanic mate with me too, he's going to check the usual stuff aparantly.

The next hurdle will be my test Confused