Giving up not biking!

[Huambo81a]

Following on from https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=145228

Today I got my new VFR800.

First time I have ridden a bike in 4 years so was expecting big things. I thought maybe I would be blown away by the power and sheer speed of the thing. Something rather different happened.

5 miles into my ride it cuts out. Fantastic. Ring the garage I had bought it from and they very helpfully come out to me and replace the battery. (it had a brand new battery during the full service that morning)

Great, bike starts. At this point I have been working myself up about getting back on a bike so I'm nervous, and just trying to get used to riding again. I don't need this.

7 miles later as I arrive at the petrol station it cuts out again. And won't start. The shop I bought it from is shut, and I have 4% battery on my iPhone (anyone with an iPhone knows that there is no 3, 2 or 1% battery life, after 4 is dead phone)

So I have to ring home to ask my girlfriend to bring me a phone. So I can use 3G to search for breakdown assistance. I do so and 2.5 hours later a very friendly man in a big van arrives and diagnoses a faulty rectifier. Ahh so that's why my bike has eaten 2 batteries in 12 miles.

Anyway, not a good first day back after 4 years away. Andim hoping I was underwhelmed withe the VfR800 because it was lacking power, if not then it feels about as quick as my old Bandit600 which isn't good.

Rant over.

Sorry, just been working myself up to this day for 4 years. I'm going to go and have a beer now
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Present: 2017 KTM Super Adventure S
Past: 97 Bandit 600 / 05 Bandit 1200 / 03 ZX6-R / 2006 Tuono R / 2001 VFR 800 / 2010 Street Triple R / 2013 Speed Triple S / 2017 S1000XR

[DrDonnyBrago]

If it feels as fast as a blandit, and you haven't ridden in 4 years but were still bored of it - I'd hazard at you either riding it wrong, or it running wrong.

Rev it, then rev it some more.

[Huambo81a]

[Bezzer]

Bummer, the dreaded Honda reg/rec problem.
Know what you mean about the grunt, they are a nice bike but need winding up a bit to get the best from them.
Neighbour with a 1200 Bandit bought one a couple of months ago and now really misses the Bandit low down grunt so he's keeping the Bandit and getting rid of the Viffer, a bit surprised you noticed that much difference with the 600 Bandit though.
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I used to be indecisive but now I'm not quite so sure.

[Huambo81a]

[stinkwheel]

Never rode an 800 but the 750 comes on cam at about 7,000rpm . It goes totally batshit mental at about 11,000rpm.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[DrDonnyBrago]

[fozzym]

Granted your old bandit and the new vfr are different beasts but with 4 years out of the game I'd guess there is a bit of rose tinted glasses going on here too. That and the fact that your new bike is not playing ball.

I reckon that once the vfr is running properly and you get to put it through its paces you'll be more than happy.

[Huambo81a]

Update.

The garage has picked up the VFR and given me a courtesy bike which is funnily enough a Bandit 650.

Now. After 4 years away the bandit has blown me away with its amazing 75hp. So in conclusion, there's no way the VFR was running properly. This is good news.

The bandit has so much more Torque than the VFR had. I know that this is impossible so this gives me hope that when the new rectifier/plugs/air filter are put on the VFR I'll be a happy boy.

Anyway. Maybe a bandit 6 was what I needed for a week to get my confidence back. I've really had a blast today.
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Present: 2017 KTM Super Adventure S
Past: 97 Bandit 600 / 05 Bandit 1200 / 03 ZX6-R / 2006 Tuono R / 2001 VFR 800 / 2010 Street Triple R / 2013 Speed Triple S / 2017 S1000XR

[Vincent]

What year VFR did you get? My '99 FiX seems to go alright, a bit agricultural while pottering about but it'll pull quite well at most revs and really flies higher up. Now I've upgraded the suspension it feels tons better when leaning over.
They're fairly renown for reg/rec and loom problems but it's very easy to sort out. Make sure the garage fit the upgraded reg/rec and it might be worth doing a bit of research on the "VFRness", "flapper mod", "Pairs Removal" and what happens to the flexi PCB on the back of the clocks if it gets too wet. Motobatt's "Quadflex" Battery is excellent too.

How did you get on with the riding position?
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Space Is Deep

[Huambo81a]

[Vincent]

When I bought mine, it'd been off the road for quite a while because it would stall at speed, the Fi light would come on and the engine cut out. Turn the killswitch on and off and it'd fire right up again. It turned out to be a problem with one of the connections on one of the many relays so cost nothing to put right. The PO reckoned he'd had it in at the garage several times and they were unable to fix it. I stuck a question up on one of the VFR forums and it was diagnosed straight away.
I've got to admit to being a bit disappointed with the engine at first, it's my first V4 I'm not sure what I was expecting It's begining to grow on me a bit now though, especially since sorting the suspension out.

When you get it back, get it up nearer the red line, there's a fair amount of power up there, remember it's a slightly downtuned RC45 race motor.
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Space Is Deep

[Bubbs]

Id be tempted to ask for some freebies if they sold you a bike that was dodgy!! Bit of a cheek if you ask me.
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Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[el_oso]

never ridden the VFR, but I rode the bandit 650 about a year ago and that felt very dull indeed. Pinning the throttle, no matter what revs, and it didn't really seem to get going. My thundercat on the other hand, you can't be doing less than 4k revs. Feels like a van at low speed/revs. From a standing start my friends sv650 absolutely trounces me off the line unless I get the revs and clutch perfect. Once you get the bike rolling and the revs above 6.5/7k rpm then the bike starts to come alive. Not really until 10k that you really do feel like you are moving though.
When you get the bike back, give it some revs. A lot of the sportier bikes only produce usable power high up in the rev range
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Duke 390
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