New to VFR

Discussion in 'New Riders' started by Gman74, Nov 23, 2014.

  1. Gman74

    Gman74 New Member

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    Just bought a totally stock 2007 VFR800 in Dark Candy Red from a good friend. Little more than 12,000 miles. Very clean and well cared for. Purchased this mainly to ride around with my wife. Coming from the Sportbike community this will be a pleasant change of pace. I still own my Ducati 1199s for track days and mountain riding trips.

    Really the only question I have is for the two up riders. Have you made any suspension changes? Specifically is the rear spring ready for two up? Sure I can make due for now. But just curious if I can gain from upgrading the spring? Or is the stock setup decent enough?

    Thanks. I'll post up some pics once the rain stops. Cheers!
     
  2. Outboard John

    Outboard John New Member

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    Welcome to the Mad house Gary. I also have an 07, but the RWB color scheme. I haven't done any two up riding, but I did send my shock and forks off to Jamie Daugherty at Daughertymotorsports for a re-work re-spring and the difference was well worth the trouble, and I am only a buck 45 so I can only imagine that it would be a tremendous benefit for two up riding. Jamie's a forum member and is super knowledgeable when it comes to the Interceptor. Well worth talking with him at the least. Members Scubalong and OOtv ride two up and will probably chimp in shortly to provide you with some good feed back. Long is the official greeter here but I've beaten him to the punch today so that means he owes me an IPA when I see him next:drink::tongue-new:

    John
     
  3. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Welcome Gman .... good luck and I'm sure those two are out riding...it's a perfect weather day here in SoCal....I know Jamie has done work on OOTV's bikes and has the knowledge to help. He does a lot of two up on his 6 gen. ;)
     
  4. stewartj239

    stewartj239 Member

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    Congratulations on the new bike. Knowing the history like you do helps tremendously with putting the mind at ease regarding the previous care and maintenance. I've done some 2-up on my '07 but never had a passenger any heavier than maybe 130 lbs. With that, the stock suspension seemed OK. You might want to start out that way and go from there. Welcome to the forum.
     
  5. digitallyhip

    digitallyhip New Member

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    You can do it (two up) with the stock suspension. Wind the preload WAY up and you can get by. But for distance or for handling: upgrade the suspension. Daugherty is a great option, as is a Penske shock with the appropriate spring and new front springs and Ohlins internals. Ask me how I know about that combo!
     
  6. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Welcome aboard Gman.:welcome:

    You will quickly discover the folks on here really do like photos so when you get a chance post up a picture of your VFR or it won't be long before folks start raggin on you. (Click on the "Insert Image" icon and follow the prompts to select and upload images from your computer).

    :focus:

    These bikes are heavy to start with and adding a pillion will inevitably give the stock spring quite a hard time - especially if you are used to sport bike performance and want to make significant progress. That is why quite a lot of riders have indeed uprated the suspension. If you PM Jamie I am sure he will be happy to advise on the options. The ABS versions are a lot easier to set up for pillion riding - no messing with spanners - just dial in a few extra notches on the rear adjuster and your good to go. I have done a fair few miles two up and even on the twisties the bike is actually very planted - but noticeably slower to turn in, accelerate and slow down. If you are planning on long trips you need to factor in the weight of luggage for two - which can easily be like expecting the bike to haul the equivalent of three people - so you just need to be smooth and don't be tempted to go for the sort of banzai overtakes which vtec allows when solo riding.

    Take care



    SkiMad
     
  7. Gman74

    Gman74 New Member

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    Thanks for the kind welcome messages. I realized that I posted in the wrong discussion. I'm new to this brand and model but not to riding, lol. I found a few minutes to take the bike out today. I was very pleased with my purchase. As was my wife. Most impressed with the no lag or low speed jerking. Can't say that about my Duc!

    I've emaied Jamie about some options. I'll keep y'all posted and stay active in the forum. Oh and post pics too!
     
  8. Scubalong

    Scubalong Official Greeter?

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    :welcome: to the zoo Gman :wave:
    Congratulation on your new ride :thumb:
    Ride safe and ATGATT
     
  9. Gman74

    Gman74 New Member

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    One of my new ride with misses.

    image.jpg
     
  10. DriverDave

    DriverDave New Member

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    Nice bike, although that windscreen and seat are definitely NOT stock. That looks like a huge aftermarket touring windscreen and a much better than stock seat...looks like a Corbin. Nice bike though...I had the same exact bike that I put 36k miles on in 4 years. I just traded it in August for a new 2014, which I love. I do miss the color of the 07 though...best red ever put on a bike, in my opinion. If you keep it super clean like I did, you will get compliments every time you go for a ride!

    Once you get used to the sheer lack of power compared to your 1199, I'm sure you will have many years of happy riding ahead of you :wink:
     
  11. Gman74

    Gman74 New Member

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    True...totally stock it is not. I wasn't thinking of the "freckles" that it came with. I was thinking in reference to performance upgrades. I guess really the hard bags aren't stock, OEM though. The seat is a nice Corbin with passenger backrest. The windscreen is a zero gravity touring. The screen makes the wind extremely loud. But the wind isn't hitting my helmet.
     
  12. HondaCrazy

    HondaCrazy New Member

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    How does she like the back rest? Is that a radar jacket?
     
  13. Gman74

    Gman74 New Member

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    She likes the Corbin backrest. Although she saw a woman relaxing with armrests on a Harley and wanted that now. "They're" never fully satisfied. ;)
    The jacket she has is a leather Street and Steel.
     
  14. rigger4343

    rigger4343 New Member

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    We have done a good bit of two up on mine. The bike has done well and my girl is very happy riding on the VFR. We did a 4 day weekend in the mountains not long ago with some light luggage too and it actually did well for us. Now we were not hauling butt by any means, just riding and enjoying the surroundings.
     
  15. TampaDave

    TampaDave New Member

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    Shoot, the stock spring is barely enough for my fat butt... I weigh 220 and it's one notch from max. So it depends on how much you two weigh, or how fancy you want to get with her on the bike. Easy enough to get the spring redone by Daughtery
     
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