New member here. Contemplating getting a VFR.

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by westonsheisey, Nov 16, 2022.

  1. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    Hey all! I just joined the forum as I am thinking of buying a VFR. My current ride is a 07' Ninja 500r that I completely rebuilt as my first bike. It had been sitting outside in the dirt for years before I bought it. So you can imagine how fun that was. :) I learned a lot from that experience though and I definitely know my bike from the inside out. A couple of things I don't like about that bike are engine sound/tone, how old it looks, and the general feel of a parallel twin engine.
    I wanted to ask some questions about the 6th Gen VFR800. What is a good price for a VFR with 30K miles? Is 30k a lot of miles for these bikes? What are the major maintenance items for these bikes, especially around the 30k mile range? I heard the valves are a pita to do?? What is the best service interval for the valves?
    I found a White 06' VFR800 with ~30k that would need a bit of work. Seller is asking $2000 for the bike. Claims he replaced the stator, clutch, and rectifier and then realized that a spot in the wiring harness was damaged so he started to replace it but can't figure out how it goes back together... He has photos and videos of his work and before he took it apart (videos show the odometer which was ~3k miles ago) so I think he's legit. Photos/videos were definitely taken in my town and within the last two years as some of the road construction in the videos is present. What is a good price for something like this? $2000 seems a bit high. Is $1000 more like it? Overall, the bike seems to be in good condition. Also, he seems pretty motivated to sell as he claims he's moving out of town in a few weeks...
    Your opinions would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to tell me it's a stupid idea, I won't get offended. ;) I'm perfectly comfortable with any work that would need to be done to the bike.

    Thanks,
    Weston
     
  2. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    Some advice would be appreciated before the 19th as I am planning to go look at the bike on that date. Thanks!
     
  3. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    welcome to the World. If you can get that 06 running for little expense and ease, 2 grand is not too bad a price. But you should be able to get him down seeing as he has screwed up a wiring problem. This generation (6th gen from 2002 to 2009 in North America) has a problem with the stator rectifier. There is a thread my member here, mellow dude, all about the stator rectifier problem. It is called "The Drill". Our search engine is not great but with a little working on it, you should be able to locate it.

    I have a white 06. It is the first bike I have ever ridden. I was 51 years old before I started riding motorcycles. I had no interest at all in motorcycles up to that point. I bought it because I was commuting 100 miles round trip to and from work. I bought my 06 still in the crate and had the salesman ride it to my house. After riding it around and taking the course, I soon began to wonder, what the hell have I been missing. That bike is still in my garage. I have a stator issue with it right now that I am going to deal with by following Mellow Dude's "the Drill" thread. Right now, that bike has very close to 227,000 km (141,000 miles) and it purrs like a kitten when it is running.

    You shouldn't have had clutch issues that early in the bike's life unless previous owner was screwing around with it. I had to have my clutch basket replaced but that was just about 15,000 km ago so give or take 130,000 miles.

    I will keep this bike probably forever. My wife and kids can worry about getting rid of it, and my Africa Twin, And my truck, And my 5th wheel, and all my tools and shit in the garage, when I croak. No one is interested in any of this stuff. I am just so guddam thoughtful!

    You should get yourself a service manual. Don't buy one. They are expensive. Over at VFRdiscussion.com there used to be free downloads of service manuals. But I don't even know if that site is even up and running still. If you don't have any luck getting one from there, each out to me. I will try to burn you a copy of mine and send it off to you. You can buy me a cup of coffee next time you are riding through Chilliwack, BC, Canada. I am sure you do that often. LOL. YOu know you are going through Chilliwack when you smell all the cowshit being spread all over the place.

    Good luck in getting the bike back in running order. It is a great bike and capable of very long rides. Speaking from experience there.
     
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  4. vfrgiving

    vfrgiving New Member

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    The owner found a bad spot in the harness but can't figure out how it goes back together? I'm not sure what that means, and I would be inclined to pass on this one even for $1k. A pair of unskilled hands butchering a wiring harness could easily become an endless headache trying to sort.
     
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  5. raYzerman

    raYzerman Member

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    A little story... I volunteered to help a local with his Gen6 rectifier, he fried two batteries, charging voltages way high 15.5V. I had to put together a kit, so came back a coupla days later. I had warned him not to run the bike in that state or he'd likely fry something...... he had once again started the bike, fried the black/gray, or maybe it was gray/black... feeds the FI system and fuel pump relay IIRCC...... very small gauge wire, but it was basically melted. It goes multiple places, so to fix it, one would have to remove the harness and trace that wire, remove the melted/burnt wire and replace it. There was at least one fried relay (same relay part number is used on the headlights).

    So, if you've got the time to remove and open up that harness.... re-tape everything, parts won't be a lot of money...... your call.
     
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  6. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    Thanks for the replies and advice!

    In regard to the clutch not needing to be replaced at this mileage, maybe it would help to know that on some of the videos he sent, he appears to be doing clutch up wheelies... Maybe he decided to replace the clutch as it was opened up to do the stator and was right there?

    I guess I should be a bit more specific about how he says he was replacing the wiring harness. He didn't say which wires were damaged exactly, but I would assume it was the wires from the stator but I dunno. He noticed it after he replaced the clutch, stator, and regulator and says it was from the "previous owner." Between the time that he replaced the aforementioned items, and he took the wiring harness off, he says he started the bike once. I guess it's possible he wired the stator in wrong and fried some wiring?? He says he bought a complete used harness and was in the process of installing it and couldn't figure it out. So, it doesn't sound like he was splicing wiring or anything (hopefully). Even if he majorly messed something up, it's just wiring and (I would assume) can be reversed. Armed with a correct wiring diagram, all things are possible. I have the time and am able to use common sense to figure out a problem, so I think I'll be alright.

    Also, for price context, no luggage is included. It has an aftermarket exhaust that doesn't seem to sound too bad, judging from videos. I know videos are a terrible method of judging how an exhaust sounds but take it for what it's worth.

    Thanks Randy for the lead on a service manual. If I can't find one for free, I'll be sure to message you. :)

    If I do end up buying the bike, I'll be sure to document the process on here a bit and give back to the community!
     
  7. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    That bike would be a HARD PASS for me. If you have up to 2 grand to spend, you can do way better than that.

    Thrashed and "custom" wiring. No fuckin thank you.

    Oh, and, Clutch and Stator are on opposite sides of the engine.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2022
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  8. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    I know 2k is a bit high. But what would be a reasonable price for it?

    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
     
  9. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    See, that's the problem. After potentially working on it all winter and still not have a bike to ride, even $500 would piss me off.

    Just know you have a huge bag of question marks. Do you want to ride a bike or try and fix a bike?

    Look, don't get me wrong, I enjoy both, but that's why I have multiple bikes and a big heated shop. Not everybody can. So some people need a pretty decent starting point. I have people tell me all the time, "I want to get a Vintage Honda to ride around." And I say, "Do you want to ride a motorcycle or work on a motorcycle?".

    The project sounds doable, but what other issues are you going to uncover on a bike that was ridden and worked on by this dude? Doesn't sound like the preventative maintenance kinda guy. He should have bought a CBR600RR just like all of his "Stuntah" friends.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2022
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  10. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    Yeah, I get what you're saying. The thing is I actually do enjoy working on bikes so that part is not a big deal for me. One of the reasons I would get this bike would be for the simple fact of working on it and getting to know another model. If I wouldn't want to be working on a bike I wouldn't even be looking at it in the first place. There are a few other VFRs here in town, but I would prefer some more hands-on experience... I would still have my ninja so being without a bike is no problem.

    I guess it's going to be a bit of a "whatever it's worth to me" kind of deal?

    I'll probably check it out and make a judgment call then.

    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
     
  11. Thumbs

    Thumbs Member

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    In the video “he appears to be doing clutch up wheelies”

    Delete him from your phone/life
     
  12. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    I'm just trying to imagine how the front fork seals are holding up.

    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
     
  13. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    And steering head bearings.
     
  14. vfrgiving

    vfrgiving New Member

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    clutch up wheelies and a butchered wiring harness? This VFR sounds like it was treated like a 17 year old's first GSXR. I would run, not walk away from this one.

    Look around some more, a decently sorted VFR will pop up. Don't be in a rush to buy this basket case. There's enough stuff to do with VFRs or any bike just in the course of ownership if you want to learn bikes. Chain breaking and rivet installs, replacing brake pads, changing your own tires and so on.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2022
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  15. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    Smash cut to the

    "Well... I bought it."

    post.
     
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  16. vfrgiving

    vfrgiving New Member

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    I guess it depends what the end goal is. Personally, I wrench to ride. I don't ride to wrench.
     
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  17. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    I've certainly started and tackled some "lost causes". But that's because I can walk 10 feet and get on one of several ready to ride motorcycles.
     
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  18. raYzerman

    raYzerman Member

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    I don't see any videos.... deleted? Anyway, sounds like you have to add up the cost (and labour hours) of potentially chain and sprockets, steering head bearings, and some other incidentals... if it was a $500 project bike, then sure I could do all the work. You can pull the right side plastic and seat to see what rectifier and related harness he installed, etc. but you need this for a G-note less than he's asking.... there's always another deal out there...
     
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  19. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    I already have a bike so being "bikeless" would not be the issue. I'm not looking for a perfect bike that needs minimal work done to it and is ready to go. I was looking for a project, fixer up type of bike and this one came up. I know it's a basket case and will look it over closely for issues before I decide what I want to pay for it. The only thing I won't be really able to test will be the transmission and engine itself. From what people say about the bike, the engine sounds fairly bulletproof. How is the transmission in these bikes? Are they likely to break from a guy doing clutch ups on them?

    At this point I'm thinking $500 is about all it's worth, with all the variables involved?
     
  20. westonsheisey

    westonsheisey New Member

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    I never posted any of the videos he sent. I could but not sure if I want to stick them on the web without his permission...
     
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