Hi all, I've just bought a gorgeous silver 98 5th gen, she's pretty much in mint condition, I'm almost to scared to ride her! Looking forward to reading lots about the bike, particularly mods and improvements as she's pretty much stock.
Congratulations Rio, I'm sure you'll find the bike to be loads of fun. Although a great bike, there is one thing to take a look at and that is the Stator and RR. This is the one Achilles heal this bike has. There are plenty of post about it and one that has great details on how to troubleshoot and test, do a search on this website for "The Drill", it'll have great info. This is not to scare you, as buying a "new to you" vehicle does have its positives and negatives. Being a 5 Gen owner myself, all I can say is treat the bike well, do all the proper maintenance and you should have plenty of fun years of riding ahead! Cheers
Hi Rio and Welcome to the MadHouse The folks on here really like photos and it would be great to see your 5th Gen. (it's easy to add photos just click the "upload a File", link below and follow the prompts to select and upload photos from your computer,) Others have already mentioned the charging system problem which affects many VFRs - so one worthwhile investment is a digital volt meter - the sort you can get for buttons on tBay. This won't prevent a charging system failure but will allow you to monitor what is going on and if you then spot the volts spike or drop through the floor it will give you a chance to head home or some place safe before whatever energy left in the battery is exhausted and you end up stranded at the roadside. These bikes are quite top heavy (especially with a full fuel tank) - no issue for taller riders, but they can be quite a handful for smaller riders and can quickly pass the point of no return and end up taking an unscheduled nap. Hence frame sliders may be a worthwhile investment especially if the bodywork is still in great condition. These bikes are also very smooth to ride and it is easy to loose track of just how fast you are going making it way too easy to collect unwelcome performance awards from the rozzers. Take Care - Have fun - ATGATT SkiMad
Ah! Liverpool eh? Did you know the Beatles? JK. I am sure you have heard that one before. Welcome to the world. It has been a great place for me since I joined up in 2008 or somewhere back in history around that time. Damned I am feeling old. I will have to rejoin so my join date does not give my age away. Yes Yes as SkiMad has said, post up some pix. We really do like seeing everyone's rides. Silver 5th gens are really not too common over here on this side of the pond. Here is a link to "The Drill". The Drill was prepared by member here, Mello Dude. I just cut and pasted his info for the purpose of giving it it's own thread, hoping it would be easier to search. Don't know if I succeeded so I book marked it so I could easily find it for our newcomers. https://vfrworld.com/threads/the-drill.52131/#post-579543
Wlcome to the forum, I also just bought a mint 99, almost scared to ride it,beautiful bike, I haven't checked out the charging system yet anyway, it's bone stock and working fine, rides like a new bike, amazing machine. post some pics, we love bike porn here!!