VFR 700 in Florida

A motorcycle "front bra" is a protective cover designed to shield the bike's painted surfaces from physical damage caused by road debris, environmental elements, and insects.

 

Received the paperwork in today's mail from the seller.

4 State of Florida documents plus a Bill of Sale plus the title.

In all the years of buying stuff here I have never seen so many forms to sign....lol!

However.......so far everything seems to be legit and the seller is doing all the heavy lifting on the paperwork so I'm just going to sign the documents and send them back to her.

When I pick the bike up it will be in my name and I will have a clear and legit title in hand.

I was talking with another motorcycle guy on the phone Monday about the transaction and said that you usually just show up with cash and they hand you the signed over title and you load the bike and that's it. We both had a little chuckle over it.

So here's the thing I find a bit wild. This title was issued way back in 2004 to the seller!!! That's 21 years ago. Can't wait to hear the backstory of the bike's ownership with them. Weird that the fuel tank has those issues and the rest of the bike is in pretty good nick (from what I can see in the photos!)

 

Couple pics from the classified........24,367 ORIGINAL MILES

 

Well, finally going to go bring her home tomorrow. Only an hour's drive each way so not bad. Will update the thread at some point with pics and narrative.

 

Drive safe. Looking forward to updates.

 

Thanks - will do. Can't find my towing ball so headed to my storage unit to see if it's there. If not - Walmart I go!

 

a good first test on the bike, something i always do on a bike i just bought, compression test on all 4 cyl both cold and hot.

 

We'll see. Supposedly it was running recently. I know that doesn't give you numbers but better than nothing.

I got a new hitch ball assembly - so am set.

 

The front cowl bra stops the front of the bike jiggling around on bumpy roads. Or so I have read.

 

Good afternoon all!

Just got home and everything went GREAT!

Easy transport - 1 hour each way - mostly Interstate (I-4) and SR 44. I think I timed it well to get over and back when I did,

Bike was parked out front when I got there - always a good sign. Owner came out and we had a pretty nice detailed conversation - mostly about the bike - but also learned she started off working on bikes back in the 80's while living in California. Got on as a mechanic at a Honda dealership and then added to her skills from the service manager who hired here and they were later married a year and half later and are celebrating their 39th anniversary this month!

She is the one who went through the bike. Rebuilt all hydraulics, fresh oil/filter, fuel line/filter, fork seals replaced, carbs rebuilt and synced while on the bike!

She said she always uses Honda OEM parts, where possible. Even down to the electrical connections.

Said she didn't understand how the fuel tank could get holes in it. I will remove the tank later and see what's happening. The key fits all 3 locks.

Tires are older - not sure the date code.

Apparently someone brought the bike in for work back in the early 2000's and never picked it up. They put a mechanic's lien on it and later got the title in their name with no lien. Held onto it all these years without riding it. Then did all the work mentioned this year to get it ready to sell.

Mechanically and aesthetically gotta say it's not bad, guys.......I think I did well on this one. When's the last time you bought one that had the carbs already rebuilt and synced?

Will post again when I get the seat and tank off later today.

Thanks again for the head's up @sixdog !!!

 

Merry Christmas Eve

 

OK - more info on this machine.......

The good news is I think the tank will be OK once I give it the ol' Bazza ER treatment. Which I plan to do tomorrow. When I turned it over and saw the bottom I was shocked t looked so good! So we'll see. Definitely has acne on the exterior and a small dent I think I can pop out.

Everything under the seat and tank looked pretty clean. No tool kit or manual. Side (battery) covers are p-e-r-f-e-c-t!

Plenty of new fuel line to hook up to tank. Sender looks good too.

Headlight/upper cowl looks great under the bra. Tail fairing is perfect - zero cracks!!!

Bottom front of the lower fairings need some repairs when they clamp together.

Will post an update tomorrow. Will know about any tank leaks at that time.

 

Looks like that tank that came with the bike might be kaput after I gave it a good power wash this morning. Will post pics later.

In the meantime I pulled the green tank out of the ER chamber and got it ready for use. I already had a battery in stock, so next step will be install green tank, battery, and test fire.

One thing to mention - just before leaving yesterday, the seller wanted me to know she disconnected the fuel pump - because she was running it on a fuel bottle. Her actual term was test tank. The reason I mention this is to share how cool she was about her craft. Wasn't that long ago I was testing one of mine with a bottle and never gave it a thought to disconnect the fuel pump. It was actually Joe Nelson who heard running it in my video and mentioned it to me.

I remain grateful for all the help!

 

After new battery and tank installed....engine turns over but no start. Think it's fuel related so will be troubleshooting that next. Faulty fuel pump?

Anyhoo.....here's some pics of the HOLY tank that came with the bike after I power washed it. Yikes!!!

 

Yikes!
Swiss cheese?

 

Happy new old bike day. Sounds like a good deal - even considering the condition of the tank. Considering the opening in the fairing garnment I would rather call it a balaclava than a bra, but then ...

 

Bike is now running - but on a bottle. Seems to be in good running condition! That Yoshi....lol....

I put the green tank on yesterday and had some issues so I think I got those ironed out now and intend on putting the tank back on tomorrow - and hopefully will be able to take her around the block afterwards.

 

Finally (!) today I got things sorted out and she's ready for a test ride - tomorrow.

What initially threw me off was the 2 fuel pump lines were switched when I got it - and I was too stupid not to notice it right away. I was wondering why I couldn't get the fuel filter tucked into the coolant bottle indentation but just didn't connect the dots until today when I went to finalize the fuel tank stuff....duh!

No wonder it didn't start until I switched to the fuel bottle. Oh well....live and learn right?

I also installed a nice condition chain guard I had in my spares.

The green tank looks funky I know and I will be working on swapping it out for a proper colour version at some point.

Idle is high in this video but afterwards I adjusted it down a bit. Will know more after the test ride. Stoked for now though!

 

Test ride went great! That is a LOUD Yoshi....lol..... Almost forgot I didn't have a plate on her yet so didn't stray too far. Everything seems to be working.....except for the horn.

Stoked!