98 performance

The VFR's handle great for what they are im wanting more sport than tour...if possible id really like a CBR 1000 or RC51 for a street/weekend warrior.


Bump guys she needs a new home would make a great bike.

 

The bike has been taken off the market..

 

A stranger chimes in...

Excellent thread, thanks all for posting this. Being a new almost VFR G-5 owner, it has given me an idea of what I can do to mine..how it has worked out for others who've BTDT. Very cool to be able to read about stuff before I dive in.

A couple of comments on this whole thread, if you would allow a 'stranger' to chime-in. You can delete now if you don't care to hear from an unknown source.

First, on modifying and improving the VFR:

Tinkering with bikes is fun. There are plenty of things on stock bikes that can made to work better with little expense and good results. Tailoring your bike to your own needs and making it look and sound like you want..good fun.

If you want to change the VFR into something other than a super Sport Tourer...well, good luck with that. It's probably do-able, but your end results won't match up with someone who's willing to spend the same amount of cash, or more, on starting with a bike that was meant for whatever it is you are trying to convert the VFR into, and then spending equal cash on THEIR already purpose-built bike.

Race bikes are brutal! You go to the track with a street bike, or even a street bike with the "street" stripped away and turned into a "track bike"...and you go lap against a true race bike...you will be humbled and amazed! Race bikes are built with one purpose in mind...to get round the track more quickly than any other bike....Starting with a street bike....you won't lap with a race bike..One second per lap? That is HUGE in a race...and racers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get that one second....
I once was doing a lapping day at Buttonwillow in central California on my Triumph triple, lots of really fast racers there with their race bikes....club racers. I was about 15 seconds per lap off them...in a 1:45 lap time frame....Then Eric Bostrum showed up to do some testing on his AMA superbike...He was lapping almost 20 seconds faster than the club racers....and AMA superbikes are really slow, compared to bikes in the more serious world racing scene...My point is...adding 20hp and dropping 100lbs from a VFR....while that would be great, in the Grand Scheme....so what? It would still be 'glacial' compared to a race bike....
The other half of this is a race bike or a track bike....they suck for anything but the track. I have a Honda Hawk for a track bike, still streetable. It's a compromise...actually a good one as compromises go, but when I ride in the canyons on that bike, my back and neck hurt, my helmet bounce into my glasses, my teeth get clacked togehter, my ass hurts, etc etc...And on the track....I lament that I had to keep some bottom end torque rather than go for that ''''race-only''' camshaft, that I have a can on it rather than a shorty megaphone, that it has a battery and a starter...extra weight. a charging system...more weight...The Hawk is tricky to start now, and loud and lumpy and harsh...but it works better than a stock Hawk at the track....
The VFR, as I envision mine..it will be slower at the track than my edgy little Hawk...but waaay more rideable on long rides...From my one short test ride, I think I'll be looking to do the brake mod on the VFR and probably something to the front end, and I will lose as much excess weight as I can, without spending big on the 'silk purse/sow's ear syndrome.

One needs a bunch of bikes, each built to do a specific thing...

Or, something like these VFRs that can be used to do almost everything...but they don't do anything really well, except what they were designed to do...which is 'do everything well enough'...When you make the bike faster and handle better, you are going to give up some touring comfort. If you put a fat seat and heated grips and hard luggage, it will handle less sporty...

Cool bikes...thanks again for posting all the mods...I send some pics when I get my "Rat bike"....which is how I am thinking of the scrubby one I have 'in negotiation' right now.
Don Hanson

 

oh how i agree, one does need a bunch of bikes for different thing's as for dumping tons of money in VFR i've took pretty much all of the tour out of it which has made it I guess you would say it made it a tad more sport but no your right it's miles away from a "RACE BIKE" but my intent was to make it easy to turn drop alot of weight and bring the suspension up to par while its not for everyone but it doe's good and at the track it did get smoked by alot of bike probably cause of lack of talant from me but she did alright for a bike heavy VFR.

 

In fact, the AMA Superbikes are on par with the World Superbike machines in pretty much every way. The only differences is the talent. In AMA Supers you have half dozen or ten top level riders and the rest are basically privateers. In WSB they are all well paid top level riders. There is no shame in the racing here in the US.

 

That wasn't the point, dissing American racers...no way. The post was about the machines. The World Racing machines (GP) I was comparing to Eric Bostrum's Kawasaki AMA superbike of the time....That was the comparo...Moto GP full race machines matched to EBs factory Kawasaki...and match that to the club racers best they could afford....than match that to my very pricey, but streetable Triumph Daytona....each and all a magnitude less, performance wise, than the one mentioned before....The whole point being...there are always faster bikes out there, built with a sharper focus and way more money and engineering savvy......so going all out to make a VRF into a home-made track rocket ship...that is not gonna happen....

I am sure the Bostrums or the Haydens could make a VFR lap a lot faster than I could go on the best Moto GP bike....but put a Bostrum or a Rossi on a moto gp and any other world class rider on the best ever VFR...and he (mr. whoever on the VFR) would soon be getting lapped....Weight/hp/traction is king. Heavy bikes don't lap as quickly as lighter ones...

Anyway, I bought my own 2000 VFR this afternoon and blitzed up the Washington shore of the Columbia River Gorge today, late. Beautiful fall colors, low 70s, little traffic on a windy scenic two lane for about 70 miles of fun. What a great bike for stuff like this...The front fork are wanting, clunking on rebound and diving with braking, but the Ohlins seemed to take care of the back...at my conservative pace on a 'new to me' uninspected bike...Yea! I think we (me and this bike) are gonna be good pals... Love the 2 Bros carbon can...Love the tacky screaming eagle decal the seller had on the lower and all the cheezy flame decals....and the roller paint look...not.

Don Hanson

 

Yes you made your point very clear but no one here is trying to turn a VFR into a AMA race bike most people get bike tailor them to there likings so calm down I promise my VFR wont be racing against Hayden or rossi

 

Ok fellas I've got a few winter up grades coming this way but first I need to replace the clutch and re-gear the bike bike as for new rubber I just recently picked up a 04 RC51 forks and triple for next to nothing so we'll see how that goes.

 

Oooooooh! I thought when you said you took the bike off the market it was because you sold it.

Ahhhhhhh...

 

No unfortunately the clutch started to slip pretty bad and under those circumstances I decided to not to sell it.

 

The Clutch is slipping? Hmmm....kinda odd. You're not making unusual amounts of power.

Are you using funny oil? Or dumping the clutch alot?

 

Running Mobil 1, I have been known to do wheelies but I think it due to the fact the bike has 40k on it.

 

Odd that you say you use Mobil1. I've just spent a few hours reasearching oils. I'm using Mobil1 aswell (i'm using MX4T) and was seeing on the Bobistheoilguy forums that the Maxima Maxum4 Ultra Oil is extreamly good stuff.

Especially for what your kind of riding it may be a good choice?

Anyways....back to the clutch. Is it the same as the 6th Gen clutches? Maybe you can find out what Toe is putting in his bike and just do the same thing. If it can handle a S/C 800 it sould handle an N/A one just fine.

 

I had actually was going thinking of switching to respol oil it cheaper than Mobil! Thanks for the info kill contact toe.

 

I got off of mobil 1. It thins out to water viscosity. I ran mobil 1 syn in my newish rebuilt car engine and my vfr. The vfr used some ever so slightly, but my vehicle did not like it at all. I was a half a quart low after 1000 miles. Switched back to Rotella T5 for the car and T6 for the vfr with no problems with either.

 

Hey guys does anyone have a picture of a 00-01 rc51 triple not sure of I have the right one.

 

2001 Honda RVT1000R RC51 Parts, 2001 Honda RVT1000R RC51 OEM Parts - BikeBandit.com

 

This is what I have.

 

I hope everyone has a good thanksgiving. As for me i'm off to barber!

 

Holy crap its been a while! Anyway here's a couple updates got some new rotors coming for the bike in a effort to drop more weight. Sorry its been so slow and I haven't been on here in a while with th birth of my third son I've had my hands full nit stay turned I've got alot of things planned for it this year.