A Newb's Validation

Discussion in '8th Generation 2014-Present' started by kuneefay, Sep 15, 2015.

  1. kuneefay

    kuneefay New Member

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    5 days a week 180miles a day, approximately 40,000 miles per year. Those are the numbers I'm looking at for a commute I plan on starting within 3 months. I live in the birthplace of rain(Northwest Washington State) and she visits frequently. I plan on tackling all of the miles that don't have snow or ice on them on a bike. And I think the VFR800F DLX is the one to do it on.

    The BMW f800gt seemed boring and I see it as the Glock of the bike world. Which is to say works well and efficient but there isn't anything special about it. The Kawasaki Ninja 1000abs is a monster and I wouldn't mind running one IF I had riding experience but I don't.

    I'm a married 26 year old father of two and the decision to choose a bike to commute wasn't a light one for me or my wife. We've weighed the pro's and con's extensively. Weather, average flow of traffic, shoulder space, medians and barriers, speed, maintenance cost, startup costs and the amount of motorcyclists on the stretch I plan on commuting. Its an all freeway commute on interstate 5 from central western to south western Washington. The option of relocating closer to my job site isn't feasible and I will be at this site for roughly 2 years.

    Bike Modifications List;
    -Panniers & Liners
    -Tail tuck
    -Short screamer exhaust (Ixil or acrapovic megaphone)
    -Denali driving lights
    -Filson large dry duffle bag
    -Power commander
    -Full Sliders set
    -Quick Shifter
    -Bigger Windscreen (Puig?)
    -Bar riser

    Riding Gear List;
    -Shoei GT-Air Helmet
    -Klim Badlands OR Aether Expedition pants
    -Olympia Motoquest Jacket
    -Forcefield replacement pads for Olympia Motoquest
    -Dainese Carbon Gore-Tex X-trafit gloves
    -Dainese Fulcrum C2 Gore-Tex boots
    -Fox Titan knee and shin guards
    -Sena 10c camera/Bluetooth

    -EVENTUALLY I'd like to get a hit-air vest but that's down the road a bit.


    What's your opinion on running the VFR that much? Should I go with the dull f800gt? Does anyone have experience with gen8 at high mileage? What do you think of the potential gear and modifications to the bike? Would you change anything? Am I just stupid as shit to consider riding this much? Opinions, suggestions and criticisms are welcomed.

    Thanks
     
  2. paradox206

    paradox206 New Member

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    As a fellow Washingtonian and daily commuter (although, only 10% of what you do daily...I actually wish my commute was a little longer), the best thing I did for my commute was purchase a Aerostich Roadcrafter (used on eBay...$500). Sure, it's a little toasty in the summer (particularly while stopped in traffic), but I'm more comfortable on the bike than I was in my Dainese 2-piece leathers / 2-piece textiles ($2k worth of gear now collecting dust in my closet *cringe*) and I don't have to change in a bathroom stall when I arrive at work (zip off...into the bottom filing cabinet drawer...done).

    As for the bike and your mods, a loud exhaust might get annoying, even with earplugs in (the GP style exhaust on my GSXR was fun for about 100 miles before I wanted to replace it...couldn't imagine listening to it for 180 miles a day). I have a 6th gen with tons of miles, so I wouldn't doubt the reliability of an 8th gen if I were to buy one. The GS is going to be more comfortable even if you add comfort mods to your VFR, but you're right...it'll probably be a little dull compared to a sport bike.

    Personally, I went with the best of both worlds. I got a cheap 6th gen and then picked up a Hypermotard (although if I was doing your mileage, a Hyperstrada would be better). When I'm feeling like and upright hooligan day I ride the Hyper and when I feel like being sporty, I ride the VFR. Together, they probably cost me about what a new 8th gen would run. Sure, it's another insurance payment, but I'm fine with one less meal out a month.
     
  3. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Lived in Seattle for years. Good choices on the gear and the bike but I hope you have a car when the weather really turns to shit.

    A serious wreck involving serious or fatal injuries must be investigated by the WSP. This can stop traffic on I-5 for hours. 512 and I-90 as well. IMO your plan should include several alternate N to S and S to N rerouting and maybe a little "cross country" riding to get off the slab.

    Case in point: Commute from the Lake Union area to Medina. Snow and a bad one on 512. Four hours on the bridge..
     
  4. Lint

    Lint Member

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    I can only add that you will want to get a set of Michelin PR4 tires, or Pirelli Angel tires do you have long life and excellent grip, especially in the wet. The Bridgestone T30 are supposed to also fit that bill.
     
  5. SlideRule

    SlideRule New Member

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    I don’t post all that often, but I feel I can contribute to this thread: I commute about 100 miles daily, or roughly 24,000 miles a year. I’m just under 30,000 miles on my ‘14 Deluxe that I bought last July. This is my third VFR: a ‘03 I sent into the back of a pickup truck, a ‘08 I sold to buy a Blackbird, and I traded in the XX to get a new ‘14 VFR when they came out. Needless to say, I’ve been pretty impressed with the capabilities of the VFR and its V4 engine. They have all been dead reliable – picked up the ‘08 in 2010 as a leftover model, put 64 thousand miles on it before finding my dream bike locally on craigslist. I’ve found the bikes to be relatively maintenance-free, easy on chains (lasting about 20,000 miles), and they don’t eat tires for breakfast (Pilot Road 2-4 last me around 8-12k miles). I change the oil every four thousand miles (every other month) using Rotella T6, swapping the filter every other oil change. I’ve had stator/charging issues in the past with the 6th gens, but hopefully Honda has figured out the issues; the fancy new regulator on the 8th gen seems to be getting the job done so far (knock on wood?). Moral of the story: the VFR had very predictable maintenance costs which made it an easier sell to the wife!

    The VFR is a good compromise for the style of riding I do: Commuting during the week and canyons on the weekends! Freeway droning remains outside the VTEC window, resulting in exceptional gas mileage – I regularly get better than 50mpg during the week with the 8th gen (250 miles per tank without running it dry). When having fun, I can generally keep up with my buddies on their 600’s. Some have complained about VTEC kicking in mid-corner and upsetting the chassis; I say they started the turn a gear too low! Keep the rev’s up man!!! I’ve done both distance riding and track days, and have found the VFR to be happy either way. I definitely have to laugh inside my helmet when I see my buddies on their sportbikes cramping up at the end of a long day! I think the VFR’s riding position is great; I really like the plastic guards on the side of the tank, the added grip they provide is better for posture and they help keep the engine heat off you. The old guys may say you need to raise the bars (or get helibars) but I don’t think that’s necessary.

    To address some of your specific questions and concerns:
    - If you’re going to get Panniers – get the ones from Honda. They’re waterproof, paint matched & keyed to your bike. There are no additional brackets with the 8th gen, the bags just clamp on the tail of the bike and they don’t look like an afterthought. I personally don’t have the saddlebags since I spend a lot of time lane-splitting and don’t want the extra width. When I do need the extra storage space, I just strap a dufflebag on the pillion and go! If you plan on accessing your drybag daily, take a second to evaluate zippers vs roll-top as far as waterproofness – I suspect untying the bag every time you need to open the roll-top might be a bit of a hassle, at the expense of a little leakage with the zips. I live in Southern California where it rains five days a year, so I haven’t splurged on a nice waterproof duffle yet, but I have been eyeing bags from Kreiga, Aqua Quest, Overboard or DrySpec to put on my Christmas list!
    - If you’ll be riding in the rain a lot (and it sounds like you will be), I wouldn’t chop the tail much, if at all. At least position the license plate to block the spray unless you want the dreaded “skunk stripe”.
    - Before getting my first VFR, I was trying to do my commute on a Ducati Monster with a shorty exhaust. I gotta tell you, even with earplugs I had a headache by the time I got to work. Yeah, loud pipes are awesome and the V4 sounds great when it can breathe, but I still have my stock pipe on my ’14. I affectionately call it my “Sewing Machine”.
    - The LED headlights on the 8th gen are excellent – I don’t have any plans for additional lighting, although I don’t ride through bad weather like you. The aforementioned electrical issues with previous generations would make me wary about adding too much additional load on the system.
    - I don’t have any complaints with the fueling of the 8th gen – its noticeably better than the ‘08 and miles better than the jerkiness of the ‘03. I don’t feel a Power Commander is necessary, plus it will only hurt your gas mileage.
    - I do plan on getting the Quickshifter, although its more for fun than necessity. The VFR shifts way smoother than any of my buddies CBR’s, RC51’s or Yamaha’s. Half the time I don’t even bother using the clutch while upshifting to fourth, fifth & sixth.
    - I live in the hot desert, so I like the airflow from the stock windscreen – you’ll probably have to depend on others for their recommendation there.
    - I normally wouldn’t recommend a VFR to a novice, but am now a little more inclined since we no longer have the danger of damaging a side-mounted radiator from a simple drop. Yes, its bigger and heavier than the usual crop of beginner bikes, but I wouldn’t want to ride 180 miles a day on a lightweight Ninja 300 either. I dunno, but if you’re only considering the F800 or VFR, I don’t see much of a difference there. At a minimum I’d fit sliders to protect it from the typical low-speed fall. Also since the 8th gen ditched the side radiators, we should be able to mount just about any of the ‘Universal’ ones as long as you don’t mind cutting holes in your fairings, although I haven’t tried.
    - As for riding gear, I have two separate outfits: perf’d leathers for summer and gore-tex for winter, mix and match as needed during fall & spring. My personal experience is that the fancy waterproof jackets just don’t vent well enough. It may be a bit excessive, but I also have two helmets: Summer Helmet with a lot of vents and a winter helmet that doesn’t fog up much. In your case, I totally second paradox’s recommendation of an Aerostich Roadcrafter. I went to one of their demo days and almost purchased one, but it just doesn’t rain enough where I live. Whether you wear shorts or a suit & tie – slip the Roadcrafter on over your clothes, ride to work, slip it off, stuff it into a pannier and you’re good to go.
    Overall, I’m really happy with my VFR (heck, I traded a Blackbird for it) – but you’d probably expect to hear that on a VFR forum. Let me know if you have any other specific questions, I’d be glad to help out.

    -SlideRule
     
  6. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Good job sliderule, very thorough.
     
  7. Veefer Madness

    Veefer Madness New Member

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    I would never accuse a man of being stupid for wanting to ride a lot but being 26 is a point in your favour for considering 180 mile a day 5 day a week in all kinds of weather commuting.

    However I do have some thoughts on this and they are not at all rosy. I live a hundred miles north of Seattle so I have some familiarity with PNW winter rains as well as that unrelenting heinous shitshow you call rush "hour".

    First of all, the VFR is fine for this concept. The only problems with what you're suggesting are: 1) you won't save any money over a comparably priced commuter car, in fact based on your taste in gear and accessories, quite the opposite...2) you won't have much if any fun 3) there is a non-zero chance you will grow to hate it. I'm not even going to talk about how the least fun riding (commuting in heavy traffic on the slab in shitty weather) is arguably the most dangerous, because you're an adult.

    I do understand that there are dudes out there made of far sterner stuff than I am who commute crazy distances on bikes in all conditions. Just because something can be done says nothing about whether it actually enhances the finite moments on this mortal coil. I see guys from time to time looking absolutely miserable commuting on their bikes and it makes me wonder, is this a matter of pride, part of their identity?

    As a juxtaposition to illustrate that riding exists on a continuum from sublimely pleasurable to excruciating, I just got back a couple of hours ago from an exhilarating two days of riding that had me coming down from Whistler and unfortunately spitting me into the early stages of Vancouver rush hour (which is shitty in it's own right but nowhere near as shitty as Seattle's...) So there I was after just having ridden 800 miles through twisty mountain roads with no traffic at hooligan speed, suddenly reduced to crawling along in 1st gear surrounded by a mass of motorized humanity. Let's just say I was not a positive ambassador for the sport and did some things to get around and through that traffic that would have got me a good talkin to from a police officer...or worse. And today the weather was perfect, not-too-hot-not-too-cool. I would shoot myself in the face if I had to do that every day all year.

    Just trying to give another angle.
     
  8. SlideRule

    SlideRule New Member

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    Not to completely disagree with Veefer’s post above; but alas, he does have some good points. Granted, I live in SoCal where there is 360 days of perfect riding weather, and the five days I contemplate hanging up my helmet, you guys up north just consider it a normal spring day with a chance of showers. I get that. I ride every day: rain or shine, from below freezing to 112 degrees and beyond like it was last week. In my defense, I also assign values to my time and mental health: largely due to lane-splitting, I save a minimum of one hour a day every time I ride the bike, often more than two hours (gotta love LA traffic!). Never do I envy the poor soul in the Geo Metro or Prius sitting next to me at the lights (sucka!); Honestly, I’m just glad to be participating in a sport that I love. Its also really nice having the option to “take the long way home” on a bad day (or celebrate a good day?) and totally rip a canyon on the way home, getting home to the wife an hour later than usual. Granted, you may not have an extra hour in your day to spend. 180 miles is a solid three hours traveling at 60mph (assuming no traffic – yeah right!), plus eight hours at the office, six to eight hours of sleep – it doesn’t leave much time for the family. If you can’t lane-split, I guess my argument doesn’t stand up very well. I suppose if you’re forced to sit in gridlock while its pouring rain, and it doesn’t matter if you’re on a bike or car, why take the bike? At the very least the Ford Fiesta you’re driving has a heater. With the bike you may or may not be saving any money, its definitely not as safe as a cage, and you might be ruining your love for motorcycling? I dunno, I guess its a decision you have to make, but knowing its a temporary situation probably makes it easier to stomach.

    -SlideRule
     
  9. Veefer Madness

    Veefer Madness New Member

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    SlideRule, your comments on time saving, fair weather, and the sheer beauty of legal lane splitting when the highways are choked were all spot on. I want to stress that I'm twice the OP's age and the passing of time and experience of tens of thousands of miles of motorcycling have worn away all my sharp edges and most of my zeal for riding for riding sake. I do commute between March and November on both my VFR and Bonnie albeit a pampered little 12 mile jaunt through the 'burbs that takes half an hour each way. I even park my car for six months a year so I have no choice unless I can "borrow" my wife or son's car, but there's a big difference between rain in July and rain in January up here. The light levels are huge factors and it's pretty grim to ride to work in the dark and then turn around and ride home in the dark.

    Back to your point on time saving - that's worth a lot. The experts in positive psychology who study these things have found that for most working people, the single biggest voluntary change you can make to improve your overall quality of life is to reduce your commuting time. In California you can do that with a motorcycle. The rest of us have to move closer to where we work.
     
  10. zombie

    zombie New Member

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    Let me throw in my $0.02.
    I commute daily in Southern Ontario to Toronto. About 140 KM total distance total the quickest route. Mainly highway and lots of traffic. Did this for about 18 years so far. Started using the bike 3 years ago and last year went the long way home one day in the spring because I just needed to go for a bit of a ride. I go that way every time now. It's about 40 Km more (20 each way) but is usually about the same time and much much lower on the stress level.
    You say the commute will only be for 2 years, they told me that too.... If that is it then I say go for it, just make sure it isn't your only option. There are some mornings when I just don't feel like putting on all the gear and getting on the bike. Might be a headache or being a bit under the weather or just not feeling it. Taking the car on those days makes things seem easier. If it's raining in the morning I usually drive. My gear is pretty much waterproof but when it is miserable, gray, cold and raining in the morning the whole day can suck after that.
    That being said, any day that I have had to force myself to ride, I have never regretted it and there are many days spent sitting in the car wishing that I didn't wimp out and was on the bike. A long commute drains you mentally to the point that studies have proven that weight gain, depression, family problems and physical health issues will happen. Anything you can do to lift your spirits when commuting is a good thing.
    In conclusion, ride the bike. Just make sure there is a car available for the days when you don't want to. One more thing, it's not cheaper riding the bike than driving the car. I currently have a '98 civic hb that I picked up for almost nothing. It's a pos that I don't care about. Been driving it for almost a year now. Put about 3500KM on and still have the same oil in it. Put in a new rad and a set of front pads and that's it. Never even washed it. When it dies I will find another one because they are cheap and easy to fix. Sure it would be nice to sit in a nice car but we already have a nice family vehicle that my wife usually drives. The civic is only used for the commute. Riding the bike stops me from turning the civic into a weapon one day.
     
  11. kuneefay

    kuneefay New Member

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    I really appreciate the detailed input everyone, its invaluable. To better get into details, my commute will have virtually NO traffic. This commute will be from Olympia Washington to down around Vancouver Washington. I drove it on labor day when everyone was coming home and I averaged 70mph in my landcruiser. The speed limit is 70mph virtually the ENTIRE way. Wrecks on average are rare on this strip of road. The only downside in this stretch is fog is prevalent fall through spring in spots.

    In summary
    -Zero traffic
    -limited wrecks
    -potential for several 3-6 mile stretches of Fog(denali driving lights to help)
    -Rain is going to happen plenty
    -70mph speed limit about 80-90% of the way
    -deep swooping hills and climbs throughout the commute(fun?)
    -I LOVE driving
    -Winter and fall driving will be commuting in the dark AM and PM most likely.
    -Running 3.5-4 sets of tires out per year roughly, all oil changes will be done by me(4-4.5k motul oil filter every change) as well as standard maintenance(fuel savings will be about 20mpg over the best car in my price range unless I buy used but then im stuck with more maintenance and potential for serious maintenance, timing belt, clutch, head gasket, etc..

    As far as the exhaust decision, Im one of those people that tore out the deck in my old Subaru wrx so it wouldn't get stolen and because I never ever chose to listen to it over the sound of the engine and exhaust. I figure worst case scenario itll take me 15 minutes to put the stock pipe back on.

    As far as snow, ice, and extremely cold weather are concerned. I have a Toyota landcruiser that ill commute in on those occurrences.

    I Looked into aerostitch and I think I might pick up the R-3 one piece if I don't have a locker room at the work site. I like the goretex guarantee and it seems to be the premium for dealing with rain.

    It seemed like almost all of you had a concern about traffic which will not be an issue what so ever, If I was going to be commuting to seattle I wouldn't entertain the idea of a motorcycle even if plenty of people do it. With the new information is there any further input?

    Again, thanks everyone for weighing in. Its greatly appreciated.
     
  12. paradox206

    paradox206 New Member

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    <---- Evo IX owner with a 3" no cat exhaust....still couldn't take it. ;)

    You're right though, it's quite easy to put right back on! (unlike my Evo)
     
  13. kuneefay

    kuneefay New Member

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    Nice, always loved the 8s and 9s. I changed the exhaust on my old wrx 14 times until I found the one I liked. I'll probably end up with 3 exhausts to swap inbetween for the vfr by the end of the first year.
     
  14. Veefer Madness

    Veefer Madness New Member

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    My bad. I assumed you were getting swallowed up in the Everett to Olympia vortex. Going south is an order of magnitude better, although still a serious commitment.

    Pipe noise is subjective and it also depends on the quality of the tone. Following behind my friend's 600rr with a Yosh pipe is insufferable because it has this severe, high pitched EMMMMMMMM tone that burrows straight into my forehead. Now that's a tiring pipe! I run 2 Bros with a db killer on my '02 and at highway cruising speed I hear more wind noise through my Arai and ear plugs than pipe noise. Whacking it is another story but that's just music to me. I used to commute and tour on a Monster with full Termis, open airbox, open dry clutch. Even that didn't bother me except when not immediately obviously loud but percussive shock waves set off car alarms. That's not funny unless the owner is standing right next to the exotic supercar with his too hot for him girlfriend when the alarm goes off.
     
  15. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Traffic does thin South of Olympia. The weather is just as thick.. Maybe another take on this come mid January?


    Ya meet the nicest people in used Honda Civic with a heater and a set of new wiper blades.
     
  16. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Well hello, from one Olympian to another. That's a commute all right. way better than the trip north from Oly, in fact had it been, I'd say no way. This one is a what ever. Once you figure out all the hiding spots of the WSP it's not to bad, there's strips where 90+ is easily done. Pretty cut and not so dry, I've done this one, not so much on a bike like you have in mind. Any of the VFRs here would tackle it with ease, it's you that might have issues once the lust is gone. But, there's a silver lining, the off route from Kelso north or Tenino south is a blast, but wouldn't recommend it during the crazy weather. Feel free to drop me a PM if you ever want to just get together sometime. ;)
     
  17. owensjerome8

    owensjerome8 New Member

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    Can a 2004 Ford crown Victoria engine fit into a 95 Ford grand Marquis body style?

    Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
     
  18. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Yep. The first step is to pull the engines oot of both. I always wanted to put an Allison into a Vanagon.
     
  19. kuneefay

    kuneefay New Member

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    You made an account to post that?
     
  20. owensjerome8

    owensjerome8 New Member

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    Hey bro dont worry about it


    Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
     
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