Finally, the bike I have been looking for..

I just picked up a 2015 VFR800F (base model) in red. What a liberating ride home.

From entry-level 250-500, supersport, to adventure/dual sport bike, all of the bikes I've had have been lacking in one way or another. This bike just feels.. perfect. I can see myself owning this bike for over a decade.

Anyway, I love this bike. I'm thinking of maybe some tank pads, centerstand, any other recommendations?

Also, this is my first bike with a hydraulic clutch. I expected it to have a much lighter pull, lighter than a cable clutch at least. What's up with that? I mean it's really heavy.

One thing I'm a little concerned about -- this is a 2015 bike, that I bought in 2018. I believe it had a few (like 3, maybe?) miles on it when I bought it. I mentioned how oil degrades over time and the salesperson kinda denied it, which surprised me because he said he went to UTI, the mechanics school. What do you guys think? Am I good or should I run out and change my oil ASAP?

Anyway, hey everyone!

 

Hi and welcome to the Madhouse from the other side of the pond.



I guess holding a dust collector in stock for so long means the dealer probably made the price very attractive, and it should be a great purchase for you.

At least by the time they made your 8th Gen VFR, Honda had finally got around to supplying reliable charging systems. As for the clutch it really should not be a major effort - but if it has been standing for ages it might make sense to spray some WD40 or similar onto the moving surfaces of the lever - just in case corrosion has set in and they are badly gummed up. If you are still unsure - drop by any dealership and compare with other Honda bikes. Yours should be very similar, and if they is a serious difference it may be the clutch needs servicing.

If the bike has only done 3 miles, then I would not fuss over the oil at this stage - as you will be changing it very, very soon if you follow the service interval as I think the bike will be due a 600 mile check over by the shop, at which point I would insist on oils and filters get changed they are after all now 3 years old.

Take Care - ATGATT



SkiMad

 

Welcome to the forum Sigint! Post up some photos of your new ride soon, we all seem to like to look at VFRs.

Regarding the oil, was the bike in a crate when you bought it, or on the showroom floor? If it was crated, the dealership would have added oil to the engine for the first time during the "prep" or uncrating of the bike. If it was on the showroom floor, they should have record of when the bike was "prepped". In ether case, the oil may not be as old as you think.

Enjoy, and ride safe.

 

If it were mine I'd put 200ish miles on it, switch out just the oil - standard 10/40 motorcycle oil, then at the 600m do the oil and filter.
Don't bother with putting synthetic oil in it YET..

 

The Honda V4 heartbeat is part of what you're feeling, 1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1. One half of a flat-plane V8 (like a little Ferrari). It's a wonderful thing.

 

Thanks for the information, everyone. I'm not sure how useful it is, but here are a couple of pictures of what the oil looks like. Sorry for the lighting, these were taken at night.

 

Oil looks good, no worries.

 

Welcome! You are about to get a lot of opinions all valid, but vary and sometimes greatly which makes this site great from a group that has many years experience. Most are wrenchers and some not so much (I fall into the latter but have 35yrs riding experience- though it may be a bad experience is up to debate). I bought my 2014 in 2016 with the same mileage and new to Hondas V-4 and previously rode inline 4's and V-Twins. Great bike though.

I have had some very uncommon issues with mine than the group as a whole has not. Some because of my mistakes and trusting the dealer and others with odd occurrences with the bikes components. I had my OEM thermostat go bad and I super heated mine in a spirited ride. I boiled out at 263 degrees at the top of a canyon. I started to lose power and then looked down at my gauges to see my worst thought of a new or newer bike with 5600 miles on it. That being said I will be the nervous Nellie here and say change the fluids minus the oil asap. Moisture still gets into the brake fluid, coolant does break down and the rubber parts get dry without use. If I had to do it over again I would have changed the brake fluid, drain the cooling system and put a new thermostat that was factory sealed. This info came from this site and I would have never thought about it.

Stay on the site and read the threads and you will get all of the info, suggestions, help and banter you need to keep you and the bike happy!

Stay safe and welcome again!

 

Well, I got this brilliant idea today to just call the dealer's service department and ask them about the history of the bike... They bought it from Honda on sale/closeout and it was prepped 4 months ago.

This is what having bad past experiences with dealer service departments does to you. And the clutch just takes some getting used to. It's got a lot of fluid in the reservoir compared to something like a Ducati with those tiny little cups of fluid. I'm guessing that's what gives it a bit of a harder pull.

 

That saves a lot of worries. Your service booklet will tell you when it needs to go back to the dealer for its post delivery inspection service. 500miles?

In the meantime you may be aware that there are two schools of thought about how to break in a relatively new engine.

Honda suggest you keep the revs down, ride smoothly without labouring the engine and only move to progressively using higher revs after a few hundred miles are passed, and the second option being to pretty much wring its neck - and break it in using all the revs range right from the start but importantly without staying for prolonged periods at any rev range. Having listened to a bunch of serious petrol heads on the ferry to the Isle of Man to participate in the races there was a strong belief that wring the neck is the right way if you want your bike to really loosen up the engine so it deliver as much power as the engine can.

Whichever option you choose - have fun.


SkiMad

 

She’s a beauty! Have you tried adjusting the clutch lever? IIRC there are 5 settings - perhaps one will make the pull better for you. I see you have the rear seat on - did they give you the rear cover pieces too? It’s fairly common for dealers to “forget” to give you the box with it especially when the bike has been sitting around for a few years.

Enjoy!

 

Congrats on the bike. Regarding the clutch feel, mine is quite heavy too, not what I expected from a hydraulic clutch.

Regarding the centerstand, I installed mine myself, here's my post about it: https://vfrworld.com/threads/2014-vfr800-centerstand-install.54847/

The OEM luggage (panniers) would be a good buy too. Enjoy the bike.