Hi from the Scottish Borders, I am a new member from the UK (Scotland) and have just bought myself a spiffy 1994 VFR750! (will attempt to post the obligatory photo below). I'm quite excited about it really, such a beautiful bike. I had just sold my blackbird and my winter commuting bike, a rusty old CB500, so the rebel 500 (my current commuting bike) and my pretty CB500s (that I love like a mother loves her first born) were all alone in the shed. I saw a VFR advertised kind of locally and went to see it on a whim. It was pretty good cosmetically and the guy I bought it from had a bunch of classic bikes all impeccably maintained, so although I wasn't technically in the market for a new bike I knew straight away I was buying it. Rode it 50 or so miles home and it rides beautifully except that the clutch slips a bit at 7.5k. Second ride on it was a 300 mile loop around where I live and I found that there is a horrid grinding sound at 4.5k whilst letting the clutch lever out on pulling away. If I pull away below this, at say 4 or 3k, no problems. My hope is that it's the clutch plates and I haven't bought a shiny bike with serous mechanical issues. Going to drain the oil (which is like new) and pull the clutch plates out of it for a look, though I've never done that before so will probably be scanning through these forums for all the info I can find! Anyway, sorry for the essay, here's where I try to post a picture! p.s. Anyone know what the sticker of the hand is?
Nice looking bike ….the clutch issue could be where the oil was changed to full synthetic from Dino oil …
Welcome to the Madhouse Balth. For a 28 year old VFR that certainly looks like it was someone's pride and joy. As you will soon discover red VFR are the fastest . Hopefully you can resolve the clutch issue and can soon get out and enjoy some of those fabulous empty roads in the borders area. Kudos for providing a photo with your first post. Have fun - ATGATT SkiMad
Thanks for the welcome. Got new clutch plates and springs today but hadn't considered it could be the oil. I'll change that first just in case! It is certainly fast, even if not the fastest.
Welcome to ownership of a truly great bike. Use semi- synth oil in these bikes. A complete, and very helpful, Honda Workshop Manual can be download from https://www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=2065
Thanks, most helpful. Especially as it's definitely the clutch! The friction plates are practically flat and the basket is quite groovy. Pic for reference.
Most parts available from Fowlers or your, not very local, Honda dealership. For obsolete parts try David Silver, John Oldfield or CMSNL.
seems like you might need to replace the grooved clutch basket as gear shifts wont be clean. you can try filing out the grooves, but better to replace. did you post the mileage? its very important to know when assesing problems. judging by the wear on the basket, id guess over 5O,OOO miles. i know it hurts, laddie, but thats gonna cost you some quid.
It certainly is. I didn't let it out in the winter, so it's been sitting in the shed during the road salt months, but is out now and running very well! The clutch plates were the original problem. I replaced the basket, playes, springs, added braided lines, serviced the cylinders and once that was done, and I'd managed to put it all back together the correct way (which took me a couple of tries) it ran like a dream.
good work then, lad, and ye saved enuff cash to enjoy a few rounds @ ye pub next time, ay ? how hany miles on that bike to wear oot the parts ? howd ye get ur great nut off ? love my '97 even though i havent ridden it in about 10 years
why cuz as im gittn older i prefer smaller, lighter bikes with less hp, not the sportsbikes i rode 20 years ago. its the beautiful "ferrari" i keep in the garage while i drive a practical civic or go about on a motorcycle, usuall my vtr250. for the type of city riding i mostly do, a lightweight v-twin VTR250@30 hp is more than adequate to get anybuddys ass across town. on a twisty rural road the gen4 is the best ive ever ridden, light years ahead of the '86 vfr i bought in 1990. the weight of it helps with high speed stability imo.
Very nice! I use a 2021 honda rebel 500 for my 60 mile ride to work and back, day in, day out. Also have a 600 bandit in the back of the shed that I really need to do something about before it rusts away. The VFR is my Ferrari too, it's my pleasure ride, but I prefer something lighter and smaller (shortarse here) for the commute. Something I don't mind scuffing up. To answer your earlier question, it had done 50k when I got it, which didn't seem like enough miles to mess the clutch up so badly, but I reckon the guy I got it from mainly rode it at low revs (4.5k to be exact) or highish at 7.5. I dunno though, maybe it's not so abnormal. Great bike though, absolutely love going out to play on it!
