Newbie from sw england

Hello to all, I'm about to get my first VFR, a 2014 VFR800F, as soon as my f####ing BMW is fixed enough to trade it in, never make that mistake again

I've had just about every European and several U.S. made motorcycles, pretty much any "classic" you can think of I've owned and some very special machines (ex Brooklands bronze engined Brough for instance), raced the buggers on dirt, shale, tarmac and cinders, Manx GP, all for the craic

Whilst I've worked on Honda and Yamaha race bikes, ridden them on tarmac, the RC30 was a beauty, but I never tried a Japanese one on the road, there was always a Laverda or Ducati to be had within my circle of friends

After the 2nd week of no suitable bike this month, I found myself looking at a CBR600 F2 parked outside Tesco, the owner appeared and quipped "wanna own it? ........£900", an hour later and I'm out on the road, 2 fill ups later I'm sold, so took a diversion to a local Honda dealers and there was this gleeming red VFR800F ..... I've got to have it

In the past 10 days I've put 2,300 miles on the CBR, I'd forgotten how much good suspension makes the ride less tiring, if license threateningly fast

So if the BMW isn't fixed by Wednesday (29 days after it went in for a warranty stalling issue) and can't be ridden then I'm buying the VFR cash and put the BMW on eBay or sell it for scrap

My current other bikes are a CCM R30 supermoto single bored out to 710cc and 1/2 race cam, eats tyres for a pass time (great bike but after 4 hrs it's too hard on my body, now), the CBR and a Gas Gas 125 trials bike, the VFR will fill a niche in that lot comfortably

 

I almost bought a F2 back "in the day" instead of the trusty viffer I ended up with. Funny thing with the F2 was that the tail section was missing two parts on the corners near the back of the seat from stress cracks, it reminded me of someone missing front teeth :loco:

I don't like the f2, f3 design on the cam cover as you have to remove the entire deal to get at the shims if need be. Vfr is a way better/solid bike imho

Welcome aboard!!!

 

Your gonna like the vfr. I put 24,000 miles on my 94 the first year I had it. Got 5500 on my new to me 02 in the last 2 months. My dealer just sold a 2014 in white with bags. Nice looking bike.

 

You will love the 14 VFR! If the pegs are a little too aggressive, there is a company here called Knight Designs that make a great lowering peg.

 

The deal is done, the BMW behaved itself enough to get me to the Honda dealership and it actually ticked over there (first time this year it's done that)

I've got a metallic black VFR800F with hugger, dark tint double bubble screen and accessory socket for my heated jacket that will be ready on July 10th:biggrin:

As it turned out I never managed to fit in a test ride, but I've yet to encounter a motorcycle I can't handle and sitting on it everything felt perfect, so it'll all be a new experience and one I'm really looking forward to experiencing

I'm looking for a tank bag, not too big, the 13L one Honda do looks good, any opinions?

 

Welcome aboard.

 

The weather played along with me and I collected the bike yesterday, it was about noon when I actually got on the road, straight into a 1/2hr crawl through roadworks, once out on the road, with the engine now definitely warmed up it was a joy to ride

After the first 20 miles the motor had loosened up and was a lot more responsive to a whiff of throttle, kept it below 5,000 for about 70 miles, then got out onto a decent stretch of highway and was giving it a quick burst up to 6,000 in 4th & 5th, cruising at 74 mph at 5,000 with the motor eager for more

Stopped for food and water at 96 miles, when I came back to the bike it all felt familiar now (and impressive), so took the revs up to just over 6,000 a couple of times and just once up to 7,000 at which point the VTEC cut in and bike suddenly took off with a growl rising from the motor

The Puig double bubble screen is excellent as is the Ermax hugger, parked next to a VFR at the dealership was one with the Honda one on, I'm glad I chose the Ermax now

Only pic so far is when the clock had 0 miles on it at the dealership, the sparkles in the black paint look wicked in the sunlight

Took it out for a quick 100 mile ride this morning, opened the throttle to 8,000 I'm really liking the way the VTEC cuts in

I can't fault the build quality of the bike, blows the BMW into the weeds, silky gearbox (no more clunks and missed 5th/6th changes), overall I'm really pleased with it, a keeper I think

 

500 Miles on and I'm beginning to use the VTEC, the engine is loosening up every mile and now the exhaust note has changed, it's got deeper and more pronounced

Effortless acceleration, slick gearbox and much better brakes than I'd expected (only ever had Brembo discs to compare), ABS is perfect

A joy to ride and remarkably easily to filter thorough traffic (lane splitting, which to totally legal in the UK)

All together I'm exceptionally pleased I bought it and got shot of the BMW F800ST

Some more photo's showing the Puig double bubble screen and Ermax hugger

 

That. Is. Awesome!

 

Hi Thumbs and welcome to the madhouse:welcome:!

I am glad the VFR is ticking the boxes. I think you are not alone in deciding to give up on an F800ST. Whilst you don't say how old your BMW was or why it was in the shop, I recall reading reports of issues (piston slap?) affecting early models which definitely put me off the brand.

As for the VFR it looks very smart especially with the aftermarket smoked screen. When you get time you may want to update your forum profile - to include the year/specs of your bike and an approximate location city/county (Forum Actions/Edit Profile). That way they will appear automatically alongside your posts, and if you need help you may find someone nearby willing to swing by and offer advice especially if you have a well stocked beer fridge.

Take care - ATGATT



SkiMad

 

:welcome: to the madness from across the pond mate :wave:
Congratulation :thumbsup: You pick the World best bike IMO (A gentlement bike) :wink:
What wrong with your BMW?

 

I bought the BMW new in 2013, pretty much the last ST produced, so in theory it had everything sorted

I paid full MSRP, had numerous extras (like a center stand at £280), the total came to over £9,000

From the day I got it the fuelling was wrong, it would stall at junctions, when changing down, etc, which I lived with in 2013 because I needed the bike all the time

When I eventually got the dealership to look at it, they couldn't find anything wrong ......... long story but after 3 separate attempts this year to resolve it (usually at least a week each time) it would still do it, so after a 31 day wait (nearly all of June) and BMW UK getting involved I got it back, 40 miles later it stalled

Turns out this is a common fault, there's still a lot of other ST owners trying to sort their own bikes out with the same problem, it seems it's even worse on the GS, even the 'new' GT has the problem and BMW refuse to admit the fault is widespread

The gearbox is "agricultural" and has loads of neutrals, 5/6th gear change is renowned fault, either not engaging or not being there, distinct and audible clunk with each change

Having bought the CBR600 I realised just what rubbish forks the BMW had on it, basically the same as my 1962 BSA (zero adjustment), so I took myself off to the various local motorcycle dealers and very quickly found the VFR was the only bike that ticked all the boxes, particularly when they offered me £1,500 more in p/ex than BMW did against a new boxer

The BMW is needlessly complicated (example - fit LED spotlights using existing plugs in the harness, it has to have the ECU reprogrammed before it'll recognise them)

I've never had so much trouble with any motorcycle, never mind a brand new one .... I still find myself checking the tacho on the VFR to ensure it hasn't died