Scotts Steering Damper installed! :)

I would set up sag and see where the stock springs are at if you weigh more the 180+ you mite want to consider replacing the springs - my guess would be bike balance is not quite there due to suspension not set up correct and bump unsettled the bike in mid corner.
VFR is capable of braking while leaned into the corner but you need to ease off of it not to unload the front end while rolling on the throttle.

Kieth Code has video on how to set sag on youtube or search " how to set up motorcycle suspension " online and also Sportbike Suspension Tuning
by Andrew Trevitt is a great book on subject. I think the book is a must have and a great read.

 

Setting your sag and rebound damping will help immensely, but if you ride hard at all, doing upgrades will be a whole new world & level of riding for you.

 

Sorry, forgot to add - if you meant exaggeration on the crash, well, it was about 10mph into a brick wall. Basically front fairing, right fairing, headlamps and oil radiator, front wheel, front tire all shredded.

But the insurance company came and totted up all the other minor scuffs and cracks and decided it was less hassle to write off. This says more about the OEM rip off on plastics than the severity of the accident. I just brushed myself down and took the bus home.

 

Ah, I know a VFR can do a lot, but the thing in my mind is the cost of the fairings (or loss of limbs) if you get it wrong by a whisker. I can crash my car at 10mph and a panel beater will fix it up for $200. On my bike, $200 is probably the price of an OEM "Honda" sticker :wink:. I always buy new bikes on the grounds that second hand ones have inevitably been thrashed or crashed. This tends to make you play safe (and even then that didn't help me with the headshake! - my first ever insurance claim).

I guess I need to buy a 10 year old, second hand naked 600, make sure it has decent brakes/tires and just resign myself to a few replacement gear switches/indicators now and then (and the odd broken finger)... I would never have learned how much I could do with my car, if I hadn't learned to drive one without ABS/TCS and had to ask a few farmers for a push back onto the highway...

 

Too bad you don't live closer, would be more than glad to help you set your suspension.

And did you spend some time in the U.S.? You write like you are talking to us LOL!

BZ

 

You're always welcome to come to Poland and help me set it up! Some great twisties on the 500 mile ride to Budapest! Also maximum penalty for speeding is $200, even for 140mph in a 35mph zone. No jail, ever :thumbsup: And anyway, police use X-band so you can detect them 10 miles away:wink:!

Spent one day in the US (NY state) then went back to my holiday in Canada.

 

Put some Race-Tech springs and gold valve kit in the front if you want a brand new feeling VFR, did that to mine and WOW what a difference it made. Now if I could just save up enough money for that Ohlins rear.....

 

Im blown away on how shitty the stock setup is, however being that this is a touring bike you would think they would engineer some extra leeway of adjustments or something considering the extra weight these things are meant carry like side cases, luggage, passenger, etc. I got more adjustability on 750 and that's only meant to carry 1 person and no luggage.

 

that is cause your gixxer is more track orientated, and the suspension adjustments can be set to best suit each track.
Just remeber it is all useless if not set up right to begin with.

 

+1 :thumbsup:

 

Yea and mine is all setup.:crazy:

 

Viffer that was a general statement - not a shot at you
but yes I am crazy:thumbsup:

 

Not to get too off topic here:

I know that Race Tech can also rebuild your rear shock. Runs in the area of $300. Forgive me if I'm naive, but I though an Ohlins ran around $1,000?

 

I got mine for about $600 on ebay, new.

 

If me and the gang can make a tour of Eastern Europe, sounds like a plan!

Peace brother!

BZ

 

It isn't a touring bike, the GoldWing is a touring bike, even a sports tourer isn't quite right. More like an extended range sport bike. The VFR historically has not carried a lot of extra weight, like side cases and top boxes, they weren't even offered until recently, and even then if you read the manuals have really really low weight limits to them. They aren't really intended to be loaded up like a Winebago, and Honda knows that isn't the way the vast majority of them are used.

 

For the Gen 6 VFR, there are at least 3 Ohlins rear shocks availible, they differ in price from abut $600 to about $1,200 I beleive and bells and whistles.

 

Thats definitely an intense picture! I dont have the balls to lean anywhere near that far!

as far as the suspension adjustment goes...owners manual says to set the rear preload to one of the settings 3-7 for any weight over 200lbs...it ships set at 2. I'm 240lbs, so it needed more preload for sure!
I upped mine to 4 the other day and turned up the rebound a little bit. I turned the preload on the fronts up almost to the last line on the adjustment. The bike feels a lot better...a lot more responsive to inputs, doesn't bounce like a Cadillac when driving over bumps.

I'll check out some videos on setting the sag. :wink::thumbsup:

Looking at doing an RC51 front end and 954 rear shock too :biggrin:

 

Yes, incredibly, this picture actually changed my life. I was hours away from buying a ZX14 (ZZR1400) before sense prevailed - I recalled the picture and understood that I had nowhere near reached the boundaries of the VFR.

So I've just come back having bought another VFR - fourth in a row now!, but when I collect on Tuesday it will have a Scott's damper pre-installed, so hopefully ray2: no more shimmies (and unscheduled interactions with walls:redface.

The first thing I do will be to set the suspension as you say, regardless of the damper. With fairings this expensive, it appears to be utter madness not to do it.