VTR 1000 stuff

**Dooly** · 24th April 2006, 09:07

Gidday, thinking of buying a standard VTR1000, a couple of years old, so will need to make some decent noise.

Any recommendations for new mufflers that sound neat, and should I do something to the carbs, like rejetting etc?
Anyone have an idea what the pipes etc would cost?

Also being a bit of an arthritic bloke will probably get some bar risers, can you buy them locally?

Opinions on the bike or experiences with them would be welcome.
Any major probs etc?

I rode a few years ago in '97 when they first came out, and from memory I thought they were good.

Cheers.

*Oops, meant to put this in the Sport/Touring forum*

**Fatjim** · 24th April 2006, 10:07

There now a 10 year old bike. I had to thrash the bastard a bit to keep up with the lads on Sunday and they were "only cruising". If I weighed around 30kg's less then that might have made a difference

Try and get one that has a sorted front end. If your a little on the porky side the front forks can hydrolic lock on curbs and railways even on low speeds. Not good when trying to stop in a hurry, even on a smooth road.

As for pipes, depends on your tastes. They came with free scorpions in '03 which sound loudish. So I'd say you best bet was an '03 with a sorted front end and scorpians. Hey, I happen to have one of those.

BTW either get braided lines or sinterred pads, or better yet both. Makes all the difference.

**Grizz** · 24th April 2006, 10:13

I can't comment on the mechanical side, however I love mine, even though it is the older model with the small capacity tank, if I was to replace it, I would get another one. The power delivery is smooth which gives a lot of confidence, and I am really comfortable with the handling.

Re the pipes I had mine done at Custom Chambers in Auckland, I can't see where you are from, so this may not be an option for you.

Below is the link to the thread after the pipes were done.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=20451

Good luck with the purchase.

**jonbuoy** · 24th April 2006, 10:58

Ditto on the pipes, mine are a bit loud and probably need re-packing. Nice on the road, not so nice when trying to sneak out early in the morning...

Check the charging system over - seems to be a weak spot - I had Reg and Gen failure, I've got a post on here somewhere about checks.

Ditto on the front forks - I think the later ones are better on that and have a bigger fuel tank.

I looked at a dyno jet kit but it seemed like it moved the power up the rev range, ie you loose some midrange. Thats my favorite bit about the bike so I don't think I'll be doing that.

Nice road bike, you can make some good progress on smooth roads. Very usefull power. Gets a bit out of shape on the bumps though (downright scary before I changed the springs...),I fitted hyperpro fork springs which have improved things a lot - no more bottoming out. I didn't do any re-valving, though it could do with a bit more damping than it has now.

Also check rear wheel bearings and steering head bearings. heavy landings.....

I also dropped the gearing as it always seemed a bit tall, way better on the road now.

Also mine cuts out under really heavy emergency stops - so not the best stoppie machine, I think theres a fix to stop carb surging but it hasn't bothered me too much.

Ditto on the braided hoses, especially if youre going to be taking a pillion.

Eats chains and rear tyres and fuel as any litre Vtwin will.

Pretty comfortable bike though (I'm 6'2'')

**jonbuoy** · 24th April 2006, 11:11

Forgot to mention - big service is at 30,000 KM's ish. Shims and cams out job and is farkin awkward to get at everything, best left to the shops unless you do that sorta thing every day.

Also Cam chain tensioners have been known to fail, they say its more likely to happen if you shut the throttle off from high revs. Honda say to replace tensioners at 30K or something, but people have had em fail sitting at the lights with only modest K's. I got some APE manual tensioners for less than the price of the Honda ones. They look a bit ugly though.

**_Gina_** · 24th April 2006, 11:12

And we were going to advertise it soon. 2003 Model with low milage.

It is very tidy, scorpy pipes, been looked after extremely well, can PM you details (incl photo's) if you haven't already tied into another bike?

Gg

**froggyfrenchman** · 24th April 2006, 11:19

I test rode one with twin black neptune cans on it last week. Its the best sounding vtr ive ever heard!

**Dooly** · 24th April 2006, 11:20

Originally Posted by girlygirl

And we were going to advertise it soon. 2003 Model with low milage.

It is very tidy, scorpy pipes, been looked after extremely well, can PM you details (incl photo's) if you haven't already tied into another bike?

Gg

Oh damn!

Confirmed the deal a few mins ago, but I'd be interested to have a look if it falls thru.

$7000 we agreed on.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...px?id=54330507

**Dooly** · 24th April 2006, 11:21

Thanks for the info guys, very interesting, and as usual here, very helpful!

**bungbung** · 24th April 2006, 14:00

You definitely want the newer version with the bigger fuel tank and sorted front end. Unless it's old and really cheap, you'll soon get sick of gassing up every 160km.

I agree the above comments on consumables

Cam chain tensioners, mine were replaced at 36000km with OE parts, I'm thinking one may need replacing again at 52000.

They eat rear tyres every 3000km (Sportecs)

Head bearings, rear wheel bearings replaced at 36,000km.

Regulator/rectifier replaced at 42000km with GSXR600 unit.

Old model front end is rubbish, I believe the newer model is much better in that respect. I had to replace warped discs at 32000km, I bought some EBC prolite discs and HH pads. The braking performance improved so much I don't think I'll bother with braided lines.

I'm 6'4", and would consider riser bars if I rode on longer trips, 95% of my riding is trips of less than 400km

**Dooly** · 24th April 2006, 14:18

I'm not really into long rides now, and probably will only do a maximum of 1-2000 Km per year (sad is'nt it).
I prefer to hoon around on my property on the dirt bikes but want something that I can take out for a spin when I need to clear my head, and having a company vehicle will prohibit using it to ride to work, so it could sit for a while now and again, in fact probably weeks.
Thats one of the reasons I dont want to spend a lot to purchase one.
7k I'm more than happy with for a '02 model.

**vifferman** · 24th April 2006, 14:29

The 2002 model will have the higher bars anyway, but if it's not enough, you may be able to pick up some GenMar risers (I bought the ones I had on my '97 on TradeMe for $100). Otherwise you could go to Motohaus and buy some Tomaselli clip-ons.
I echo what everyone else has said - the camchain tensioners are crap; either replace them regularly, or when the engine starts to get rattly. I replaced the new ones on mine with APE ones.
There's not a lot you can do to get extra horsies out of the VTR without spending lotsa money, so I wouldn't bother. Best thing you can do is a set of cans, shim the main jets, make sure the carbs are balanced and the idle set right (stops it cutting out on deceleration), and set the suspension up right. Oh - and the best mod - drop the gearing! VTR's are WAY overgeared for emissions/noise reasons, and benefit greatly from a one-tooth smaller countershaft sprocket, or 2 or 3 extra on the rear. If you go one tooth smaller on the front, and take two chain links out, it'll shorten the wheelbase and quicken the steering.

**jonbuoy** · 24th April 2006, 14:57

7K was a bargain - nice one.

**oldguy** · 24th April 2006, 19:56

Ive had no real problems with mine apart from the cam chain tensioners letting go. she is starting to get abit rattly now so will get them changed next service with the APE ones, only other thing is my rear shock started leeking oil so replaced it, The VTR's are very lazy in the steering so decided to go with an Ohlins unit, was the best thing i did the shock was custom setup for my weight and hight all I had to do was install it, no problem it now handles so much better turns quicker when I give it a bit of throttle it seams to drive harder out of corners not having to worry if the back is going to let go, I'm no racer but I feel more comfortable with it now, will save up and do the front end, also have a set of yoshi pipes they are loud but I love the sound they make, I ride it every day its no GSXer or R1 but I love it.