What to look for on VTRs?

[Harry the Barstard]

Im thinkin of getting a VTR. Ive riden one and it could be the model for me. Only down side is i know nothing about them.

So any good info will be well recieved. Stuff like what to look for when buying, fuel ecconomy, bits that shit themselves early, what years are better than others, costs and flaws etc.

Also any good or bad experiances with them.

Cheers.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Im thinkin of getting a VTR. Ive riden one and it could be the model for me. Only down side is i know nothing about them.

So any good info will be well recieved. Stuff like what to look for when buying, fuel ecconomy, bits that shit themselves early, what years are better than others, costs and flaws etc.

Also any good or bad experiances with them.

Cheers.

They are a very forgiving bike, and some what dosile unless you work at it to wake them up. Heaps of low down torque which can be addictive which comes from the V-Twin and can be despective as you don't feel the pull as much but the speed keeps increasing...

You may concider getting a dyno kit install they become a slightly different bike then.

The motor is pretty prooven and solid (if it ain't broke don't fix it) Gear box 1st and 2nd gear can be clunky but thats a honda thing anyway

Get a later model (2002 up) they have the bigger fuel tank. I can do around 250 to 270ks to the tank but as soon as you start to play and work to wake her up you can watch the fuel being sucked and then we are only looking at odd 200ks

They are not the fastest Nor the slowest thing on two wheels, and although they are a forgiving bike they need to be "ridden" not just ridden to wake them up to have fun.

[MotoGirl]

Im thinkin of getting a VTR. Ive riden one and it could be the model for me. Only down side is i know nothing about them.

So any good info will be well recieved. Stuff like what to look for when buying, fuel ecconomy, bits that shit themselves early, what years are better than others, costs and flaws etc.

Also any good or bad experiances with them.

Cheers.

I owned the F2 model ('02) for three years I bought the bike brand new and never had anything crap out. This model had the slightly larger fuel tank than the previous model (19L I think mine had?) and the fuel gauge would generally start flashing around 220km.

My bike did everything I wanted it to, and the only thing I had changed was the shock to make the seat height 4cm lower. Other than that it was stock standard and I loved it right up to the day I low sided it at Taupo.

Like NighthawkNZ said, the VTR can be clunky between first and second. Mine used to crunch going into second (no other gear so it's not the operator!).

[jonbuoy]

I miss mine, great road bike, these are my experiences with one - really need a decent set of pipes to set the noise free - they sound loverly on the overun. Reg/rect crap out check its charging properly, soggy front forks on early models mine was pretty scary on bumpy corners over legal speeds when I got it, you may catch cam chain tensioner paranoia if you read through the VTR forums, I did and got a set of manual tensioners.
Check steering head/rear wheel bearings from wheelie action. Slightly over geared stock. Early tanks have piss poor range - 140Km's and you'll be thinking about looking for a servo. If I had kept it I would have done a CBR front end and Ohlins rear end conversion. Irridium plugs made a heap of difference.

Not heard of much else being a common problem. Not as mental as a TL or as sexy as a duke or RSV but Honda have been quietly churning these out for a number of years with not too many updates, they must be finding buyers for them.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

I miss mine, great road bike, these are my experiences with one - really need a decent set of pipes to set the noise free - they sound loverly on the overun. Reg/rect crap out check its charging properly, soggy front forks on early models mine was pretty scary on bumpy corners over legal speeds when I got it, you may catch cam chain tensioner paranoia if you read through the VTR forums, I did and got a set of manual tensioners.
Check steering head/rear wheel bearings from wheelie action. Slightly over geared stock. Early tanks have piss poor range - 140Km's and you'll be thinking about looking for a servo. If I had kept it I would have done a CBR front end and Ohlins rear end conversion. Irridium plugs made a heap of difference.

Buying mine second hand, the last owner had set it all up, did all the mods to mine and did all the hard work so I really can't comment to much on stock standard setup, but they can be a fun bike if you play and the thing I love about it is it can be dosile untill you kick it in the guts and say wake up girl twisties ahead...

[dangerous]

YO, go the VTR... I had the F3 and it was awesome the suspension is shit but usable. IMHO the Storm is a beter bike than the SV only cos its carbed and that makes it a lot of fun, when them big carbs dump a mouthfull of juce into the engine it hauls arse with a punch, unlike the injected bikes that are very lineal.
I had no problems, however they aint that good on gas but as long as you get the F2 on then you will still get up to 250ks max.

[Harry the Barstard]

stupid question but what year did the f2's come out?

[McJim]

What kind of VTR? SP1?

[dangerous]

stupid question but what year did the f2's come out?

two thousand and two

[Harry the Barstard]

I see what you guys are saying about the pipes. Im yet to see one for sale with stanard ones one. on. Ive also noticed some with upgraded oilers, is that also a common fault?

Also i take it that they are all still running carbs?

[Sidewinder]

a farm a tank two wheels a motor and a rider is all you need to look out for.

all up a loovely bike!


GO THE VTR

[98tls]

YO, go the VTR... I had the F3 and it was awesome the suspension is shit but usable. IMHO the Storm is a beter bike than the SV only cos its carbed and that makes it a lot of fun, when them big carbs dump a mouthfull of juce into the engine it hauls arse with a punch, unlike the injected bikes that are very lineal.
I had no problems, however they aint that good on gas but as long as you get the F2 on then you will still get up to 250ks max.

Dont mean to basterdize your thread here mate and yea go the VTR but just cant help but reply to Ds post,i agree with what your saying in general there D but one of the greatest pleasures ive had in my years of riding is the rush that kicks in at 6500 rpms on a TLS.....for an injected bike it is truely remarkable.

[dangerous]

I see what you guys are saying about the pipes. Im yet to see one for sale with stanard ones one. on. Ive also noticed some with upgraded oilers, is that also a common fault?

Also i take it that they are all still running carbs?

I had scorpions bit loud but wicked sound.
What do you mean by 'upgraded oilers' ? never heard of that.
Yip all carbs, the storm has bearly changed since 97, bit of a pity however the SP1 - SP5 are all injected.

Dont mean to basterdize your thread here mate and yea go the VTR but just cant help but reply to Ds post,i agree with what your saying in general there D but one of the greatest pleasures ive had in my years of riding is the rush that kicks in at 6500 rpms on a TLS.....for an injected bike it is truely remarkable.

I never mentioned the TL, they are a diferent bike to the SV... and I like em, but not for touring on... the TL is a beter bike for what it ws designed but the VTR is a beter alrounder.

[Fatjim]

Pretty standard mods are

pipes
Jet
front braided lines and sintered pads
suspension (front and rear) including spacers above rear shock.

Pre 2001?? had dodgy Reg/Rec's and Cam Chain tensioners, both can be fixed and if they go wrong just tend to leave you stranded, although the Reg/Rec may fry your battery. You'd be hard pressed to find a pre 2001 which hasn't had these fixed, but ask for reciepts or eyeball them. The newer CCT has a red dot on it, not sure if you can see it without stripping the bike. PM me if you want me to have a look on mine. The original Reg/Reg should be obvious due to looking old. It's attached under the seat to the subframe.

Look for one thats had the forks done, although this seems to be rare in NZ. Lots of '03's came with scorpions free, but where not re jetted, Scorpion say it doesn't need it.

They stopped making the best colour (Yellow) before 2001, the next best was a matt black, although I suspect it shows scratches pretty well.

You should be able to pick up an 03 for around 7-8k depending on the millage.


Good forum is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VTR_List/ although most have changed bikes as you do. Pretty loyal lot with answers to all question if you can't be bothered using the search key.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

I see what you guys are saying about the pipes. Im yet to see one for sale with stanard ones one. on. Ive also noticed some with upgraded oilers, is that also a common fault?

Also i take it that they are all still running carbs?

Yes they are all carbs... Not sure what you mean by upgraded oilers though... Do you mean Scott oiler? I have a Scottoiler on my vtr its just for automatically oiling the chain fits to any by with a chain final drive... nothing more... gives extra ks to the chain and sprokets... and I just lasey at remembering to oil them manually :Slap: