What should I do with my VFR?

[Coyote]

Geez Daniel, all these things can be fixed in your spare time.

Tell the truth - your girlfriend wants you to get a nice tidy Toyota doesn't she?

Keep it. And learn to fix it. Ignore your parents bleating on as well. Or bring it round to my house and I'll fix the bloody thing (eventually).

BTW have you finished reading my Burt Monroe book yet?

Shit, forgot to give your book back. Sorry, I kept it in good condition, never got a chance to read it sadly. You can have it back whenever.

I'm getting a Haynes manual when Capital Books are open (possibly today). Parents are loaning me the cash for it.... total owed to them is now $600 or so, lost count. A lot of the things fixing require more free time than I have since I need to commute on it and more money than I have which is nil. Unless warped brake disk is a simple matter of whacking it with a hammer.

The girlfriend wants her own bike

Fork seals are going out I'm pretty sure. If you're keen to give that a shot I'll bring the bike and book around sometime. Get the headbearings sorted too.

[Coyote]

All sounds pretty normal for an older bike,

Funny none of the VFR purists told me that before I bought the thing. They were all "yeah, yeah, it'll last forever, they're reliable as hell".

Y'know , there's a sort of art in old bike riding. In knowing what *needs* to be fixed, versus what *should* be fixed.

Y' sort of need to accept the old bike like y' would y' grandfather. Not everything is perfect any more. But there's a difference between the imperfact that calls for a fast trip to the emergency ward, and the imperfect that just calls forth a complaint about getting old on cold mornings.

If something's wrong that might fail and kill you, yes, you must fix that. Or if it's so gutless that it can't even get up that hill. Or if something's worn that may break and leave you stranded 500km from home, you need to look at that.

And so on. Sounds to me that maybe you are demanding a state of mechanical purity that isn't really practical.

Me, I'd keep it. But I wouldn't spend any more money on it. Or, not much. Only what *had* to be spent.

So far everything I've fixed has been due to a warrant tester saying so. Front disks, windscreen, rear disks, rear shock, tyre that burnt up to quick due to the shock, etc. And I don't think the brakes shuddering when braking for the lights, or worse, going into corners and the front end threatening to cave in, is considered demanding for mechanical purity.

This wasn't meant to be a restoration project. It was meant to be the cheap bike that replaced my RG150 which was also unreliable that wasn't exactly what I wanted but I needed something to get me around.

Get yourself a proper quote on what it will cost to make it reliable note the emphasis on reliable.

I doubt your rear shock has to be rebuilt, likewise the front forks, just wipe them down before the WOF if they are only just slightly weeping.

Try some wreckers in Oz or perhaps the States get yourself a new can.

Keep an eye on your oil level and don't thrash it out, your smokey engine will probably go for a lot longer than you might expect.

The rear shock lost all it's oil and was bouncing around. When accelerating from a corner the rear end would chatter as the wheel couldn't grip to the ground. Made for some fun drifting, but wasn't safe with the girlfriend on the back. I've already rebuilt it, got it done cheaply by my mates at the local bike store but since they took forever the battery died and the whole situation cost more than sending the shock to Robert Taylor to get it done right and quick.


As I said, fucked bike means I have something to fix. Ought to keep it just for that. Should learn a lot. Still need to get a second vehicle to move around on before tearing the VFR to pieces.

[megageoff76]

Are you sure the discs are warped? I had a CBR400 that would shudder under braking, which I bought new discs for only to discover that it was actually a buckled front wheel causing the problem.

[scracha]

Bah.

Sorry, short tempered.

That's OK. I forgot to rub in the stupidity of buying an old bike on finance.

Mate, whoever talked you into buying a high revving 15 year old jap V4 as an inexpensive commuter bike needs shot.....especially at the stupid prices they go for in New Zealand. This is what happens when you take advice from Skidmark.

I seem to remember Sketchy Racer telling you that your RVF was an overpriced piece of shite. If you're not mechanically minded then why didn't you take someone more experienced with you when you purchased it. Just to cheer you up, the new oner of my VFR750 (you remember, it was in the VFRPS for a sniff over 2K) has done quite a few tours on it and hasn't had a thing go wrong with it.

It's called shiny bike syndrome and most of us have been there. HTFU. Fix the thing up, flick it to someone on Tardme and buy a cheapo and bombproof air or oil cooled bike (Bandit springs to mind).

[Deviant Esq]

It's things like this that scared me off buying a near 20 year old 400 (at an inflated price), and influenced my decision to buy an under 10 year old 600 instead (at a not much higher price with all the maintenance done). Also having test ridden a VFR400 (NC30) and thinking "hmm, feels like a 250 with a little more poke..." - the benefits of getting your full before upgrading.

At the end of the day though, the end price of an NC30 compared with a more modern 600 is dependant on how well it was maintained before you bought it. It's this factor, the "how much extra will I need to spend once I get it home" factor, that caused me to go to such pains to have the bike I was considering thoroughly checked out before I went through with the purchase - I too have had my share of lemons in my life, and like you, at the time, my finances could not cope.

Also, the type of person that owns a bike like an NC30 (broad generalisation of course) in many cases doesn't have the means to look after it properly, often being younger and poorer, either spending all their money or worse, being a student, whereas the owner of a more modern 600 may well be a bit older and with a bit more disposable income... also more inclined to look after their newer machine.

Many VFRs give their owners no problems at all and are well known for lasting well... the unfortunate situation here, to put it simply, is that you wound up with a lemon. If it looks good cosmetically though, you should still get over $3k for it on trademe - there are plenty there who'll buy on emotion, the "I want it must have it" factor, and won't get it checked out beforehand. Let the buyer beware!

[HungusMaximist]

Cut your losses, just get ridd of the damm thing if you can't afford to keep her.

Just letting it sit there is costing you a whole of grief and plus you're wasting your productivity just by being on here asking for advice where you could be amping your CV or looking for jobs.

When you do get 600 hundy a week job, you don't need to worry about all this shit and by then you'll probably have yourself a new and better bike.

[FilthyLuka]

you wan't my oppinion? Keep it untill you get new work, fix it up while you are paying it off. Once its all payed off, if it still isn't up to scratch, flick it off, or if it is, keep it.

If you flick it off, head down to your local suzuki dealer and pick up a new DR400SM (they are like $7995 now) on finace, or a DR650 for a bit less... and Wallah! Good commuter bike

Warped discs? Large plate and a hammer. Fork seals? You have a vice don't you? Do em yourself. Wee bit of smoke? Extra uppercylinder lubrication never hurt anyone. Hell, i know of a dude that owned an old Z750 kwak twin that got a cap of 20-50 every tank full just for that reason. Busted rear shock? Robert Taylor.

[mark247]

If i was in your position id sell it. But thats just me. All these problems with it are very minor, other than the smokey engine which could be expensive. It sounds like you bought a dud. My vfr400 has nearly 50,000km on it and its running like new. Doesnt burn or drip any oil. You could possibly sit back, buy a cheap as commuter scooter for like $500 to get around, then save up some doe and when you got the cash either fix up your bike, or get another better quality VFR and use your one as a parts bike? Up to you i guess. If you are sick of the damn thing, which is sounds like you are, i would flog it off and cut your losses. meh.

[xwhatsit]

Nothing that's too wrong with it. I got myself into a similar situation with my bike, but unlike you, I didn't have any money, so had to learn to bodge and bash things. You sound like you've had just enough money to prevent yourself from being inventive.

First thing I did, having no other option but to leave it in the garage or catch the bus, was to buy a manual. Ixion's right, you have to learn how to use your brain instead of throwing money at the thing. Hell, even now, you're buying a brand-new manual from a book-shop?! I got mine for a few dollars on eBay UK. Your philosophy is all wrong, lol.

[mark247]

I have the pdf version of the NC30 manual on my computer, if you want it give me an email address and ill send it to you.