I bought a VFR today.

 I won't bore the group with the inspection results this time - suffice
it is to say I was satisfied with the results.  If all goes according
to plan, the bike will be in my careful clutches on Monday.

This will be my first modern (1998) bike.  The two bikes I owned before
that were both bult in 1983.  Let me tell you, what a difference!
There was progress in the motorcycle industry during  all those years.
I was first struck by this when test riding a VFR during a Honda demo
day a couple of years back, and it hit me again today during a test
ride the current owner graciously allowed me to take.

It goes something like this:  take off... shift into second... shift
into third, fourth...  the engine is barely above idle, everything's so
quiet , I must be going too slow...  glance down at the speedo:  GAH,
double the speed limit: 55 in a 25 zone!!!!   I slow down gently just
as a paked police car, officer inside, comes into view.  I coast by in
second gear doing exactly 25, making law-obedient faces inside my
helmet.

For the next four months, though, I'm riding like I'm my grandma.  The
VFR is twice as powerful as the next most powerful bike I owned, and
I'm coming back after a 3 year hiatus from motorcycling, so some
caution is in order.  It would really be a shame to put scratches onto
the pretty red paint.

Nikita.

 

Barely above idle in 4th doing 55mph?  That's some wide, wide gearing.  That
must be nice as you're racking up the miles.

--
Phil

 
Given the engine's 11.75 grand redline, the statement is not far out of line.
3rd gear pulls about 5500 rpm at 55 mph, fourth would be about 5000 rpm.
That's roughly the lower limit of the engine's design speed range. It's
well behaved at any speed above 3k rpm, but is meant to turn faster.

I don't usually see fit to wind mine up that tight, but some folks do.

Anybody interested in vfr's would do well to visit
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~john/vfr-list/

bob prohaska

 

 bob prohaska's usenet account wrote:

I guess the '98 is geared higher, then. My old '97 was doing 5500rpm in
4th gear at 55mph. But my Daytona's 2nd gear is as high as the VFR's
4th - 5500rpm at 55mph in 2nd gear.


Seconded. Very, very useful list. I sold my VFR a year ago, but I still
read the postings on that list once in a while.

-Gniewko

 

Congratulations on the new ride, Nikita.  New bikes are always fun.

Robert