New VTR owner
05-10-2016, 05:07 PM
#1
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Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 32
New VTR owner
Just picked up a very nice VTR last weekend. So far I am absolutely loving it. I have been on Hondas since the mid 90's. CBR's were my thing and I toured a lot on them too, many trips from east TN to the outer banks, Myrtle Beach and Panama City with nothing but a 600cc rocket and a backpack. Then moved up to a 02 VFR800 and it was nice but I just lost the fire inside to ride and ended up selling it around 2008.
Then one spring a few years ago it came back and I tried a Cruiser (Intruder 800) ...it didn't take. 2 years and only 1500 miles. I just didn't care for a cruiser so 2 weeks ago I sold it and started looking for a big CBR, RC 51 maybe another VFR(yeah I'm partial to Hondas).
I stumbled across this 98 VTR and I couldn't ignore the condition of it. The owner was just like me...OCD **** to a fault. I ended up buying it with 22k miles and I offered him 3k which he took. I knew full well these bikes were under appreciated and this bike would normally fetch 2500 or so but the sheer condition and upkeep was worth it to me. All 100% original plastic with not one single blemish and since I do paint and body work I can spot that stuff. It didn't even have one touch up mark and these were OE fairings.
It was all stock except for the DelKevic slip ons (which he had the originals too) and the manual CCTs. Normally I bob the rear fender and maybe do some cosmetic anodized bits and maybe a tinted windscreen but I can't bring myself to tamper with a time capsule. It made it 19 years like this and I'm not going to mod it.
So far I love the engine...it actually rides and feels much like a VFR minus the V-Tec hit at 7k. I never cared much for half fairing bikes but this one really appeals to me. It almost has a old school cafe racer look to it. I can't describe how good it felt being back on a sportbike after a 8 or 9 year absense. Luckily I kept my leathers...once you find leathers that work you just don't want to part with them. Anyway, looking forward to learning about the big Honda twin.
Here are a few pics after I detailed and cleaned what little dirt there was left on it:
Then one spring a few years ago it came back and I tried a Cruiser (Intruder 800) ...it didn't take. 2 years and only 1500 miles. I just didn't care for a cruiser so 2 weeks ago I sold it and started looking for a big CBR, RC 51 maybe another VFR(yeah I'm partial to Hondas).
I stumbled across this 98 VTR and I couldn't ignore the condition of it. The owner was just like me...OCD **** to a fault. I ended up buying it with 22k miles and I offered him 3k which he took. I knew full well these bikes were under appreciated and this bike would normally fetch 2500 or so but the sheer condition and upkeep was worth it to me. All 100% original plastic with not one single blemish and since I do paint and body work I can spot that stuff. It didn't even have one touch up mark and these were OE fairings.
It was all stock except for the DelKevic slip ons (which he had the originals too) and the manual CCTs. Normally I bob the rear fender and maybe do some cosmetic anodized bits and maybe a tinted windscreen but I can't bring myself to tamper with a time capsule. It made it 19 years like this and I'm not going to mod it.
So far I love the engine...it actually rides and feels much like a VFR minus the V-Tec hit at 7k. I never cared much for half fairing bikes but this one really appeals to me. It almost has a old school cafe racer look to it. I can't describe how good it felt being back on a sportbike after a 8 or 9 year absense. Luckily I kept my leathers...once you find leathers that work you just don't want to part with them. Anyway, looking forward to learning about the big Honda twin.
Here are a few pics after I detailed and cleaned what little dirt there was left on it:
Last edited by DeLoreanBoy; 05-10-2016 at 05:11 PM.
05-10-2016, 05:15 PM
#2
Thread Killer
SuperBike
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Geneseo, IL
Posts: 2,017
Not going to mod it...well, OK, then you better stay off this forum or you'll end up with a bad case of OCMD. You're already three letters on your way.
Very clean, very nice. Welcome to the forum.
Very clean, very nice. Welcome to the forum.
05-10-2016, 06:09 PM
#3
Moderator
MotoGP
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gettysburg, Pa
Posts: 5,072
Welcome. Sure is a clean one! One thing that stands out... these bikes are known to have very soft fork springs. If you are not familiar with how to properly set up sag, check out this link - how-set-sag. Reason I mentioned it, it appears as if your preload adjusters are up pretty far. Well, I guess you may be 110# wet lol!
05-10-2016, 06:11 PM
#4
Rex Kramer-Thrill Seeker
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Brookfield, WI
Posts: 2,312
Man, that is a clean Superhawk! Give it a couple more rides and you'll find the suspension isn't the best, so you'll remedy that, and the R/R needs to be replaced to a MOSFET type, and while you're at it... OCMD.
05-10-2016, 06:12 PM
#5
Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 32
Thanks. I need to go through the suspension and reset everything to factory settings and begin to feel it out a little. I don't ride like I used to and this is going to be ridden gently. I'm 180 and the PO looked to be right around the same but still better to start with factory settings and go from there rather than build on someone else's settings.
05-10-2016, 09:05 PM
#7
That one guy
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Broken Arrow
Posts: 228
Welcome. That's a beautiful find! Have fun and she will treat you good. I second CruxGNZ about the R/R mod. I fried mine last year and luckily for me Mat had a spare but it's known to be one of the biggest problems with the VTR.
Glad to see the VTR sparked the embers of the fire.
Glad to see the VTR sparked the embers of the fire.
05-11-2016, 06:13 AM
#10
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Squid
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Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 32
I'm going to have to visit the mods page. I'm all about correcting factory flaws such as the CCT issue. Did the same on most all of my past Hondas around the 15k mark but I understand on the VTR it can fail and cause serious damage. I was really referring to cosmetic mods and unnecessary "performance" modifications. I'm no purist by any means.
Last edited by DeLoreanBoy; 05-11-2016 at 07:18 AM.
05-11-2016, 08:25 AM
#11
Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 189
Looks fantastic - I weigh 180, and swapping to 0.90 kg fork springs and fresh oil really helped control dive under braking. Added a 6mm shim between shock and frame, raised the forks 10mm in the clamps, RR from a ZX-6, and braided steel front lines = super canyon carver. Hopefully that's not too OCMD for you!
05-11-2016, 09:10 AM
#13
Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 32
Well my wife says I'm OCD with everything that has wheels and often jokes she is going to put wheels on our house so I will treat it as good as the garage.
I will hopefully get some mileage In this weekend. I will "reset" the suspension settings and put the cold tire pressures at normal...I believe the PO bumped them a bit.
So I'm guessing it means Obsessive Compulsive Mod Disorder?
I will hopefully get some mileage In this weekend. I will "reset" the suspension settings and put the cold tire pressures at normal...I believe the PO bumped them a bit.
So I'm guessing it means Obsessive Compulsive Mod Disorder?
Last edited by DeLoreanBoy; 05-11-2016 at 07:05 PM.
05-11-2016, 09:19 PM
#23
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Squid
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Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 32
LOL, like I said. I'm not against safety mods or things the factory fauted on.
Now if the handlebar switch pods were all faded out (like most are at this age) or if it bad a bump and bruise here and there then I would change my tune and be looking at anodized levers, caps, tire huggers and since I do paint t and body, dreaming up a ultra cool color scheme and maybe a large lower belly fairing. Thing is this bike is just flat out mint and when a sportbike approaches 20 years old and still looks like this, it just has a certain charm to it to look stock and unmolested.
I don't have any delusions however, this bike is never going down in the books as a collectors bike so blinging it up a little is a no harm/no foul kind of thing but for me it just looks cool as is.
Now if the handlebar switch pods were all faded out (like most are at this age) or if it bad a bump and bruise here and there then I would change my tune and be looking at anodized levers, caps, tire huggers and since I do paint t and body, dreaming up a ultra cool color scheme and maybe a large lower belly fairing. Thing is this bike is just flat out mint and when a sportbike approaches 20 years old and still looks like this, it just has a certain charm to it to look stock and unmolested.
I don't have any delusions however, this bike is never going down in the books as a collectors bike so blinging it up a little is a no harm/no foul kind of thing but for me it just looks cool as is.
05-12-2016, 06:25 AM
#24
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MotoGP
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gettysburg, Pa
Posts: 5,072
All good DB, we like to have a little fun here and there. Like I mentioned above, if (when) you feel your front bottom out on harsh bumps, turn them preload adjusters in. A spring swap made a ton of difference, so consider this an area the OE messed up on, and it's a safety issue (justification for the wife hehe).
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