'98 VFR800 = new perfection

by kevin
(raleigh, nc)

I've owned 12 bikes since my first one ('85 CB700SC).

I usually keep a bike for 18 months max because it just doesn't check all the boxes for me.

I am starting my 4th year on my VFR and everytime I ride it, I can't imagine selling it.

I also have a '07 BMW R1200s that I really love, but I can do everything on the VFR. Commute to work, check. Blast the back roads on the weekends, check. 12hr rides to the NC mountains and back, check. Act a little like I'm not 54, check.

I got mine from the original owner. He bought it the month he retired and kept it at his summer house in Massachusetts. When I found him out riding one day, the bike only have 6,080 miles on it. I asked him if he would be interested in selling it and to my surprise, he said yes. I was expecting him to give me some crazy price, but he only wanted $2,850. I asked him to follow me to the bank and I got a check cut that day. I followed him home and he said he wouldn't ride it again. 3 weeks later I had it shipped to my house in NC.

I've added a Sargent seat, Spiegler SS brake lines, Staintune low exhaust, Givi E360 panniers and a V47 top case. This weekend I will be installing some DMR cartridge kit in the forks and their 929 rear shock conversion.