VFR1200 Project

[Kev250R]

It's a long story I don't really need to get into here but basically one of my friends got charged with selling-off someone's possessions and he asked if I'd be interested in one of the guys motorcycles. I told him no as I am beyond my limit for storage of anything mechanized right now (I'm currently building an industrial rack in my garage so that I can stack two of my Quads and free-up some floor space so I'll have someplace to park the Dax I put a deposit down on earlier this week). Then he tempted me with offers of free tools and some other things which I was interested in and have room and use for, so I went over.

The bike he wanted to sell me is a 2010 Honda VFR1200f. I know less then nothing about these bikes or this type of bike in general. However looking it over it looks really good. 7,300 miles, never been dropped, lots of accessories and upgrades. It hasn't been registered and likely not ridden since '19 but has always been garaged. Looking around this bike was the nicest thing at this house and appeared to have been the guy's prize possession.

All that aside, I have no need (or space) for a bike like this. Earlier this month I sold my KTM Duke because I'd decided that Sport Bikes just don't fill a need I have in my life right now (though I have nothing against people who like them). My friend though kept chiding me to make an offer and pulling more parts and accessories out of boxes that go with the bike. The battery was long-dead but I carry a Jump Box in my truck and was able to power-up the electronics using that. I verified it's mileage. I'm assuming the gas is 5+ years old so despite requests from everyone else who was there to see if it would start or even crank I didn't as I really don't want old gas to go through a modern fuel system.

I spent an hour looking the bike over and eventually made my friend a crazy low-ball offer. He said he'd need to run it past the bike's owner and would let me know. An hour later he called and asked me how soon could I come and get the bike. I'm getting it Monday after work since it's easier for me to haul large, heavy bikes on my low-deck trailer then it is in the back of my truck.

This will (hopefully) be a quick project for me. My plan is just to get it registered, running and sell it. I have no inside space for it and already have a large-displacement (990 KTM) which I rarely ride.

I'll post updates as the project goes. Here's a couple of pics

 

[Kev250R]

Quick update, tonight we brought the VFR home! We decided to trailer it, despite only being 5 miles from my house. Once in my garage a buddy and I looked the bike over pretty well. The bike came with the factory side cases and a box of other parts and pieces plus a couple of battery chargers and a Washer & Dryer we're likely going back for later LOL!

After giving the fuel in the tank a thorough sniff test and deciding it was probably fine for testing purposes, using a battery charger as a jump starter we cranked it over and it (eventually) fired-up! It settled into a smooth idle after a couple of minutes. It needs a battery and a basic service but it looks like a solid bike. Next hurdle is to register it then clean it up then it'll be on the market. Unless I fall in love with it in which case I'll have to make more room in my garage. Here are some pics from tonight with it hanging-out with it's new bestie, my Trail which as luck would have it also has a dead battery LOL!

 

[Kev250R]

Just realized I never updated this thread.

So with the bike running I invested in a new battery, 4 Quarts of oil and a new spin-on oil filter.

Getting it registered was about as fun as I expected; the bike had close to $1,000 in late fee's and penalties. I've played this game before though and know a good Registration Service in my area which was able to get those fee's knocked-down to just under $400 so within a week of having it running it was again legal for the street and running pretty well.

I did siphon most of the old gas out and replaced it with fresh 91 Octane. I rode it a few times around town but it never felt comfortable to me. However the power from the engine was addicting! It is hands-down the best looking bike I've ever personally owned, however I really didn't have room for it (it lived in my driveway under a cover).

I knew I was going to sell it but didn't want to hassle with people coming-over who may or may not know how to ride a bike like this (it pushed me to the limit of what I was comfortable doing on a bike). I tried the word of mouth thing, but people seemed to think that since I'd gotten a screaming deal on the bike (along with a lot of risk) that I would give the bike away, which I wasn't interested in doing. I also wasn't interested in listing it on Craigslist or Cycle Trader since I didn't want to deal with the hassle that sometimes brings.

Long-story short I eventually listed it on the auction site Bring-A-Trailer a couple of weeks ago and it sold last Thursday! The new owner flew-in last night, I picked him up at the airport and thirty minutes later he rode away on his new-to-him bike!

Will I miss it? Honestly, no. Had I the space to store it indoors I might have kept it and played around with different types of handlebars and might have eventually found a way to make the bike comfortable for me, though maybe not. My other large bike (KTM 990 Adventure) I do find comfortable but rarely ride it. So having a second large bike collecting dust, eating up registration and insurance payments doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

In the end I was super-please with the selling process. I'm happy with what I sold the bike for (the sale of this bike basically paid for my Dax, which was sort of the intention all along) and a guy who splits his time between the US and Europe now has a pretty cool bike to ride when he's here!