VFR down!!

bmart · Post by **bmart** » Tue Sep 15, 2026 1:57 am

That's terrible. I'm so sorry this happened.

Dutch724 · Post by **Dutch724** » Wed Sep 16, 2026 4:22 am

Thank you.
The last piece I need is the headlight assembly. If anyone has a lead on one I would be grateful.
I just had a guy on VFR world try to scam me, saying he had a mint condition headlight.
good thing Paypal flagged the payment and stopped it.

tbzep · Post by **tbzep** » Thu Sep 17, 2026 10:10 pm

I can see why you want to keep it with all the stuff you've done to it. The obvious solution is to buy it back from insurance. You can decide later after you start your search for replacement parts if the bike gets restored or becomes the donor to another running 5th gen.

It looks like the tank is in great shape, so you could at least temporarily get one of the Chinese fairing kits to get you by until you collect a good set of red OEM plastics. If the Chinese red matches the tank close enough, you might even be happy with them after applying a decal or two. However, after looking at the price of the lone 5th gen headlight on eBay, you might be better off finding a well kept complete bike.

There is a red 1999 in Calhoun Ky and a red 2001 in Knoxville TN on FB Marketplace which got me to looking closer to your area. A red 1999 just got marked down to $3600 in Columbia, SC. It has a Givi top case and hard bags too. There is a 2001 three hours away in Murrells Inlet, SC for $3800 with a Devil twin side exhaust. It doesn't have current tags on it, so I bet you can get that price down after showing him the one with a full set of hard bags and top case in Columbia.

Considering what you will pay individually for all those parts plus shipping, a complete roadworthy donor bike might be just as economical and will be way quicker to get what you need.

Dutch724 · Post by **Dutch724** » Thu Sep 17, 2026 10:53 pm

Your not wrong.
I don't have FB market place, I'm unable to see those listings.
I really appreciate you taking the time to look. I would be interested in a VFR that has been not looked after just been sitting a while.
I do have a full set of plastics already on the way from UK. I have my paint guy standing by.
Putting this bike back together is going to be abou the cost of buying someone elses running bike. I have already sorted this bike all last winter.
If I was to buy another VFR then I will have to go through it and sort it all out. Meaning I would need to become intimate with it and know all its interworkings.
I really have a problem with throwing things away that can be fixed with a little time and effort. I'm not stuck in the money it is going to take to fix it, seeing the money is coming from insurance.
There is another idea I'm throwing around is fixing it up selling and buy a brand new bike. I have never owned a new one. This 2000 model is the newest bike I have ever owned. Maybe even a Harley.
I do like hearing everyones ideas. please keep them coming.

tbzep · Post by **tbzep** » Fri Sep 18, 2026 4:21 am

I didn't realize you already had plastics coming from overseas. I did see where you already sourced a dash. I was just thinking that by the time you bought everything you need separately and paid to ship it, it would be cheaper to buy a complete bike and pull the parts off of it. You'd then have the rest of the bike to keep as spares or to part out for someone else.

Dutch724 · Post by **Dutch724** » Sat Sep 19, 2026 5:00 am

tbzep wrote: Fri Sep 18, 2026 4:21 am I didn't realize you already had plastics coming from overseas. I did see where you already sourced a dash. I was just thinking that by the time you bought everything you need separately and paid to ship it, it would be cheaper to buy a complete bike and pull the parts off of it. You'd then have the rest of the bike to keep as spares or to part out for someone else.

Again, your not wrong. I just don't have a lot of places to store an extra bike inside. If I left it outside the spiders and mice will make a home out of it. If I was able to find one neglected and left outside for a decent price then I would be all over it. I'm going to check some of the bike junk yards around me to see what I can find.
I just sourced all the plastics the other day. I had to make a deal with the fellow in the UK that had a whole set. It took a couple of days and about $500. We came to an agreement. The dash I have sourced is from Texas and has been sitting in the sun a while the needles are a bit faded and the LCD is cooked. I have sourced another LCD thats in good shape.
I am still on the fence if the triple tree and forks need to be replaced or fixed. I'm thinking the front fairing took most of the hit. I will know more once the insurance gets here and inspects it. Can't dig into it until that happens.
I'm hoping to have a good set of extra parts to hang on to for years to come and if I never use them then I'm hoping they will find a good home with someone looking to restore one of these great bikes.
I'm having trouble letting this one go due to the sound of the engine. It sounds so sweet to me. I don't know of another bike that sounds so nice. The one I have runs so smooth I just love it.
When I first bought this bike I put in about $3500 in after market parts on it. I bought it and tried to bullet proof it as much as I could. It would be a shame to just move on from it. You can say I'm invested in it.
I am planning on taking some classes to make me a better defensive rider. This bikes feel is much heavier than I'm use to. I have been riding a Ex 500 for many years (15yrs) and I can throw that bike around much easier than this one. Which makes me want to be better at controlling it in a emergency situation.

tbzep · Post by **tbzep** » Sat Sep 19, 2026 1:43 pm

My buddy had an EX-500 when I was in college. I had an '86 VF-500F miniceptor. I rode his a few times. You went from a baby paint shaker to a sewing machine!

Dutch724 · Post by **Dutch724** » Sun Sep 20, 2026 2:58 am

tbzep wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2026 1:43 pm My buddy had an EX-500 when I was in college. I had an '86 VF-500F miniceptor. I rode his a few times. You went from a baby paint shaker to a sewing machine!

I sure did. Still have the EX500. It came to me in a box with all kinds of issues when I got it together. I learned a lot on that bike. How to work on them was the biggest thing I learned. I knew car mechanics, but that motorcycle had me digging deep into the everything I knew and then some. EX500 forum is gold for that bike.
It's killing me to not work on the VFR. I need to break down the front end to see how bad it really is. From looking at it closely it looks like the front fairing stay and took the major hit. The stay is destroyed with all the relays and the angle sensor is broken in half. I have an extra wiring harness I'm going to have to learn how to depin the plug connectors for the cluster and put on these spare ones I have. Never done that before.

bmart · Post by **bmart** » Tue Sep 22, 2026 12:34 pm

Buy another just like it with the insurance $. Buy it back cheap. Strip all of the good stuff for spares. Get on with life. You could be chasing little niggles like broken wire to ground issues for years.

Dutch724 wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2026 6:18 pm I understand what everyone is telling me finacially it makes sense to let the bike go to the junk yard. I'm not convinced that is the best path for me to take.

maxredline · Post by **maxredline** » Wed Sep 23, 2026 2:10 am

Major bummer bro. I bought a VFR that had been dropped by the guys girl friend. He said it was the worse day in his life.
I hope the fairing you are getting is OEM. I have found aftermarket fairings to be a joke.
I agree with others, buy the bike back cheap, strip the parts and find an even better example.

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