A picture a day....biker banter (Vol 4)
Discussion
podman said:
Spent most of today doing my best to make my VTR look more presentable with a variety of potions and some wire wool, a going over with some some brushes on my Dremel and scotchbrite pads
Some before and afters.
Taken some years off it I think.
Belly pan had years worth of s
te in it which took some time to clean off but overall its come up much better I think.
Harpic ( the black anti limescale stuff ) is what you want for your header pipes. Brings them up a treat with minimal scrubbing. Some before and afters.
Taken some years off it I think.
Belly pan had years worth of s
te in it which took some time to clean off but overall its come up much better I think.Very kind, to be honest my bike is in tip top condition anyway as its only got 6k on it. But its good to read how you clean your bike and what you use.
podman said:
rat840771 said:
Wow, will you come and clean my bike and house please?
Ill be happy to do your bike mate (seriously) but house cleaning is an essential, not so much of a pleasure eh?!cbmotorsport said:
podman said:
Spent most of today doing my best to make my VTR look more presentable with a variety of potions and some wire wool, a going over with some some brushes on my Dremel and scotchbrite pads
Some before and afters.
Taken some years off it I think.
Belly pan had years worth of ste in it which took some time to clean off but overall its come up much better I think.
Some before and afters.
Taken some years off it I think.
Belly pan had years worth of s
te in it which took some time to clean off but overall its come up much better I think.Harpic ( the black anti limescale stuff ) is what you want for your header pipes. Brings them up a treat with minimal scrubbing.
rat840771 said:
Very kind, to be honest my bike is in tip top condition anyway as its only got 6k on it. But its good to read how you clean your bike and what you use.
Yes, your bike doesnt need that kind of clean, its mint I know, believe it or not, this VTR only has around 6,500 miles on it but the previous(owner(s) must have used it in the wet and garaged it without ever cleaning it properly.podman said:
rat840771 said:
Wow, will you come and clean my bike and house please?
Ill be happy to do your bike mate (seriously) but house cleaning is an essential, not so much of a pleasure eh?!This Honda build quality perception ended some years ago IMHO as both this, Mrs Ps CBR and the VFR I briefly owned are in a far worse a condition, especially around the forks/brakes area, than my old GSXR1000 with a similar mileage , age and use. I took an Africa Twin with a few hundred miles on the clock out on demo last year and both the rims and spokes where already badly corroded.
The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
podman said:
This Honda build quality perception ended some years ago IMHO as both this, Mrs Ps CBR and the VFR I briefly owned are in a far worse a condition, especially around the forks/brakes area, than my old GSXR1000 with a similar mileage , age and use. I took an Africa Twin with a few hundred miles on the clock out on demo last year and both the rims and spokes where already badly corroded.
The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
Agreed, but the GSXR1000 is Suzuki's premium product wheras VTR and CBR are not. The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
VFR should have been better but all of them suffer on rwu fork outers paint, fork stanchion chrome (lower spec), camchain tensioner, regulator / rectifier, fairing bracket (10 / 12 year old Hondas always starting to rust, other makes okay).
moto_traxport said:
podman said:
This Honda build quality perception ended some years ago IMHO as both this, Mrs Ps CBR and the VFR I briefly owned are in a far worse a condition, especially around the forks/brakes area, than my old GSXR1000 with a similar mileage , age and use. I took an Africa Twin with a few hundred miles on the clock out on demo last year and both the rims and spokes where already badly corroded.
The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
Agreed, but the GSXR1000 is Suzuki's premium product wheras VTR and CBR are not. The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
VFR should have been better but all of them suffer on rwu fork outers paint, fork stanchion chrome (lower spec), camchain tensioner, regulator / rectifier, fairing bracket (10 / 12 year old Hondas always starting to rust, other makes okay).
When I first started riding, Honda did have a justifiable reputation for finish, the engines had a deep gloss
paint on them, as did the exhausts, caliper rotors where really well
annodised, alloy had a deep laquer on it, the first gen VFR750 where miles ahead,that all went when the first CBRs came out as I remember it.
I have to admit that the wifes VTR was not in the best condition either, especially in comparison to the K2 i had. I have to say the 3 Suzuki's i've had have been faultless.
This Honda build quality perception ended some years ago IMHO as both this, Mrs Ps CBR and the VFR I briefly owned are in a far worse a condition, especially around the forks/brakes area, than my old GSXR1000 with a similar mileage , age and use. I took an Africa Twin with a few hundred miles on the clock out on demo last year and both the rims and spokes where already badly corroded.
The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
podman said:
rat840771 said:
Very kind, to be honest my bike is in tip top condition anyway as its only got 6k on it. But its good to read how you clean your bike and what you use.
Yes, your bike doesnt need that kind of clean, its mint I know, believe it or not, this VTR only has around 6,500 miles on it but the previous(owner(s) must have used it in the wet and garaged it without ever cleaning it properly.podman said:
rat840771 said:
Wow, will you come and clean my bike and house please?
Ill be happy to do your bike mate (seriously) but house cleaning is an essential, not so much of a pleasure eh?!This Honda build quality perception ended some years ago IMHO as both this, Mrs Ps CBR and the VFR I briefly owned are in a far worse a condition, especially around the forks/brakes area, than my old GSXR1000 with a similar mileage , age and use. I took an Africa Twin with a few hundred miles on the clock out on demo last year and both the rims and spokes where already badly corroded.
The paint is deeper on Hondas Vs Suzukis for definite but thats it.
God help Honda then.
My GSXR is on about 7,000 countryside miles, kept clean, and the paint shows significant wear everywhere but the bodywork.
I went and bought the hugely overpriced frame stickers from Suzuki in an effort to try and reduce the effect. If I was precious about having nice paint I would never buy another Suzuki.
My old Honda doesn't have the same issues, mostly because no one was stupid enough to put a fragile, bling finish on every surface like on the GSXRs.
My GSXR is on about 7,000 countryside miles, kept clean, and the paint shows significant wear everywhere but the bodywork.
I went and bought the hugely overpriced frame stickers from Suzuki in an effort to try and reduce the effect. If I was precious about having nice paint I would never buy another Suzuki.
My old Honda doesn't have the same issues, mostly because no one was stupid enough to put a fragile, bling finish on every surface like on the GSXRs.
To me they're all much of a muchness. It's more down to the person that's looked after it before than anything else. I've had bikes that looked a little rough in certain areas of all brands. By far the worst though was the DR650 I had where you could literally wash the paint off the frame. Every time it was washed there'd be at least some purple water floating around underneath the bike.
podman said:
I've said before that my Dad had one and really liked it but reluctantly sold it due to the CCT going twice at quite awkward times, the 2nd time at speed bending valves.
I think Honda launched this too soon, in the '90s everyone was performance focused and the VTR failed against the 916 range. I'm sure if Honda launched a faired & naked one now they would score well in the current market.
And don't the big ugly cans look so small & tidy now!! (again always liked the 'tucked in' style of these).
You do have a point there....the swing arm on mine is covered in the thinnest layer of black paint that i could probably rub off with my finger!
The panels are plastic with stickers so you have to be really careful when cleaning it as you can scratch the stickers.
But the bike doesn't go out in this stty weather so its survived up until now
The panels are plastic with stickers so you have to be really careful when cleaning it as you can scratch the stickers.
But the bike doesn't go out in this s
tty weather so its survived up until nowProf Prolapse said:
God help Honda then.
My GSXR is on about 7,000 countryside miles, kept clean, and the paint shows significant wear everywhere but the bodywork.
I went and bought the hugely overpriced frame stickers from Suzuki in an effort to try and reduce the effect. If I was precious about having nice paint I would never buy another Suzuki.
My old Honda doesn't have the same issues, mostly because no one was stupid enough to put a fragile, bling finish on every surface like on the GSXRs.
My GSXR is on about 7,000 countryside miles, kept clean, and the paint shows significant wear everywhere but the bodywork.
I went and bought the hugely overpriced frame stickers from Suzuki in an effort to try and reduce the effect. If I was precious about having nice paint I would never buy another Suzuki.
My old Honda doesn't have the same issues, mostly because no one was stupid enough to put a fragile, bling finish on every surface like on the GSXRs.
rat840771 said:
You do have a point there....the swing arm on mine is covered in the thinnest layer of black paint that i could probably rub off with my finger!
The panels are plastic with stickers so you have to be really careful when cleaning it as you can scratch the stickers.
But the bike doesn't go out in this stty weather so its survived up until
I had all the warning stickers removed by suzuki when i got mineThe panels are plastic with stickers so you have to be really careful when cleaning it as you can scratch the stickers.
But the bike doesn't go out in this s
tty weather so its survived up untilThey look s
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