Wife's 1st Ride and Opinion of my 89 VR.

[GolfVenture]

Last year was my 1st ride in 27 years and it has taken a full year for my wife to get on board so its 28 years for her. Our previous bike was an 80 Goldwing.

 

She said that on the Wing she recalls sitting a bit higher and could somewhat look over my helmet to see up ahead. On the 89 VR she has no forward vision at all. Right smack in the back of my helmet.

 

She does not like the driver back rest on the VR, that I really like.

 

She feels the Wing shifted and the engine is smoother.

 

She probably wouldn't be interested in a long days ride.

 

I can remove the driver back rest.

 

Can't do anything about the shifting and smoothness.

 

Her biggest gripe is that she can't see forward causing her some slight motion dizzyness always seeing things from the side and then her necks gets tired looking sideways Left and right also.

 

Any serious suggestions as to raising the rear seat height?

[Lil Venturous]

Getting ready to take my wife on her first ride since she rode on the back of my FZ1 a couple of years ago. She did not like that. All these questons keep going through my mind. I hope it goes good. She rode on the FZ1 once and that is about all the experience she has had in probably ten years.

 

Now, The front backrest usually comes off by just physically pulling the round piece outward. They can become stuck after time and there is sometimes a smaller clevis pin that holds it that can be seen between the bracket and the seat. the two sides just squeeze inward into the three diamond shaped choices. Good luck.

[camos]

Is the shifting issue mainly between 1st and 2nd? Occasionally I get a perfect shift, just a click and it is in. Most often I get a rather large clunk. Occasionally I get a lesser clunk and find it in neutral. The rest of the gears mostly shift with just a click.

 

I have been riding my VR for almost 2 months so it's early days and I'm still coming to terms with some of it's features. What I have found with the shifter is having it adjusted lower helps to get better leverage from my foot. Also, rather than shifting with my toe it is better to have the pedal behind the toe, not quite halfway up my foot.

 

My VR has close to 120,000 miles on it so it is most likely some of the difficulty is due to wear but technique also seems to play a part. Another thing that helps shifting is keeping the pedal linkage lubricated.

[Sheradan]

I have found in personal experience & seeing what fellow riders deal with, Unless she is anxious to get on board and ride, there will always be an excuse. If they are doing it "just for you", the miles will be limited. Took me 3 wives to find the one that has the passion for it that I do. Good luck guys, so much fun when the sweety travels with you.

[jasonm.]

shifting any bike varies. Depends on the engine's tune. These engines drop revs quickly and also rev quickly. Compared to a GoldWing in the 80's. If you shift quickly with throttle and clutch it usually results in smooth shifts. Otherwise, Do it lazy and not simultaneously(clutch, shift, throttle)...yes, it won'.t be smooth. Aka, clunk, bump, jerk...zoom. Is the result.

[Harmonicashawn]

One tip I could add as to shifting is to "blip" the throttle slightly during the shift. also the quicker the better. I have ridden an 82 / 84 / 86 Goldwing and feel that the VR has a smoother gearbox, but that is just my experience.

[Wizard765]

Just recently my friend (with an 86 wing) and I (with an 84 VR) had a father daughter day out on the scoots. The girls had a chance to switch bikes for awhile and afterwords I asked them which bike they preferred. BOTH of them felt the VR was more comfortable, rode smoother and shifted smoother etc.. Needless to say that made me very happy but my friend was not so happy...

[jasonm.]

Just to follow up . I have ridden both the 83 and 86 Aspencades. Both have notchier transmissions than my 87VR. But really you need to figure out how the revs match speed. I personally shift quick. Doing all at the same time clutch in , shift up gas off all for a split second. I do not wait for the gears to engage. Because they always do. Then let the clutch out and gas it lightly at the same time. The venture has more power and little gas is needed to increase speed after shifting. It's hard to describe , BUT Litterally...you could call me "twitch", if you saw me shifting. Take the bike out solo...more , and get used to all the mechanicals and how the bike responds...

[Jayceesfolly]

I don't use the clutch at all when upshifting or downshifting on my 89 VR. I just use the throttle to "relax" the gears and then shift. My upshifts are smooth but sometimes the downshifting is a little uncomfortable because I don't always match the RPMs exactly, but I ride 99% of the time alone, so it's not a problem for me. I only use the clutch to stop and start the bike. I also owned two Hondas and shifted them the same way (no clutch) and feel they shift a little smoother than the VR, but they had 60K + miles on them, so I don't know if they can be compared with the 89 VR because it only has 34K miles.

 

 

Jim

[barend]

Found this on a BMW forum; someone there suggested pre-loading the shift lever prior to up shifting and it will pop right in the next higher gear. I've tried it and like it, just need to do it enough to make it natural. It'll eliminate all cluncking you may have.

[Venturous Randy]

I ocassionally upshift 3rd thru 5th without the clutch and can do it very smoothly by slightly going off the throttle with slight pressure on the shifter. I never downshift without the clutch.

RandyA

[frankd]

If you combine what Jason and Barend do, you end up shifting perfect. Preload the shift lever slightly just before you shift, pull the clutch in briefly and also let off the throttle briefly at the same time. Also, make sure the engine is rotating slightly faster than it'll be when you let out the clutch. What I mean is---if the engine is spinning a little faster, when you let the clutch out all the driveline play is gradually taken up and things are smooth. If the engine isn't spinning fast enough, when you let the clutch out, you pull all of the free play to one side, and then when you open the throttle you take it all the way the other way and you get a "CLUNK". If you preload the lever and shift quick the motor doesn't have time to slow down too much.

 

As for the engine not being smooth enough---make sure your carbs are synchronized and that your diaphrams don't have any holes in them. These engines are pretty smooth, although not quite as smooth as a Wing.

 

Frank D.

[OldGazer]

That's a little odd. I've ridden on the back, and I can see kist fine. My question is, how tall are you?

 

For the shifting issue, it's all in the technique. I make it a habit to shift as smoothly as possible and never "dump" the clutch. It takes some practice, but the pay off is worth the effort.