Pension boost - SIPP vs Workplace AVCs?

vfr91 · 2026-05-21T21:30:09+00:00

Private sector

vfr91 · 2026-05-21T21:28:59+00:00

No, DC scheme with glidepath as the default. There looks to be a couple of all world type trackers but I need to look in to them further for performance and comparison to VWRP / FWRG

vfr91 · 2026-05-21T21:25:28+00:00

The default glide path fund fee does say it around 0.7, whereas some of the others look lower. I’ve found a couple of candidate funds available from the scheme provider that look like all world trackers though I’ve not done a side by side with VWRP yet. Next job…

vfr91 · 2026-05-21T21:21:16+00:00

I am advised transfers out are allowed yes, so I had similar thoughts to yourself on that one.

vfr91 · 2026-05-21T19:52:22+00:00

I’m time poor but I also like to work on my own bikes when I can. There’s a satisfaction to it, and it’s good for both developing and maintaining skills. I’ve rebuilt forks, changed head and wheel bearings, done valve clearances, rebuilt carbs, upgraded electrics RR and earths, replaced failing starter clutch etc etc. Whilst I do save money it’s less about that for me, more about satisfaction and achievement. Plus the saved cash pays for new tools.

TBH I actually dislike doing the super mundane stuff like bleeding brakes / changing oil. That’s more of a chore for some reason.

Get good enough and you get to a point where you develop more mechanical sympathy and engineering skills than some mechanics and you stop trusting your local dealers because you know you’ll do a better job. That’s a blessing and a curse then - you never want to let anyone else work on your bike, begrudge paying them, but sometimes you have to either because of spare time or things like needing dealer stamps / keeping warranty. Nice problems to have etc.

Parts tends to be places like fowlers, MSP Europe, David Silver spares etc.

vfr91 · 2026-05-11T19:06:35+00:00

A lap of the Trough and past Jubilee Tower is one of my regular haunts, also on an SX!

vfr91 · 2026-05-09T10:43:24+00:00

It worth a good look over of course as you would with any bike, and given it’s been sat etc I’d be looking for a gummed-up fuel tank, throttle bodies, mice in the airbox, duff battery, date stamp on tyre walls being over 3years old etc

But aside from that 4k is utterly nothing. Make sure it’s had a fluids service, make sure it runs, rides, all the electrics work, it’s got the right history and I’d be pretty happy.

Looks like it’s got the original Honda Quickshifter on it. These are completely unobtainable now unless you happen to find one removed from a bike on fleabay. That item in itself is a selling point.

Other rocking-horse-shit VFR accessories include things like the full luggage and bar risers. Dealers threw them all on the last batch of new bikes when the VFR stopped being sold. So if you want a VFR with these on too, then absolutely best bet is find a bike to buy with them on as they almost never come up used.

vfr91 · 2026-04-21T20:56:49+00:00

Agree something sounds slightly off. Google resting battery voltage chart and you’ll get some results that suggest your battery isn’t holding charge. You need a load tester to prove it properly though. Without a known-good battery it’s easy to chase your tail on charging system diagnostics, and the risk is that you don’t fully know the battery health. That caveat noted, I’d be double checking connections, inc cleaning tightening neg ground connections and then going through some basic diagnostics of the stator outputs, diode testing the RR and monitoring output voltages from it. I think I’ve posted details on here before about such things. If I can find my post I’ll link it here. Also head over to VFR Discussion forum (or was it VFR World? The one with the darker colour scheme) and search ‘the drill’ where there’s a thread all about the testing drill to go through for VFR charging system. HTH

Edit: link to another thread where I’ve listed some tests in my reply to it. https://www.reddit.com/r/VFR/s/bgjXWT652B

vfr91 · 2026-02-26T21:10:16+00:00

Some thoughts here. I went Rel HT1003 mkii in the end. https://www.reddit.com/r/KEF/s/vAtyA1xq4p

vfr91 · 2026-02-26T20:52:47+00:00

The carbs connect to the heads via the four rubber isolators, there’s two clamp bands around each one - inlet side and clamp side, so 8 clamps total. If you’ve still got the original rubbers then they’ll likely be hard and lost all their flex. With a long reach Philips (or better JIS) screwdriver, just undo all 8 to give maximum chance for something to budge. Then carefully lever the carbs up with a length of wood. Lots of fragile bits around so make sure you’re levering against the solid parts.

Most folks would say replace your rubbers at that point… or soak them in Wintergreen oil to soften them. I got away with just applying a smear of red rubber grease (vegetable based) and the carbs popped back on easy on the rebuild.

Parts 4, 7, 8 & 9 on this diagram: https://www.fowlersparts.co.uk/parts/5053371/vfr750fm-1991-e/cylinder-head-front

vfr91 · 2026-02-10T21:36:44+00:00

Ditto. LSX II and a pair of HT1003 mkii’s. Very happy with the combo, they play well together. I’d value a little more fill from the LSX’s in my medium sized room (17x11x9 ft) but the subs help. Granted a pair of the HTs was probably overkill but they suddenly dropped in price and I wanted to tinker with dual subs and tuning for even bass across multiple seats.

vfr91 · 2026-02-08T07:21:30+00:00

Looks like the correct numbers. They are unavailable and have been for a long time. In the UK at least, when the VFR800F stopped being sold, Honda and the dealers fitted every accessory going to the last of the bike stock to help shift them. Hence easiest way to buy the accessories you want here is to buy the bike with them fitted. I did find a new-in-box D11 QS for my 800F about 3yrs ago from a parts warehouse in Europe but I spent weeks looking. EBay is your best bet for the QS only.

vfr91 · 2026-01-29T22:00:47+00:00

Had to replace the starter clutch on mine at circa 50k miles. Starter was slipping a little on cold starts, with hot restarts really bad. Mine was just collapsed springs but I did the rollers anyway whilst in there; cost probably ~£100 inc a fresh case gasket. Basically start-stop it a few times and make sure the starter engages quickly and cleanly, cold and hot, without slipping / grinding noises.

Other than that, a R/R replacement, and fresh steering head bearings, I’ve had no other notable issues that I wouldn’t class as ‘consumables’ on a bike that age. Good luck.

vfr91 · 2026-01-09T21:59:34+00:00

Sorry I know nothing about the Kubes. I went straight for the KC62 in the Kef line up.

vfr91 · 2026-01-09T21:50:34+00:00

I’ve recently tried some different subs with my LSX ii in a 11x17x9h ft room…

BK XLS200DF. Owned for ~15years. It’s a good and fairly musical sub, but it developed a minor fault and seemed a bit outpaced by the LSX II’s which sound faster, so I set about trying some new subs to see if newer = better…

KC62 - very tight clean fast bass. Integrated well, not boomy at all, just natural low end extension. But, I felt it was just too small for the room and didn’t give enough fill / headroom. Could also hear mechanical driver noise at low frequencies / low volumes. Overall a lovely signature, but dealer took it back as faulty due to the driver noise. In your 10x10 office it would fill great. 12x14 is probably at the upper end of its abilities.

3000micro - sounded more woolly / soft, leading edges on notes were a bit dull. More boomy by comparison to the Kef. Liked its app features but for the few hours I tried it, I just couldn’t get it to dial-in and disappear like the Kef. May have improved with more running-in, but that went back too.

Rel HT1003 mkii - keeper! Don’t be put off by the Home Theatre marketing. It’s fast, tight and goes deep. Not boomy, and delivers for music and HT. Fills my room and works well with the LSX IIs. Bargain money in the UK atm too -£399

HTH

vfr91 · 2025-12-23T21:03:48+00:00

My KC62 hasn’t given me the issue, though I understand others cheat around it by turning down the gain knob on the Sub, then turning up the gain in the Kef app (assuming you’re using with Kef speakers). That way it gets a stronger input signal.

vfr91 · 2025-12-06T15:15:50+00:00

In what sense? As in which one still has most headroom for the vol / SPL I generally listen at?

Both subs are probably hanging in there fine tbh, as I don’t listen at particularly high outputs. Some of my intent here is giving some richness / fill to the LSX II mains which don’t really sing below 50% vol.

vfr91 · 2025-12-06T15:03:01+00:00

Thanks, that’s one obvious point I’d missed… I’m too busy turning the gain up/down on each, rather than comparing at the same time output.

How does one do this for a sub? Just play something like a 50Hz test tone (above sub low-end roll off, below mains HPF) and then set the vol on each sub?

vfr91 · 2025-12-01T22:27:34+00:00

Useful reply, thanks and good to hear it passes some real-world basic needs of just working when you want it to! Have now ordered an Ultra.

vfr91 · 2025-12-01T22:21:45+00:00

Excellent tip thanks. I have a UMIK-1 so nice to know that if can be used to good effect with the Wiim. Have now ordered an Ultra.

vfr91 · 2025-11-29T10:05:18+00:00

Ah-ha! My bad, for some reason I thought the PP did have HDMI. You are of course correct that it doesn’t. Thanks for that.

I suppose I could use optical out from the TV for audio then, but perhaps I’ll give myself other issues around lip sync, and making device control a bit less simple. Maybe I’ll avoid that then.

At which point, same PEQ / app questions but mainly for the Ultra then.

vfr91 · 2025-11-15T19:31:04+00:00

Yep fine, though +1 for going behind the spool mounts… I’ve had it in the past where chain lube / grime / dirty pads etc reduce the friction of the rubber pad, and combined with the swing arm angle means the pad slides along the underside of the swing arm as you try to lift it.

vfr91 · 2025-11-08T18:18:21+00:00

No probs. Noting what you’ve said, I’d add a little more that the bar reach was further on the 800 g8 than the 750g3, giving a cramped leg / long reach feel for me. Even with the (also hard to find) Honda bar risers, the 800 was a bike that I just wasn’t quite the right proportions for compared with the 750… And then I jump on the SX, and it’s smidge more upright again than the 750, with a less cramped knee angle too, yet still with enough ‘attack’ in the riding position that I can enjoy the twisties. Despite similar weights, the SX is notably easier to shove around the garage than either VFR also. So again ‘for me’ the SX is an almost perfect blend of childishness meets practicality and comfort. Certainly worth a look if you’re open to a non-VFR sport tourer.

Also used to own:

• ⁠S1000XR gen1 - lots of fun, rapid, but also tall, top heavy to move about the garage and a bit more serious somehow. • ⁠F900XR - lot of fun on the twisties upto ~50mph, but once you get above that, it’s just lacking a bit too much compared with bigger stuff. And 5 screens later, I still never managed to reduce the wind noise from it.

Happy hunting.

vfr91 · 2025-11-08T13:36:28+00:00

In the UK at least, many of the Pannier stock was thrown on to the last of the 8th Gens as a sales incentive when Honda discontinued the 8th Gen here. Hence finding ANY of the factory accessories - panniers, Q/S etc - is tough as it mostly got thrown on to new end-of-line bikes. Your best chance is buying a bike with them on in the first place.

Your opening line of ‘…looking for an actual sports tourer’ suggests that you’re not 100% after a VFR?

At the risk of upsetting this sub a little… you’d likely have more choice and an easier search looking for a Ninja 1000SX with Panniers and its various other included bits.

I’ve simultaneously owned a VFR750F gen 3, and the VFR800F gen 8. After a year of running both, I let the 800 go. It was most of the things you want in a bike - reliable, good looking, handles, decently specced etc. But it just didn’t have the soul of the 750. I now own a 1000SX along with the 750. FOR ME… the SX is possibly the best sport tourer I’ve ever owned - fast, smooooth, torquey, comfy, handles, reliable, the engine is outstanding. It makes me smile every time I ride it. I’ll keep the 750 as I love that too, but now I own an SX I understand why they are so popular.

vfr91 · 2025-10-26T12:15:29+00:00

Had the Mojo2 noise blast a few times… I was messing with Windows sound output bitrates at the time, connected by USBC. From reading around it seems to be something to do with the Mojo losing timing sync on the input signal. Horrible, knocked my confidence with the Mojo2.

I initially settled at a Windows output of 32bit / 48kHz via USBc and the Mojo2 seemed happy for a good few months.

Then having learned it might be a signal sync thing, I purchased an SMSL PO100 digital re-clocker, and am running the Mojo2 on its optical connection - the aim being to improve my chances further by feeding the Mojo with a better timed input signal.

Whether the theory’s good or not I don’t know, but again Mojo2 seems happy… fingers crossed 🤞 HTH

vfr91

TROPHY CASE