Yes all your VR characters will become C160 and be able to wear all max level gear.
You retain all your CP and will also gain some for the highest VR rank on your account.
@Turelus - EU PC Megaserver "Don't count on others for help. In the end each of us is in this alone. The survivors are those who know how to look out for themselves."
For you console players, I would hit the guild traders for VR16 loot now like anything of Bahraha's Curse, Syvarra's Scale, Willpower, Agility, etc. They will be more plentiful now and cheaper than they would be once the DB patch arrives, within days they will be cleared out by people looking to gear up their newly top level characters. On PC finding anything is virtually non-existent or extremely overpriced after DB came out.