Honda VFR 800

stipey

I'm thinking of buying one of these bad boy (in black naturally).

Just wondering if anybody currently rides one or has ridden one in the past - and if so what are your opinions on it?

Thanks.

Garibaldi

I've got one (in red, naturallyer).

It's an excellent bike. Very comfortable, even long-distance, fully loaded and two-up. The built-in HISS immobiliser counts as an alarm/immobiliser as far as Carole Nash are concerned. You get about 320km between refuelling stops (depending on which model year you get - mine's a 21 litre tank, the current one is a 24 litre). She's a nimble little minx who goes wherever you tell her, she's got plenty of power to get you out of/into trouble. If you're a bit on the tall side, the stock screen is rubbish (I've got a double-bubble on mine), but other than that, there's not a single problem I can think of with it.

This is my second VFR800 (rashly sold the first one for a Varadero 1000 a few years back), and it's a lot sportier than my first (which was, I must say, a bit on the dull side). Digital readouts tell you everything you want to know (except for ambient temperature, which would be nice, but isn't really necessary I suppose), and are switchable from mph to kmh, regardless of model year. The lights are also quite effective at turning night into day.

Servicing is pretty cheap. The bits you can do at home can be a bit fiddly because of those goddamn plastic fasteners at the bottom of the fairing (which *always* break when you try to take them off, so get some spares).

Centre of Gravity is nice and low. Corners like she's on rails (depending on the tyres and surface, of course), and looks a million dollars when she's cleaned up and waxed, even after almost 4 years on the road. Mine's got ABS aswell as the standard CBS system, which is a nice plus. You just can't beat Honda build quality.

I'd recommend one in a heartbeat.

I'll probably be selling mine in April/May if you can hang on. And yes, I reckon I *will* be getting another one.....or maybe a Blackbird. We'll see.

pbergin

I was kinda thinking of a vfr800 recently but I heard servicing on the v-tec engine is REALLY expensive

cmxron

Hiya

I had a 800i, in red of course and found it a fantastic bike. Drove it to Barcelona and back,sometimes covering 500+ miles per day without any hassle. Good for the commuting also and piles of fun. Highly recommended But you should maybe have a spin on one to see do you like the engine, bit different depending what you are coming from..

Ron

Garibaldi

I'd heard servicing on the vtec was expensive myself, but that hasn't turned out to be the case. And yes, mine is still running.

helvetica

go for the pre-vtec, around 1998, and your services will be slightly more affordable, and you won't get that interruption in power delivery around the 6000rpm mark. better still, get a VFR 750, much lighter and flickable, gorgeous bike, and way cheaper!

You can't go wrong though with any VFR, pay for a really, really looked after bike and you'll resell it in a heartbeat, you'll have people queing up to buy it. Fit a tinted double bubble, bar risers and you'll be happy out for a ling time!

Garibaldi

Much lighter??? Sure, the 750 weighed 210 kg:

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_vfr_750_r_-_rc_30_1989.php

The current 800 weighs 213 kg:

http://www.bikez.com/bike/index.php?bike=20226

Not *that* big a difference.

saobh_ie

I'm buying a black one in May. Well in all fairness, I've decided its what I'm after and I'll take any colour.

2002 onwards model, with ABS if I can get it. Great machines.

Apparently from 2005 or 2006 the power delivery has been altered so the 6000rpm power falloff doesn't exist any more.

Garibaldi

There's a thing, I was wondering what helvetica meant by the power interruption, as I didn't ever recall experiencing it. So, I've been watching out for it over the past few days, and haven't noticed any drop-off at all. Seriously. If anything, there's a big surge at 7000 rpm when the other valves open. Other than that, it's smooth delivery all the way, and mine's an '03 model.

With ABS.

And it's going in BikeBuyersGuide within the next few days, as soon as I get a minute to wash it and take a coupla pics.

Idleater

Garibaldi wrote:

I was wondering what helvetica meant by the power interruption, as I didn't ever recall experiencing it.

There _is_ a "drop" engineered into pretty much every engine. It is generally there so that the engine passes eu emissions and noise targets.

It is clearly visible on any dyno graph (see below), but as to whether or not you personally can experience it is up to how quickly you are accelerating.

From the graph you can see that the power does not actually drop, it merely rises slower at this point and then rises sharper again afterwards.

L.

Garibaldi

Well, there you have it. I guess it's the kind of thing you'd only really notice if you were giving it the berries, and not an everyday problem. I'd generally hang around the 5-5,500 rpm mark, in 6th, during my commute (good enough for ~120-130 kmh).

Idleater

Garibaldi wrote:

...and not an everyday problem

unless you "give it berries" everyday

L.

Garibaldi

As if!