VFR Pipe & slippers?

[Horse]

I had a VTEC800 loaner for a few weeks. I found it - apart from playing with the changeover rev point - just, well, 'OK'. It wasn't - to me - particularly sporty and without a big screen not very tourery.

Dull. And that's coming from a serial BMW RT owner

[Skub]

It's always interested me when people say bikes are heavy (I know I say teh CBF I'm currently riding is top heavy, but it's the CG that's the issue, not the actual weight!)

Yeahbutt you're still a young thing.

[mangocrazy]

From what I can remember the introduction of VTEC coincided with the loss of gear driven cams, and that feature (to me) was the essence of the VFR. Honda did a bit of a magicians wave of the cape there - Hey, look at this really trick VTEC system we've introduced! while quietly dumping the gear driven cams and going back to chains and tensioners.

My old RC24 (conventional swingarm) VFR750 has a nice little kick once you get past 7k rpm, but still has that creamy smooth mid range.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I never really got the point of VTEC in the VFR at all.

I've had (still have in fact) a few Honda cars with VTEC where it actually switches between cams. The Type R in particular has a crazy top end, the whole point of VTEC in that context is so you can have a really lairy top end cam which would ordinarily necessitate a silly high idle etc.

In the VFR they don't so anything like that?

[Noggin]

It's always interested me when people say bikes are heavy (I know I say teh CBF I'm currently riding is top heavy, but it's the CG that's the issue, not the actual weight!)

Yeahbutt you're still a young thing.

I love you!!

(As the oldest student on the course I'm doing I've been feeling a smidge old this week - and tired! LOL)

[Scootabout]

I was tempted to get a Crossrunner, a few years ago. They have the 800 VTEC engine. I was put off by weight, price, running costs, and I knew I'd rarely if ever go over 7k rpm. There's still something about them, though. Wolf in sheep's clothing, maybe?

[The Spin Doctor]

I've ridden the early 750, a couple of versions of the 800 and finally the VTEC.

I can't say I got off any of them thinking "I could see this in the garage".

[Ian]

Well I'm buying it. It's not intended to set my heart racing it's for riding 150 miles to the office and back in bad weather. The venerable ZZR shitter is getting long in the tooth and looks like a boat anchor so I'm hoping the VFR will be boring in a good way.

[Scotsrich]

Was it a good price?

I know of one for sale, 2000 model, 35k, £2750.

Honestly I’ve no idea if that’s okay or not.

[Ian]

2500, its 99 but given the condition I thought that was ok. Two owners, service history and done less than 1000 miles per year most of its life. Very tidy, no broken plastics, stainless exhaust

[mboy]

Was it a good price?

I know of one for sale, 2000 model, 35k, £2750.

Honestly I’ve no idea if that’s okay or not.

That's top whack!

£1500 is about normal for that kind of age/mileage on a 5th gen VFR... For £2k it should be immaculate. £2750 is crazy to be honest!

They're great bikes... I've had a couple... Both were bought for under £1500, both pretty much utterly reliable, both quite good fun to ride and make a lovely V4 growl.

Only thing that really lets them down is the sub par suspension and brakes compared to more modern machinery. Build quality is awesome though, about as good as any bike has ever been, modern Honda's could learn a lot from a 25yr old VFR let alone bikes from other brands!

[Ian]

Picked it up this morning, incredible condition for a 25 y/o bike. It's plenty fast enough, surprisingly nimble and just completely competent at everything, I even like the linked brakes. OK It's not the 'experience' I get from bikes 'with character' but that's not what it's for.
Can't post pics from here but we all know what they look like, next week maybe.

[Skub]

Picked it up this morning, incredible condition for a 25 y/o bike. It's plenty fast enough, surprisingly nimble and just completely competent at everything, I even like the linked brakes. OK It's not the 'experience' I get from bikes 'with character' but that's not what it's for.
Can't post pics from here but we all know what they look like, next week maybe.

Your health to enjoy the new Homda Ian.

[Ian]

As a lifelong Kawasaki man I feel slightly dirty

[Skub]

As a lifelong Kawasaki man I feel slightly dirty

I understand completely.

[DefTrap]

I rode one (not a really -nice- one but a really -cheap- one) with a view to buy. Given that it looked fairly neglected, it rode very well. What put me off was (a) it's not really similar to a v-twin (b) for a Honda, it was really quite manky.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Iit's not really similar to a v-twin

The cooking VFRs 750/800s are actually exactly the same firing order and spacing as the big bang* R1s. People never believe it though

*not actually big bang

[mangocrazy]

Found this in the depths of my hard drive... I hasten to say it's not my doing/figuring but it piqued my interest so...

The bangs numbered 1 2 3 4 come from cylinders 1 3 2 4 in that order. (#1 back left, #2 front left, #3 back R, #4 front R)

So the sequence is: #1 180° #3 270° #2 180° #4 90° #1 etc..

If you had a metronome set up to go tick tick tick tick ...... the bangs would be on ticks numbered 1 3 6 8 9 11 14 16 17 and so on (that is two full cycles, 1440°, four revolutions).

You could try to simulate the sound by saying, in a regular rhythm:

BANG space BANG space space BANG space BANG BANG space BANG space space BANG space BANG - and starting again immediately.

Anyone got access to a sound or drum synthesizer to set up a rhythm, and loop it then speed it up - to see if really sounds like the bike?

1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1

[Mr. Dazzle]

There's a guy on you tube who does all sorts of engine sounds with flashing lights and an electronic clicker, not sure if he's done a VFR.

You can also picture the cross plane R1 like a VFR 'folded flat'. The only real difference is that the VFR uses shared crank pins (I.e. one per two pistons) and the R1 doesn't.

Edit: he's done loads of V4s too but not the 360 1-3-2-4 of "normal" VFRs so far as I can work out.

[mangocrazy]

Pretty good approximation - just lacking the intake howl and the whine of the gear driven cams...