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1998-2001 isle of man tt honda vfr 800 conspiracy


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HI, today i was talking to my neighbor and he said he had a special edition honda vfr 800 r. He said that it was a prize from the isle of man tt that he bought from one of the winners of the tt, he said that there was 2 ever made. he said that it was tuned to about 130bhp had a carbon scorpion exhaust. now my question is this a real thing or just a lie, i have looked for hours and found nothing. also im sure its not the 50th aniversary edition becuase it didnt have the tag on the handle bars ive got only one picture spacer.png

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The man said VFR800R & having spent years digging into the VFR800/RC45 lineage I do not recall ever hearing of any VFR800R's official or otherwise. So if you can re energise that picture I'd be interested in a look. 

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There was one 1998 VFR800 competitor that rode a VFR800 in the Production class. 

IMG_9131.thumb.png.ec09d052ef93fbcbc818eedc31c64710.png

 

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4 hours ago, Haydenpleace said:

now my question is this a real thing or just a lie

 

It's not a lie if they believe it's true.

 

The only things I think are real is that it was a VFR, owned by somebody who had raced, and it "had a carbon scorpion exhaust"

 

Oh, and he said the RVF1000RR-R is really happening and is gonna be an early release 2025 model!!!!

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Apparently it was wet at 1998 TT, so here's RC45 best from 1997 and some production RC45 results to boot.

 

IMG_9133.thumb.png.7623a7f075c54700bedcf314f054d7b7.png

 

IMG_9132.thumb.png.399eef834a9483c1c2df52ce98fc77a5.png

 

 

 

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Other than an interesting colour scheme 🤢 I can't see anything to suggest it's a special. 

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Looks like a completely standard 01 to my eyes. Perhaps a case of wishful thinking. But hey, no point scoring points........

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MoT checker says that reg is yellow. https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en
 

The plate says it was supplied by Bowers Motorcycles a now defunct large bike dealer in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. I can't see any mention of them as a TT competitor nor sponsor. So I think your acquaintance may have been fed a line of BS. Looks awfully like a 1999 bog stock VFR 🤷‍♀️

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There is one possibility, there was one guy that prepped an 800 for one of the open class Y2K races but was not allowed to compete. Might have been that but I've no idea what mods were done in the preparation. 

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The only TT VFR800 I remember was the one that had the gray front fairings. But it was still a stock standard VFR. Maybe it was for track marshalls? THINK the pic below is it.

 

Honda-VFR-800-1999-1.jpg

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If I read the first post correctly, the claim was that the bike was a prize given to an unspecified winner of the TT, not that it had been raced. The other claim was the tune to around 130bhp. All sufficiently vague to be BS as Mohawk says. Probably just a bog standard bike in a fancy dress.

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8 hours ago, YoshiHNS said:

The only TT VFR800 I remember was the one that had the gray front fairings. But it was still a stock standard VFR. Maybe it was for track marshalls? THINK the pic below is it.

 

Honda-VFR-800-1999-1.jpg

 

This bike is Color Code R157E and was a factory Europe only model to celebrate Honda's 50 anniversary. Only paint and decals were different. I saw a few on the road in London and one for sale new at a Berlin Honda dealer in '99-'00. This paint scheme is a tribute to early Honda race bikes. Look closely and you'll see silver pinstriping on the tank and rear cowl. Not aware of any performance mods from the factory.

 

Honda Britain also developed a 50th Anniversary UK specific line that included: VTR1000 Firestorm aka SuperHawkCBR1200xx Super BlackbirdCB900rr Fireblade CBR600f, and VFR800.  This special edition VFR was sold with: Remus exhaust, Harris rear sets and frame sliders. I don't remember of any other mods. 

 

Re: pic of bike in question. have no idea. The paint looks orange,

 

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Any of you remember playing Telephone (Chinese Whispers) in grade school?  Maybe that's what's going on here.  Original owner may have simply visited the TT years ago, that turned into it came from the TT, awarded to the winner.. and here we are.

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Thanks everyone for all your comments on this post you have been a great help. i think it safe to say thats it's a fat fib which to be honest bit annoyed about because i thought i might of seen something genuinly rare. many thanks everyone

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1 hour ago, vfrgiving said:

Am I having a stroke, or was that painted KTM orange? 🤨

 

They are not mutually exclusive.  Both can be true.

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10 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

This is in case the link dies...

 

TT_VFR.thumb.jpg.47c60e1505aec46a6e65efc3baa21f4c.jpg

Torocharger Orange...

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On 1/30/2024 at 11:39 PM, Captain 80s said:

 

It's not a lie if they believe it's true.

 

The only things I think are real is that it was a VFR, owned by somebody who had raced, and it "had a carbon scorpion exhaust"

 

Oh, and he said the RVF1000RR-R is really happening and is gonna be an early release 2025 model!!!!

Ok, I have only been into VFRs for 30 years.

But I have only ever seen Honda produce the  50yr red silver yellow anniversary.

HONDA UK did a red one, this green one the 1st time I see it.

 

Means Jack Schitt of course.

 

I added different decals to my "Edwards" replica, making it a special special no?🙂

8b83351d595e637710cf45a7b296c10d.thumb.jpg.6a65d22b627c2e77ae0359b7cfd05fdd.jpg

 

 

leukopdefoto_1112488.thumb.JPG.c0b39339c132b7cf5b5c73663c10fdb2.jpeg.525d7ec6a88b7f07f7d48adb3af5e689.jpeg

 

 

 

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