Why A Vfr?

[Stéphane]

Just wondering why we leaned towards this bike. For my, it was the single sided swing arm and the undertail exhaust. I don't this to be a war of model, so you'll see answers that cover one gen and another such as vtec and gear driven sound - unique to certain generations and knowing that very little of us would choose the chain driven cams.

[turtlecreek]

a friend of mine had one and kept trying to get me to ride it. i loved my cruiser and resisted for about 6 months. finally i got on it, couldn't believe the comfort and the speed and bought one 2 months later.... :rolleyes:

[V-FORE]

I chose mine after having had an '82VF750S-V45 Sabre, stopped riding for about 10n years & was looking for a better commuting option. Then I found her :rolleyes: It has been wonderful ever since that day! I now wonder why I had that gap of not riding, was I punishing myself? Never again after 32K of fun in the past two years I DESERVE IT :blush:

[Bad Boy]

I started sport touring after the kids left home. I just could not keep up with the sport bikes our group rode on our twisty mountain roads with my 650 Nighthawk. The VFR was the choice for a speed, handling, and long distance comfort. I chose the 6th gen. because of the under tail exhaust. With the OEM luggage I tour all over the west coast US, 60K miles in 4-1/2 years. Larger ST bikes seem too bloated to me and race replicas not suited for the long haul. I wanted more than a 600 and a liter was too much which left few choices. The full fairing weather protection is amazing after riding all these years on nakeds in our mild wet Pacific NW weather year around.

I do miss the simple low maintenance of the Nighthawk, shaft drive, hydraulic valve tappets, unlinked brakes, air cooled, CV carbs. Everything on the VFR is a pain to work on and it has not been trouble free. It sure could have been a simpler machine but it is the best package for the riding I love.

[Baileyrock]

I mostly wanted something different for every other Inline 4 out there and stumbled across a 93 at an Ins. Auction. Bought it slightly damaged and with 12k miles on it for around $1200 back in 99 and it was my first street bike since the late 80's. Liked it well enough, especially the sound and got a chance to ride a buddies 98 and thought holy crap, it was a major jump in power, feel and felt 100 lbs lighter too so within a month or so I bought a wrecked 00 w/ 1200 miles on it for $800. Put 15,000 miles on it as I learned to ride, then found a 02 VFR at the Ins. auction w/ only 200 miles on it and bought it for $600 w/ a clean Title.(btw I instantly went quicker with less effort on the 02) Put around $3k in it and 62,000 miles later of rippen it non-stop, I still love it. Because almost every VFR was Red at the time, I painted my 02 Silver just to be different, then they came out with Silver in 03 so I painted it GLOSS Black because no one had that color here in the States. :rolleyes:

It does whatever I want whenever I want and is always more than happy to chase down or leave behind the latest SS bikes out there. I may have to work a little harder, but that's half the fun! :cool:

I prefer the look of the 6th gen and have always lover the SSSA.

None of the Poll options really fit for me so I picked V4. :goofy:

Total maintainance cost in that 62k miles has been less then $300 (outside normal wear & tear items) and what else could you ask for? :blush:

[AussieinUSA]

I painted it GLOSS Black because no one had that color here in the States. :rolleyes:

So once you go black you wont go back :blush: :goofy:

[poconovfr]

I rode in-lines for a long time. I've always liked the VFR. After I returned from a seven year brake,it just seemed like the logical choice. The current "sport bikes" have all the performance I'll ever need but I just couldn't see riding an R1 or CBR for any real distance. Didn't want a touring bike due to the lack of "sport". I've always loved the sound of the V-Four and the power delivery and how smooth the bike is. Then of course there was the paint scheme. :goofy:

DSC01891.JPG

It was a good day when I called the dealer and there was one on the floor. Just hit 9000 mi. this morning and I've enjoyed every mile. :rolleyes: :blush:

[hondalover]

I was looking for something a little different. Fuel injection was a must-have as well as all-day comfort. I didn't realize I was getting as much bike as the VFR is, but that may be the feeling of others as well. Even though we call it long in the tooth, it is still pretty cutting edge technically speaking and style wise. Even after putting just shy of 500 miles on a C-14 in three days, the VFR is still a bike that is way beyond my abilities.

atop CMH

[SAFE-T]

you'll see answers that cover one gen and another such as vtec and gear driven sound - unique to certain generations and knowing that very little of us would choose the chain driven cams.

Ok, but you need to SEPERATE the vtec option from the gear-driven cams option. People either want gear-driven cams OR vtec - I've yet to see someone like them both equally - not possible to discern which one they are voting for.

The gear-driven cams on my fifth gen are really too loud for my taste. Rode Rhubarb's 3rd gen a week ago and it had a much nicer 'under hood' sound.

Also, technically I could pick 'fuel economy' as a reason for buying a bike these days as my 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 gets 14mpg.

[SEBSPEED]

Oops, I chose a few reasons...

I bought an 85 Interceptor 700 in mint condition, it was my first big streetbike & I fell in love with the motor. At the time I didn't realize Honda was still making VFRs until one day I got a new issue of Cycle World (January 2002, the "New for '02" issue). In the middle of the front cover amongst a bunch of other bikes was a rear 3/4 shot of the new VTEC model Interceptor and my eyes bugged out of my head, I vowed to have one! When my finances and insurance company allowed, I finally got my wish in February of '06 with a brand new Winning Red 2005 model(lucky me, I got the faster red color and a better bike without most of the early problems too!). I wouldn't trade it for the world except maybe for a brand new one just like it!!!

[CitizenOfDreams]

I just saw one and fell in love. No logical explanation.

[V4 Rosso]

Reliabilty, comfort and the looks.

[Guest]

For me it was that this bike had character or "soul" like a European or American built bike. At least more than most Japanese bikes. This included the swingarm, exhaust, gear driven cams, and especially the sound :goofy: !

[FatherX]

Rode my brother's vf500f 9.5 years ago with my new bride and unborn first child. Never gave it another thought until 8 years late when he called and said "my wrists are shot and my 400 lbs. smoked the clutch in a 4th of July paradesure, want a motorcycle?". Um...sure, thanks. Drove from Cleveland to South Jersey for it. Somethign clicked when I saw the red, white and blue relic. I could hear my wife giggleing as we took the first ride 9 years ago and I new we would be friends. Exspensive friendship (my brother vapored that clutch and everything else that a guy his size could). 5k miles and 9 months later I'm loving the minceptor and looking to the spirng for an '07 RWB 800. zzzzzoooooooomm! :goofy:

[ECX585]

How sweet the SOUND!! The first time I ever rode a VFR, the sound was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. Still is.

[Baileyrock]

Rode my brother's vf500f 9.5 years ago with my new bride and unborn first child. Never gave it another thought until 8 years late when he called and said "my wrists are shot and my 400 lbs. smoked the clutch in a 4th of July paradesure, want a motorcycle?". Um...sure, thanks. Drove from Cleveland to South Jersey for it. Somethign clicked when I saw the red, white and blue relic. I could hear my wife giggleing as we took the first ride 9 years ago and I new we would be friends. Exspensive friendship (my brother vapored that clutch and everything else that a guy his size could). 5k miles and 9 months later I'm loving the minceptor and looking to the spirng for an '07 RWB 800. zzzzzoooooooomm! :biggrin:

Nice story and welcome to VFRD! :goofy:

[fuldogg]

1st VFR was an '87 and the reason for buying was that the ergos (especially the tank cutouts) fit me perfectly. After riding a while I came to love the sound of the gear driven cam motor as well as the flexibility of the engine (tractable down to 3k rpm), and with a big sweet spot from 6-10k rpm. 10 yrs. later rode a friends '98 and was very impressed. More power, much better brakes, and the convienence of the sssa. I do miss the lighter weight of the gen. 3 model though.

[spud786]

I wanted a sport bike bigger than a 600, yet somewhat comfortable and I like Honda in general. Rear wheel definitely a bonus, along with center stand, and the shifter fit my foot perfectly.

Mine has been super reliable thus far, I do my normal race prepping for longevity when they are new and routinally inspect.

only tires eats my lunch

[vfr_steve]

enjoyed reading all these stories...

The first time I looked at a VFR800 VTEC I fell in love and ever since I still do that 'getting off the bike and looking over my shoulder' thing. Of course the VTEC engine is so playful and full of character with that emotive V4 growl.

Plenty quick enough for me and two-up touring. comfy, built like a tank, capable of amazing cornering speeds when the mood takes you, I love the feeling of class, the gauges, single sided swing arm... if a new VFR appears next year I don't really care.. I've been through enough bikes now to know Honda built this one for me.

[Stéphane]

you'll see answers that cover one gen and another such as vtec and gear driven sound - unique to certain generations and knowing that very little of us would choose the chain driven cams.

Ok, but you need to SEPERATE the vtec option from the gear-driven cams option. People either want gear-driven cams OR vtec - I've yet to see someone like them both equally - not possible to discern which one they are voting for.

The gear-driven cams on my fifth gen are really too loud for my taste. Rode Rhubarb's 3rd gen a week ago and it had a much nicer 'under hood' sound.

Also, technically I could pick 'fuel economy' as a reason for buying a bike these days as my 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 gets 14mpg.

sure there are plenty of other things I could have put on, but given the moment, that's all I could think of.

The Vtec and gear driven being put together a faux pas? Perhaps, but my reasoning behind this was engine characteristics: Either you like the gear driven or maybe the vtec kicking in is what get your motor running. I apologize to everyone who wish I'd put something else, but like every poll, nothing is perfect, that's why you can add comment and weigh in your opinion.

Having said that, it is fair to say that appr. 63% of VFR riders like a sport/touring bike with a V4 engine and a SSSA. Ok Honda, take notes here.

[johnmark101]

I was looking for something a little different. Fuel injection was a must-have as well as all-day comfort. I didn't realize I was getting as much bike as the VFR is, but that may be the feeling of others as well. Even though we call it long in the tooth, it is still pretty cutting edge technically speaking and style wise. Even after putting just shy of 500 miles on a C-14 in three days, the VFR is still a bike that is way beyond my abilities.

atop CMH

Nice pic!! :biggrin:

[Guest]

After owning several race breed bikes, and demoing said countless other race breed bikes, I found that I was to large to ride many for long distance, I could not push any to thier limit ( on the street) ethier by fear or riding ability...but I wanted a race look with a race feel and race ability..I needed not a dedicated track bike but one that I could ride to the twisty roads that arent nearby, ride like I was AMA qualified (even if it is in my head) , and then slab back in realative comfort...hence VFR...their are other bikes that fit this scenario and I like them aswell but none have the uniqueness of v4 race history, SSSA (some do ie: k1200s, Sprint..) but I dont see very many VFRs and when I do met another VFR rider its like meeting a family member you didnt know you had....I mean really how many VFR riders do you see these days, most go for the track machines!!!!! I dont have a Gen preference, I own a 5th and would love to have a white 4th, and a red 6th......anyone want to donate said bike(s) please IM me immediatley..all that bieng said Im not going to say the VFR is my favorite bike for I like alot of them, but it does seem to fit 99% of what I need aqnd want out of a motorcycle....

[dallasb]

VFR = versatility

I ride to work everyday, hard in the mountains on some weekends and throw on the bags and go for a long trip on others. No other bike does this better.

[GP Paul]

Lots of reasons, including that it's a Honda, that it was 3 years old and brand new (decent price), and... I was undecided on model, but commited to two wheels. I walked into the local dealer and BAM! There she was.

I knew nothing about VTEC/non-VTEC, and originally thought that the bike would need no mods. Well, I've since eaten those words. 4 years later, I'm almost done with mods - just in time for 7th gen.

[Guest]

none of the above options, i had no clue about VFRs before i got one, i just got it at a smoking deal so i bought it, but little did i know i was buying one of the sweetest bikes out there. and that exhaust note is to die for.