Vfr750Fl Owned For 21 Years - Now Returned To The Motherland.

[TheStig]

This is a sort of introduction, cum story about my VFR750. Bear with me - this isn't a story about another bike, but I think it might be fun to tell it's story so I can explain what initially inspired me towards the VFR:

About 20 years ago I had one of those NX650 Dominators. Great bike to hoon around on. It would lean & lean till the frame began to wear itself into the ground, wheelie off the lights & stoppie at the next one.

Rode mine with my friend on his (then new) XT600E all the way from UK to Greece & back.

On the first day, from morning till 5am we got as far as the South of France. On the way there we'd used no highways at all. Just great French roads, including the unforgettable D911. So many corners that after hours of riding fast chasing one another, we realised there were (tired!) muscles in our legs we hadn't realised even existed down there...

Shattered, with dawn coming up - we couldn't find an open petrol station, so we searching till we found someone's nice garden with no cars in the drive. We pitched our tent very lop-sidedly and fell asleep. A few hours of rest and we were off again, to meet a group of friends staying in a little French farmhouse a couple of hour's riding away...

Being an adventurous sort, Beth, the blonde girl wanted to come with us. We had no helmet or gear for her, so she donned a pair of Scuba goggles and a sarong wrapped around her head as a makeshift helmet!

These soon came off as we enjoyed the wind in our hair...The oncoming French were very good at warning us of police ahead and we'd cut across villages, etc. Took us about 10 days to reach the south of Italy riding through beautiful national parks such as Abruzzo and stopping to see Sienna and other beautiful places.

Later on we scrounged an old helmet too.

Truth be told much of the time we rode without helmets; These were our younger and more foolish days...

By the time we got to the south of Italy her beautiful golden hair had woven itself into a thick mat!

As she had no money to continue our adventure together she needed to return to Rome so we parted ways and Beth continued her return journey on a train. Later she confided in us she hadn't been able to catch a taxi on arrival to Rome because the drivers all thought by her appearance & white plastic bags with her belongings - that she was a homeless person!

We're still friends to this day... Oh & she managed to untangle her hair. I learnt a lesson during this trip - never have girls with long hair ride on the back without braids...

Brindisi (Italy) was funny. We bought a pair of ferry tickets for cheap, then realised we had 25 minutes to find the overnight ferry to Greece. So we were riding on sidewalks, jumping off them etc. running through red lights & cutting agressively through traffic as if cars were mobile chicanes. The intention was that we wouldn't stop and make it across town in the nick of time.

As we got to the port a Policeman whistled for us to stop, so I braked and looked back - Pritam looked back but didn't brake and we consequently collided. He fell off - but only broke the end off his front brake lever. No harm done, but the Policeman was very apologetic and told us how to find the ferry - the wrong way down a one way street! We got on the boat, just as the drawbridge went up...

When we arrived to Greece we found fresh watermelons for sale at 5.30 am, followed by a few large tortoises crossing the road - veeeery slowly!

We went on to visit about 10 of the Cyclades Islands, staying in some places with Greek friends we knew who were also studying at university in the UK. Have great memories of these bikes being lowered into small passenger boats & removed with ropes & the help of locals amidst water so clear that we could see cigarette butts on the bottom, about 6-8 m down. Some great windsurfing in Greece too during the summer, from the crazy Meltemi winds that would blow each & every day. Ah, I loved that time too....

Sadly I lost the best pics of this trip, as I'd opened the camera without winding back the roll of film. So those were lost forever, but the memories still remain indelibly in my head. I was telling my wife just this week I'd love to take the family to Greece sometime in future - we will when the kids are a little older. Our Greek friends are still there and I miss Greek stuffed tomatoes & Spanacopita plus evenings in little tavenras eating traditional meals with Greek wine. I know my wife & the kids would love it too.

On our return to the UK, travelling through a long tunnel in the French Alps running on petrol fumes only - hoping we wouldn't run out, we followed a VFR750FG with a great sounding exhaust system (I'd clocked it was made by Devil - A French manufacturer). Haunted by the beautiful sound of the V4 as I sat behind it, my mind was made up there & then I was to sell the Dominator and get a VFR so I could do some more serious touring.

Pritam said I'd never do it because I'd enjoyed the Domi so much & had such great memories with it - but that was exactly what I did when I got back.

Then I bought a mint 3 year old 3,500 mile VFR750 FL. Toured a fair bit through Europe on it and that was about the time the UK VFR750 club was started by a slightly wild chap called Pete Thriscutt, who was based in Worthing, Sussex, UK. Being an enthusiast, naturally I joined and went on many rides. As I'm of European (Latin) descent he thought it was funny to call me "El Presidente"!
The term stuck and so I was the un-elected president for a while, till I was demoted to "product tester" which pleased me greatly...
The club de-generated into a bickering fest as Pete spent money from the club on his own things, etc. and typically the British complained, bitched and moaned whilst I kinda lost interest...

Meanwhile the Viffer had gotten itself modified with stuff like Maxton suspension, Harrison 6 pots and other bits & pieces and always ridden hard till it clocked some 69,000 miles.
In '98 I decided to move to Japan. Initially the plan was 6 months but then it got longer so I'd hibernated the VFR away in my garage. It's going on 16 years now that I've been in the land of the rising sun and with no intention of returning, a couple of years ago I have the VFR taken out of storage and shipped to Japan.

Cost me more than the bike was worth, but nostalgic memories make us do crazy things sometimes. Despite having left the fuel tank full & emptied the carbs and the entire bike sprayed with waxoyl, etc. & the exhaust sealed - there was a hole in the collector box, the tank empty and the entire fuel system needed an overhaul. The fuel pump died a short while after I got it running properly again, then the regulator so I fitted a new pump & a better YZF-R1 unit.

I hadn't been without a bike during my time without the viffer, but not defected from Honda. Another cam driven bike took my heart and I've been fettling it for the last 8 years or so.

The nice thing is the original (Maxton re-worked) front end will make it's way onto the VFR soonish and I'll probably replace the ageing VFR's Maxton shock with a new one too. Also bought some rather nice (but made in China!) rearsets for a CBR900 which I believe will fit the VFR & am thinking of using a RC30 swing arm's components to get a centre nut hub so I can fit carbon Dymag DA5's as on the RC51. Some exquisite Magical racing wide angle carbon mirrors are on order & I've also succumbed to temptation and ordered a high level link pipe from Predator in the UK, so I can fit a decent quality titanium can (Akparovic or Ladybird Titanium is the plan...). I'm a self-confessed avid bike tinkerer and as the SP2 is all but finished I feel sure the VFR will continue developing now.

Recently after lending my VFR to a nice girl from Paris, she was inspired enough to get herself one. A 5th generation gear driven cam'd 800 was bought last week - I'm sure it'll serve her well.

Maybe I can persuade her to join here in future...

Anyways, I look forward to being a part of this community and learning / sharing knowledge on these great V4 bikes.

They most certainly don't make 'em like they used to.

[timmythecop]

that was one great story. Loved it.

(I may be a bit biased having an RC51 and a VFR share my shed at night.)

[Dutchy]

Aaaahhh Italy, Brindisi, Greece, Ios, Paros............... only for me it was 1988...

Camp/sleep on a beach, leave your stuff for 2 days unattended while you were "elsewhere engaged" come back to find everything they way you left it....

Sleep on the floor in seriously overcroweded trains....

Chiba euh? I *think* I was there visiting some of our company's offices when auditting our Japanses subsidiary...

and I believe Nikka is located in this prefecture (I have a bottle of Yoichi in my cabinet)

Kampai!!!!

Welcome to VFRD from the Netherlands!

[The Phantom]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that! I hear you on the madness that owning a bike full of memories will inspire - I've had my 94 since 98, haven't ridden it since 2001, but will never sell it.

Thanks for sharing such awesome memories, and your bikes are great - keep it coming :) Welcome to VFRD

[marriedman]

Wow, great story and gorgeous bikes!

[DucatiTerminator]

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing, and welcome!

[TheStig]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys - I'm encouraged that you've enjoyed my reminiscing so far & so have dug out a few more pics to upload & share.

Here's one from Serifos, Greece - just after we'd met with Tina & George, friends we'd known from their studies in the UK.



And a few of the VFR & the Domi again:

For the sake of continuation; going back to the NX650 again for a few moments.
One day whilst my friend drove a home-converted Ford transit ahead of me, I was following behind with his girlfriend as my passenger.
At a crossing, a Fiat Uno driven by a woman carrying a small child & travelling uphill at speed errantly crossed a red light and hit the van squarely on it's side. We watched in horror as the van first veered onto two wheels and about 10 metres ahead fell onto the driver's side. Fortunately nobody was hurt, although it did occur to me that had the Fiat come a few seconds later myself & the girl might have been killed.

For a year my friend & I negotiated with other driver's the insurance company and eventually got a full pay-out & we were also able to buy back the van as scrap for 500 GBP. I spent a day repairing it with a rented mig-welder and a few basic tools, including a sledge & a slide-hammer + a large sheet of steel. The driver's side was of course still badly scratched and somewhat dented too, so my biker friend Pritam suggested we throw a party for some budding artists.... And so one fine Saturday the van got re-painted with a focus on 'sea-life".
A life-saver ring I'd found on Brighton beach was attached to the back door and Neptune & a mermaid were the symbols on the bonnet. A couple of the hub caps were painted with spirals too.
Some of those budding artists weren't as good as others, but another coat of base blue would be brushed on whenever the panel of weed-smoking judges disapproved...

After our graduations from Sussex that summer, a total dozen guys & girls in equal quantity got together and headed for Cadaquez, Spain where one of the participant's parents had a holiday home complete with pool. We'd even managed to make sure my windsurfing equipment was loaded.

... I was the guy, 2nd from the left. Beth, the girl who'd ridden with Pritam & I to southern Italy was the blonde girl in the middle.

Not only because some enjoyed riding pillion, naturally for this trip to Spain I didn't want to be without my VFR and one of the other guys had a flying teapot, a.k.a. a GSX600F, so he, Pritam & myself shared these 2 bikes + the driving of the much slower Diesel transit camper van.

Cadaquez is about 3 hours north of Barcelona, Spain with some fabulous open roads with a mix of tight chicanes & hairpins over mountains. As we crossed over the French border and it was a pleasure to play.
I've always had a soft spot for curves, I guess...

Some of us were friends and some were couples, but we all got on well and had some great, if not loud parties. Sometimes there was nude swimming, but it was only that.
Nearby were a couple of English girls who always dressed provocatively and we soon noticed they were evidently gagging for it.

Whenever we saw them pass by as we sat outside eating together showed inquisitive & envious signs of not being a part of our parties.

One night they stopped & openly asked if they could join in our orgies! We laughed and told them no, it was nothing like that - but in hindsight I wished we had confirmed.
... We guessed the other girls in our group wouldn't have approved though and besides, we all knew each other well, so new additions were only going to spoil the balance.

Funny though to know what they were thinking.

The village itself was stunning and unspoilt with quiet cobbled streets leading into a very picturesque & quaint market square. Historically it was the place where Salvador Dali had spent much of his life and there were paintings of his in cafes, although no doubt they were fakes... !
At the entrance to the village square I was often greeted by a very sexy & curvy Spanish police lady in a tight fitting uniform. As we'd head down to have coffee, I'd ride the VFR in nothing but a pair of shorts, which of course was to her disapproval, but I took pleasure in being told off by her so I'd keep doing the same, whilst fantasising she might take off her hat, let her hair down and ride back up the cobbled street with me. Unfortunately that never happened, although I was never presented with a ticket either...

After a couple of weeks, the time came for our return to Blighty, so on the last day I decided I'd profess my affections to said Police lady. I rode into town determined to find her, but alas she must've been on her day off.
Instead, I consoled my sorrows by finding the owner of a rather fetching but rusted & seized up 1947 Velosolex Goose-necked scooter that was languishing against a wall. Bought it from him for a few hundred pesetas and tied it on top of the van just in time for our departure. I later met a nice but very eccentric 2CV driving Englishman called Tim, with a whole collection of Velo=Solexes in his basement and he helped me restore it to full working condition.

I'll never forget the beautiful views riding through French roads lined with overhanging oaks and fields full of radiant yellow sunflowers at somewhere nearing 100 mph on the VFR. Memories are the reason I never sold the viffer. So glad I never did.

After we returned from that trip a colleague & friend from my engineering course approved so much of my VFR that he asked me to find one for him, so the search ensued for a couple of months till I found another similar minter that made me smile. We subsequently enjoyed some great rides together in Sussex during weekends. He'd been a schoolboy moto-crosser and knew how to handle his bike well. Great memories of chasing him over hump-backed bridges and grinding our "hero blobs" into the tarmac.
A few years after I left the UK, he sold his VFR & tells me he regrets it, but we remain old friends to this day and he's visited Japan a few times and we visited him in the UK. His garage is now full of stunning machinery

Now working on contract in South Korea next month he'll come to Japan with his family and the plan is we'll be riding the VFR & SP2 together. It'll be just like old times, only on this occasion I want to introduce him to some of my favourite roads around Fuji where we can spend an entire day exploring corner after corner.... More memories are yet to be made and the VFR should easily survive another 10-20 years.
It'll get better as it gets older. Perhaps this summer my collection of parts will have reached critical mass & the modifications will start.

[CornerCarver]

Great period pictures and thank you for sharing your recollections of that time. While I initially thought it was starting off a bit like a Penthouse Forum letter (never read one in person but people have communicated the basic premise of them ) I am so glad that you mention a few things you might do differently with the wisdom acquired since that time.

The transition from youth/student to freedom/manhood (or adulthood) is a classic theme throughout literature and film. I think it is only enhanced by removing oneself from the viewing screen (as an automotive windshield gives us that view of the world, kind of like we are watching a movie) in immersing oneself into the film by being on a motorcycle.

When you are on a bike you are in the environment and those memories are more indelibly impressed by that immersion, the sounds are louder, the temperatures changes more extreme, the colors bolder, and the smells more evocative of nostalgia when you encounter them again years later.

Great stable you have there in Japan. Have you climbed Fuji-san yet? I am sure you know the Japanese say that "Everyone should climb Mt Fuji once, but only a fool would climb it twice."

Welcome aboard!

[Switchblade]

WELCOME and great story !!!

[TheStig]

Thanks CornerCarver. For sure, the senses are amplified when riding a bike compared to driving a car and so the experiences of travel can be intensified & more memorable.

In the past I had planned to climb Fuji with friends, but we never got around to it...Too much organisation required incl. carrying oxygen bottles in case of altitude sickness, etc (Although I understand most people don't suffer from this).
My family lived fairly close to it for 3 years and when walking the dog at night could see a trial of torch-light as people climbed to the top in order to see the panoramic dawn.

Problem is, I learnt from living there that views of the mountain in summer are always hazy so the view from the top isn't that likely to amount to much and in winter when there's sometimes 100km + of visibility (You can see Fuji clearly from Tokyo during colder months), the routes to the climbing stations are closed as it's too cold & dangerous. I think some Japanese celebrities tried heli-skiing and died a few years back.

Over the years I've grown used to taking a Gondola & chair lifts to the top of other smaller mountains, taking in a view & sliding to the bottom with a board, which is of course fun. But the comparable thought of a sweaty hike up continuous steep inclines through the night up some 2,500m of loose small sized volcanic gravel from the 5th station to see a murky view then walking back down again doesn't really appeal much by comparison...
It might even be foolish to climb it once.

Have seen a volcanic crater in Hawaii (Maui) once, but over there it's a lot more civilised. The view of the crater was just a brown bowl of volcanic rock. Not much to see there, the light of the sun was more interesting, really.
Tour companies take customers all the way to the top in a van to see the dawn and then people get to ride back to the bottom on a paved road with mountain bikes.

I think seeing a range of mountain glaciers is a lot more breathtaking although probably more dangerous, except perhaps by air:

These pics aren't mine. They were sent to me by a Canadian friend in temptation to travel to British Columbia and go ride snowmobiles in the glaciers there about 12 years ago. The inspirational shots worked....And we did get to see similar views. Stunning indeed. Went up there for a day, but I soon learnt that not knowing how to handle these 300kg machines is dangerous when falling off and they come tumbling down the hill after you.... After narrowly missing getting made into mincemeat, I chickened out for the rest of the holiday and went back to taking Gondolas & chairlifts and sliding back down on a board. Also took a glider flight over some of the mountain range which was unforgettable.

So you ask me if I plan to climb Fuji? On a bike forum? As someone who prefers faster ways of travel than sweaty hikes - thinking about it, I'll give that challenge a miss, I reckon...

[CornerCarver]

Having done both Haleakala (the volcanic crater in Maui that you are referring to) and Fuji, I would say you have completed the more fun of the two. That road down from the peak is the steepest paved road on the planet dropping from just over 10,000 feet to sea level in 27 miles. In 2007 they stopped allowing the bikes to run down from the top after multiple deaths and now take them down to 6700 feet or so (about 10 miles down the road) to just outside the park and continue on bike from there.

Our group leader was connected to the chase van with the bike trailer riding sweep and if you crossed the double yellow the group was stopped and you were scolded. If they felt you took the scolding to heart you got one more chance, if not they put your bike on the trailer and you in the van for the ride down.

For Fuji I was much younger and probably did not give the occasion the reverence that I would have in hindsight.

[TheStig]

Thanks CornerCarver - glad to get a perspective from someone who has done both. I can feel even more sure I'm not missing much then!
Sorry to hear. What a shame they stopped the rides from the top in 2007.... I can see how it could be fast and dangerous if a cyclist is foolish, I suppose but I don't subscribe to the idea we need nannying & protection. Just another example of the lack of common sense that tends to prevail these days.

If people take the risk they should have enough intelligence to keep themselves safe & not endanger others. If we continued on this line of nannying, there would be no snowboarding, motorcycle riding, or other possibly dangerous activities.

Having climbed the mountain, have you also ridden the roads around the 5 lakes of Fuji? There's some spectacular rides, especially during spring or autumn to see the views amongst the seasonal colours.
Bike rentals are also available with an international licence. Perhaps even new VFR800's...

[CornerCarver]

I was stationed in Yokosuka for 3 years en the early 80's...purchased my VF750F there in 1983 and had ridden many of the roads over the next 18 months before returning to the states.

I would love to visit there again. I am afraid that it would prove too costly as I would bring home 3 Honda NC35s and sell two to pay for the one I keep...maybe in a few years after I have seen more of Europe I can return.

[paladinreed]

Wow, great introduction. Fuji san looks incredible. I will be in Tokyo for 4 weeks beginning June and look forward to seeing what Japan has to offer. After 16 years there yourself I guess that it must have its charms.

[TheStig]

June is the beginning of the hot & humid season here, but if you go up to the mountains you'll be comfortable.
I'm here for good now, family, home & life are in Japan. Couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave, except perhaps to retire to NZ (South Island); the most stunning country my family & I have ever seen.

[paladinreed]

June is the beginning of the hot & humid season here, but if you go up to the mountains you'll be comfortable.

I'm here for good now, family, home & life are in Japan. Couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave, except perhaps to retire to NZ (South Island); the most stunning country my family & I have ever seen.

I believe that about NZ. I see you also have a soft spot for e30's. I've owned over 10 e30's but have yet to own an e30 m3.

I just sold my last convertible in February. I think I'll miss this one.

Vfr and BMW go together so well. I always liked the correlation between the e30 M3 and the rc30 racing heritage.

Again, welcome and I look forward to seeing your adopted country very soon.

[TheStig]

Interesting E30's are becoming collectable. I think all manual performance BMW's will be as years go on....

My first car being a rusted, multi-coloured 2002 tii left me with a nostalgia for performance 4 cylinder BMW's, so when the M3 came along I became hooked as it brought memories flooding back, yet it did everything much better than that 1st car. Unfortunately the previous owner had seen fit to disconnect the electric cooling fans and although it didn't overheat in use - when I left it idling one day as I talked on the phone, it got extremely hot and warped it's head.

As it had leaks of oil weeping from all over I opted to have the engine rebuilt with forged components, higher compression and longer duration cams for more revs & better breathing.
Then the suspension and brakes, diff, etc. were all upgraded to suit. It's currently in process of having a standalone ECU fitted, but is a keeper.

[paladinreed]

Bbs rgr? That engine bay is gorgeous.

Yes e30s have gotten extremely popular here in the US and around the world. M3s are fetching insane prices nowadays. I've been driving e30s since I was 15 (~10 years) and this year marks the first time I have not owned one.

Now I must mesh my 90s German and Japanese obsessions into one bike.

Something I might suggest for your M3 for extra DTM points haha

Great stable. Can't wait to see what happens with the 3rd gen vfr.

Cheers!