One of the motorcycles I had in the past and truly enjoyed, was the VFR. It uses THAT engine… that one that I just can’t help but to love… Honda’s V-4. Lots of power at the low revs, lots of power in the middle, and lots at the top. Honda has put this engine in the Magna, and made them in a couple different sizes… all good.
My first was a 500CC, then later a 750, and then an 800. The 500 wasn’t my first bike, my first bike was also a V-4… the Saber.
But the Saber pretty much became a cruiser, and Honda used the badge on the Shadow line of bikes… pity… But the V-4 lived on the Magna… I’ve had a few Magnas. One of each Generation. The last was the best, undoubtedly.
The Intercepter though… that became known simply as the VFR. And it’s lived it’s life as a dedicated sports bike, then went the path of the Sports Touring as Honda decided to bring the inline-4 out as the dedicated sports machine. I used to hate the CBR because of that. It’s Commercial Airliner looking fairings and Non-V-4 engine. The VFR kinda became tired. The sporty looking bike for Old Guys. Well, now I’m an Old Guy. And it’s looking good. It’s looking really good.
It’s not a perfect Sports Touring Bike… It has it’s flaws. But it’s got some great points. A new double clutch system, that V-4 engine in a 1200 sized Value Pack of Moto-Goodness. It’s also fairly heavy, and people are saying it’s not as powerful as it should be. But I think this is forgivable giving the fact that the power delivery is low and mid-range designed for what it’s for… Sports Touring.
| Engine type | l-c V4 |
| Valve train | SOHC, 16v |
| Displacement | 1237cc |
| Bore x stroke | 81.0 x 60.0mm |
| Compression | 12.0:1 |
| Fuel system | PGM-FI |
| Clutch | Wet, multi-plate slipper or dual-clutch automatic |
| Transmission | 6-speed |
| Claimed horsepower | na |
| Claimed torque | na |
| Frame | Aluminum twin-spar |
| Front suspension | 43mm Showa inverted fork with adjustable rebound damping |
| Rear suspension | Single Showa shock with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping |
| Front brake | Dual Nissin six-piston radial calipers, 320mm discs |
| Rear brake | Single Nissin two-piston caliper, 276mm disc |
| Front tire | 120/70-ZR17 Dunlop Roadsmart |
| Rear tire | 190/55-ZR17 Dunlop Roadsmart |
| Rake/trail | 25.3 deg./4.0 in. |
| Seat height | 32.1 in. |
| Wheelbase | 60.8 in. |
| Fuel capacity | 4.9 gal. |
| Claimed wet weight | 591 lbs. standard, 613 lbs. automatic |
| Color | Candy Red |
| Available | March |
| Warranty | 12 mo., unlimited mi. |
I love the VFR750F and IMO it has tons of style with a nod to its racing heritage with the single rear swing arm. I owned 2 bikes when I was living in Japan, a Honda NSR250RR 2-stroke and a Honda VFR400R, which was nothing like a sport tourer. The NSR had torque for days but me being 6’2″ the bike was a bit small for me. I moved up to the VFR as it was the size of a 600 class bike but considerably lighter but would smoke the 600’s in the curves and off the line. I loved my ZX10 that I had in Germany but the VFR was more fun and I was able to import it back to the ‘States when I came to NC.
One of the new generation VFR’s (Intercepter) major flaws is having to shell out an extra thousand bucks for panniers. If Honda is going to aim this bike at the sport-touring market segment, then bags HAVE to be included as standard equiptment.
I agree.
This is what I currently ride, the 800. Overall, it’s great.
Agree with Marc, would be nice if the factory bags didn’t cost so bleepin’ much