VFR750 Gen 4.

[Tinkicker]

The last of the 750s.  My recollection of my first impressions in the days of yore..  Yore being 1997.

 

Oft described by motorcycle hacks as " the best all rounder motorcycle ever made".  That I can agree with, but then I am biased.

 

First impressions I had when I first sat on my brand new green one outside the dealers in 1997 was it was like climbing into an expensive motor car  ( yes it was one of the most expensive bikes Honda offered.  Fireblades were significantly cheaper).  Edit.  Found a calculator, the winter discounted purchase price of £9500 in 1997 is £21,322 in todays money.  It was very expensive for a 750, even though discounted.  I think the list price was closer to £11,000 (£24,688 in 2023)

The build quality was outstanding and the cockpit was very well equipped and laid out.  The feeling was akin to the motorcycle equivalent of sitting in the driving seat of a new merc or bmw.

The controls fell easily to hand, the hydraulic clutch was smooth and light, and the dashboard and gauges clear and well laid out.

I felt immediately at home.

 

Lovely homey cockpit exuded quality.

 

So far so good.  It certainly had me nodding in approval.  Time to ride it home. 

First I needed to move it from its parking space and get it pointed towards the exit.  I was well used to moving around my now written off Honda CB900FA, so was no stranger to manhandling large heavy bikes around.  No problem.  What immediately got my attention was how much more top heavy the VFR felt, even though it was a much lighter bike overall.  I found it quite nerve wracking moving it around.

In fairness it was a brand new bike with little more than one mile on the clock and was surrounded by easily damaged plastic and expensive paint.  Something I never had before. 

The heaviness was due to the fairly high slung V4 engine, which is a very much more top heavy unit than an inline four cylinder due to the crankshaft being half the size, compounded by the narrow and low handlebars.  

knowing it and feeling it are two very different things though.  I never got used to manouvering the bike around and it fact still havent.  I still find moving it around the backyard a very tense experience.

 

Starting it and riding it.

The dealer had briefed me on the peculiarities of starting a VFR during the sale.  Apparently, due to US regulations, Honda had made the choke circuit quite lean.  Fine for Phoenix Arizona and the UK summer, not so good on a cold early December morning in Castleford. 

The deal was to put the choke on and hit the starter button until it fired.  Release it to see if it continued running.  If it stalled, hit it again and continue this until it would run on its own.  Once two cylinders were hitting, it would run by itself without starter assistance, and the other cylinders would soon decide to chime in.

I was briefed that it may seem like it was faulty, but this was normal winter weather behaviour.  Never, ever fiddle with the choke lever or throttle.  Just keep hitting the button till it ran on its own and then let it sort itself out.

 

The dealer had the bike started before I arrived, and she had been in a warm showroom, so there were no problems starting her.  Choke on, ignition on and she popped right off and settled to a smooth high idle.

30 seconds on choke and switch it off as briefed.  The bike was idling nicely.  I thought the dealer was having me on. 

However, I soon found out that he wasn't. 

A cold soaked VFR gen 4 that has been laid up in a cold garage for a couple of weeks in minus temps is no joke to start.  It can spit, vibrate and shudder on its stand for a full two or three minutes till it is happy.  Touch the throttle at your peril while this is going on.

With modern crap fuel, starting them up  and getting them really hot once a month during the winter lay up is essential if you have not drained down the fuel system.

One hint of slightly stale fuel or water separating out in the float bowls means a major headache.  How I do miss my fuel injected bikes.  They are so easy..

 

So we have the bike ready to ride.  Clutch is light and progressive and we set off for the motorway to ride the 20 or so miles home.  Steering is quite positive and once over 10 mph, she is quite stable.  On the open road, the narrowness of that V4 engine comes into its own.  The bike is physically small and narrow and is akin to riding a far smaller bike, it is more moped than mile muncher in feeling.  It can be flung around with ease. 

Riding position is very much perched on top, rather than sat in.

The riding position means it is easy to keep ones head moving for observations and lifesavers. 

Not so with the Blackbird that came after, a fantastic bike on the open road but a horror bike around town.

 

We get on the motorway and give it a bit of throttle.  The engine sounded odd.  It was misfiring.  What the heck?  A bit more throttle to try clear it. 

A look at the speedo showing instaban speeds and cars apparently reversing backwards towards me, soon made me realise that it was not in fact missing, it was the V4 engine beat which has a very unhurried quality compared to an inline 4 that I was so used to hearing.

Again, the blackbird which followed always sounded very "busy" in comparison.

 

Handling around some of my favourite local bends, bearing in mind the new tyres and cold tarmac was reassuring.  It is a very stable and sure footed bike.  I never had it shake its head or give me reason for concern in the three years I had it.  I had absolutely no problem staying with my sportsbike riding mates.  General road conditions never allowed them to exploit the handling advantage they had over the VFR enough. 

Sure at times, Mr Fireblade and Mr Hoover pipes might start to pull away on the twisties, but they were not able to push the advantage long enough, and they would be staring at my headlamp in their rear mirrors a few seconds later.

 

Brakes.  Some poo poo VFR brakes saying they are weak.  I say poppycock.  To the naysayers, You need to exercise your hands more, you must be a bit limp wristed or enjoy doing two finger stoppies.

Certainly VFR brakes are not two finger affairs, but they are progressive and well capable of performing stoppies with ease, or locking up the wheels.  What more do you need?  No fancy ABS here.

 

Pulling away from traffic lights with enthusiasm.  One delightful trait the VFR has, is on being given a handful from the lights, it will loft the front wheel about 6" above the tarmac and happily keep it there.  No fuss, no thinking it will flip.

Full blown wheelies need to be very deliberate actions.

 

 Select second at 7000rpm and you can clutch the front wheel back up easily.  Again 6" above the road.  No fuss, no drama.  Keep it in second towards the redline and it will gradually lower back to the road again.  No bumps, thumps or shaking bars.  Very satisfying.  Of course, I am too old and sensible for such antics these days.

 

 

The downside.  The Mrs and I used to tour quite a bitvand the VFR is a bit too small physically for comfortable, long distance trips 2 up.  I always found my nuts getting pressed into the tank after a few dozen miles when the Mrs started shuffling around in the back.

I traded it in for a new CBR1100XX Super Blackbird, thinking it would be a bigger VFR.  I knew I had made a grave mistake before I got it home.

 

The ultimate test.  Would I have another VFR750 gen 4?

 

Yup.  The red one above is mine.  I waited years for one to appear with undamaged plastics and original unmarked1997 paint.  I wish it was green like my old one, but beggars cannot be choosers.

It arrived home and before the day was over, it was in pieces.  Every bush, bearing, cable, oil seal, hose and o ring has been replaced. Although the bike was in excellent condition, my goal was to make a showroom fresh one again.

Every system and part has been overhauled and refurbished apart from the core engine.  VFR750s are absolutely bulletproof and ripping into a 30,000 mile engine that is barely run in would do more harm than good.

 

I threw away the goodridge hoses and scoured the world for NOS original brake pipework.  I wanted originality.  The forks were pitted above the seal line.  They have been hard chromed and fully rebuilt to as new.  Of course the brakes and every other system has been stripped, inspected and rebuilt.

 

 

Rear end completely stripped and rebuilt.  Brand new Hagon rear shock fitted.  Disappointingly, I could not source a NOS genuine rear brake hose, so had to settle for a black goodridge.

 

 

Every part of every system has been gone through.  If some hard to find or very expensive part that was found to be in less than perfect condition was come across, entire sub assemblies were scrapped and better quality replacements sourced, overhauled and fitted in their place.  The swingarm had a small alloy graze on it, probably garage rash at some point.

 

 

 

 

Verdict:  The VFR does everything excedingly well.  However there is nothing it excells at.  Other bikes are faster, better handling, better stopping, offer more comfort, offer better touring capability and even pull better wheelies.  However it is few bikes that are able to offer almost as good in every department and in a single package.

 

I retire in 6 years and have the perfect bike to retire with.  I do not ride it much now, but it is there waiting for when I have more time.

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Tinkicker

[Mawsley]

One of the bikes I always wanted but never got. The VFR lost out to the XJ900S by virtue of not having shaft back in the day when the mileage I did was enough to want to skip constant lubing and tensioning. 
 

Looks like it’ll never feature on my list now that I’m back to a 1 bike garage. What a cracking example that looks though. 

[Steve_M]

I had one in blue. Lovely motor. Kept it for a couple of years and replaced it with a VFR800fi. It was a fine bike indeed. I never had the starting issues you mention despite commuting all year round,. 

[Tinkicker]

Yep.  Using all the time is key.  Laying up for awhile becomes a problem, esp with the crap we call petrol nowdays.  I make sure mine is started once a month.  That is not good for a 4 stroke, it needs to be used.  But in the Viffers case, better than the alternative.

 

Once laid it up without attention for 3 months.  Took a complete carb removal and clean to get it runnng again.  This is despite the fuel being laced with stabiliser.

Springtime temps arrive and starting is never a problem.  First time with 4 cylinders running off the button every time.  December to April layup is the pits.  That is where the histrionics start.  

Both the new one back in 97 and the one I have now exhibited the same tendency.  Perhaps it may be a little worse now than then, due to the poorer fuel we have now.

The direct result of this cold weather start trouble is that VFR750s are renowned for wearing out starter clutches.

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Tinkicker