FIRST LAP: My '99 Honda VFR around the Nürburgring Nordschleife Onboard lap 

I’ve had a new VFR in 1998 with 98HP and Cat. Sold in 2002. After my son was grown up, I get 1997 French model with 107HP and without Cat. Still driving and loving it.

Uprate the suspension, delink the brakes and stickier rubber and you could do anything with that bike 👍🏻 Lovely riding Dale, especially with inadequate rear damping 😮

Great video! On the linked braking there is a ratio dial to adjust the percentage of rear brake when pulling front and vice versa. Its near right hand side near bleed nipple under the tank. To back off the severity of the rear linked braking.

lovely! cant wait to get back to the ring :) if you run out of video ideas a video of some nice motorcycle roads around the area would be much apriciated ;)

Just sums up what great bikes honda made back then . That v4 was in its eliminate.

I've got a 1999 and it's been on the list to ride it there for some time. I guess it will happen soon. Thank you for the video. You just got another subscriber.

Don't forget to swap out the front pegs and rear wheel nuts to 6th gen folks.

You were having entirely too much fun. Some of us were stuck in the garage, rebuilding a knackered front wheel on a DT250B, and some of us were hooning it up on the Nurburgring. Bugger.

What exhaust is that? It looks really nice 😊

Don’t get into the habit of clutching it up out of the cones. Learned the hard way, gearbox hates it on those.

Sold my 1999 in silver 3 yrs ago because my skeletal problems. Hearing this makes me pine. The non vtec is the best bike ever made. Thanks for a nice smooth trip not frenetic able to appreciate it much more. 24 yrs old and what a looker. When I see these new bikes Matt black 😢😢😢. Thing of beauty

Lovely calm and within the limits ride. Very nice to watch.. Had two 5th gens an 8th gen briefly, and now a 7th gen. I love the look of the 5th gen the most, sound of the gear cams and riding position. The 6th gen is pretty close although not as good to look at. Underseat exhaust is nice but removes a lot of storage space. The 2nd 5th gen just needed an upgraded reg/rec (as all Hondas do from this era) and was running S22 tyres - it was scraping pegs everywhere. Personally, i grew to appreciate the linked brakes. For the road i think they work incredibly well. Only pain was when id had the calipers refurbed and needed to refill/bleed - there is a trick i was missing with having to have the second master cylinder held at IIRC 15 degrees to allow bubbles to flow up. What a PITA! Normal flushes should be fine. Just was starting to get concerned about availability of parts and desire for ABS that made me want to get the newer model. Still miss the RC46 though..

I need a VFR 800 in my life. My mate has one with over 100,000 miles on it now

Nice Dale. Single side swing arm reminds me of the ducati 916 when it came out. Such a beauty.

You do know that you can get a kit to get rid of the linked brakes, they sell them at jaws, a black bird specialist,

Hi there, first time here. Nice bike, awesome driving skills👍

A gentle bimble in the countryside, what's not to like!

What could be more dangerous than street riding along with cars in traffic? Riding track with skittish weekend warriors in cars!

Without a shadow of a doubt this was the best all round bike I ever owned .in red obviously ,late 750 was prettier but 800 was a better bike .😁 Got the vtec powered cross runner now but it ain’t built like a proper Honda of old

That’s doing really well that VF! I remember my Honda VF500F2 being a bloody quick bike for a 500. I wheelied away from a Porsche Turbo, 2-up, left it behind. I think you’ll be needing 2 new tyres then…..

Never liked the linked brakes on any of those Honda bikes, glad my viffers are old enough where that was never even on the drawing board being 90-93 and all. Wish I could get one of mine (have 2) over your way to ride the "Ring." All my VFRs have upgraded suspensions and fork internals. Nice riding!

Hey bud great video and great lap. Shame you didn’t have new tyres on but I suppose the brakes were a limiting factor anyway

how you get back there so quick 😂

Great bike buddy.....it's on my list of ownership. Respect for anybody doing the Ring.....it can chew you up and spit you out...been twice myself but,I think I'm done.

My view of the braking is to look at the fire blades stopping power, which is only around 3 meters stronger. So I've got all that back with modern tyres plus ebc discs and ebc hh sintered pads. Servicing the brakes makes the most improvement twice a year imo. And avoiding braking until the fluid boils! Enjoying.

I really should take my RC46 down there. The track is just 30 minutes away from me but I've never had the courage. I'll watch a few of your videos again and then , maybe, 2024 is the year!

The Nurburgring on two wheels. You're a braver man than me Dale. When we were over with the F650GSses two years I briefly (briefly!) considered doing a lap, but decided that maybe my second-ever track outing on two wheels shouldn't be the Green Hell. And then I came back a year later and did it in an overweight American Police car, but that's beside the point. xD

Still have my 99 I bought in 2000 and loving it

Nice lap Dale! :D Good to see the old girl earn "the sticker" (though I'd guess you don't bother with that sort of thing - that's for the tourists, right? ;) (you being an honorary local? ;) :D )) Makes me wanna scratch the VFR itch I wish I had at the time and never did, even more!! So, new tyres, de-linked brakes and a replacement (or rebuilt) new shock and you're good to go!? :) (looks like the rear shock was quite limiting in places? (Pflantzgarten in particular!!?? :o )) Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed that immensely!! :) :D Also good to see the old @HideoutLeather jacket still going strong! My old Crowtree is the same, but I have plenty of newer Hideout kit also... FTW!! :) :D

Dont forget....this is a Stock Bike with any years .... any points at the Nordschleife are dangerous for suspensions...wheels and other...stay sharp on this track

Hi great video, great old vfr800fi's I also have 99 with 20k miles , what camera are you using. Looking forward to your VFR updates

That looks like fun! Im not really a racer do, and taking my 47 hp Moto Guzzi V7 to the ring doesn't seem like a good plan 😅

As a previous owner of a ‘04 VTEC, I loved this. Such cracking bikes the VFRs. I assume the Daytona 660 plan is no longer, is that the case?

Sold mine last year 2000 model, and regretting it, only had 23,000 miles on the clock, had an arrow exhaust, which sounded awesome.

Great vid! You're so lucky that you live close to such an amazing, legendary track. I've had a 107 hp 99' version of this 800 VFR here in Australia. It was track only, no mirrors, lights, Pirelli slicks on etc.. Had a full system, no CAT obviously and a carbon muffler. The sound was intoxicating, orgasm to the ear every lap. However mine overheated all the time during a 20 min session. I usually started the sessions at 80 degrees Celsius and finished with 115C. Which is an overkill IMO. It cannot be good for any street engine if the block gets that hot. So after 2 years and numerous track events we parted ways and bought a Daytona 675. Which is an absolute track weapon compared to the VFR. Not only faster and much lighter, it doesn't overheat, and sounds amazing too. I guess overheating is not so much an issue in Germany? 🤔

Greetings from Thailand, excellent video, impressive controlled skill on the bike, could you please tell me which helmet you use, which microphone do you use and which camera you use as your speech is very clear with hardly any wind noise

Big stones to take that on the ring with other tourists cars. I wouldn't dare unless it's the latest modern fully electronically equipped superbike.

Those early Hondas were so good, just sold my old cbr600 but only because I wanted a naked summer bike. The VFR would be my choice for a sports tourer now.

That brings back some fond memories of mine on the NS. I'm certain you can de-link the brakes.

Bro you are going crazy fast ! Cold old tires worped brakes and still pushing.

Well ridden, a pleasure to watch. The VFR is such a legend, had a couple in the 2000s, now tempted to get another…

Awesome Bike, great riding. This is how the VFR needs to be driven. Loved the video!

Once a again a great vid! I have a question are you now allowed to use a gopro on your helmet and bike?

Relaxed ride, well done :) I putted a Wilbers rear suspension into a 2001 Sp1 with a spring fitted to my weight, front fork still original Showa with max. preload. Works really brillant. Think about cleaning the brake calipers and service them with new sealings, seems as your pads stick to the discs a bit much.

Very interesting I’m heading there for my first bike visit in August, I can’t decide between taking the gsxr1000 or VFR, nice to see they are capable should I decide on the comfy option

Children, take your seats. Grandpaw Dale is in session.

Nice and smooth ride, here for fun times not lap times , thats a Nice attitude. 😊👍

Love my 88 FJ. It’s a bike with character and one of the sweetest engines ever made!

Good effort, such calm commentary ! Well done

I'm not sure but I believe the Vtec calipers are a straight swap for those on the earlier 800 and have more front brake bias than the early ones, so that might solve your blue disc problem. It is of course possible to delink the brakes. A time consuming but not expensive job.

Will be watching this closely, got a 98 VFR with 85k miles on, love the thing. Put a maxton shock on it and it changed the bike, wanna do something with the front end, but not really sure if just fork springs or a complete overhaul.

had one of these in the same colour scheme ,lovely engine .

Super clean ride, fantastic bike 👌 all the best

Alright I will go for a test ride today, but hearing and seeing this, this bike will be my world travel bike :D

Hi mate. Where are you based?

Do you have a PB at the ring ?

Riding the dream 🙂

👍

I am not a big fan of moto, but I must admit that this video was quite cool. I wish you a safe season at NRing. :)

Nice lap on a classic bike. Thanks for the ride, Dale.