Totally agree, my 2000 Fi-X does 117 bhp at the wheel with a Power Commander, its very hard to beat that bike as a package. 150 mph, 190 miles to a tank, engine sounds amazing, never dates, never let's me down. Almost got 50k miles and still runs true without any issue.
I'm on my second VFR. For my first in 2001 and after 18 years I was forced to move to the very latest model due to an accident. I can tell you that in the 2001 I never had to do any special engine maintenance. That engine is not only 100% reliable, as it's also indestructible. It's a fuel injection with gear cams, no VTEC. The newer one has chain cams and VTEC. At the beginning it was sort of weird, as it's like Dr.Jekill below the 7k rpm and Mr.Hyde above those rpm. I honestly miss the power of my older VFR, but the newer one is less heavy and turns better. The front suspension is better as well and breaks better (mine came with abs). It's not a flashy supersport bike, but it does the job and it's a good commuter. You can do short and long travels and your back doesn't complain. I don't know the Suzuki. They are probably very good as well, but as for the VFR 800, all I can tell are good things about it. Cheers!
Have you noticed any difference in reliability or efficiency between chain distribution and gear distribution? Does the VTEC system (in the transition from 2 to 4 valves) create a problem with the guide?
@@dantefitti6678 the VTEC transition in my model is pretty smooth. It's smoother if the engine is warmer. I believe it has to do with how the ECU is configured. As for reliability it's hard to tell, yet. I did 120k km without any major maintenance than changing the oil, oil filter and air filter and the new VFR only has 25k km and so far I also only changed the oil, oil filter and air filter. As for efficiency, what I can tell is that the camshaft VTEC was "always there" and this one seems "slower". Even max speed is not as high as the 2001 model. Of course it's still way over the legal max speed, but... I just got a Power Commander V, but I'm not expecting any miracles, but maybe I can get better performance on lower revs. That and also try to see if I can get better acceleration on 6th gear. At least that's my main goal. Let's see if it works. But it's a good bike, well built and as I mentioned, it feels safer.
good on ya mate, this is a very good analysis of the VFR800. We have a couple of them, his and hers. we find that the ONLY downside of the VFR800 is the weight to engine capacity. If the VFR800 was 20 KG lighter it would be fricken amazing. The V4 is epic, stick a power commander on there, K&N and a pipe and you will have a machine that gives you that Joker smile all day long. My wife being a former light vehicle mechanic does all the work on ours. But we have only had to do normal maintenance. There have been only 2 jobs that normally we would take to the mechanic but we did our self's because we could. Cam chain tensioners and valve clearance checking. Cam chain tensioners anyone with half a brain can do at home, seriously is not that bad. The only other thing I can think of that just sucks to do is bleeding the brakes on this bike as its got the linked braking system, it sucks but it doable at home. We love ours and have done thousands of kilometers around New Zealand on ours and just change the fluids, chain and sprockets and it will take you well beyond 200,000Km.......easy. Its just heavy for an 800, riding locally my wife prefers a lighter bike like her street triple, but longer riders its twin VFR800's all the way. In NZ we rarely even use 6th gear, the bike just loves 120kph and 6 grand revs. its just purring along and leave you with a smile. Cant go wrong with the VFR800 unless you like in the city then, screw that.
Owner of a 05 silver vfr. 30,000 miles. I agree on the styling and i love the single swingarm and the underseat pipes. Red/wht/blue my fav color scheme too. Been riding since '77 starting on a xr75. Now 54, ive experienced touring/dual sport/ sportbike/cruiser. I still prefer the fast bikes, having owned a cbr1000, 1st and 2nd gen busas but my body is not tolerant to these riding positions as before. I find the vfr is a good compromise plus my insurance is only 150.00 a year. Also i think the v4 plays the most beautiful notes to my ears. Tommy Williams, charter life member AMA.
Great review! I bought my first VFR in '99. A new one. Was an awesome bike that I kept for only about 7 months. Sold it for several reasons. Buying a 2014 in a couple of weeks. It's a white one and low mileage. Excited about getting back into riding. Thanks again for a wonderful review that is timely.
Got a 2001 VFR800fi it's a perfect all around bike! Love the sound of the gear drivin V4. I'm thinking of changing over to the 08-09 VFR vtec or even the 13-14 VFR, but don't want to regret getting rid of my timeless 01.
That 2001 is a timeless iconic piece of motorcycle awesomeness for sure! I am a sucker for the 2007-2008 range as well...but maybe add one if you can instead of replacing haha
@@AlexSimmons11c I have a 2002 Honda 800 vfr interceptor, it turns off when I'm running, the IF light comes on then it doesn't want to turn on until after the waiting time comes back and turns on, which will be?
spot on alex got 3 viffers 2 750 models a 88 fj anda 94 fr and 2015 800 as you can tell like my viffers v4 motor is a peach the vfr is the perfect all round bike had a triumph sprint st 1050 like you said a lovely motor but my choice the v4 is the better one been riding 33 years now for a all round bike viffer takes some beating and just so well made . Only one thing wrong with a viffer is getting of it and waiting for the next ride !!.
I sold my 04 VStrom 1000 and picked up an 07 25th Anniversary VFR (red, white, blue) and a 19 CRF 250 Rally. Your comments are spot on. I toured all over North America on the VStrom, logging over 130,000 kms with ZERO issues. Other than tires, chain and sprockets and wheel bearings (wear items) the bike ran flawlessly and never gave me an issue. The original clutch was still in the bike when I sold it. The VFR is everything you described and looks great doing it. A bit more comfort and flexibility on the Vstrom, a bit more performance and better looks on the VFR.
Both AMAZING motorcycles! It would be hard for me to choose, the Vstrom being the slightly more overall practical choice, but there is something about the VFR that makes it a special instant classic.
I had a VFR800 (02) for 5 years, then came across an Aprilia Futura which I owned for a year. I loved it as well, both felt very similar and were a blast to ride. Then I found a great deal on a FJR, which I had wanted for a while, so I got it and have had it for 5 years now. Also a great bike, but I find that I'm missing the engine in the VFR so I'm currently shopping for another one. In this time, my dad has owned a first gen FZ1 and a Vstrom 650 and I put many miles on those as well. All of these have been amazing bikes that I would recommend to anyone. I find the Vstrom boring, but if you have any interest in getting off the pavement, it's hard to beat.
Your video popped up on my feed and your spot on about the VFR. I own the exact same model and color, the 2007 25th Ann. Ed. She has white powder coated wheels with the rare spider spokes foem the 2000 model at the rear and I never get tired of staring at it in my garage. She rides like a dream and with a new rear suspension and refreshed front handles like a 600. Highly capable sport touring machine and coupled with the hard saddlebags, she eats the road for miles on end. She only has 38k miles on her and and maintenence is very minimal (usual rectifier issues and replaced CCT). I will be keeping her until either her wheels fall off or mine does lol!
I had a 2005 V Strom 650. It is a great bike. Only downside is wind buffeting. Center of Gravity is a little higher. I heard the newer models are better.
I have a 5th gen, I got it this year and it had been laid up for 5 years. It’s an amazing machine, they don’t make em like that anymore. A keeper for sure, possibly a pension 🤔
So heres the thing, Having owned a Vstrom(650) and an 04 Viffer(still do, wink, wink) I can tell u with actual ownership experience, a choice between the two solely resides in the type of riding u plan, wish, hope, think or actually do. U wanna go off the beaten path every once in a while? Vstrom. U wanna be able to keep pace w the 600/750 boys on street legal race bikes in the canyons or the twists? Viffer. You wanna do 500mi days on the slab? Either. Both really are 2 of the best bikes I ever ridden. They are apples and oranges tho. Sportbike performance and style and rider position, VFR. Sport tourer/ADV w mild to medium offload capabilities, 1k Strom. Fuck it bro, buy both. CL is teeming w bike steals and deal right now. LOL, good luck man and I would love to hear which direction u chose. Good Luck!
An interesting thing about the newer Triumph triples is that they have the "T-Plane" crankshaft. When an inline 3 cylinder engine has a "T-Plane" crankshaft its exhaust pattern makes the motorcycle sound very much like the VFR800 because the firing order is the same except for the missing 4th piston.
Hi Alex, thank you for opinion. For some reason i am more drawn to VFR...reason being is i want to try something different. I am not sure if it is a good move but hey we only live once. I did bit of YT research...and not sure about VTec Generation....The 5th generation seem to be more bullet proof. As we all know honda suffers with electrics but once this is sorted i should be fine...have you any thoughts on this?
You probably got the bike already, but if not, the 5th generation is a very good bike. I probably still had one if I hadn't an accident. It's a very reliable bike, but by today's standards it's heavy, doesn't turn that well , the suspension is not as good as compared to the latest model and you miss some goodies, such abs or the possibility to install a quickshifter. But in terms of engine I preferred the 5th gen
Honestly I’m more of an old school fan. I ride an 86 VFR 700F Intercepter, definitely on the heavier side but still a fun ride! ABS, traction control and single sided swing arm not included of course :P
Thanks for this straight on post about this great bike. To the VFR owners here: If you had the choice of an '02 or a '99 model, both in good shape (Givi monokey cases come along with the '99 for a grand extra)... which would be your choice? Like the touring ability of this sporty fun bike, and the 800cc size and power is ideal for me (FJR and C14 are nice but big and heavy and I don't need 150 hp). Had a '16 VStrom 650XA since '17 and it is a fantastic do-everything, comfortable, tough is shit, reliable bike... but it lacks that visceral engine feel when you aren't just all packed up and exploring backroads and gravel paths (which is pretty awesome to be able to do everything on one bike!) on a 10+hr day. I'm kind of stuck on the fence between gear driven cam, looks (like that old school style, but the 02 twin exhaust is damn sexy) and the lesser cost of the 99. But the ABS, suspension, longer wheel base and integrated cases of the 02 (and it of course looks great too). Rode the 02 and it was great (had a C10 for 14 yrs but never a smaller sport bike, so it was an exciting experience), and will demo the 99 when possible. How similar do they feel? Trying to decide which to buy and could use the experience of VFR owners. I am adding it to the Strom... these two all-rounder bikes are perfect in my book.
Make sure you have an owners manual so you know the maintenance schedule, and follow what it recommends doing at the appropriate times! If you are mechanically inclined get the service manual so you can do it, if not then take it to a good Honda mechanic as those V4 engines are a little more complicated. Very reliable, but more involved in maintaining than a standard twin or inline 4
Takes a Honda Civic/CRV oil filter, oil change takes like 5 minutes, unless you’re digging into motor work they are pretty easy to work on! if it tells you anything about the motor durability, I bought it at a bike graveyard as a running and very neglected 144k mile repairable, rode it 2 hours back home, temp hit 260 multiple times due to fan failure, started smoking like crazy when I got it home, dumped the oil to change it and see if there was any shavings, well it had 8.5 quarts in a 3 quart system, I push that motor to redline almost every time I ride it with no problems, extremely tough motor 💯
junebugg777 weight is relative to the riders previous history. I find it stable rather than heavy. As for issues... regulator and rectifier,(electrics) are the biggest known issue. Thankfully there are kits out there to solve for not much money. After that they’re pretty bulletproof
I've had my 2015 VFR800 now since bought new in 2016, it has 6600km on the clock now, how pathetic is that? Sometimes I wish it had bit more power, a bit more low down grunt and a bit more roomy riding position with higher and wider bars. I still like it so much I really want to keep it for a long time, maybe it will be a collectors bike in the future.
Fantastic vid with plenty of encouragement for potential VFR800 buyers like me. May I pop a question about the much debated dual braking system on the VFR800? Some say it could be dangerous in certain riding situations because the rear also activates the front. Can I please ask your opinion on this type of brake set-up? Thank you Sir.
Looks like he doesn't want to chat. So I'm happy to answer your question . In my opinion it would be better if the rear brake didn't operate the front as I see that as unnecessary. Thanks.. You can call me sir anytime.
I think at least Japan police and former Royal Hong Kong Police Force used vfr800P as police motorcycle. The engine sound very... fluffy. Its a V4, no wonder
There is a lot of stuff such as the instruments, CDI/ECU, relays, oil cooler, radiators, sensors and so on under that nose-cone and fairings. I have mine all stripped back for some maintenance at the moment. Basically everything apart from the tail lights and battery. Without a lot of good electrical wiring harness modifications and clever relocation of some electrical components you would not be happy with any results. The bike does look badass with no plastics on and I was contemplating it myself, but id say its something that only a very experienced and imaginative bike builder/modifier should do, and even they would struggle (i believe) to get a good result.
hello alex, im planning to buy a bike gsxr600 with a 240 fat tire kit..but its been 2.5 decades that i never ride motorcycle do you think its good for me to get that kind of bike..
I was going to buy a vfr 800 but I can't get over the single swing arm and the way it looks way too much hype for a 800 with 100hp doesn't do anything for me
Talk talk talk but no video of the bike? What you dont even have one to put in the video? Not interested in your video watching you talk. Put on the BIKE!
