Intercepted: Honda Vfr800 Impressions From Europe
INTERCEPTED: HONDA VFR800 IMPRESSIONS FROM EUROPE
ROUNDUP
WHAT’S THE MOST Anticipated new sportbike of 1998? Easy: Yamaha’s YZF-R1. Next up? Honda’s redesigned VFR800 Interceptor. Previous-generation VFR750s were praised as among the best all-around streetbikes, possessing a near-perfect balance of versatility and sportiness, and one of the great engines of all time. So superb is the VFR that it has won Best 750cc Streetbike honors in Cycle World’s Ten Best Bikes competition 10 years running.
The question on everyone’s lips, though, is can the VFR make a successful transition to the Open class while fighting off the advances of other sporty all-arounders such as Ducati’s new ST2? While American motojournalists haven’t yet had an opportunity to swing a leg over the new bike, our foreign counterparts have. This past Novem-
ber, the world’s largest motorcycle-maker invited Euro-scribes to Italy, where they spent two days chasing each other around the countryside. Yet in spite of cold, damp conditions, the journos managed to enjoy themselves, and the reviews have been mostly glowing.
What did they have to say? The majority of the praise has been heaped upon the uprated V-Four engine. The VFR has long been regarded as a torque monster, feeling more like an Open-classer than a 750, and this is even more true in 781cc form. Reports Rob “Frosty” Bollox of British magazine Fast
Bikes, “I’m only allowed to use the word ‘awesome’ once per feature these days, and I’d use it here to describe the power delivery of the V-Four. The way the power comes in is very hard to describe, kinda halfway between a Twin and an inline-Four.”
But while the VFR has retained its all-around usability,
it’s also gotten sportier, as Martin Child of best-selling British mag Bike explains: “Characterinjection comes courtesy of the RC45-style engine. Granted, it isn’t in the same form that has just helped Little John to the World Superbike title, or that dominates the Isle of Man every June. Nevertheless, it gives an ace to the ‘so good it’s in danger of becoming boring’ VFR750 of old.”
Criticisms of the VFR’s engine have been few and far between. Most biting were the comments made by Chris Moss of British weekly Motor Cycle News, who remarked that the new fuel-injection system gives the V-Four “switch-like throttle response in lower gears” and makes the bike “a little jerky when you twist the throttle at low revs.”
As for the VFR’s new “pivotless” chassis, which like the VTR1000 mounts its swingarm directly to its engine cases, the reviews have been mostly positive. “It is definitely better than the old bike, but its cornering
ability is still biased toward the touring side of its nature,” suggests MCN's Moss. “But don’t let that put you off: Relatively hard riding is still possible because the bike is superbly stable and has neutral steering.”
Even reaction to Honda’s having equipped the VFR with its controversial Linked Braking System has been surpriso ingly upbeat. Moss i once more: “The adg vantage of balancing 5
the braking forces between both front and rear wheels will be a real bonus to less-experienced riders in bad weather conditions or emergency situations.” But not all enthusiasts are so enthusiastic, as Martin Port of Australian Motor Cycle News laments, “I would prefer that it be made an option when purchasing the bike.”
Not at all surprising is the fact that the new VFR’s riding position scores straight As. Port again: “Honda’s press kit states the riding position has not changed, but my impression was that the bars were slightly
closer to the pilot. As for the seat, the usual VFR high level of comfort applies.”
In summary, we defer to Bike's Child: “Honda has come up trumps with the new VFR. They’ve kept it within the sports/tourer tag, and created a bike that will get you to your destination quicker, fresher and less stressed. The problem is that you’ll want to turn round and do the journey again.”
—Brian Catterson
