Hello experienced VFR loyals , I would like to get opinions from any of you who care to reply on your love (or hate) for the VFR Interceptor. I am at present in the process of researching sport touring machines and have read many good things about the Interceptor. Most of my learning is at the hands of professionals, via road tests. I would really like however, to get the story from real joes who like me who don't ride bikes for a living. If you are so inclined, please answer for me a few questions: 1). What makes the VFR so special; why do you love it? Give me your gut! 2). I have spied 2 cherry used 2002 low mileage models at my local dealer and am highly interested. How durable is this bike? 3). On the above inquiries, please be honest. I know no bike is perfect and I can live with negative aspects of a machine, as long as the good outweighs the bad. Thanks, I really appreciate any input form you guys!
pros: looks reliability (Honda) dealer support: anywhere you go there's a dealer nearby comfort a good sportbike with right tires/set-up sound keeps you out of the latest-greatest rat race 16k valve check intervals easy tire changes easy chain adjust linked brakes (?) smooth shifting big gas tank (5.8 gal) very respected bike cons: a little heavy (50 lbs) could use 10 more horses wind buffeting if your tall no storage underseat The thing is it does just about anything you want it to and most of the cons have a cure. I've put more miles on it quicker than any bike I've owned. I'm leaving in a minute for another day ride. Toys for Tots this Sunday.
The only real negative thing I can think of is that it should come with fully adjustable suspension front and rear from the factory! Once the suspension is upgraded, the bike is fantastic. It is not heavy. It feels lighter than my old Nighthawk 750. It handles very well and is deceptively easy to ride. It has plenty of power. I have done serious backroad carving two up with a full GIVI luggage setup with no problems. More power never hurts, but it certainly is not deficient in this respect. I love the V4 motor. I had both bikes dynoed. Their power curve is one of the most linear I have seen for a bike. They have the dip at 5.5K RPM like every other bike but it is not real noticeable. From 3000 and up, the bike just pulls and pulls. I run it between 6K and 11K when I am having fun and the motor absolutely loves this. It is smoooth and the engine braking is totally predictable. It is very comfortable once you get rid of the stock seat. I prefer the Sargent seat, many like the Corbin. It gets great mileage. Even when two up and scratching the back roads, I regularly get 40+ mpg. Touring I often get up to 50mpg. Can go 200 miles and still have about 1 gallon left in the tank when I stop. It is easy to maintain. I do everything myself except for the vavle inspection/adjustment stuff. It is completely reliable. I have both a 98 and 01 model. 55K on the 98 and 40K on the 01, neither has had a single problem. Because of the single sided swingarm, rear tire changing, brake changing, chain maintenance and changing is a snap! The headlights are fantastic compared to most other bikes. I ride after dark very frequently and never have trouble seeing. The bulbs are easy to get to if they burn out and cheap to replace. The linked brakes are transparent when riding, I never notice them. The only bad thing about the LBS is bleeding the damn things!! Very tough and time consuming. I could live without them. I happen to love the sound of the bike with a good pipe on it, heck I even like the stock pipe. I like the gear whine from the gear driven cams (02 and up have chain driven cams). The gear whine is an audible RPM indicator for me and I seldom look down at the guages when riding fast. I like the wind protection on the 98-01 models. The OEM screen puts the windblast right below my helmet. This keeps my helmet up in clean air and makes for a quieter rider with less buffeting. Also, on hot days, it puts the wind right at the opening of the top of my jacket. However, this is a bad thing on cold days. I've ridden the newer 02+ models in the twisties and do not like the VTec nonsense. I sit right around the 7K RPM mark and so it is constantly slipping in and out of 4 valve mode and is quite annoying. When whacking the throttle from about 3K and rapping out to redline, I never felt or heard and real difference once the VTec kicked in at 7K. The bikes feels bigger and wider than the older bikes. It handles about the same. It pulls about the same. It is ridiculously quiet! Often it is hard to tell if the motor is running. Personally, I would not chose the VTec models over the previous generations. But that is a totally subjective opinion. Many people absolutely love the bike.
