Hopin' to Join the Club!

Well, I currently own a Suzuki VStrom 650. Great bike, but I am looking for something with better performance and more of a sporting edge, ie. faster, better handling and not such an upright riding position and better wind protection. These qualities are what lead me to the Interceptor. A couple of questions though after doing some reading:
1. Sounds like the VFR runs hot. Does it run so hot that it causes problems? I live in Houston and it is pretty darn warm here for a good bit of the year and I will be riding in traffic some.
2. The Vtec issue. Does using a PC pretty much smooth out any "issues" that the Vtec causes? Is the PC really necessary/does it make that much of a difference?

Anyway, I am looking to sell my bike soon and am hoping the Interceptor is the bike for me! Thanks in advance for the input and help. Looks like a great site and great bunch of guys.

 

Dontae:

First of all, welcome to the World. I traded my SV650 for an 07 VFR and couldn't be happier with it. To answer your questions:

1. Yes, the VFR does run hot, apparently by design. It's quite common to see indicated coolant temperatures of 220 F when it's hot out and you're riding slowly or in traffic. No; it doesn't seem to hurt anything, just a characteristic of the design.

2. Honda slightly remapped the VTEC transition in 06 which both lowered the transition rpm and also smoothed it out a bit. My humble opinion of my 07 transition is that it's much ado about nothing. I haven't done it but I'm sure lots of users will chime in that a PC and some fiddling can further improve it. I'm guessing that the mod has a bigger impact on the earlier bikes.

Welcome and good luck!

 

They do run hot, got stuck in Las Vegas traffic jam for over an hour in 100+ temps and it parked at 235 but never gave me any problems. The PC is a must if just for the improved throttle openings, mine was awful at just off idle and the PC cured that.

 

Just wait until you get to feel that first kick of the Vtec. Nothing quite like it.

 

Thanks for the input, guys. Sounds like the heat is just something to be aware of, but not a deal breaker at all. One of the bikes that I am looking at has a PC already installed, couple of others don't. I am far from a competent mechanic and only do the most basic work on my bike so can anyone point me to where I can find info on what all in involved and needed to install a PC on the Interceptor and whatever else would go along with that. I certainly don't expect an explanation here, but pointing me to the right place would be greatly appreciated. Really starting to think this should be the direction that I should go and great prices on some of the VFR's out there!