written by ashford383 on 17/04/2013
Quite a hard title to justify, but if you're interested in my take on that statement then please read on...
I'm a 50 year old guy living in the UK, and I've owned a lot of motorcycles - all Japanese - since my 17th birthday. That day brought me a 1977 Honda CB125S which is immediately rattle-can'd and fitted with drop bars. I really did think it looked like Honda had done it, and with my face kissing the clocks I can now go as fast as a car!
My schoolmate then loaned me his Suzi GT380 2-Stroke Triple and then I know, I really know, that more is better and motorbikes have a lot of that on offer.
I then bought, rode, crashed and traded my way through ooooh.. 25ish bikes. Lowlights include The oily unreliable p.o.s. junk Honda CD175 - twice! (unemployed), and the utterly banal Suzuki GS550.
At the other end of the spectrum, I once found myself choosing between either a new 350 Powervalve or VF400; I took the little Honda. The VF spent it’s Summers in Devon, and the rest of the year in London and I never had a single issue with that bike. For sure, the VF400 was equal to the YPVS in acceleration as my mates had them, but when we swapped bikes the Honda felt slower, when in fact it’s just smoother.
I also learned then that you absolutely cannot blow up a Honda C70. I drained all the oil, and rode it flat out down the longest hill I could find in 2nd gear.
Then back up again.
No matter what, I even remember spooning dirt into the oil filler, the damn thing just sat there going chuff chuff chuff chuff. So I started using a C70 for Courier work, sold off a CB750F2 and bought a '78 Kawasaki z1000 for pleasure.
My last 2 bikes before 'the missing years' of Wife/House/Kids were a GSX1100E and a Z750 Turbo. I had them both at the same time - hated the GSX bloody massive lumbering brute - but the Turbo was the wildest craziest bike EVER. I remember I ran the Kwak with one of the 2 silencers removed so's I could hear the turbo spinning up, WHIZZZZZZ RUUUUUSH AAAAAAAH! It's what the phrase OMG was invented for!
That was 1989.
Moving on 20 years, and the Internet exists - Ebay Motors - any bike you ever wanted just a click away - awesome!
So I was looking at this 1980 Honda CBX1000 on Ebay 4 years ago one night and somehow ended up thousands of pounds lighter, and a van full of time-warp 1970's heavy metal showing up at my house 5 days later.
Well now the CBX was all very impressive with that beautiful engine of Shoichiro Irimajiri's hanging like testicles under it's candy red tank. It even rode OK as I had the American 'A' model with the thick forks and sorted swinging arm. However it was soon apparent that the CBX was a daft purchase; it was too valuable to actually ride - doh! What was the point?? Parked next to the CBX was a minter of a little 1986 VF500F2 which I enjoyed riding a heck of a lot more.
The solution was obvious - I needed to get myself out of the past and find out what the 21st Century has to offer; motorcycle development since my 1980's bikes has been astonishing.
So I sold the VF500 & CBX (not such a bad buy after all, it had appreciated significantly) and soon enough another van shows up at the house. This time it disgorges a brand new Kawasaki Z1000 naked for my entertainment. With extreme haste I remove the comedy oem exhausts and fit some slash cuts - looking better now.
And the new (2010) Z1000 was exactly like all the reviews say; light (to me, amazingly light), and anytime grunt in the midrange which goes all Starship Enterprise if you dare pin the throttle. The handling, the brakes, the chassis, the delivery absolutely dumps on anything I'd ever experienced. Yes modern bikes are much much better than their 1980's predecessors.
But another flaw in my motorcycling master plan has arisen - this Z thou is kinda humiliating - it is so good at being a brutal hooligan bike I can feel it sneering at my casual riding style. I never felt we really 'cooperated' and frankly the riding experience was more like porno than the real thing.
The Z Thou had to go too - and it left me with the impression that new bikes are only great like an iPad is great, but they have no spirit... no validity.
What to do? I can't go back to wobbly gutless overvalued Jap classic bikes. I'm spoilt now; I love modern brakes, suspension, ergonomics, power, reliability. So I asked Google for a solution. And the oracle spat out the VFR750FJ-K.
Now I aspire to the school of thought that when buying an old motorcycle, buy the best possible example you can afford. Even a bike described as 'mint' won't be and you'll soon enough find plenty to spend your cash on.
In the UK, there were 1100 VFR750FJ's sold in 1988 and there are still 550 taxed or sorn'd today - at that rate there'll still be 250 left in the year 2048! What I'm alluding to is that sweet VFRs comes up for grabs quite regularly so no need for any haste.
On MCN Classsifieds, a VFR duly appeared. A careful look at the bike photos revealed no rusty nuts, and the carpet / radiator / upvc windows in the bikes home gave a clue as to this VFR owners respect for his motorcycle.
The deal was done for £950, a Motorcycle Transporter is engaged, and a very nice original black VFR with 20k on the clock finds its way into my garage.
First impressions... I cleaned and polished it halfheartedly and it looks about 3 not 24 years old - nice :-) I appreciate close-up the high tide of Honda 1989 quality & durability. That new Z Thou was like every new bike; well put together fit & finish wise - robots do that no big deal. Durable? I doubt it.
Sitting on the VFR, I find it low (I'm 5'10") and narrow after the 'mass centralised' Z1000 and the excesses of the old CBX. Nice natural reach to the Titanium coloured clip-on bars, and I slot into the bike just right.
Dammit! I notice the LCD Clock has missing segments!
OK ride on the VFR...
In town, easy to balance down to zero speed without feet down, with a bit of a wobble at nearly dead stop. That's something I did notice about the 'mass centralised' Kwak 1000 - I could stop dead - wait - then put my feet down.
Still, I'm an ex courier so lane splitting and never-stop is how I ride. The VFR is very undemanding for town riding, it's ultra trustworthy throttle response will put you easily where you want to be for the next move.
Heading out of town onto Devon's fine A roads, the VFR starts to take on an almost ethereal character. You almost forget about the bike; it's the fabled gear driven V4 engine beneath you that dominates the experience. Cruising along in the 50 and 60mph sections I'd swear I was riding an electric motorbike. I did build a couple of Electric Monkey Bikes a while back and the linear torque curve of the VFR is remarkably similar. What a great noise that VFR motor makes too.
What's truly brilliant though is the midrange roll-on on these bikes. The VFR is an overtaking king just wafting effortlessly past cars that just seconds before you were speed matched with.
One thing I like to do to see if a bike impresses me is the half max rpm half throttle test. That is... take this VFR to 5000rpm half throttle in 3rd gear then absolutely nail it to the stop. I can tell you these old VFR's really do shift and I have no hesitation in comparing the initial surge favourably with the z thou. Obviously the Zed romps away like a cat on fire as the revs build significantly, but in reality you're probably lining up for the next corner or roundabout by then anyway.
And that's where the VFR is so excellent - coming out of corners and rolling on the power you just trust it and you can keep up with anyone sane, and in such an effortless manner too.
Of course excellent is a word that can be applied to many aspects of this Honda motorcycle.
The Engine
It's like a v-twin at low rpm, mutates to a screaming multi above 7000 and has shades of turbine in between. Smooth, playful, indestructible, amazing!
The FJ-K motor is the one that makes the most power of all VFR models. All the later ones are soft, down below 98 horses, whereas the FJ-K chucks out 104. The earlier FG-H motor had the same 104bhp output, but smaller intake valves and carbs mean that it was down on power everywhere else.
The Chassis & Ergonomics
You really get to enjoy the ride on the VFR. A guy my age can ride 'with purpose' for a day out and not be distracted by aching body parts during or after. Pillions are happy too.
The bike is incredibly neutral at any speed and seems to flatter the rider whatever your current mood.
The FJ-K has 17” wheels both front and back, an alloy perimeter frame and monoshock rear – just like modern motorcycles. The earlier FG-H has 16” Front Wheel and an 18” Rear. The poor tyre choice, combined with 4mm skinnier forks and smaller brakes means that the earlier FG-H can’t really be made to handle.
When Honda introduce the redesigned VFR750L in 1990 it’s bloated up by 13 kg as well as loosing 6 ½ horses. The VFR’s perky character was forever lost at the same time.
Suspension & Brakes
Well this is where it all goes a bit Pete Tong. The VFR is comfy but squishy. I feel the rear bob and wallow on rippled curves, and the front dive – I can’t take that – not after modern forks.
And the 25 year old brakes too… meh.
However this was all expected, and part of the plan. Time to fit the collection of 21st Century kit I have been patiently accumulating.
Out came the oe Rear Shock, and in goes a Wilbers 640 with Remote Preload. Built by the German factory for my weight, my VFR and my riding style, it gives me better-than-new plushness at the rear.
At the front, the Fork Dampers and Antidive have been disabled, Racetech Gold Valve Emulators installed, the oe springs – notoriously weak – have been replaced with a stronger Racetech set and hey ho my Z100 type forks are back.
Finally the brakes – full overhaul, new braided lines, Brembo Pads and they’re now very good indeed.
So here we have it, the perfect road motorcycle. It has the manners of a flagship new bike combined with the organic character of a classic, all for about £2,000.
The VFR750 from 1988 and 89, I salute you!
Hubi's Response to ashford383's Review
Written on: 10/07/2013
excellent, fun to read review, thanks!
Vfrsa's Response to ashford383's Review
Written on: 14/03/2024
I had the '89 VFR 750 in pearl white...Have owned many bikes since and nothing has come close. Put 240 000 kilometers on the clock before I had a bad crash. Miss that bike to this day and often still dream of her. Buttery smooth engine, that V4 sound, fantastic handling, great power delivery, quite frugal, good tank capacity and top quality build. To me, the best bike ever produced.
Thegoodbuck's Response to ashford383's Review
Written on: 25/04/2022
Hi, I've always gone for the '94- '97 ones, I assumed later would be greater. Now I want the sportier one. This is an old review, but it's worth a shot; could you tell me which springs and emulators you fitted? The Racetech site has a dropdown list but doesn't include VFR750s, as far as I can see.
Thanks.