Bike #11! My 2002 VFR800

VERY nice

After what felt like a year since my 919 was tapped into oblivion at 5 mph, I have another bike! This is number 11 and its name is Rhubarb

This is a beauty; bone stock and complete with all the dealer tags, service records, manual, tools and even a 'valet key' which I have never seen with a bike before!

I will do a ride report soon enough but today I am off to do birthday things!

Great Job Dustin. and my favorite color bike.
 
It's your Birth Day, shoot. Happy Birth Day, Beaver $ that's funny. Back in 88 we went to 100 mile house area fishing. Fueled up on Hwy 1 there some place. I said, should we pay in our $ or your Monopoly $, that didn't go over very well.

Cheers :cheers:
 
Good choice. I really liked the vfr i rode (in case anyone was unaware)
All you need is a turbo on it for more get up. People say the vfr looks dated but its still sexy if ya ask me.
Of course after riding a moped it will feel like a rocketship.
 
Quick initial review:

- Fantastic motor. Smooth, responsive, pulls at all revs and it sounds incredible. FI typical Honda smooth although this motor doesn't like being below 3500 rpm.
- Gearbox is excellent! Quick, crisp shifts which are effortless. Gearing is nice. 6th gear @ 60 mph is around 4500 rpm, I think
- Great ergos (so far). The rider triangle is excellent for my frame.
- The bike hides its 540 lbs wet very well. Easy to handle in the city.
- Best headlights ever
- Great instrumentation. Two trip meters, clock, ambient air temperature and a digital speedo with centre analog tach is great
- The linked brakes are noticeable but not at all intrusive. Very subtle and actually quite nice.
- Hydraulic clutch seems completely pointless. It's a bit heavy for my little hands.
 
Clutch

Dustin, i know you like keeping bikes stock, but look into an Oberon clutch slave. They tend to have a larger piston which lowers the lever effort. I just bought one for my bike. I am waiting for the coming oil change to instal it. I'll give you a full report then.
 
Definitely keep me posted. I could easily get used to the pull of the stock one but it's nice to upgrade for comfort.

I've already scoped out suspension mods for the bike. Daughtery Motorsports does a CBR rear shock modification specifically for the VFR with a re-spring/valve/build. I had great results with this on the 919 and I'd do it again
 
Quick initial review:

- Fantastic motor. Smooth, responsive, pulls at all revs and it sounds incredible. FI typical Honda smooth although this motor doesn't like being below 3500 rpm.
- Gearbox is excellent! Quick, crisp shifts which are effortless. Gearing is nice. 6th gear @ 60 mph is around 4500 rpm, I think
- Great ergos (so far). The rider triangle is excellent for my frame.
- The bike hides its 540 lbs wet very well. Easy to handle in the city.
- Best headlights ever
- Great instrumentation. Two trip meters, clock, ambient air temperature and a digital speedo with centre analog tach is great
- The linked brakes are noticeable but not at all intrusive. Very subtle and actually quite nice.
- Hydraulic clutch seems completely pointless. It's a bit heavy for my little hands.

I didn't realize those things were that heavy. :wow:

I've always wanted a V4. First the RZ500 (still do), then various VFR's through the years (750's of the 80's and 90's) and now the Ape Tuono!

The single sided swing arm is a nice feature too. With a center stand, rear tire changes should be a breeze!
 
So I went for a proper ride today! My first real pleasure ride on the VFR! Weather was fantastically unusual for this time of year, nearly 60 f by the sea and not a cloud in the sky.

I got a chance to push the bike a bit and can report that it is a fantastic bike full stop. The motor is fantastic and just pulls and pulls and pulls all the time. It's not litre bike fast but it feels and sounds so bloody amazing you don't even care. The motor loves to rev and is happy to cruise at any RPM above 4000. The VTEC transition in anything above 1st gear is not intrusive but you do notice it. It's quite nice to have a motor that's fairly quiet below 7000 and snarls and roars above.

The stock suspension is surprisingly good! It's a bit on the soft side and it's a bit 'lazy' but very stable and planted. It's not quite as nimble and agile as the 919 but really solid and gives you confidence. I don't have nearly enough time in the saddle to find any faults but colour me impressed anyway; I'm sure the faults will show themselves once I get a bit more seat time. I will say that the suspension seems well matched to the rest of the components, a sign of a quality bike (or an expensive one). I've had a lot of bikes (as ya'll know) and this one stands out in that respect.

The current tires are a BT-023 front with very little mileage and an older BT-021 rear. The rear is a bit squared off and I will just get an BT-023 rear to match the front in the spring. I'm not a big fan of Bridgestones from past experience but this 023 front seems solid. The BT-021 sucks! One ride and it's already scalloping on me and it sure is a noisy tire over bumps.

What else can I say... Fuel mileage & range seems decent, north of 200 miles before you have to start looking for fuel.

The more time I spend riding the more I see it was the right choice :)
 
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Now it's a Dustin bike! :) Unfortunately, the solo cowl doesn't fit with the Givi rack on but I can live with that. Shame, it looked great

I also applied some 3M clear tank protectors from TheTankSlapper.biz but you can't see them in the photos, because they're clear
 
Dam your bike looks brand new .Honda is supposed to release this bike naked this year it looks pretty tough.


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