Owned and sold in March 2001 by Tim Pestridge

Honda VFR750 1991

If you were asked to name the best all round bike of the past decade, I bet most would reply Honda's VFR 750F. And so it has been in the press. Released to an audience of sceptics back in 1986, it was the bike that Honda had to get right.

Everyone knew about Honda's failure with the VFRs parent, the VF750, which badly tarnished Honda's image after many reports of engine failures due to a design fault, bad oil ways and 'chocolate' camchain tensioners. Thankfully, Honda learnt by their mistakes, and blessed us with an almost unburstable vee-four 750 motor which over the last fourteen years has put the VF nightmare to rest.

Hunting them down is easy - the free-ad papers, local papers, Auto Trader (www.autotrader.co.uk) and Cardata's website (www.cardata.co.uk) are all brimming with VFR's at the moment, and dealers are more than happy to sell you one as they know they won't leave you stranded on the hard shoulder.

I found this little H-reg. gem in a very small bike shop in Ashburton in Devon, nestled among a mountain of bike accessories. It was being sold SOR (sale or return) for the local retired owner, who's heart condition wasn't helped by the VFR's 100bhp. I was suspicious of the naff stickers plastered over every panel of the bike, as they often conceal a wealth of nasty scratches, and I got a fright from the six inch hairy spider the owner had stuck behind the screen !

Although abused visually, a quick sprint up the road showed the VFR had been well looked after mechanically, and it still felt like top quality tackle. It sounded just a little too rorty, which I traced to a totally rusted through exhaust can. But even after covering 26,000 miles the whole bike was taut, pulling strongly and smoothly from almost no revs, and bald front tyre aside, it felt like a new bike. I made a few calculations, £13 MOT, £100 for front tyre fitted, £60 for a standard exhaust can from breakers and a good old polish up should see the VFR healthy again.

I got the owner to come over with the documents and we agreed a price. Money changed hands and I was a happy man.

4000 miles later I'm enjoying the VFR more and more, the vee-four sounds great and performs faultlessly, reliably and delivers a realistic balance of power, physical weight and size that's perfect for the majority of real road riders, and fine for me! DO CHECK THE EXHAUST UNDERNEATH THOROUGHLY, AS REPLACEMENT'S ARE £500+.

Buyers Guide

The early versions were the FK-FG from 1986, which you can buy from as little as £1500. The FL (pictured) was introduced with a single sided swingarm and revised styling from 1990, and you can pick these up from £2000 - £2700. The FL was followed by the FM, FN , FS and FV, which all gradually got more sports orientated, until the newest adaptation, the VFR 800 in 1997.

Dealers will welcome VFRs both as PX's and as sellers, but not always for sevicing. The DOHC 16 valve vee-four causes few worries mechanically, but they often get neglected by even main dealers because of the headache the engine layout can cause. Carb balancing is a royal pain, and the right hand front spark plug often goes unchanged service after service because of it's locality behind the radiator, so be warned.

One dealer said "You can't go wrong, with a VFR can you?" That is unless you buy a stolen one, check out the bikes history by using one of the reputable vehicle history check firms. If you're an average user, tyre life should be around 7000 miles for a front and 5000 for a rear, and Michelin Macadams are a popular choice with a pair fitted for £230.00.

The VFR falls into group 14 insurance which will sadly put this excellent bike out of reach for many younger riders. You're liable to find most VFR's fitted with a combination of any of the following popular accessories: mudguard extenders, Scottoilers, aftermarket rear shocks, tall screens, tank bags, alarms, heated grips, GIVI luggage and many more.
All good stuff, but don't let people trick you into thinking they increase the value - they don't. TP

Tim Pestridge worked as a Magazine Designer/Writer in the late nineties, and has continued writing on a freelance basis for 'Motorcycle Sport & Leisure' ever since. He is making available a few of the original Second Sense articles on the internet for viewing by bike enthusiasts & friends.