VFR750 – the good, the bad and the ugly … views please

OK, so am currently enjoying as SV1000N with a MRA screen – lots of fun but not especially comfortable on a long trip … relative discomfort is the noise level and for some reason, just reasonably tiring to ride.

For a sad reason, I now will be doing a 350mile round trip pretty regularly so thinking of a comfier bike, budget of £2k. So have turned to a VFR750 early 90’s.

Wondered if anyone had any experience of these … needs to be fun, comfy and reliable.

Thanks

I had one at the time. It was fantastic, much more capable than me.

I didn’t have it long enough for anything to go wrong but have heard stories of 100k miles on that engine.

No idea on the VFR but I did a 150 mile daily commute for a year on a Firestorm. That was comfy, if enthusiastic for petrol station stops.

I bought a second one which I’m about to sell, a 97 with under 6K miles for £1250.

vfr 750 has a failing regulator/rectifier problem that fries batteries.

Plenty of info onlune and an easy swap, but no real indication before it starts blowing bulbs….

I’ve had 2 5th Gen VFR800’s, a 99 and a 2001 plate bike…

AMAZING bikes! Regulator/rectifier will play up at some point, but it’s not hugely expensive to fix. Otherwise, suspension will be a bit soft probably by now, and check the linked brakes are all working ok.

Personally, wouldn’t bother with a 750… Nice bikes, but got more issues to worry about, and the first 800 was arguably the best bike Honda have ever built…

EDIT: FWIW, sold my last 2001 bike only last month… 32k on the clock, almost immaculate condition, recent new tyres, Brand new DID X-Ring chain and sprockets just fitted etc. and a few extras thrown in… I held out and got £1850 for it!

These bikes are worth NOTHING for what they actually are! Mind you, the same could be said about it’s replacement… I picked up a 2001 Blackbird with only 21k on the clock and a massive recent service bill for a mere £2400…

I had an Aprilia RST Futura for a few years. Bit of a VFR knock off, but V2 not V4. Big bike and very comfortable. I did a sailing weekend out of Portsmouth. Guys I was going with flew down, but I biked from East Central Scotland to Cornwall then on the Portsmouth. After the weekend’s sailing on to and through Wales, ferry to Dublin then up to Belfast. Couple of days riding round Norn Irn with my cousin and his pals then back home. Stitching had come loose on a new tank bag so took it back to the shop (about 20 miles away). Then took a 100+ mile diversion to go home because the bike was still comfy and fun to ride.
Available in your budget, engine isn’t Italian (Rotax, Austrian IIRC) and is pretty bullet proof as was originally designed as race engine but is seriously detuned for touring. Electrics take a bit of getting used to and disabling the sidestand down/switch off engine setup would be a good idea as it sometimes thinks the sidestand is down when it isn’t
Aprilia Futura for sale

Might be worth bearing in mind that some parts for a motorcycle of that vintage might be a little difficult to source. If your dependent on it as your vehicle to get to and from work any delay in obtaining bits should it fail is going to be an issue.
I discovered this myself when my VFR800 shat it’s reg/rec and melted a variety of wires before grinding to a halt on the M4!

As the shop said when they looked at it “At least you didn’t have a fire to deal with”

thanks all, v helpful.
Vs my SV1000 (naked), I guess a key qn for me is whether it’ll be a big comfort step-up. I find the SV good fit for me, seat’s comfy … but for some reason (maybe my age now!) I feel a bit weary after 200miles of A1 riding. Not sure for any specific reason … but I was able to do it and feel more relaxed after when on my Tiger 800.
But the SV is proving super reliable, fun on shorter trips, the MRA screen is pretty good … don’t know if I’m hoping for a huge change and is that realstic!

At £2k, go for a VFR800 over the 750, awesome machines.

This was mine, bought for £1900 and sold a couple of years later for about the same.

Get a later 2001 model as they have a full stainless exhaust, auto idle adjust, lighter clutch, and a few other enhancements.

I did 3000 miles over 2 weeks through the alps, with several 10-12 hour days. I rode back from Switzerland to Kent in a day, no issues at all.

but for some reason (maybe my age now!) I feel a bit weary after 200miles of A1 riding.

Full fairing is MANDATORY for Motorway/Dual carriageway miles IMO… You’d be amazed how much of the wind blast a full fairing takes off you, rather than just a fly screen on a naked bike.

I’ve done 350-400 mile days in total comfort on my old VFR800. Shame the same can’t be said about the Blackbird (struggling to make it fit me!). VFR800 is also a LOT more fun bike than people make them out to be. I embarrassed many proper sports bikes on mine on twisty roads. Only reason I sold it was cos it’s a bit small for proper 2 up touring, hence the Blackbird…

The point about the Aprilia Futura is valid, great bike, but it will cost you a LOT more money to keep on the road than the VFR, that much is a given… If you do get an Aprilia, make good friends with Griff @ Aprilia performance in Tamworth… He’s the font of all Aprilia Knowledge, and a great bloke to boot. He’s also pretty useful on a Mountain Bike too!

The point about the Aprilia Futura is valid, great bike, but it will cost you a LOT more money to keep on the road than the VFR, that much is a given… If you do get an Aprilia, make good friends with Griff @ Aprilia performance in Tamworth… He’s the font of all Aprilia Knowledge, and a great bloke to boot. He’s also pretty useful on a Mountain Bike too!

My other bike is a Gen2 Tuono factory, its great but the reliability isn’t even closer to a VFR.

Mine is a late 2009 model so has a lot of the issues ironed out, but I’ve still had issues, an early 2000’s aprilia? Hmmm…

2nd on the fairing too, on the VFR, more than once I’d give it a quick squirt of throttle from 40mph,look down and see 3 figures without really noticing it 😲😂

That seems a lot of bike for the money.

I can’t get my head around Motorbike values.

In 2009 I bought a 54 Plate CBR600 (F4i) for £2500. So a 5 year old bike that was £6k-ish new for just under half that. I sold it 12 months later for £2200 I think.

I was feeling a bit nostalgic the other night so I have a quick look on Autotrader to see what I could get one for now, seems a mid 2000s CBR600 exactly like the one I had still cost £2500-£3000 but instead of 10-15k miles, they’ve got 40k miles on.

It’s not like it’s a classic or even remotely rare, nope. 0% depreciation to slight appreciation over 10 years.

Just remembered, it’s the model with HISS that is the later model. They also had better reg/recs.

And bike values tend to plateau after a certain time, my Tuono factory would have been around £9k new, 10 years later it’s worth £4500 to £5500 or so.

£1000 is the minimum to get a decent motorbike, even something 20 years old is worth this normally.

And if it helps, with the delkevic exhaust, this is exactly what mine sounded like 😎 I miss the noise of the V4 and straight cut cam gears.

I was on the press launch of the first VFR750 with a single-sided swing-arm, sorry I can’t remember what it was called officially or which year it was, late 80s / early 90s. For some odd reason they decided to let us hammer it around Misano circuit. Odd because it’s far more a sports tourer than a race rep. It was still okay on the track to be honest, a bit stolid feeling compared to a racier bike, but makes a really nice all-round road bike that can manage a bit of fast touring too.

Anything with a V-configuration engine is okay with me, nice and torquey. The single-sided arm is quite cool. I don’t anything about reliability in the long term, but it has a good reputation. I wish I could afford an RC30.

I’m not sure that’s much help, but it was always a nice sort of mid-point between out and out race reps and stolid tourers ime. If you want something super comfortable and deceptively fast over long distances from that era, the Honda ST1100 Pan European was very, very good ime. Great fairing, nice, torquey, fast motor, comfortable without being st bolt upright BMW style.

And if it helps, with the delkevic exhaust, this is exactly what mine sounded like 😎 I miss the noise of the V4 and straight cut cam gears.

* Wants a VFR *

At the risk of derailing the conversation I rode my VFR 800 into North London on Monday and was thinking that I should get a GPS. However, when I google they seem very expensive (~£380) and I’m not sure where it would actually go in what seems a relatively cramped cockpit area.

If I can help with the actual question please fire away. I’ve had mine about 15 years (perhaps a bit longer) and I still love it. Of course I’ve had the old rectifier issue which took a little while to sort as its symptoms are a little inconsistent. (Starts, runs for an hour, stops, won’t start. An hour or so later its fine).

I am starting to get a bit concerned about its overall age, but I don’t see any modern bike that I would consider a good replacement and of course its yellow – and I like yellow.

LR

@littlerob is it a 5th gen vfr800?

If so, the 2 bolts that hold the tank down at the front are almost exactly the same distance apart as the bolt holes on a U-bolt RAM mount ball. One of these https://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/product/ram-mount-u-bolt-base-up-to-125-od-with-1-ball?gclid=CjwKCAjw0tHoBRBhEiwAvP1GFSqeQHG5evoCe_ZBg-Hv_rPeG0b8iadKTNlNDVbcM6TGK5jeYxO2ORoC3W4QAvD_BwE

This is how it looked with my tomtom rider

IMO, a proper motorbike GPS is worth it, far better than a phone, especially if you’re doing multi day trips.

Any questions, let me know 😊

Again, thank you all – v helpful to hear real world views. OK, so I quite like older stuff (nostalgia, sentiment etc!) and with a strict budget, headed towards the 750. I also am slightly (irrationally) anti electronics on bikes – don’t know why, maybe just me. Again , the 750 (older) model appealed. I suspect both versions will be better bikes than I am a rider!

So 750 Vs 800 – pros and cons.

It looks like I can get a low mileage (<15K miles) 1-2 owner 750 Vs >20K miler 2-3 owner 800. I always tend to veer towards low miles and few owners.

Thoughts?

Don’t worry about miles on a VFR, 30k is just about run in for these! Mine was on 33k when I sold it.

They’ll do 50/60k with ease.

The last 5th gen model is probably the best all rounder bike for the money, stuff like the headlights were important for me as I used it to commute year round, dual H4 bulbs which are very good.

Then you’ll have carbs on the 750 vs fi on the 5th gen, so depends if its just a weekend bike or an everyday workhorse.

So 750 Vs 800 – pros and cons.

No real contest if you ask me…

5th Gen VFR800 (so first 800, 98-01 bike) is pre any real electronics that may cause issues. It’s fuel injected, yes, but it’s a very simple system and not at all problematic… Unlike carbs on bikes that aren’t used regularly!!!

The VFR800 is MUCH closer to a modern bike than you might think, aside from electronic intervention here there and everywhere. They also ironed out a lot of issues from previous generation VFR’s with this bike, but it’s before they cheapened it by getting rid of the gear driven cams for a chain drive whilst introducing (unnecessarily) VTEC.

For solo sports touring… The VFR800 is quite simply the best bike ever made! 21L tank means a real world 200 mile range, it takes modern 180/55/17 and 120/70/17 sized rubber (the older 750’s don’t, and rubber can be a pain to find in their sizes and expensive!) so your options are plenty. The only real bit that goes wrong on the 800 is the Reg/Reg, but then it goes wrong on the 750’s too…

Can you tell I wish I still had mine…? GF wanted to come on the back for some proper big days out and potentially a couple of tours though, and though a VFR800 is ok for pillion if your pillion is a size 8… Mine isn’t… But then I’ve piled on a few lbs recently myself too!

Don’t worry about miles on a VFR, 30k is just about run in for these! Mine was on 33k when I sold it.

They’ll do 50/60k 150-200k with ease.

There… Fixed that for you…

The last 5th gen model is probably the best all rounder bike for the money, stuff like the headlights were important for me as I used it to commute year round, dual H4 bulbs which are very good.

Couldn’t agree more. BEST headlight on any motorbike I’ve ridden! I could ride it as fast at night as in the day… Same can’t be said for many modern bikes!

That seems a lot of bike for the money.

I can’t get my head around Motorbike values.

In 2009 I bought a 54 Plate CBR600 (F4i) for £2500. So a 5 year old bike that was £6k-ish new for just under half that. I sold it 12 months later for £2200 I think.

I was feeling a bit nostalgic the other night so I have a quick look on Autotrader to see what I could get one for now, seems a mid 2000s CBR600 exactly like the one I had still cost £2500-£3000 but instead of 10-15k miles, they’ve got 40k miles on.

It’s not like it’s a classic or even remotely rare, nope. 0% depreciation to slight appreciation over 10 years.

The price of new bikes has gone through the roof! Which has in turn, driven the values of older 2nd hand stuff up nicely too!

My other bike is a Gen2 Tuono factory, its great but the reliability isn’t even closer to a VFR.

Mine is a late 2009 model so has a lot of the issues ironed out, but I’ve still had issues, an early 2000’s aprilia? Hmmm…

I had a 2008 model RSV1000R, so mechanically identical just with clip ons rather than risers… As reliable a bike as Aprilia has ever made… It still had niggles that would embarrass a Honda I’m afraid to say! Great bike, but if you just need to smash out the miles on something ultra reliable, yet still quite good fun… Nothing beats a VFR800!

OK, a couple of gratuitous shots of what was my garage…

The only bad things I could say about the VFR was that it was heavy to move about, especially with a full tank (not an issue when riding though). And the brakes were a little wooden feeling. That’s it! I do miss mine.

Triumph sprint st or gt available under 2k. Mines got 50k on it and not cost me a penny apart from service items and tyres since new!
Best bike I’ve ever had by a long shot.
Easily get 55mpg on commute and never less than 46 ringing its neck.

Hated my vfr800. Soggy,heavy and unengaging. Preferred cbr6, rf900 and better commuter was 2001 blade.

The linked brakes were terrible and the rear caliper caught all the crud in winter. Chain adjuster seized with salt, rectifier went twice. Handling was awful. Ended up in the garage unloved for 2 years before i gave it away.

For balance…

Currently on a nine year old Triumph Sprint ST 1050 I’ve had from new. Before that I had a VFR 800, pre VTEC model. It was a great bike. Rock solid Honda build quality and a great tourer with my good lady on the pillion. I regret selling it. No point (IMHO) in comparing the weight or handling with full on sports bikes, because it isn’t trying to be one. As a comfy, reliable, sports tourer for the discerning lady or gentleman, you can’t beat the pipe and slippers viffer.

I had a ’93 VFR 750 years ago, was an amazing bike – eats miles up so quickly and in such comfort.

I also had the rectifier problem, it overheats on long rides on warm weather and dies, which means it stops charging the battery and eventually the battery dies and the bike stops. In the end I added a small fan mounted over it to keep it cool and after that never had a problem. Prior to that got my money out of RAC membership with some very long recovery trips on scorching hot BH weekends!

@5th elephant. We are very interested in your vtr. How are you contactable? I say we, I mean the wife. She’s wanted one for ages and we literally just started looking tonight as she has got the dosh..

VTR’s have a cam chain tensioner failure issue, which put me off, so I got a KTM950SMR for commuting on instead, same terrible gas mileage but as made as a box of frogs.

I have a Triumph 955i Sprint RS, allegedly built by Triumph to be like the VFR750 only a tiny bit better (no idea if it’s true, as I’ve not ridden both). It only cost me £1000, is rapid, corners well, is comfortable and is about a million times less likely to explode underneath me than my two stroke Aprilia (the best kind of Aprilia;-) So I’m happy with it.

VTR’s have a cam chain tensioner failure issue, which put me off

If it is anything like the CBR issue from the same era, its a piece of piss to fix.

Get a good comfy ZZR 11 for that price too. Good fairing, solid engine…not bad mpg…

is it a 5th gen vfr800

ta11pau1 that feels like the sort of question to which I should know the answer!

Not sure. How would I tell? Its a V-reg if that helps, and I think is a pretty early. (goes off and googles) Looking at the wiki page its certainly a 5th gen rather than a 6th.

Once you fit the ball, where did the mounting bracket for the GPS come from? Does that come with it? It looks like a neat solution, though I have a baxlux tankbag that might get in the way.

The other option is to put the GPS under the clear cover on top of the tankbag, but its very slim, and I wouldn’t be able to operate it if I needed to.

Full fairing is MANDATORY for Motorway/Dual carriageway miles

LOL – I had an unfaired GT750 and a 20 mile commute for several years. At first maximum speed was around 80mph. Speed limited due to my ability to hold on (was before I merited the “ButSlimmer” bit so not exactly aerodynamic) and head bouncing about so much I couldn’t really see where I was going. After a year, up to 85 due to wind generated upper body development

ta11pau1 that feels like the sort of question to which I should know the answer!

Not sure. How would I tell? Its a V-reg if that helps, and I think is a pretty early. (goes off and googles) Looking at the wiki page its certainly a 5th gen rather than a 6th.

Once you fit the ball, where did the mounting bracket for the GPS come from? Does that come with it? It looks like a neat solution, though I have a baxlux tankbag that might get in the way.

The other option is to put the GPS under the clear cover on top of the tankbag, but its very slim, and I wouldn’t be able to operate it if I needed to.

Yeah my tomtom came with the powered mount which fits to a standard size RAM ball mount. I did all my touring in the apps with it this way and it didn’t get in the way of the tank bag at all.

ta11pau1 Thanks. I’ve found it on Amazon. Looks good.

Out of interest how tall are you? I’m LittleRob because I’m ‘only’ 6’2″ (there’s a BigRob who is a fair bit bigger).

LR

I’m 6ft 3in

This was my set up for touring

ta11pau1 I struggle to “mount up” with that much kit. The only time I’ve ever done any serious bike adventures (out to Stasbourg and the Vosges on the previous bike) I managed to do myself an injury, thereafter referred to as my “getting my leg over” injury and pulled something 😉

I really should do something like it again (the trip, not the muscle tear).

Have a 1997 VFR750 (FV) which I bought a couple of years ago. Have always wanted a VFR ever since they were released in ’85 (or was it ’86) and I read the Performance Bikes week-long test of it. Now I have one, I love it! Also like the 55mpg and the 21l tank – 200+ miles before my nerve gives out… (needle in the red, but no fuel warning light on yet) only to find I still have a gallon left in the tank. 🙂
Think some earlier models had a smaller tank, so be ware.

Just passed its MOT again, but it’s getting a bit noisy due to blowing exhaust around the collector box area. This weekend’s job is to try and take it off (have sprayed pleny of releasing fluid onto the front exhaust nuts/studs as I don;t fancy having to drill them out). Hoping I can repir, as a new s/steel jobbie is £260! Has a 3rd party high-level exhaust fitted as well, which is a little too ‘fruity’ for me, so have just purchased a mint original end-can from a breakers on eBay.

Engine is now at 57k miles, and still goes as it should – and way faster than I can manage nowadays. New tyres fitted last year – Avon, as they still have fitment and were reasonably priced.

If you fancy one, go for it!

@littlerob yeah that was very much a leg through rather than over job when mounting! I rode through the black forest, then Austria, to the dolomites, then to the Italian lakes, then finally to Switzerland before heading home. 70% of it was with that exact luggage set up.

I have a lovely VFR750, the mid 90s one. It was smooth, fast and comfy, but the linear power left me cold. It just had no attitude.