Honda VFR800? Anyone owned one?

[magsz18]

Has anyone owned one?
 
For whatever reason this bike is strangely attractive to me.  Probably because its "sporty" yet not too sporty that my body will crumple in defeat after riding it for more than twenty minutes.
 
From what ive heard, owners LOVE these things but they regard them as having absolutely no soul because the bike has ZERO quirks.  Its reliable, fast and mostly comfortable but boring.
 
Truth be told, boring reliability is A Ok with me but im curious to hear from the user base here if anyone has owned one.

[vodapas]

Are you talking about the current generation or a used one? I have no experience with either. But, from my understanding the current bike has not met with very good reviews. The word on the street is if you're looking in that class to get the Ninja 1000. Now, if you're talking used I have heard the same as you that the owners love them and are incredibly loyal to them.

[magsz18]

I am talking about a used bike.
 
I cannot stomach paying 13k for what that bike offers.
 
Used however, puts the bikes into a pretty nice price range, ie 3-5.5k.

[Guest Ralph]

Wonderful bike great build quality made to last, but very expensive in the unlikely
event of it going wrong, listen for a tapping noise as one or two have had end float
on the cam's you can tell one is behind you as they make a strange droning noise, you
really need to ride one as they are a very different beast to the MT.

[magsz18]

Ralph,
 
That's the problem. No one around here does test rides and i dont have any friends that own any bikes (yeah i know, why am i even friends with people that dont ride?).
 
The bike really interests me as it offers me everything i like. A little bit of sportiness, a little bit of cruiser mentality, good styling, supposed EXCELLENT reliability and woah...that RED color!!!!
 
My biggest gripe with the bike is that they're ungodly expensive new. They're well over 13k for the fully loaded option and in the mid 12's for the non gooshed out version. Doesnt that seem exorbitant?

[rowdy]

It's always been on my short list of bikes to own. I owned a third gen Magna 750 that had a V4 in it, and it made me really appreciate what Honda did with the V4 tech. If the price was just a little lower, I may have ended up owning one (instead of the FZ-07). But I'm happy. They are two different products, and I do more commuting than highway miles. If it was the other way around, it might have been an Interceptor or maybe the CBR650F. But I'd love Interceptor

[magsz18]

Im finding myself doing mostly highway miles down here in South Florida so im thinking about picking up a Sport Touring bike.
 
The VFR is really drawing me in and im not quite sure why. They seem to have a rabid cult following.

[rowdy]

I don't think there are many bikes out there that stack up to the Interceptor for more sport oriented sport touring.
And the quality and longevity of the the V4 is epic.

[magsz18]

Yeah, i may be a bit of a fool but the VFR seems to be the only bike i am subconsciously psychologically OK with buying that has more than 20k miles on it. Every other used bike in that range scares me.
 
I really do wish that they werent 13k new out the door as i like the 2014 redesign of the body panels and the featureset. I just cannot stomach spending that much when i can get a 2006/07 for almost a third of that price.
 
Ralph, can you elaborate a little bit on why you mentioned the bike was very expensive to repair? Are you speaking about labor costs or parts costs, or both combined?

[Beemer]

I haven't owned one but have always heard good things about the VFR 750, mostly a very smooth engine/transmission and comfortable. This link may be helpful to you, it talks about which years the VFR 800 was at it's best and worst - (due to going from two to four valves which caused hiccups)
 
 
http://www.motorcycle-sport-touring.com/VFR800Fi.html

[magsz18]

Screw it.
 
I bought a 2006 today with 10k miles on it.

[Beemer]

Screw it. 
I bought a 2006 today with 10k miles on it.

Looks like you got a good year as well, congrats! Put up some pics of it. I was just looking at the Triumph Sprint St, that's a pretty sweet sport touring bike as well.

[rowdy]

Screw it. 
I bought a 2006 today with 10k miles on it.

I'm really jealous!  Hope you got a good deal, but the more important thing is you got a REALLY cool bike (and LOW miles)! 

[magsz18]

Dont be buddy!
 
I believe i did get a good deal, under KBB value, private sale, the bike is basically immaculate. A few small scratches, a small nick in the seat but the bike was garage kept and you can tell, there's no dust on it, the sprockets and chain look new, no corrosion, hell, i think its cleaner than my six month old FZ...lol.
 
Ill have pictures up when i get it! The only concession i had to make was that its Black...i really wanted a Red one but i doubt im going to find that with the same quality as this bike.

[cassecou]

Great bike, great motor. Over all, you made a great choice. If only those were not that expensive

[Cruizin]

Click here to see search results for VRF800 Vtec maintenance costs. The maintenance costs on these engines are very high, for performance that is lower than other bikes that are faster but cheaper to maintain. You can good miles out of VFR, but be prepared to spend alot of money doing so, unless you are a very good mechanic.

[magsz18]

I did some research on maintenance costs and most people say the valves really dont need to be checked until 32k miles.  They also recommend you not take the bike to a Honda dealer.  A reputable mechanic that has experience with a VFR should be able to do the valve clearance checks for less than a zillion dollars.
 
Other than that, maintenance is basically the same as any other bike.

[magsz18]

Well...i spoke too soon.
 
Typical Florida. The guy started dicking around with the pricing when i went to go get the title and i told him to shove it.

[rowdy]

That sucks! Oh well, you still have a fantastic bike.
 

[Geteup]

@Magsz18 My first bike was a VFR, a 750 f2. I loved that bike and tried to buy it back when the guy i sold it to said he would sell it. Ended up giving it to his brother. There is something about the older ones, like mine, that does something to you and sucks you in. It might be the gear whine of the cams, up to a certain year they had gear drive instead of a chain. So it sounded like a supercharger when the bike was running. I loved it, shoulda never sold it. I did have a few issues with it being an older bike but for the most part it did awesome. Engine wise it ran beautifully, problems i had were with brakes and batteries and just being an old bike. I dont have experience with the newer ones but if Honda ever came out with a legitimate sport bike with the V4 i would be all over it. 8-)

[yamahappy74]

I have always loved the VFR, but after the literal headache that was the stock exhaust on my Striple, I don't know of I'll ever own one. I think the undertail exhaust just doesn't agree with my ears.