It’s getting harder and harder to come across true motorcycle bargains in the classifieds, but there are some exceptions, like the Honda VFR800F.
We’re talking about the 2002-on model, which gained numerous features over its predecessor including new styling incorporating much larger front light clusters, a neat under-seat exhaust system, and yes, VTEC.
Standing for Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control (you get why it was abbreviated now, don’t you?), the VTEC had been used by Honda in its cars for years up until that point, but the company’s motorcycle division took a lot longer to adopt the tech. Well, aside from its predecessor, the REV system, which actually first appeared on a bike - the CBR400.
It wasn’t until the VFR800, though, that the ‘proper’ VTEC-branded setup was used for a motorcycle. And not everyone was a fan. Unlike the car version, which changed the valve profile at certain engine speeds, the bike application of VTEC involved opening two valves per cylinder under 6,800rpm, and all four thereafter. The idea of this was to reduce fuel consumption at lower revs while increasing power when you’re chasing the redline.
That was the theory, but the reality was a significant ‘step’ in the rev range, or to borrow a term from the car world, the point where “VTEC just kicked in, yo”. On a bike, when the smoothness of the power delivery is something you’re after, it’s not so great. The solution came in 2006, when Honda tweaked the system, changing the two-to-four-valve switchover point to 6,600rpm, but putting the change back to two somewhere else - below 6,100rpm.
The bike you see here, that we’ve plucked from the Visordown marketplace, is too old for that. It’s from 2005, so you will need to bear in mind that VTEC ‘step’. It makes up for it by being incredible value for money, costing just £3,600. You can buy these for as little as £2,000 if you don’t mind higher mileage, but our VFR800 pick has a very reasonable 14,000 miles on the clock. It also has the original exhausts - a plus, given some of the questionable-looking cans we’ve seen on cheaper VFRs.
A shade over £3,000 buys you a sporty tourer powered by one of the best bike engines Honda ever made, and what might just be (we’re courting controversy here) the ideal motorcycle engine configuration. A V4 is perfectly balanced, smooth, torquey, powerful, and, of course, the soundtrack is ace.
This one doesn't come with the genuine Honda VFR800F luggage package, but that's easily (and relatively cheaply) remedied after a quick trip to eBay or Facebook marketplace. And then, you'll be ready to go straight out on a tour to the Alps, or whatever destination takes your fancy.
No, these kinds of bikes aren’t exactly in fashion anymore, but when they’re this cheap and this indestructible, who cares?
