The VFR dream...

[Traveller]

Hello all!

Just thought I'd share with you my happiness! Just because the proud owner of a bike I've always had in my sights ever since I was a kid: the VFR. :)

But not just any VFR... Not the RC24, not the RC36 1990, not the 800 '00, not even the latest one, but the beautiful VFR 750 RC36 II of '94-'96....

All Viffers are beautiful and immensely capable machines, but this 750 was haunting my dreams since childhood... Being a biker since ...birth really, I grew up to love all kinds of bikes... And sure enough I was blessed with my fair share of bikes over the years...
But none could make me forget about that "red one" which was haunting me...

Now being the proud owner of an Italian exotic, I should be content.
But no....

So recently, one cold September night and after having just bought a Honda Transalp '04 as a daily ride, I was browsing through the classifieds, and I saw her: a mint VFR 750 1996 with plenty of addons and only 50K kilometers on the clocks.

One small problem though; the bike was in Germany and I was in Greece.
But they say "where there's will there's a way!" so sure enough it was not long before I had it checked over by a friend who lives nearby and finally bought it....

So as we speak the transport company is coming to town bringing me my red pride and joy!





Cheers guys!

[ewryly]

That is a beautiful bike. Welcome to the site, Traveller.

[supervfr]

you are the first person i have ever knowingly communicated with from Greece.

[CARMINE]

hi,
Kaliméra ! Ti Kanis ? Kalà ? Nomizo oti Tora pai kallitera me VFR !
Carmine apò Napoli (Italia) - vfr 750 '87.
Sigura taxidia me VFR.
Lamps !

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by supervfr

you are the first person i have ever knowingly communicated with from Greece.

Well, I guess there's a first time for everything mate! :D
Thanks for the welcome guys! Carmine, what a nice surprise! You speak Greek!

As for the bike, I will go pick it up in about an hour from the transport company's depot! Can't wait!!!

[CARMINE]

Hi Nikos,
Apo pou ise ? Athina ? Milao ligo ellinika.
But now il will go on in english : this is a site where you can share friendship, technical information and love for VFR spirit.
They are so kind to give place for us European VFR guys. If you want (but it is only a virtual list) you can adopt the European Division logo.
Kalos orisate !
Carmine

[julianivfr]

Bonjour. Wilkommen. This is a great site. Congrats on the bike.

[derstuka]

Nice look rig! Hello and welcome to the club!

[reg71]

very nice. welcome to vfrworld...

[Richard Thompson]

Oh yeah, another 4G brother! welcome to the house of fun.

like you i appreciate the 4 g for being the last of the carb models, the last of the 750's, the last of the gear cams, and for just looking awesome (and red)
and i hunted down a good used example over a period of time.

so congrats on your new bike, she looks great!

there are some very nice examples of gen4 bikes here on the forum. i normally consult with brothers RVFR and rockn VFR on such matters.
but there are many more.

so, when do we break out the ouzo and smash a few plates?

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by Richard Thompson

Oh yeah, another 4G brother! welcome to the house of fun.

like you i appreciate the 4 g for being the last of the carb models, the last of the 750's, the last of the gear cams, and for just looking awesome (and red)
and i hunted down a good used example over a period of time.

so congrats on your new bike, she looks great!

there are some very nice examples of gen4 bikes here on the forum. i normally consult with brothers RVFR and rockn VFR on such matters.
but there are many more.

so, when do we break out the ouzo and smash a few plates?

Hehehe!!! Ouzo yes, but plates... We don't do that anymore mate! We stopped it somewhere in the 80s!

Cheers for the welcome guys! Glad to see so many friendly people around!

As for the the bike... Well, it is awesome... I am more thrilled than even when I got to first ride my Ducati 999!!

Although it must be said that the Duc really took some time to get to grips with, let alone enjoy, whereas the VFR just clicked! I still remember when I took the Duc from the dealership to the garage, about 3 miles away...

The seat is just a few mm of padding disguising as a proper seat. Might as well be sitting on a slab of marble! The clipons were so low that I had to reach down around the tank to get to them -forget about maneuvers!
The huge race-tuned V2 was thudding and shuddering at anything below 4K and the brakes were so powerful that anything but a finger on the lever could cause a slide.
To make matters worse, as it was summer, the engine soon heated up and started to roast my legs and butt. Honestly I felt like jumping of the bike at times! Oh the joyous times I had in the afternoon rush-hour

I took it to the garage, jumped off and stood there thinking to myself "WHAT THE F...!!!!" :blink:

But on the VFR.... Everything is just right! The incredible whining V4 sound, the beautiful riding position, the handling, the immense midrange torque, the looks.... Oh the looks.... For me its hands down the most beautiful Honda ever produced (together with the mighty NR of course ;))! Simply incredible...

[Traveller]

As I only got the VFR last night I couldn't see much except ride it (which is no bad thing!). :D
So I went to my garage this morning to have a good look at the bike and take some pics...

Well, all I can say is that its in mint condition; I really can't believe how well preserved it is!

Anyway, I took some pics for you guys to see... ;)
Hope you like them!

[Richard Thompson]

hey nikos, i con cur with you on riding the 999. it really all comes to gether at about 120kmph plus when the wind speed takes good effect on your upperbody and can provide some cooling. at least it does here in NZ, i know it gets mighty hot over there in greece.

if you get the chance, blag a ride on a Honda VTR 1000F(superhawk in US speak) and you will find a V twin as friendly as a VFR with the real world riding capability. not as sexy as the italian but much less expensive also.
you can buy a lot of upgrades for the difference. it will never be the out right performer the Ducati is but you can ride one all day.
personally i would be tempted to park the ducati in the living room as 'object de Art' and just ride the VFR.

BTW, sorry bout the plates. cultural insensitivity, the result of too many b grade movies!...my bad.

any way heres a pic for you of me(on my VTR) and my mate marks 999 on tour, and loaded up.

cheers

RT

[drewl]

Your story is one for the books. Your bike looks beautiful. Congratulations and welcome aboard.

[emptyskull]

living large sweet ride what do you think of da duck??

[Traveller]

Looking good there Richard! No worries about the plates thing! It's all good! (besides, from what I hear now they throw napkins instead of plates... go figure!) LOL

Skull mate the Duc is a really focused bike. It is a precision tool, a full-on, all-out war machine if you like. There is nothing subtle about it... It costs a lot, it demands a lot but it gives even more...

Take it out on a spirited ride and it can make you look like a true superbike hero. The rider-machine connection that this thing has is next to none!

But definitely not one for a daily ride.....