Honda VFR800Fi characteristics

Hi

New to the forum.

I have just bought a 99` VFR800Fi with 34k miles in good condition and well looked after. It was going for a very good price £1450 due unfortunate owner loosing his driving licence because of failing eyesight.
However I feel rather disappointed with the performance.

I used to own a VFR750FK 12 years ago and that was a fantastic machine, light and very torquey throughout the rev range.

This VFR800 does not like being top gear at 30mph, it's hesitant and can be a bit jerky, but not as bad a friends Yamaha TDM900 Fuel injection. Once above 40mph - no problems it's fine and performance seems to be as good and better than the old model. It's just low speed top gear roll ons is my main concern. It needs to be in 4th gear at 30mph which is surprising considering the reviews.

I have Yamaha Thundercat 600. I was going to sell this, but the other day I had a lot fun on it and from as low as 25mph it can still pull cleanly in top gear which when in town or filtering ( lane splitting) is more relaxing.

Ok, the Thundercat has carbs and Fi bikes have had their fair share of complaints concerning fuelling. I had K100 and a K75 BMW's all pulled sweetly at low RPM. The worse bike I have ridden has been the TDM 900.

And,yes you should be in the correct gear at that speed but 4th gear at 30mph to keep the rev above 3000rpm before it pull cleanly does not sound right for this engine.

My question is this normal because I'm sure I read reviews saying this engine pull sweetly right throughout the rev range.

I adjusted the starter valves but this made little difference. A motorcycle dealer said that 99 models were like that and the ECU modified on 2000 models to improve the performance.

The bike is going to be used for a lot 160 miles trips and its riding potion is better than the Thundercats. This journey involves a lot of filtering for up to 20 miles on the dreaded M25, and M3 this is where top gear roll on's makes for a relaxing ride or an irritating one in having to go up down the gear box. The Thundercat is exceptional, it's just after 2 hours I get cramp in the one leg. The VFR riding potion on a 4 hour ride gave me no problems. I like the bike apart from this problem, I hoping it can be adjusted out. The old VFR750 was great I was expecting a lot more of the same.

Can any owners tell what is normal or have bought a bit of a dog that going to need some serious money spent on it to bring it up to spec.

Thanks

 

put a big enough sprocket in the back and you can do top gear roll ons from 20 if you want lol

 

I owned a 5th gen a few years ago ,a 1998 which had done 28k and thought it was fairly quick.
Then no bikes for a few years(divorce stuff) then a few months ago i got a 7k 2000 one.
This one i have now is so much quicker,it`s unmodified as well.
Maybe it`s down to the original set up when new???

 

Thanks for the info. That interesting you found there was a difference.
It is tempting to get Honda to give it a full service but
at over £450 , for a chance it may or may not improve things it's a bit of risk.
I may look at throttle cable syncronisiation next.

Cheers

 

Maybe the valve clearance and timing? With age and milage, maybe the gears and cams wear and it`s not exactly as it should be?

 

Do I understand this correctly? Are you saying that in top gear - meaning 6th gear - your having a tough time accelerating from 30 miles per hour?

I don't think I switch to 6th gear unless I'm doing 80mph or more. I think my bike would stall at 30mph in 6th gear.

There are others on this forum far more knowledgeable than me, but these bikes aren't really "designed" to run at less than 3,000rpm. You're working your engine way to hard, and actually your fuel economy will suffer.

Why not just downshift?

 

Mine is the same way. Keep it above 3k RPM and it runs just fine.

 

Yeah 6th gear at 30 mph is pushing the engine too hard. When I got my '99 VFR with 1K miles I used 1st gear for 30 mph and 6th gear was only for 70 mph or higher.

It's ok to rev it up the engine likes it.

 

These bikes (the 800's) LOVE to have some engine speed. Anything below 3000 RPM is way too low for anything other than first or second gear. Even when I'm just cruising around, I don't shift into 6th until I hit somewhere around 50-55 MPH. At 30 MPH you shouldn't be in anything above 3rd. Give her some gas and a few R's.

 

The VFR800s V4 likes to be above 3.5k especially in the top 3 gears.

I've heard Gen 4 riders mention Gen 5 has less power low down before this is because the Gen 5s v4 is based on the RC45 WSB machine and not the same engine as the Gen 4s v4 as such you should find it revs higher and makes more power at the top end.



Online review of the time sort of illustrates the difference:

" The new 800 rolls on strong but doesn't feel like a powerhouse at lower revs so we put it to task against a well used 1996 VFR750. The results were surprising as the 800 feels so much more responsive then the 750. At 70mph in 5th and 6th gears the 750 slightly pulled the 800 at the beginning of the roll-on, then they ran even. In 3rd and 4th gears, they ran dead even. In second gear, at about 8,000 rpm, the new 800 leaps forward, walks away, and keeps going never looking back. We'll let you judge these results and how they apply to your type of riding. "

1998 Honda VFR800 Intercepter Steet Test


Added 2nd review link of the time Gen 4 vs Gen 5 vs VTR
1998 Honda VFR800FI Interceptor - Motorcycle.com

 

I'm not sure if you're using the term "top gear" for 1st or 6th. If for 1st, yeah the throttle is twitchy and takes a subtle feel to control it smoothly. If you're referring to 6th, why are you in 6th at 30 mph? My VFR doesn't like it in any gear below 4000 to 4500 RPM, and feels best at 5000 RPM and above.

 

IIRC, the design was guided this way by it's racing development.


The concept was a close ratio transmission with a TALL first gear ratio.
So the rider would run waaaay up in first gear, then have a variety of gears to work with in the V4's power range. (0 - 60 mph in first gear)

I would agree that a top gear roll-on from city street speeds is hardly head-snapping. I tend to ride through town @ just under 4000 RPM's (3rd or 4th gear) & roll on from there. The FUN starts about 7 grand up to 11,000 or so.

In general, I think the low end torque comes from a larger displacement - not sure if Bore or Stroke (or Both) has the larger impact.

 

Ditto that.

 

Sorry for the long time in replying.

I recenlty changed the Honda silencer for a Viper unit and link pipe.

The tranformation was amazing, I can pull cleanly from 2k without hestation in top. The fuelling problem below 3k has virtually been eliminated.
I took the bike into London to work a few weeks ago, and it was as easy to ride a my other bike a Kawasaki Er-5.
The engine now far more flexible to use heavy traffic with reduced gear changing and now the VFR is much more enjoyable to ride.
The Viper is now louder and a lot lighter and one of the cheaper silencers to buy.

It would be interestig if anyone else has simliar results from changing the silencer.