2010 Honda VFR1200F

Being the youngest of five siblings I was often on the receiving end of hand-me-downs; sometimes clothes, sometimes sporting equipment and thankfully, motorcycles. I have a brother who is seven years my elder and luckily for me he had an interest in motorcycles. Growing up I was always riding a dirt bike one size too big and often getting myself in a little over my head. When my brother's interest turned from dirt to street the timing could not have been better. Just as I was coming up on my 16th birthday my brother decided it was time to go shopping for a sportbike. To my surprise I was actually somewhat included in the narrowing down process of what bike to purchase.

The two bikes up for contention were a rare 1987 Yamaha FZR750 and a beautiful Italian red 1990 Honda VFR. My brother decided to go with the Yamaha so I never did get my chance to sample the V-4 from Honda, that is . . until now. Twenty years later I finally have that red VFR sitting in my garage.  Well not that exact 1990 Honda VFR of course, but the all new VFR1200F.

Many things have changed since then, both in my life and the life of the VFR. We both have a slightly larger displacement, however the Honda's has grown much more significantly. In the early VFR's, 750cc was norm until 1998 when the displacement was upped to 781cc; close enough to label the model VFR800. Not until the current 2010 model did the VFR make the significant jump to 1237cc's.

Honda has brought to market two versions of the VFR1200F. I would be testing the standard model which features a six-speed transmission while the other model utilizes a new Dual Clutch Transmission which is absent of shift and clutch levers. Oh maybe it's better for me anyways, I have been told I am kind of old school and would hate to cramp my style with some new DCT technology.

But before you start feeling too sorry for me I should note the VFR I would be riding did come equipped with some special bits. While they would not make me any faster they would surely make my longer journeys much more enjoyable and accommodating. The color-matched saddlebags have a 29-liter storage capacity per saddlebag and the rear trunk has a 33-liter capacity which comes in handy if you are looking to bring along an extra full face helmet. I have trouble putting together an Ikea coffee table by myself so I was pleasantly surprised at the ease in which the luggage can be installed and removed with a quick flick of the ignition key.

Any motorcycle model that starts with the letter "V" is almost always going to be about the motor and with 30 years of V4 technology, this Honda is no different. In this case the star is the 1237cc liquid-cooled 76° V-4. Although it may not be the MotoGP derived V5 powering this VFR, some design
technologies did make their way over to the street V4. The two front  cylinders are spread wider than the rear pair so that the engine can be tapered slimmer at the rear.

Overall it's more compact than the 781cc engine used in the Interceptor. Honda also looked to their successful CRF motocross machines using Unicam technology to minimize cylinder head size and weight. Crankshaft horsepower is in the 167 HP range at 10,000 RPM and max torque is 95.1 ft-lbs at 8,750 RPM.  90% of that torque is available at just 4000 RPM. Fuel delivery comes via “Throttle By Wire” technology that is matched to four 44mm throttle bodies, each with a single 12-hole injector spraying fuel.

All of these ponies are emitted through the VFR's compact exhaust system which has been placed towards the front of the bike to aid in mass centralization. The design is fairly funky and unique and in my opinion quite attractive.