Honda VFR800FI Interceptor reviews

I have owned many bikes in pretty much every category. I have a sickness...I always want the bike I don't have. That said, I think I'll be sticking with this one (at least until the VFR 1200 is deemed reliable). I have the absolutely gorgeous pearl white VFR. Compared to my last litre bike, this bike is slow. Compared to most vehicles on the road, it's fast. For real world riding, i.e. public roads with speed limits and day dreaming cagers, this bike has just the right amount of power. It's riding position isn't all-day comfortable without quite a bit of stopping but for a mid-weight sport-tourer I think it is a great compromise. The V-Tec is a fun addition. I don't really feel a huge power surge when it kicks in but it sounds upset and ready to rumble when it growls. You have to ask yourself what you want from your machine and for my needs (daily commuter, occasional 1-3 day trip) this bike is perfect. Show less

This is probably the best overall bike ever built. It excels in the twisties. It's all-day comfortable and has Honda reliablilty. It has brakes that stop now! It just does not get any better. Show less

This is a great bike. It's very fast. I think it is the best all-around bike you can get. Show less

After reading numerous reviews and test riding a few times, I bought my 98 VFR with 9500 miles in March of 2008. I must say it is one of the best things I have done! It's reliable, comfortable and looks great, even for a bike that is 10 years old. After 5000 miles this summer, I can't wait until next spring! I would suggest this bike to anybody! Show less

I have the 2006 in Pearl White. I'd been out of riding for a few years and at 45 just wasn't ready to join the cruiser crowd. I love my VFR. It has incredible power and handling. Great brakes tho could do without linked setup. Only complaint so far is my hand goes numb after about an hour of riding, but hopefully that will be fixed soon with Heli bars. Other than that, comfort is good, plenty of legroom for my height and good wind protection from fairing. Nice features include outside temp gauge and dual trip odometers. Factory hard saddle bags are gorgeous (but expensive). Also getting good gas mileage, from low of 38 to high of 46. Bike attracts attention, and I'm enjoying being back on two wheels! I expect to get many thousands of miles of enjoyment out of my VFR! PS: The Two Bros exhaust and P.C improved an already impressive throttle response and oh what sound!! Highly recommended. Show less

This is my third bike, and I've owned it for about four years. My first bike was a late 1970s UJM. My second was a large cruiser. I've also ridden every bike in the Truimph model line. If you need a bike that's good for almost any kind of riding, with styling that ages very well, and is rock-solid reliable, it's hard to beat the VFR800FI. Aside from being mechanically reliable, the quality of materials, finishes, and construction are incredible. Everything on the bike is highly resistant to aging, fading, fatiguing, cracking, or scratching. If you give it a bare minimum of care, it will keep looking and riding like new for decades. Plus, the precision, comfort, and refinement that it exhibits when you ride it are very gratifying. Without a doubt, some bikes are better for specific types of riding, such as pure sports riding and track days, or ultra-long-distance touring. But if you can own only one all-around bike and you need it to handle touring, commuting, as well as some sporty riding, I think the VFR is the best bike out there. With just a few of the right accessories, it will easily adapt to whatever riding style you throw at it. Show less

After numerous cruisers, tourers, nakeds, and my last adventure with the dl650, I ended up with this because I was looking for a bike that I didn't have to put up with the wind buffetting of those crummy shields on most bikes. I just wanted to be out in the clean air. It's perfect for that, wind hits right at my neck. Supersports are fun, but just a bit too radical position for me. This is quite a bit more upright compared to them. I also came from naked and touring bikes and never thought I could be comfy on a sport bike! But this one felt great right off the bat! No more sore butt for me as I don't have the weight on my spine any more. No more cruisers for me! No sore back as I guess the position must be right! And like most, I tried the bigger shield because I thought I had to have it. In the end, that was a mistake as it took away the lift and put too much weight on my arms. With the stocker it works great at hiway speed. Power is almost enough, more would be better. The smoothness of the engine is great. No vibes! As for the Vtech gimmick, I love it! Sounds great when it kicks in and feels good! I find the linked brakes to be unnoticable in my normal driving, but when experimenting with the panic situations they do work great at keeping it striaght! The brakes are fantastic either way! Mileage is nothing special,expected more from it when takin it easy. 50 mpg at best! For city driving,(which I avoid) it's not that comfy, same as a regular sport bike with the heavy arm pressure due to slow speed no lift. Same 2-up, narrow bars and high passenger no fun. And yes it needs more power.:) Same with the prairie riding, not really its thing, but then again nothing can help that!! Corners is where this bike shines! But for a guy that wants the handling of the supersports and a lot more comfort for the long haul..this bike works great! If you can ride good, none of them will leave you behind in the twisites, and from a roll this will stay ahead of the new 600's to 180kph. After 11000km in 2 months I can say it one of the best bikes I've ever owned. So far the only thing I can find that I want to replace it with is the sprint st or zx1400. Show less

This bike gets a lot of strange reviews, either from sport/track racers who are expecting it to be an all-out track monster, or from (sport) tourers who are expecting the lay-z-boy ride of an ST or Goldwing. It is both, and it is neither. The Interceptor is a bike that is proud to do what it does, and do it better than any one offering of the competition. If you've never had a V4 bike, riding an Interceptor will be a complete shock to you. It is dead-smooth and flawlessly predictable at all RPMs and in all situations. It goes absurdly fast with such grace that you don't realize you're accelerating faster than a Viper, and corners with confidence-inspiring smoothness and control. The stock suspension is on-par with most aftermarket offerings. The linked brakes are completely transparent to all but the most experienced riders, and do a phenomenal job of safely scrubbing speed, even in corners. It's comfortable in ways you'd never dream a sport-bike could be, with a stance that's slightly rotated back towards a 'standard' position to keep neutral weight so your wrists don't take abuse. It's an all-rounder, capable of cruising, touring, carving twisties, and even track days. Its maintenance is very low and it's fantastically reliable. This is the "sport" bike for the real world, where cross-country trips, bad traffic, and rainy days happen. The Interceptor is always up to the challenge. (P.S. The factory sidebags are fantastic. I do not own them but many friends do. They're worth every penny. If you want a more sporty ride, replace the stock tires and you will find yourself on a completely transformed bike.) Show less

I originally bought this bike in 2002 when I was living out west in Wyoming, in the Rockies. This bike was so much fun in the mountains and in the wide open roads. It is truly confidence inspiring. It handles twists and turns wonderfully, is flickable and plenty quick. The ABS brakes were a godsend out there in the mountains (snow storms and icy conditions possible year round) and are nice down here near the beach (sand and grit). I was never able to ask anything of this bike that it couldn't deliver and it actually bailed me out of a few dicey situations when I made mistakes or errors in judgement. I've never had to lay it down, I've taken excellent care of it and it has done everything I've ever asked of it. Show less

After owning many VF and VFR Hondas before this I was absolutely astounded at the difference a few years can make. This one is the best! Bought used, but far from used up. First trip was the north shore of Duluth with the wife and bags, What a trip. Bike ran great the entire trip, didn't miss a beat. The sound from the D&D pipe is absolutely in a class of it's own. Show less