dee) BO aT ol ed ced Ten That Leased History, Starring. .. | Honda's VFR750F ; CST) eee Gg) ee PET ET En TLE DY“When's time forhard charging the FTSOF excels in e performance, st ion, ground cl tires, -.. Imagine, if yc mirror that takes the good points, ‘masks the pptor, sums up our jor the bike we first saw thre years and one m c tor had mo s first liquid. fe four-stroke peak horsepower 750 ever strapped eter frame: te eta The original VF750 was supple and versatile, its handling and power the stuff of legends: What do you do for an encore when your name is Interceptor? ck around, clinching 29 of the verbike wins, b motorcycle which Honda pi in limited quantity destrol machine iant starburst, in port riders to a jor that pr and sporting riders alike bargained with each other in dot 0 possess the Inter- the racetr in the canye genera: h per along Yamaha's 50 repre , but the remains the same, but th ower, handing and versatility @ at a level that makes em suddenly fat, lazy and s three short earthshakingsharper edge, t! he middle tput 0} weight o the FZ, b than the of 50 s lighter werful; stro light. Its jenomi orque and nish make belie the n Daus-ike fe Id the body panels in t tthe new Interceptor d to dling wa‘ that perfect alignm and hand: th clip-on handlebars and are bare aluminum alloy butfed to a Ww, brake and clutch le knurled wheels for free-pla) nt, Wiring hoops and harn ar beneath the inscrutable flat-black dash pan e instrument clust dark-tinted fairing nter-stage, the sized water-tempé big analog ta: ;d at 11,500, a smaller on the left, Krugerrand ature gauge on the across the VFR’ I; the tall sharply sweeping » then angle the tank; the full f the fairing lurninum frame-rails; the finished in what cast paint—theHONDA VFRTSOF middleweight small, but it's the engine that captures the Interceptor’s new identity, focuses the new image clearly, sharply, memorably. The old VF made buckets of horsepower everywhere, yes, but the V-4’s lumpy power pulses and flat, underwater-gargle exhaust note made nostalgic old coots yearn tor the clean, shrieking rip of an inline-four. Listen to the VFR at idle: you can hear the sharp intake of the carbs drawing breath, the muted ticking of the valves, the whine of the cam gears, the crisp grow! of exhaust—combustion made Visible through sound, The thrust of V-4 torque is there, but combined with the immediacy and snap of an inline-four. peling effect, the force of a int punch delivered with the k of bare knuckles. engineers combined signif cant internal changes to give the VER more urgent punch, and the core of these changes is anew crankshaft. The old Interceptor used a 360-degree nk; its pistons rose and fell in pairs, ont and rear together. The VFR750 gets a 180-degree crankshaft which fids the engine of its flat, lumpy feel The new crank stil carties two rods on each pin, although crankpin location does not effect engine balance in this 90-degree vee, particularly important since the Interceptor's aluminum frame is buttressed by the rigid-mounted, load-bearing engine. Even without the Intervention of rubber mounts, the \VER7S0 runs smoother than the original vera Much of the Interceptor engine's newfound urgency stems from the light- ening of internal components. While the VFR shares general specifications with the VF—fourvalve heads, 90-degree cylinder angle, 70.0 x 46,8mm bore and stroke—it uses few individual pieces from the old engine, just some fasten ors, the water pump, a gasket of two. The VF750F borrowed its engine from the Sabre, Honda's long-wheelbase, shaft-drive, new-wave standard. That first engine was powerful, but it was also big and set high in the chassis. To climb in the ring where Yamaha's five valve technology squares off with Suzuki's low-mass approach, the Inter ceptor first needed to shrink the hard way—from the inside out We've seen this downsizing process in Honda's inline-fours: components are juggled, consolidated, often de leted. But the V-four floor plan doesn't lend itself to easy renovation either— downsizing is an arduous and expen sive process (see Kevin Cameron's \VER750 technical analysis, Cycle, May 1986). The VER measures its Success in grams: 90 came out of each connecting 2 fod beam; rocker arms dropped. six grams; new intake and exhaust valves shaved 16 grams; valve springs trimmed 17 grams; each piston, wristpin, and ring pack saved 21 grams, More attention gets paid to these lighter pieces to preserve reliability and durability. The VFR connecting rods are carburized for strength, valve springs begin as high-tensile steel, shot peened and heat-treated; the valve train is completely redesigned. In Eu rope, the VF750 suffered reliability problems during sustained, high-speed running. The old engine used a single cam lobe to actuate each pair of valves through a forked rocker—eight lobes for 16 valves. Valve clearance in this system was set through screw-and Jamnut adjusters operating through a point contact with each valve. Unless the clearance between the two valves ‘was identical, the rocker was subjected toa tilting force which edge-loaded the cam lobe. With time, this force com bined with the effects of high oil tem peratures and low viscosity to destroy camshaits. In the VFR, camshafts have four lobes, each operating on separate rockers. Adjusters reside at the fulcrum ‘end of the rockers; the rockers them selves pivot on balljoints rather than shafts. These rockers are self-aligning against their cam lobes, making edge- loading impossible. Their light weight further decreases stress throughout the valve train orohe VFR integrates components ikea saps hes: ay pans fow ht together nop af mnt, ear Seal cou ramoves fr passarger pace, Ie coe ense, dlean Taco gifs th aun Honda embraced the low-mass approach in the VFR: brake calipers shrink to enviable compactness, discs are shaved to a racer-thin five millimeters and drilled for lightness— even the fork tubes are Rea The VER also dispenses with stretchy camehains and the complex, power robbing tensioners and guides that go with them. Like the racer and the VF1000R, the 750 uses straight-cut gears driven from the center of the rank to couple positively cam and crank rotation and thus carefully control and orchestrate the relative move ments of pistons and valves. These gear towers—with steel mounting plates and spring-loaded, split-tooth gearsets to control noisy backlash— may weigh more than the old VF's chain-drive system, but more accurate valve control and a 30-percent reduc: tion in frictional loss pay greater divi dends at the rear wheel it's familiar story: lighter reciprocat: JUNE 1966, ing pieces upstairs decrease loads down the line. Smaller, thinner fywheols reduce crankshaft weight by 20 per- cent, and the crankcase shrinks ac- cordingly. An improved damper in the \VFR’s rear hub takes up driveline slack, sothe VF's one-way clutch gives way to ‘smaller, conventional basket that car- fies more plates and fewer teeth (64 versus 71) on its straight-cut primary gear. The VFR750 also gets a space: saving planetary gear-shift mechanism, similar to that found in the VF500 Inter ‘ceptor. Such changes allow Honda en: gineers to close up the VFR’s gear cen: ters and account for most of the engine's shrinkage—compared to the VF, the VFR engine is nearly an inch shorter front to back, and 20 percent lighter. The advantage of cutting engine length is directly reflected in the VFR’s shorter wheelbase. Internal streamlining would be wasted if the components were not ef- fectively cooled, and the new Honda's full fairing complicates the cooling problem. A large aluminum cross-flow radiator—mounted on hinges to ease top-end service—increases coolant ca- pacity; it's also lighter than the old VF's dual brass radiators. Cooling ducts in the VER's bodywork direct hot air from the radiator and keep the atmosphere around the intake tracts cool. Oil ca pacity is up a full quart from the VF, and the slippery stuff circulates through a small cooler mounted in the fairing’s up- per quarters. Anew double-totor tricoid orA sales more conc angina ts ow and foward HONDA VER7GOF pump sends oil from the VFR's enlarged sump to galleys that bathe the trans- mission's main shaft and countershaft along with the crank mains. A second loop supplies the top end; separate me tering jets lube individual cam lobes. What's true in heated debates applies in the realms of reliable power: in the VER, cooler heads prevail Cutting power losses, however, is only half the battle: the VFR makes the distinction between Josing less power nits way to the rear wheel and actually generating more in the combustion ‘chambers. In the VFR Honda engineers did generate more power through bet ter breathing rather than by spinning the new engine harder with the conse quent drawbacks of greater heat and frictional losses; this latter course would somewhat contradict the work devoted to cutting in-transit power losses. Honda engineers opted for a modest 10.5:1 compression (same as 28 1d concentrated on mak ter breathing, Snorkeling air from beneath the front section of the fuel tank, the VFR's new airbox expands to 7.6 liters—more than a liter larger than the VF's box—and feeds 2 quartet of constant-vacuum, 34mm Keihin downdraft carbs; com: pared to the VF's units, the VFR carbs are two millimeters larger across the throttle slide and one milimeter at the venturi. Intake ports, angled up 10 de- grees, siraighten the plunge to intake valves which are also one milimeter larger than those in the VF. Cam-timing does change, but not much: compared to the VF780, the VFR has slightly less overlap, and lft increases from 8.0mm to B.2mm. Across the VFR's pent-roof combustion chamber, exhaust valves remain the same size, but they pass gas to a redesigned four.intotwo ex aust system that uses a small cross over pipe in place of the VF's torque- spreading chamber: with no box dawn below and bigger carbs above, the VFR hints at a new power architecture, high rise styl. The new cooing system employs 2 rgealminum "es fw racial wit sal ot co0er above Our first encounter with the VFR750 was at Willow Springs Raceway. Two bikes, plot-production madels at our disposal for photography, left us with an impression of overwhelming mid- range power: they delivered the part throttle squirt of a big-bore sport bike, the upper mid-range of engines in per- fect states of tune—which they were. Pilot-production bikes are not produc: tion machines: they are the first to roll off the assembly ine and never see the light of a dealer's showroom. According to Honda spokesman, pilot;production \VFRs went to the dyno, and the strong: est machines pulled press-introduction duty. Honda cautioned people about drawing specific conclusions based on pilot VFRs. The only thing Honda could guarantee was that the motorcycles at Willow Springs looked representative: photos only. For road test impressions, We waited: fora real production unit, for a full month of hard testing, for our own dyno numbers before drawing our conclusions, Chained to the Kerker dynamometer, our production unit blew away the race: croumph mark, Why don't the FZ and GSx-R just leave the Interceptor in rol-ons? First, unlike the dyno which measures horsepower at a full-open throttle, ral! ons are performed at part-throttle and reward crisp, clean response. While big carbs can boost top-end power, they often exact a price in poor roll-on showings. The VFR is strong on top and extraordinarily crisp down low. Honda has obviously made great progress in getting accurate low-speed throttle me- tering from big mixers, Second, dyno-testing strives to re- duce the variables in its measurement of horsepower: throttle position is con: stant, engine rom and flywheel inertia stabilized before figures are recorded. Roltons, on the other hand, measure real-worid acceleration, and here the variables can wield enormous force on the outcome. While the VFR's mid: range dyno numbers appear soft, more actual power for acceleration may be The V2 wae tin Poor taton par ect Baveten seers ‘on tap because Honda has trimmed pounds off the VFR’s internal mass, specifically the clutch and flywheel. Be- cause the clutch is geared directly to the crankshaft, its effect on flywheel acceleration can be dramatic. ‘At the dragstrip the VFR proved its top-end punch. Nine runs, during which the VFR was difficult to manage off the line, were just a dress rehearsal for an absolutely kiler-perfect launch: the VFR posted a best run of 10.95 seconds, with a zero-to-60 time of 2.4 seconds. {Contruesion page 41) TEST SPECIFICATIONS ‘Make and mode Honda VFRTSOF Interceptor Price, suggested etal (as of 32365) NA Performance Staging sta mio... 1095 @ 1135mph ‘Aceleraton 0-8) mph 2aoee 45-TO mph, op goats. (87600, 3181 (5)468 soo, 33 (8)820 60, 4371 Braking, 60-0 moh ‘iat Engr ram @ €0 mp, op gear 020 ‘erage fuel Bonsumpion ate sma (ezenn Cris range (maintesere) 804m (eoa78 em) cas capacty {GVWAless cu waign) 3475 bs (057649) Maximum spec in gous (engine resine 4) @ 78 @ @ aia 140 (6)357 Engine We Fours, ocegree ‘out tauc-oaced with cal ‘gear-ven overnead camshats; four valves per oynder Bore and sroxe 70.0% 468nm (276x191n) Pasion clisplacement Tale (456 cu. 9) {Compression ratio 7051 CCarburatin (4) etn 3émm constant vacuum Exhaust system Fourntetwo ignition Battery powered, inactive ‘magnaticly iogered Ai fitetion Papo element, cispessble Oilfraton Papo element, disposable Oicapacity 42 ats. (40) Ep @ Pm 255 0 1000 Torque @ rpm 44.08 @ 000 Transmission ype ‘Shespeed, constant mesh vwotclutes Prirary dive... Strightout gear 643, 194 aioe "#530 chan 1645, 281 Gear ratios (tansmission) (1) 37/13, 285 (239/16, 206 )31/9, 163 (4)28121,133. )9026 1.15 (62928, 198 (1582 1125 @ 89 ( 727 (9) 628 (6) 560 oar ratios (ovral) Double downtube,twin-deam ‘aluminum tame; bax section ‘uminum sing ar Suspension, font Center sit ‘adjust fork with 37mm tubes, antive valirg, and 55. (40m) of raved (1) shock absorber, ajusate or sprng preoao, reducing 41 in (105mm) of rarwheel rave Wheebase 88.1in.(1477mm) Rakai 27581430. (108mm) Brake, front Hyrule, alse win ‘winston calpors veer Myaraut, single-dse with ‘wi-pson caliper Wheel, front ‘Cast, 250% 16 ‘ear Cast 350% 18 Teo, ont "HOSOV16 Dunlop KISS ' 13078008 Dunlop K75 ‘Seat height 315. (7900) Ground clearance ‘53, (135mm) Fusleapacty(maniresere) ......- 42/11 gals. (5842) (Cure west (fu tank) 6065s. 229.9 kg) Test waght 1655 bs (297 kg) Electrical Poner source ...... Three phase AC generator, D0 watts Charge contol... Sole stae votage regulator Heaaight beams (higviow) 0185 watts Tallstopignts 827 watts Batten, 12 14H Instruments Includes... Speedometer, ocometer, trometer, tachometer wih 11500-pm reine coolant temperature gauge, wang bghis foc fuel, ow ol pressure; nicatrs forhgh beam, tun signal, rout ‘Spoodometor enor, ‘SO mph indeateg actual 60 mph indeates, actual 2330 575 ‘Customer Service Contact Aavercan Honda Mator Ca, 100,W. Alona Bea, Gardena, CA 0247 (21) 3278280 enneece ly GREEVFR Continsed rom page 30 Don't bother looking at the other 750s for equal quarter-miles because only 2 handful of Superbikes have snapped the 11-second barrier. Getting the VFR into the tens, however, is tricky busi ness. With excellent traction at the rear, the rider must clamber atop the fuel tank and engage the clutch almost all the way through first gear to prevent wheelies, Too, the VFR's gearbox is somewhat stiff and reluctant to shift un- der full throttle. We smoked one clutch trying to keep the front end down, and even after installing fresh plates, the VFR’s runs were inconsistent, produc: ing trap speeds from 113.5 mph to 120 mph. About one thing there's no doubt the VFR is the quickest 750 we have ever tested Tractable, quick revving and respon: sive, the VFR feels more lithe andeager than the VF, Driveline lash is controlled, but the gearbox gremlins remain: too much lever throw, notchy action. Stil, power flows smooth and crisp from the VFR, jamming the rider deep into the seal when the engine hits its 7000-rpm spike, thrusting him deeper stil as the revs climb toward redline. Snap the throttle rolling along first gear, and the \VFR's front wheel gets light—but stays planted. The slightest tug on the bars fils the fairing bubble with blue sky. Bang into second gear, and the front end lofts again The lnterceptor is obviously the prod uct of some pretty sophisticated think: ing. The FZ's Genesis engine has more power, the GSX-R Suzuki packs far less weight; so what was left to Honda? A different, more complex motorcycle, the VFR pushes all the variables to a Unique balance. What it gives up in mid: range power for top end, it gets back through internal trimming, With a sixth speed in the gearbox and an extra 500 rpm on top, the VFR closes the gaps between the old VF's wider ratios for acceleration and plays its tall top gear to best advantage with slippery aerodynamics, ‘Our coastdown testing confirmed Honda's claims: the Interceptor is the slickest motorcycle Honda has yet pro: duced. It takes one horsepower less to push the VFR through stil air at 60 miles per hour than the VF1000R—that's less force than it takes to propel the smaller, lighter VF500 Interceptor. The light weight GSX-R750 posts lower drag fig ures than the VFR by one horsepower, but the Suzuki's low gearing chips away at top end. Speed calculations have | both the GSX and FZ crowding their rev-limiters shy of 180 mph, but the VER gets into the 150s before the tach nee- dle even shadows the red zone—sixth is geared for 157 mph, {Continued on page 42) UNE 1906 LUNCHTIME IN THE HOLLOW usually finds someone at the limestone cave spring Jack Daniel picked a century ago When Mr: Jack picked our spring he didn’t realize he was getting a good lunch spot too. He picked it because it runs at 56 degrees year-round and it’s completely iron-free. (Iron, you see, is the natural enemy of whiskey.) This water and charcoal mellowing account largely for Jack Daniel's smoothness. After a sip, you'll know Mr. Jack did all right when it came to picking springs. CHARCOAL MELLOWED FOR SMOOTHNESSom page 41 gine, Honda engineers put the VR’s chassis through the CAD/ CAM shrinker: the twin-spar aluminum frame, @ composite of cast steering nead, cast swing-arm-pivot bulkhead, d extruded main beams mates with smaller spars extending downward from the steering head to the front en: gine mounts. The VFR frame is 12 pounds lighter yet 1.5 times stiffer than the old VF's allstee! frame. The swing arm, also a cast/extruded composite, is iffer, lighter piece than the VF unit Aluminum replaces steel in the rear shock inkage, which now pivots on bearings rather than the VF's riple clamps, top and bot- along with the steering stem, are he light stuff; new cast ther pound: brake discs down ta a thickness of five rapping six pounds; twin off another six ry thinner brake pads porating a higher ceramic content, a ceramic backing to insulate the ‘rom heat. Even fork-tube di ast year 39mm, slims down to mm on the VER. Smaller fork tubes? fa has pitched the old VF's fork 00, but front axle diameter is up mm, and four large pinch bolts nat piece solidly in place. easy to get carried away with the chassis components: Honda has ‘a much over external pieces ‘ave over internal engine bits. ut ike the engine, the careful juggling and balance of these components sets he VFR chassis apart from the FZ and X. In the ergonomics lie the most cortant difference. The VER'S riding position is roomy, comfortable: brake and clutch levers are small, knurled wheels provide throw adjustment to custom fit he hand. The clip-on handle. bars avoid the GSX-R’s long reach, yet allow the rider to fold in tight behind the fairing’s tinted bubble, eyeballs inches above the top triple clamp. At high speed, the fairing’s coverage leaves the rider unrutfied. Around town, the bodywork offers more protection than the FZ's truncated fairing, yet doesn't roast the rider with engine heat, Footpegs, high and rearward, offer more legroom than the GSXR, and the seat, flat, wide and plush, is first-class compared to the FZ’s firm, high crowned perch. Beneath the removable rear cowling, the passenger gets coach-fare accommodations—seat adding for number two is thinner, and the seat narrower—but our test pas: sengers would stil rather park them- selves on the VFR for an afternoon than copilot the FZ or GSX. In terms of comfort, the VFR's cabin is superior to its repl-racer classmates, For years Honda has treated the rider, the single heaviest “component” out: side of the engine, as an integral part of GP bike chassis ‘design, moving him forward to increase front-end weight bias as horsepower levels climbed over the 180 mark. In the old VF750, this was impossible: the engine sat high and rearward, and so did the rider. In part this made the VF's steering vague, of ten flighty during hard acceleration. By decreasing the size of the VFR engine, Honda could reposition the rider and powerplant low and forward, and the difference is something you can feel gone is the top-heavy sensation of the Old VF, in its place is a feeling of mass carried low, centralized, balanced, less at odds with the rider. Rotating the en- gine back 1.5 degrees lifted the front cylinders half an inch, providing clear: ance for the front wheel at full-bump while allowing the powerplant to push forward 20 milimeters. With no frame members cradling the engine from below, the powerplant dropped 10 mil meters closer to the ground. As aresult, the VFR carries 48 percent of its. un laden weight on the front wheel com: pared to the 47 percent cartied by the VFT6O. To compensate for the increased weight up front, Honda engineers pulled the steering-head angle in less than one degree—27 5 trom the VF's 28.2—then increased trail from 3.8 inches to 4.25 inches to reinforce high speed stability. Compared to the FZ750 (25.5 degrees, 37 inches) and the GSX (26.0 degrees/4.2 inches) the VFR's steering geometry is conservative. Re member, though, the GSX needs steep geometry to offset the high-speed gyro scopic effect of its 18.inch front wheel The FZ carries more weight on its 16 inch wheel, and thus needs @ wider (2.75.incn) tim and bigger tire (120/80) to spread the load, steeper geometry and a triangulated tre profile to quicken steering. With less weight up front com pared to the FZ, the VER gets its quick ness from @ narrower 2-5:nch rim, a smaller 110/90 tire and middle-ground geometry. The logic of Honda's approach is powerful indeed. On fast, smooth roads, the VFR is remarkable: solid, se Cute in a straight ine, yet quick to move into cornering position. At speeds over 80 mph, the VER requires a bit more steering input to snap into tums, but steering response remains quick, neu tral, honest, the front end always planted. Unie the F2750, which feels trustworthy when straight up or snapped way over, but uncertain in be- tween, the VFR holds any lean angle without giving its rider cause for con- er. In fast, smooth comers, the VFR holds its line under acceleration without drifting to the outside, yet shows no (Contruedon page 85) cycleROAD WARRIOR. Laver aerodynamic L228 the result of four yeas exensve RAD —and i's quickly becoming the sander by which the helmets are jdged. Special L2 Features include + onfalin®TX-60 construction, ahtech solven-esitan material hich meets or exceeds domestic and international safety standards * ew open close ventilation system for beter cooling and defog ‘ings Unique ron spoiler reduces dag, lessening rider fatigue ‘Anatomical design for increased safety» Larurions four-piece ‘our interior assembly for added comfort« Thick injection Inoled,recesed fice shield for quieter riding» Quick release buckle Foruse wth glows + Five positon, sellockingracheted face shield features onefinge operation valabe in ted, black, white, metal sites metalic red, and metalic charcoal sey you want a helmet thal take othe streets ‘ikea true “road waco let Lazer’ LZ2 show you the way— ss abailiant ay! VFR Continued trom page 42 sign of tucking under when braked deep into a comer. Back to back with the GSX-R on the same fast roads the Interceptor fares well, The Suzuki's snap-roll fickability is a tad quicker, the VFR's steering a touch lighter. While the GSXR stops from 60 miles per hour three feet shorter than the VFR, the Honda's brakes offer superior control; the rear binder is powerful without being sens tive, the front linear, easy to modulate, requiring only two fingers to stop with a vengeance, The VFR's Dunlop tires: the rear now mounted on a 3.50-inch rim, half an inch wider than the VF750's hoop—stick well in the fast stuff: only on the racetrack did the tires get hot and greasy, the rear stepping out first, but slowly, predictably. Ride the VFR on a smooth, fast road and you'll swear on at least the New ‘Testament that itis a better ful-blaster than the FZ and GSX: The VFR's steor- ing feels more trustworthy than the FZ's, its ergonomics and broad power far less demanding than the GSX’s peaky rush and prone riding posture. Bumpy backroads, however, will blow your smile to Kingdom Come. The sus- pension feels at ance mushy and harsh, the front end patters when pushed hard across small ripples, the rear end chat ters over medium-sized bumps and re sponds with a solid whack to big bumps hit under hard acceleration A close look at the Interceptor's sus: pension specifications suggests some explanations, Compared to the old F750, the VFR's suspension travel ha been decreased: over half an inch of travel departed from the front fork, just under haif an inch came out of the rear. Decreasing suspension travel, espe cially in a motorcycle that weighs sig nificantly less than before, serves @ Useful purpose. Cutting a half inch from the Interceptor's legs lowers the ma- chine’s overall center of gravity and de- creases chassis pitch during sudden on/off throttle transitions. No doubt, the VFR's chassis altitude remains more constant than the VF750’s, and its neu: tral steering reflects this. But the short suspension compo: nents must do as much—perhaps more considering the comering speeds th VFR is capable of gonerating—with less travel. Spring and damping rates become more crucial as suspension travel decreases, the balance between ‘components more touchy. Hence man. ufacturers often fit sophisticated, ad justable dampers on high-performance sport bikes with short-trave! suspension. Honda's first VE750 had the most so phisticated suspension ever bolted to 2 Street bike: airadjustable preload, anc Csss four-way rebound damping front and feat. The VFR has no provisions for re bound damping adjustment at either end. Spring preload is set through a re: mote hydraulic adjuster in the rear, the front is air-adjustable—though now with separate filers in each leg—and retains the VF750's TRAC anti-dive damping. Considering the VFR’s in ied engineering and recognizing the feature-mentality” of sportbike buy: ers, we would have been surprised to see less suspension adjustability than the original even if the VER's spring ‘and damping rates had been spot-on— which they are not. Considering the calibration problems we encountered in the VFR, lack of adjustability stands out more strongly as a mistake. Honda recommends zero to sixpsi of air in each fork leg with a medium-firm preload setting in the rear, Adjusted thus, the VFF'S highway ride is a bit harsh but acceptable. Stil, the fork bot toms hard during even moderate brak ing, and tops aut with a crack. The rear shock bottoms over sharp pavement edges and gravity dips, often hard enough to put daylight between the Tider and the seat. We triad all four of he TRAC anti-dive settings to preven nose dive under braking, and while the firmest setting kept the front end up, all but the lightest setting passed sharp jolts to the rider when braking over ‘bumps. Stil the front end bottomed. We tried all the VFR’s suspension settings; mediumfirm, ful-stif, juggled front and rear adjustments to find some combination that might cover a broader range of backroad situations, but with litle success. In changing the VER ension settings often alters steering more than ride ‘quality, We could jack the front and rear up and down with preload, make the VER tuck its front end entering corners, cor swing wide at the exit, or home in on that near-perfect balance in between, but we could never dial the harshness out of the VFR’s suspension. {As the road surface deteriorates, so ‘the VFR's suspension re: ‘The VER caught testers by sur: prise; bumps that passed through the GSX-R's suspension without upsetting had the VFR's rear end up, the front sinking with an au: We suspect the rear end ompression damping. In ion linkage the VFR has te curve than its prede: ‘sed Pro-Link system rroke shock that has al the compression damping shack. 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Price $199.95 ANVEM rato and > oe'ee eae *s @BAGMAN $58.95 TANK BAGS ‘auiren ssn fuss KRAUSER STAR 4L SKODLEBAGS sass “Wintoy tc gauss Snes rout top ack SPOS STARLET (2s) SABDLEBAGS top ack ‘ss Wimouaprack 0 S88 sags TorRACK an HMGSs Staton cs aij st 9s STARLET TOPCASE ay srasHelix Continoed tom page 4 It's @ trade-off for comfort and weather protection in the scooter format. Inci: Gentally the increased frontal area and additional weight result in increased fue! consumption. The going rate on cone 200-mile ride, ridden at a 70-plus clip, was 54 mpg, Town duty returned a modest 61 mpg. Stopping scooters, which have small wheels that limit brake size, has always been problematical. Increase the weight and you compound the problem. Honda has upgraded the front binder Con the Helix by using @ single hydraulic disc brake. A criled 170mm rotor mates with a single twinpiston caliper, and this is a substantial improvement over the Elite’s drum brake. The right-side foot pedal links to the Helix's rear drum brake, but the foot pedal has other du- ties a5 well: it also engages the dash- oard-mounted parking brake which permits the rider to park the Helix on its sidestand, uphill or downhill. And finally it's necessary to depress the foot brake to complete the starting circuit—a real safety feature since the CN has an ‘automatic transmission The CN250's instruments are simple to read. The LCD speedo shows giant numbers, either in miles or kilometers pper hour. The rider can track fuel and water-temperature levels on iluminated LCD scales. A digital clock and LCD triometer round out the major instru- ‘ments, and the Helix has the usual com- plement of warning lights, The controls follow standard motor- cycle form except the rear brake pedal, located forward on the right floorboard Sel-canceliing tum signals and a hand- ‘operated parking brake complete the CN250's controls. There’s no gear change, of course, because the 250 Helix is permanently in ‘‘drive.” For those in need of a more Aspencade-like cabin, several options ‘are available for the Helix, including ‘AMIFM stereo, power booster, back rest, seat cover, floor mats, and scooter cover. These options can stiffen the $2398 base price consider- ably, but who said limos were cheap? The limit on color is two: pearl white and metalic red, tits widest point (excluding the mir- rors), the Helix's bow reaches a full 26.5, inches. Such largesse sometimes {ransiates to dificult maneuverability in tighter situations, The CN's wide girth allows the seat to blossom out to a full 14 inches, and this is just 2.5 inches narrower than Honda's biggest softy, the Aspencade. In the passenger's seating quarters, the Helix offers a gen- erous 13.75 inches. Backseat passen- gers will appreciate and use the three Grabrails available in the rear Honda's Helix delivers quiet, vibra- tion-free fun, Around town the CN250 is 108 nimble and has almost effortiess ma- neuverability. Step-through seating and alow center of gravity add to the scoot er's simple appeal. Although the Helix won't light the tire or wheelie, the CN250 will accelerate smoothly’ and smartly through the shiftless transmis sion—getting run down trom behind isn't a worry. Speeds beyond the na- tional limit are within the Helix's range, though there's not much in the way of top-end acceleration on tap. Stil, one can easily find himself above the 55- ‘mph limit, and without much difficulty the Helix will indicate speeds in excess of 75 miles per hour. One tester found himself explaining, rather sheepishly, to 2 Califomia Highway Patrol officer, "I didi't realize I was going that fast, but you won't ticket me for speeding on a Scooter, right?" Wrong, Higher speeds make clear the scooter-genre's limitations. Smal-diam- eter wheals limit the influence that gyro- scopic etfect has on straight-line stabil iy, and motoroyeies with much larger wheels don't suffer this limitation, There's not much damping in the sus pension, and motorcycists who ride ‘scooters at extra-legal speeds wll ind sscoots to have an ambiguous, indirect, wandering feel. Our introduction to the Helix was on a two-day motorcycle ride from New Or leans to Daytona Beach, The lone Helix withstood the stiff pace set by Ameri- can Honda's product evaluation de partment, enduring 100-mile-long Sprints at 75 mies per hour, Among the highlights were: passing tractor-trailer trucks at speed three abreast; ventur ing into the grassined median (oft road suspension testing); performing basic touring maneuvers (when totally bored) including countiess kil-button backires, top-speed drafting runs and eventually braking hard for a five-car roadblock featuring seven of Florida's finest. Honda's Tom Hicks sure knows about public relations. Motorcyclists need to lighten up on scooiering. Most don’t seem to know what to make of a 70-mph streamlined baby. In one case Cycle's intrepid tester infiltrated a group of new 750s on the highway. Hi there, Quys, how come you don't wave back’? Okay, don’t look. Ignore me. Hey, see ya lates, 'm off up the road to greet someone else ’AS a commuter, the Hellx is so good it's almost lke alittle car with an auto- matic tranny—comfortable, and a touch boring. You have to create your own entertainment in your spare time. What to do? You can’t read, and eating hamburgers in a full-face helmet is too messy. Hey, the stereo option, Did you ‘say power booster, quad speakers, and quality tapes? How about a little travel: ing music, say, Walk Of Life? s VFR Continued tom page 97 the dampers from thudding against their bottoming cups over big bumps. Dialing in more preload just makes the suspension harsher over the small stuf, ‘and overwhelms the VFR's light re- bound damping, further robbing the system of contri Ground clearance also limits the ER's backroad ability. With the sus pension set softly, the lack of comering clearance is a serious impediment ‘even with the suspension fim, the VER drags its pipes solidly where the FZ750 nicks its folding pegs, and the GSXR drags nothing at al. Peer up at the VER's belly and you'll see why: two large aluminum center- stand bosses, welded to a frame cross member, prevent the exhaust system ‘rom tucking in closer to the engine. The 1986 Euro-spec Interceptors get centerstands; stateside we get just the lugs, but the pipes haven't been repositioned for more comering clearance. ‘Though Honda has yet to release a \VFR750 price, company reps tell us the stand was omitted to save costs, and that cost considerations also preciuded the fitting of sophisticated, fully adjust: able suspension components. Certainly ina class where sport bikes spit perfor- mance hairs, manufacturers must be sensitive to cost But itis precisely because the sport ing 750s are so evenly matched that the VER needs sophisticated suspension. Like the first Interceptor, Yamaha's FZ750 and Suzuki's GSX-R750 have es tablished a higher order of perfor mance. In many ways, the VFR750 stands apart from this new 750 conven: tion: even with its suspension short ‘comings, the VFR's ergonomios are far superior to the GSX-F's racer seating, and that makes the Honda more com: fortable on the highway. Its steering sirikes a near-perfect balance between lightness and quickness, agilty and for: ‘giveness, and that makes the VFR eas: ier to ride fast on smooth roads than the FZ. And the Interceptor engine—small and potent—teaches new lessons ‘about the complexities of four-stroke Performance. As introduced, the VFR is @ compelling motorcycle with many autonomous strengths. The VFR needs sophisticated sus pension components to become what it feally can be: @ fully unified triumph, From our frst ride, our produstion-unit ‘VER left us mesmerized. The bike con vinced us once again that superior bal: ‘ance invariably produces superior road performance. But you can't get supert ‘rity by cutting comers. We say cost be damned: the VFR750 deserves the best because it's a dazzling motorcycle which Honda, you better believe, never intended tobe a flawed masterpiece. I CLE