Test Drive: Honda VFR800F Interceptor

Not all of my test drives start at the local dealership. This one began when I met a friend at an annual motorcycle gathering.

Last year she had offered to let me test drive her VFR. I wasn't able to take her up on her offer last year, but was very interested in riding the Interceptor.



Would she remember this year? Would her offer still stand?

She saw me and immediately said, "Do you still want to ride the VFR?"

I said, "I was hoping you'd say that."

I hopped aboard the VFR, and spent several minutes acquainting myself with the configuration of footpegs, shift lever and brake. Everything seemed so different.

The VFR the same basic engine as my Magna, but I knew from my research that there were differences in the cams, exhaust, air intake, and carburetor jets.

I sat on the bike and listened to it run, and tried to hear anything in the cadence and whine of that V4 motor that reminded me of the Magna. I could find nothing. Neither were like the Harley V-Twin's famous sound. But they also were somehow different from each other.

Taking it out of gear without raising the kickstand, it immediately stopped running. Oops, I should've known that this feature existed.

Starting it again, it thrummed back to life effortlessly. Letting out on the clutch and moving forward, I had that momentary fright of not knowing where to put my feet. The moment that has been described as a "Where The Heck are the Footpegs" moment.

Underway, I had 10 miles of twisty country roads on which to enjoy the bike.

Compared to the Magna, the VFR handles like a dream. It is controlled by pure thought. A merely incline of the head causes the bike to steer in the direction I want. I can see the appeal of this. I immediately felt better in my lower back -- the rearset pegs tipped my pelvis and relieved pressure on the low back.

"Hey, this could work! This could be my next bike!"

But after a mere 10 miles the pain began in the shoulders. The ergonomics, even of the so-called "Barcolounger" of sport bikes, will not work for my 40/80-year-old frame.

I cannot abide a sport bike position, in my shoulders, even though the low back seems to prefer it. Is there not a happy medium?

I came back with a grin on my face. "Have we made a convert of you?"

Unfortunately no. Still searching for suitable ergonomics. Upright seating with a slight rearset to the pegs looks like it might do it.

I just havent' found a bike that fits the bill...