Returning from Thailand after pottering around on the ubiquituous Honda 125s, I resolved to learn to ride a bike (as opposed to mastering the art of hanging on while it moved). I signed up with Westfield Motorcycle Training in Redditch - top boys, though their jokes needed carbon-dating, who got me from a 125 to a Honda CB500 in no time.
Paradoxically, the 500 is easier to ride (I'd insert a bit of physics here but I think you'd see through it, so just take it as read that it is) and aside from a hairy moment decking the bike ten minutes before my test (a u-turn - get it wrong, and that perfectly balanced machine becomes 200kg that wants to smooch up to the tarmac real bad) I passed first time.
Buoyed with enthusiasm I scoured the bike press looking for a suitable machine to exercise my newfound prowess. Rather like those game shows of yore, where the over-paid compere puts his arm round your shoulder and says, 'now, you can't go for the car but there are a whole host of other prizes to chose from' the world was not my oyster.
You can get a lot of bike for your money at the moment by shopping around, but where you come a cropper is when you try to ensure it. If refusal offends then don't even think about lusting after that completely mad balls-out grim reaper machine (which in my mind right now is a Suzuki GSX-R1000) because most insurance companies will either a)turn you down or b)laugh and then turn you down. Forget five millenia of no-claims discount on your car policy, the boys and girls in suits want to see evidence of keeping a clean sheet on two wheels, significant years on your own clock to suggest a modicum of common sense and a garage, alarm and immobilizer as evidence of your intention to keep the machine away from the thieves.
How grateful I was that my limited budget narrowed-down the choice of bikes (get behind me, irony) and, I was able to dismiss whole categories of bikes as inappropriate - ie cruisers in the Harley mould and trail style bikes. Nought wrong with them, but not for me. The current Mrs Oedipus was all for riding pillion and the option of a European tour was also in our mind so the choice was really between a tourer and a sports-tourer.
It took all of about ten minutes (and I'm slow) for me to settle on the Honda Interceptor (known in the UK as the VFR800FI, a much catchier name, you'll agree). If you're scouring for a bike you could do a lot worse than first checking out the motorcyclenews.com site for a review and specs then hot footing off to the newsagents for a copy of bike trader.
After much palaver I picked up an R reg black VFR with 8K on the clock in pristine condition for a whisker over £4k. So after the extended preamble some thoughts on how I found it and whether its worth considering.
The bike As a newbie, this bike has more power than I can conceive of needing in the next year or two. It has a reputation as an old man's bike, possibly because the raw edges that satiate adrenaline junkies have been sacrificed for all-round usability. Everything about the bike makes it a jack of all trades. The riding position is comfortable, though I experience more buffeting at high speed than the fairing would suggest and may invest in an aftermarket screen to reduce this. The pillion seat,I am assured, is just right, and bearable for long jaunts. Fuel consumption comes in at about 45mpg (admittedly I haven't used it in anger) and the performance? I've got no way of confirming the fact that it gets to 60 comfortably under four seconds but other vehicles do tend to disappear in your rear view mirror with a well-judged twist of the wrist. At speed it feels planted on the road and the limits are legal and your own, never the bike's.
Seasoned bikers will probably not glean as much from this as hoped - I have little to compare the bike with. Newbies will hopefully read this as an unqualified recommendation of this bike as a first foray into the world of two wheels. Yes, its a big old bike to start with, but its the real deal, serious cubes, serious power (at 100bhp it cocks its leg at my VW Golf) and no hidden vices.
More details
Purchase Price
4200
Performance
Excellent
Reliability
Excellent
Customer service
Excellent
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