"If it's not broken, don't fix it," goes the old saying, and Honda has resisted the temptation to mess around with its magnificent VFR800 all-rounder for 2006. The only complaint levelled at the previous model - the first with V-Tec variable valve timing - was that the system came in with a bang at 6800rpm and gave the bike something of a Jekyll and Hyde personality.
Below that point the 781cc V4 engine ran on only one of two inlet valves per cylinder, delivering slightly less power but more torque than the pre-V-Tec model; at the moment of truth the (hydraulic) second inlet valves chimed in, the engine note changed radically and the bike adopted a whole new personality.
It was quite exciting - although sometimes a bit too much so if it happened unexpectedly in the middle of a corner - and it defined the bike in the same way as its gear-driven camshafts defined the first VFR back in 1984.
For 2006 Honda has re-mapped the ECU (the electronic brain that controls fuel-injection and ignition timing) so the changeover happens at 6400rpm instead of 6800.
The second inlet valves either work or they don't - there is no half-way - so the transition is always going to be abrupt; Honda's rationale for the modification is that at 6400 the engine is further away from its torque peak and the changeover should be less jerky.
Nice try, guys, but no cigar.
The engine note still changes abruptly, the bike still leaps forward and the air box under the saddle still honks that brassy, take-no-prisoners intake roar - but having it all happen 400rpm earlier has introduced an extra complication.
If you whack open the throttle at the wrong moment, with a little more than 6000 revs on the clock, you can confuse the bike's blikbrein* for just a moment, with the result that the bike actually hesitates for a heartbeat as the second inlet valve sends a blast of cold air into the combustion chamber and the mixture momentarily leans out.
It feels like a misfire; it doesn't happen every time but often enough to spoil the VFR's hitherto well-deserved reputation for flawless fuelling.
The good news is that it only happens under conditions when a fuelling glitch is unlikely to affect the chassis' composure, ie hard on the gas with the bike upright or nearly so. Once you're used to it, it simply becomes part of how you ride, rather like two-stroke sports bikes used to be.
If you're prepared to ride it like a two-stroke and keep it above 6500rpm it will reward you with astonishing performance for what is supposed to be a slightly porky 800cc sports-tourer - and a lot of speeding fines - whereas if you troll around below 6500rpm all the time it's just a very well-mannered light tourer.
Less than ideal
The only part of the all-rounder spectrum where the VFR is less than ideal is as a commuter. Senior test rider Jenni Peters complained that the bike suffered badly from jerkiness at small throttle openings - the infamous "spritzer effect" that used to be common to all fuel-injected motorcycles - making it uncomfortable in heavy traffic.
On the other hand, I found the throttle light and responsive at low speeds but not overly so; it required an educated right but I coped well with the daily gridlock aboard Honda's flag-waver.
It's worth bearing in mind that my daily commuter bike is fuel-injected whereas Peters' has carbs - it's a matter of what you're used to, I suppose.
A well set-up carburetted engine will always be smoother on and off the power than a fuel-injected machine, Suzuki's two throttle valves and Triumph's electronic smoothing circuits notwithstanding.
Mainly cosmetic
The rest of the changes to the VFR800 for 2006 are mainly cosmetic; it now has clear covers (and orange bulbs) on the indicators, the screen is slightly flatter to make the bike look less bulky (a step backwards) and the centre section of the fairing is now the same colour as the bodywork - it used to be black.
The master cylinders are now silver rather than black and the exhaust pipes sticking out with their heat-shields from under the tailpiece are satin-finished instead of polished - much easier to look after.
The only change in the cockpit is a slightly different font for the rev-counter numerals, making them easier to read!
Although the Honda bumf doesn't mention these, when comparing the test bike with the photo's I took of the previous model I also spotted that the wheels are now gunmetal instead of black and Peters - with her woman's eye for colour - spotted that the characteristic Candy Apple Red for which Honda has been famous since the K1 of 1967 is now a couple of shades darker.
Essentially unchanged
Other than that, it wasn't broken so Honda didn't fix it; the VFR800 has been essentially unchanged since 2002 and it's still one of the world's great all-rounders. That says a lot for the Honda when you consider that of its two rivals for the title, the Ducati ST3 has been substantially upgraded and Triumph's Sprint ST was replaced by the
It's the smallest and oldest of the three by a considerable margin - but still up there with the best.
Price:
R93 000.
- Test bike from Mekor, Cape Town.
*A derogatory Afrikaans term for a computer.