I’m sitting here tonight and my arms feel like I’ve been sparring with Danny Green. Why? Well, I did my first long run on Rhonnda yestersday and, while some parts of it went well, there were parts that didn’t.
There was nothing unusual about the route or the destination but let me give you some of the pluses and some of the minuses.
Pluses were the choice of day. There was virtually no traffic on the road, and even the GGC was almost deserted. Individual attention from the staff at the GGC is always appreciated as well. The bike ran flawlessly and, every time I ride it, the performance seems to get better. I think it has been “babied” a bit and not ridden that much and it needs a darn good thrashing. Overtaking and acceleration is already markedly improved and there is the usual “sparkle” that typifies the VFRs that I have had. I have also noticed that the “whine” from the gears driving the camshafts sounds quite different than it did on the 750. However, reading this article has helped explain that Honda didn’t just dress the 750 in new clothes and add some capacity when they introduced the 5th Gen, there was a HOST of changes made as this article details.
http://www.sportrider.com/sr-archive-1998-honda-interceptor-vfr800fi-road-test?src=SOC&dom=fb
One of the changes was the shifting of the gears that drive the cams from the middle of the engine between the two cylinders to the right hand side of the engine instead. No WONDER it sounds different!
Anyway, back to the list. The handling, as I have already remarked, is so much more precise and inspires more confidence as well. Don’t ask me why this is so, it just is. Somehow the feeling of riding what LOOKS like a new bike seems to feel so much better as well; totally silly, but.
BUT, there are some minuses that made themselves apparent in no uncertain terms. The suspension is AWFUL!! It is rock hard and transfers even the tiniest bump (and the Putty is tres bumpy) directly to the rider. To say that the ride was a trial is a gigantic understatement. Now the only thing missing from the bike when I bought it was the Owner’s Manual. The previous owner was hugely apologetic about this; it seems it wasn’t with the bike when HE bought it too. I’ve asked on the various forums and Facebook sites and drawn a blank so far. Examples CAN be bought on ebay, but they are America in origin so the units of measurement are wrong, plus, even if they weren’t, the going rate is around $70 PLUS postage.
I needed to adjust the suspension desperately and even searching the Internet wasn’t that productive which I found to be quite a surprise. However, help was at hand as my brother mentioned this morning that his bike was bought with an Australian manual! Hooray. So it was out to his place this morning and a session in the garage with spanners and tools in hand when I got home. Yes, the settings were way out, set much too hard. So the first thing I’ve done is to return the settings to “standard” according to the manual. This will provide me with a baseline from which I can work to adjust it for my weight and riding style. Hopefully this will soften things up at least and make it more friendly. The seat needs a refurb as well, but I’ll put up for the moment.
Sometimes you have to suffer a bit to make progress. I can only hope that the discomfort that I endured yesterday will have resulted in an improvement. Watch this space.
Oh, and a great lunch today with my good friend and fellow folk singer, Elwyn Jordan, as I helped him celebrate his birthday. There are some definite advantages to retirement.