A week of sheer joy went by. 110mph on the clock, 60mpg and enough handing finesse to burn off lots of bigger bikes. The VT felt even lighter than its 330Ibs, although it was reluctant to lift its front wheel off the ground - only the most vicious dropping of clutch and yanking of bars and throttle lifted the wheel by a foot or more.
It may have been these playful gestures to my youth that caused the chain to snap. It happened at about 20mph in town, the chain lacerating the guard but not battering its way into the engine crankcases. l'd spent all my money on the bike and insurance, so the cheapest possible length of chain was acquired and fitted. I was a bit annoyed that I’d had to push the VT three miles home and that the mail order company took five days to get the chain to me.
I gave up wheelies after that, as well as the chain I was sure that the clutch was beginning to rattle. Two weeks later I was alarmed by a loose front end. The bolts that tightened up the yokes were coming adrift. I took them out one at a time and smeared them with Araldite, using maximum pressure on the spanner. I was, in retrospect, lucky I didn’t strip any threads.
After a mere month, and 1400 miles, my new chain was needing daily adjustment. Despite spraying it every week with chain lubricant. By 2000 miles I was taking links out and in fear of it snapping at speed. The sprockets were so far gone that they tore the chain apart. A new O-ring chain and sprocket set was needed, requiring me to beg for some overtime and borrow the money against its eventual arrival.
With a decent chain and sprockets longevity was transformed (about 15000 miles for the chain), as was the gear change. I'd become a bit alarmed at the way changes were missed and the odd clanging noise would intrude into my peace of mind. The box was never perfect but I’d learnt on a 30000 mile CG125, perfected the techniques for dealing with old Honda gear changes.
The next three months was loads of fun, the water-cooled engine whirring away nicely, some fantastic roads attacked and even 650 miles done in a single day. The riding position was near perfect for me, with the quarter fairing taking just enough wind off to make 85 to 90mph a perfectly feasible cruising speed.
After one quite long trek the VT lost a lot of power, the engine sounding like myself after a dodgy curry and ten pints of lager. I pulled over to find that both cylinder head gaskets had blown (this with about 19000 miles done). As I was 100 miles from home I whipped off the tank and a few other bits, the tubular wrap-around frame giving reasonable access, tightened down the heads with an excess of energy. The bike made it home, albeit very, very slowly (five long hours).
When I finally tore the DOHC heads off it wasn’t a pretty sight. Burnt out valves, cracked combustion chambers, chewed up piston rings and scored bores. The con-rods were a funny colour. I don't know if all that damage was caused by my riding the bike when it obviously wanted a long rest or had already occurred when the gaskets blew.
Two months later I’d tracked down a motor out of a crashed bike that could be heard running. I’d decided that the rusted through exhaust could usefully be replaced with a homemade two into one, which delayed my return to the road by two weeks as it was nowhere near as easy as I'd assumed. The matt black paint hid the worst of the welding.
The muted roar was transformed into a racing bellow that I alone thought was the business. A V-twin, even a Honda, is a fine sounding beast, whether at tick over or 10000 revs. The exhaust emphasized the VT’s dual nature, with lots of usable torque below 7000 revs then a strong surge of power until the red zone. I could ride the bike any way I wanted - in town, the country or on the motorway.
The replacement motor was discernibly rougher, especially between 6000 and 8000 revs, than the old one, but appeared just as powerful. It’s possible, down a steep hill, with a following wind (as in howling gale), and a lot of bodily contortions, to put 110mph on the clock. The stability was fine but the engine sounded like it was about to blow up. In normal circumstances the 34hp VT began to run out of puff around 90mph. Still, the bike was well matched to UK road speeds and ensured the longevity of my endorsement free licence.
This second engine lasted 13000 miles before the back camchain tensioner started to rattle (which suggested a mileage of 35-40000 miles). One big problem with a V-twin is that there’s two sets of camchains and it'd be a brave man who ignored one when the other had gone. After a couple of extortionate quotes I decided to do the job myself but then found another engine for three hundred notes. This was cheap enough to take a chance on, as I couldn't hear it running.
I was lucky, it was sound, better than the second but not quite as good as the first engine. Unfortunately, the chassis was going off fast. Rust had blitzed the red frame paint, the rear Pro-link was loose and all three discs were wafer thin with gummed up calipers. At least the Superdream bits were easily found in the breakers. New bushes and bearings for the back end, plus a secondhand shock sorted the worst of the handling traumas. At that point I felt that the VT was worth the effort - there was little I could buy for similar money.
Disenchantment came in when I had a crash. There are crashes and there are crashes. My previous experiences had just left me a little shook up and a few ancillaries bent. All part of the learning experience and finding out how to avoid the madness of psycho cagers. This time there was no warning whatsoever, all I did was roll up to a junction, slowed to a halt and then experienced a massive shunt when a van ignored both me and the red light. I woke up screaming in the ambulance and spent the next six months having various limbs put back together.
The VT had somehow found its way back to my garage, given the grievous assault on my body was, shockingly, only battered rather than bent. I spent about a month with filler and the spray gun putting it to rights. I was full of the idea of tarting it up and selling it off in favour of a nice little car. Of course, once it was finished I had to go for a quick spin to make sure all was well. 90 minutes later I came back exhilarated with a big grin. What can you do against the thrills (and spills) of motorcycling? Sod all, once it gets into your system.
However, it was time to move on from the VT250, its mileage now too high to inspire much faith in its longevity. There was also a bit of a weave at 90mph where before the crash it'd been fine. Something in the chassis may have been bent or it may just have been my shot nerves. I had one eye permanently glued on the mirror and an extra large stop-light.
My conclusions on the VT are pretty obvious. New, or low mileage, they are excellent machines that will do just about anything a sane rider asks. The last one was made in ’86, which means a minimum of nine years worth of abuse and 30000 miles on the clock. After that kind of mileage it’s likely the top end, not to mention the chassis, will need some serious attention. I wouldn't pay over £500 for one unless it was in very special condition.
Keith Dray