A deal was struck, a decent trade in price offered for my trusty GPz305 (20000 miles in one year without hiccup, but that’s another story). I took the bike for a test ride and didn’t want to take it back, but as I hadn’t yet signed the HP form that would have been slightly illegal.
I was a very happy person that December afternoon as I rode the 40 miles home, despite the extortionate amount of interest I would be paying over the next 24 months. The bike was a dream to ride, so much more power than the Kawasaki, no real powerband, just a smooth surge of power from as little as 2000rpm. If revved hard it would fly like a rocket, beating LCs and Porsches in the process; it wasn’t difficult to rev hard with a 12500rpm redline.
The VF500 suffered, of course, from the reputation of its bigger brother the VF750. This device used to eat cams and tensioners in typical Honda manner. But the smaller water-cooled V-four, despite its complex nature, is a much more reliable piece of machinery.
Despite the V-four’s excellent performance it was quite civilised to ride, fairly high bars and well positioned footrests producing good ergonomics you almost sat in the bike. The seat was comfortable too, 200 miles in the saddle producing no real complaints.
Even pillion passengers were quite well catered for with a good layer of padding and a sturdy grab rail. The fairing was also quite useful, despite its small size, After a 30 mile blast up the A1 in a minor rain storm, most of the bike and the rider's legs were kept dry; however, a racing crouch and speeds in excess of 80mph were needed to keep water off the rest of the rider - a taller screen would’ve helped, although I never got round to buying one.
By far the worst thing about the bike was the state of the tyres. Not only was the VF under-tyred, but the stock Bridgestones were the worst tyres I have ever had the misfortune to ride on. Things were alright in the dry as long as the bike wasn’t cranked over too far, as the tyres would start to slip long before the footpegs touched down. In the wet, things were even worse, the slightest sign of rain caused the rear tyre to slip and slide at every corner. Not the sort of thing you need when commuting to work in January! The rear tyre lasted only 2500 miles and both tyres were soon replaced by a pair of Metzeler Sports. The bike was transformed.
The handling was excellent, it could be leaned into corners as hard as you liked and the steering was so quick that direction could be changed with the slightest body movement. This was used to great effect on a trip, two-up, to visit a friend in Somerset. A blast across the Mendips along the B3135 produced serious grin factors for both my passenger and we were disappointed when we reached our destination. We spent the next couple of days scratching along the roads around Cheddar Gorge and Glastonbury. A combination of fast, twisty roads and the local cider produced some interesting riding, the weekend rounded off with an impromptu trip across the beach at Weston-Super-Mare. How we stayed on I'll never know.
As well as using the bike for weekend trips, sometimes covering 500 miles at a time, I also used it for commuting 70 miles to my job in London every day. I did this for over a year in all weather - the bike’s finish never deteriorated, still coming up like new after a weekly clean. The paintwork never faded and the chrome remained rust free, although the last couple of winters being very mild may have helped. Even the exhaust system survived, the silencers still looking good after nearly three years.
Best of all, though, were the black Comstar Wheels. which were very easy to clean and weren't corroded by road salt like some of the alloy wheels, especially those found on Kawasakis. The only bad alloy found on the bike was that used for the crankcases, this being very soft and causing the thread to strip in the oil drain plug hole - a brass insert was supplied and fitted for £5 at a London repair shop.
The superb chassis and suspension contributed to the bike’s excellent handling. The rear shock soaked up ripples and pot-holes with equal ease and I never came anywhere near to a tank slapper. The four position anti-dive worked well enabling the rider to brake very late into corners with not so much as a twitch from the front end. The forks worked fine, with plenty of travel and a built in fork brace to stop them twisting under heavy braking.
The brakes were good in all weathers, sometimes too good as the rear disc would lock up the back wheel with considerable ease. It also seized up in winter if not stripped and cleaned regularly. Pads lasted about 8000 a rear and 12000 miles front. I used EBC pads which were expensive at £13 a set but worth it for their performance. Decent tyres lasted 12000 front and 10000 miles rear, which was a very pleasant surprise indeed.
The chain was replaced at 16000 miles and was oiled every other day with EP90 gear oil. The only other consumables seemed to be indicators. These broke off with considerable ease. In the time I owned the bike I had to replace all four. The rubber mounted rear indicators wobbled about looking silly until the bolts came loose and they fell off. The front ones were both replaced after minor crunches in city traffic and cost £15 each.
Aside from all this, the bike was quite economical to run, returning around 40 to 50mpg no matter how hard it was thrashed. The engine used no oil between changes, which the manual recommended at 8000 miles but which I did every 4000 miles to be on the safe side (I also changed the filter at that mileage). Servicing was a bit of a pain as the fairing and tank had to be removed to get at the engine. Air filters and spark plugs were the only other things replaced, but filters were expensive at £20 each. On the plus side, a full service at my local dealer cost £50 to £60, quite reasonable considering the complex nature of the motor.
In the 24000 miles I did on the bike in the 15 months I owned it, it always started first time and was never off the road. In fact, apart from the usual service items and indicators, nothing needed replacing at all; it never even blew a bulb. I would recommend a VF500 to anyone - they are fast and very reliable. I sold mine six months ago for £1500 to buy a CBR600, but in retrospect it’s a pity that Honda discontinued the VF as it really was the perfect middleweight sportster. It’s just a matter of overcoming the reputation of the V-fours and not being put off by the complex engine.
Simon Cole