Make or Break? Honda VFR800 VTEC.
“Those V4 engines are bulletproof.”
In over 30 years of riding, buying and selling bikes, I have never heard of a VFR motor letting go! Let alone seen one. Be it a 400, 750, 800 or 1200, the over engineered V4 engine is well known to be a mile munching monster.
“What went wrong here?”
Having covered 77,000 miles, which is barely run in territory for your typical VFR800 this one ate itself! It dropped a valve on the front cylinder head that had nowhere to go, other than south! It destroyed the piston on its way down to the sump. To rebuild the engine would be an expensive and pointless exercise.
“Must be plenty of engines about?”
Having broken these in the past over the years, the engine is always the last part of a VFR breaker to sell. The rest of the bike is super clean, so it would be a worthwhile prospect.
Article written by Scott Redmond.
