No aspursions meant but the VTEC is a more powerful set-up than the standard VFR engine. More torque in the low end and more horsepwer up top (no a lot, but some).
This is what I keep hearing, but I have yet to see a dyno comparing stock 98-01 to stock Vtec that supports that claim. All the ones I have seen on the VFR mailing list and other places indicate that they are about the same and in several places the older motor actually makes more torque and HP. Either way, the very slight performance edge it
might have does't seem to be enough to justify the extra expense and complication. This is not to say it is not a great bike to ride. It handles very well and is comfortable.
My biggest gripe really is just the complexity issue. Very few people work on their own car anymore because the engines and associated stuff have become so complex. Motorcycles are fast heading down that same path which I think is a bit of a shame. A lot of the fun of owning a bike is tinkering with it. Now you have to have lots of specialized tools and knowledge to work on a bike. The cost of working on the bike is going up. How long before we have disposable bikes much like we have disposable electronics? Already insurance companies are totalling bikes with very little actual damage simply because the cost of repairing them is getting so high compared to the value of the bikes.
Sure, there are those riders that want nothing to do with working on their bike and if something needs to be done, they will just take it to the dealership and let the "expert" work on the bike. The so called "experts" are not as professional as the dealerships would like us to think. I have found that they can seldom even get basic stuff right! And now I am expected to trust my bike to them as it gets more complicated? Forget it.
In recent years there has been a growing number of people buying older (late 70's, 80's and early 90's) bikes simply because they are easy to work on and maintain. There is no disputing that the new bikes have more advanced technology on them. However, that in and of itself is not necessarily a good thing in my opinion.
Anyway, I'm not really bashing the new VFR. It is not the only bike heading down the path of more complexity. All of them seem to be. That is what is rubbing me the wrong way. I'm a geek engineer so the complex stuff fascinates me. But being an engineer, I also realize that complex usually equals more opportunity for things to break, more expense to manufacture, and more expense to maintain. So it becomes a cost/benefit argument for me. Does the extra performance justify the additional cost and complexity?
Whew...! Where'd the time go?
Adios,