The last of the sport-tourers in the age of lockdowns

My timing is impeccable.

Nearly a year had passed since I took my last ride on the Versys and sold it to Spurgeon’s Uncle Bob. A year without a motorcycle suitable for taking my wife on a pleasant summer ride to lunch and, more troublesome, nothing well equipped to handle my periodic thousand-mile round trips to RevZilla HQ. Even before I sold the Versys, I’d easily spent a couple of years driving friends, co-workers and same patient wife crazy with my constant considering and reconsidering of what sort of motorcycle I should buy to replace (and ideally upgrade from) the Versys. A few weeks ago, nearly 10 years since I’d last bought a motorcycle (the longest period I’ve ever gone in my adult life), I finally ended my dithering and bought a bike suitable for the kind of traveling I do.

Just when I’m not going to do any traveling. At midnight tonight, Ohio goes under lockdown, thanks to the pandemic. Even if that weren’t the case, the current situation has already sapped all the allure of travel I usually feel.

Not that I’m whining. I’m healthy, and so far, so is everyone I know and love and even those I just like a little. I’m not worried about my livelihood and my retirement isn’t even in any more peril than before. I’m very fortunate and quite aware of it.

But I sure have never bought a motorcycle in my life and enjoyed it less in the first few weeks of ownership.

So what did you finally buy?

I’m glad you asked. I bought a used 2014 Honda VFR800 Deluxe Interceptor with 9,013 miles on it. The eighth-generation VFR, as the fans of that long line of Hondas call it, is a bike I’ve looked at ever since I first saw one in person at the Honda display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the U.S. MotoGP round in 2014, the first year Honda returned the VFR to the 782 cc displacement after experimenting with the VFR1200. Attractive (to my eye) in a non-gaudy way, ergonomics as I like them, with enough forward lean to make the wind my friend rather than my enemy at highway speeds but not enough to put weight on my hands or be tiring on long rides. Available with quality, integrated luggage.

The new addition: a 2014 Honda VFR800 Interceptor Deluxe.

A few things kept pushing me away from the Interceptor, however, and the first, especially back in 2014, was the price. The Deluxe was priced at $13,499. The regular model was $1,000 less but you had to give up ABS, traction control, heated grips, a center stand. Both were overpriced compared to the competition. That’s why they disappeared from the U.S. market after 2016.

Frankly, I could have (and should have) bought this bike cheaper a year ago. Around that time, Honda had auctioned off the last remaining stock of Interceptors in the United States and dealers were blowing them out at about half the original price. Other factors, plus my usual dithering, stopped me at the time, however.

One thing that kept turning me away from the Interceptor was the complexity of the VTEC valve train. I’d ridden the sixth-generation VFR800 with the system that switches from two valves to four per cylinder at a given rpm to balance low-speed torque with high-rpm breathing and had experienced that earlier version’s abruptness. It wasn’t awful, but it just seemed so… unnecessary.

The system on the eighth-generation is much better. You don’t feel the shift, when the valve train switches. You just hear it. So it’s not an issue in terms of performance. But it does make valve adjustments significantly more difficult (and, since they’re beyond my capabilities, that means more expensive).

The other thing that kept pushing me away from the Interceptor was the Kawasaki Ninja 1000. I had a hard time justifying the Honda when the Kawasaki was lighter, more powerful, cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain. I liked the Ninja just fine when I rode it. Its larger displacement and the Ninja name and the higher insurance premiums that came with them were the only real drawbacks. And the fact that I didn’t love the looks.

Plenty of people offered sensible alternatives. The problem is, I wanted a classic, lightweight sport-tourer and that category has been whittled down by the popularity of bikes with the stance and ergonomics of adventure-tourers, but in street-going trim. I’m talking about bikes like the Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE LT+ or the Yamaha Tracer GT. I just don’t like those bolt-upright ergonomics on long days, however. They’re clearly popular with most people shopping the category these days, but not me.

I wanted a sport-tourer in the classic sense: a sport bike made more comfortable and tuned for street riding. Not one of the heavy ones, though, like the Yamaha FJR1300 or Kawasaki Concours 14. At the other end of the spectrum, I decided the Ducati SuperSport S I tested was still really a soft-edged sport bike, not a sport-touring motorcycle. In the end I just decided to stop reconsidering and go with the Interceptor, the bike that most closely matched my desires on paper and looked best to my eye.

So how do you like it so far?

I wish I could tell you. So far, I’ve only ridden it three times.

The weight is still more than I’d like. But since I probably will only use it for trips of at least 100 miles, that probably won’t be a problem. I’m not going to be tootling around in city traffic on the thing a lot. I’m looking forward to the day I can do a long trip on it and really tell you how it works.

Meanwhile, at some point I need to find some luggage for it. Honda made a nice color-matched top box that’s still available but the rack needed to mount it is not available in the United States. Honda also made color-matched panniers that are quite good, but those are no longer available. The key cylinders to match them to the ignition key are available. So does anyone have some Victory Red Honda Interceptor panniers for sale?

When travel will again become something pleasant to anticipate, instead of something to be wary of (what contagion am I spreading and what am I bringing home?), no one can say for sure. When it does, finally, the Interceptor is waiting in the garage.

Ten years I didn’t buy a motorcycle. As soon as I do… pandemic.

My timing is impeccable.