The VFR revs to life and what should have been a three hour job pays off… a day later.  It sounds so good I burst into maniacal laughter while twisting the throttle and pulling the bike from idle to a rich, refined but growling V-four snarl; the VFR is leaner to the tune of ten pounds and meaner to the tune of 3 hp, one might almost say it sounds evil.

Not a stomping increase, but the noticeable bit is better midrange pull out on the road.  The “cans-plant” of the Remus MotoGP Titaniums would have been smoother, save for the VFR’s luggage racks which interfaced with the exhaust in a delicate and infuriating matter, requiring a load of jiggery and equal amounts of pokery to make fit.  In the end exceptional customer service on the part of MaxMoto and Clixx Motosports made the difference to the fit of these beauties.

The thing is the power isn’t the biggest gain with the VFR shedding those 10 pounds – it was the handling.  The 800 feels lighter, nimbler, and just generally more flickable without Honda’s twin anchors out back – a purely subjective assessment.  Even more so, the throttle response seemed a bit smoother than the low speed on-again-off-again that Honda’s VTEC misstep has become widely noted for, while not a cure, a nice bonus.

Then in the ultimate back to back, after nearly a year into their lifetime-warranted existence, we pulled the Remus MotoGP Titaniums and went back to stock – devolving the tail end from what I jokingly had dubbed the “Honducati”, to something all together more sci-fi and less aesthetically balanced and soft.

In that year, the Remus pipes’ lovely burble served us well, warding off the evil spirits of unaware drivers.  Writing this now, I’ve come to miss that warm embracing thrum, followed by the snarling-mad post-VTEC roar…  what have I done… come back to me my MotoGP lovelies – common sense has led me astray.

 

Thanks to Clixx and MaxMoto for the Evaluation Units

MSRP: 835.00 USD – Including Stainless Up Pipe

MaxMoto
addr:   220 Ninth Street San Francisco, CA. 94104
tel.      +1 415.355.1400
fax.     +1 415.355.0880
email:  info@maxmoto.com
web:    MaxMoto.com  and  www.Remus.at