Once, upon a Honda in Ronda

BIKETEST HONDA VFR1200F: GEOFF HILLwent to Spain to escape the snow and test Honda's new model – 250km of rain-soaked biking later. . .

I PICKED UP the phone the other day for no other reason than that it was ringing, and found Fiona from Honda on the other end.

“Fancy going to Spain to test the new VFR1200?” she said.

I looked out at the snow battering the windows.

“Let me think about it. . . yes,” I said, then hung up before she changed her mind.

A week later, I was in a bar in Malaga with a bunch of biking journalists complaining about the front end of Ducatis.

As a man who found nothing wrong with either end of a Ducati, I said nothing, thinking they were either the sort of chaps who talked a good game, or I was completely out of my depth.

Only tomorrow would tell, when we rode 250km through the mountains and sierras north of Malaga on the new VFR, Honda’s replacement for both the Super Blackbird and the venerable Pan-European.

Early reports filtering out of Japan suggested that it was both extremely comfortable and incredibly easy to ride fast, which confirmed that they’d never seen me riding in Japan.

That evening I got my first look at it. Appropriately, it looked wickedly innocent, virginal white curves up front and a sensuous silver sweep of mirror mounting leading the eye back past the slim, sculpted seat to a pair of devil horn-shaped pillion grab handles, above an exhaust bigger than any of the organ pipes above.

Designed at a two-week Honda brainstorming session in Tuscany, it is, apart from the hump-backed petrol tank, a beautiful looking machine, a point driven home by design project leader Teofilo Plaza, spelling out the key attractions of the bike: real world usability and rider-flattering performance, great sound and torque, a trouble-free shaft drive that felt like a chain, a slim yet comfortable seat, and throttle by wire for instant response.

He paused, grinned: “The most important thing is, it looks bloody sexy.”

The next morning, the day of the test ride, dawned beautifully. Apart from the pouring rain.

Oh well. If God had wanted us to have sunshine, he’d have sent us to California, I thought, riding off and coming to the immediate conclusion that this bike was the love child of the Fireblade and the Pan-European.

From the Fireblade, it gets its exhaust valve, opening above 6,500 to create a satisfying growl, and a riding position that is more sports than tourer, fine for normal riders but will give taller chaps a stiff neck and wrists at the end of the day.

And bum, come to that; although MCN’s Andy Downes said the seat was comfortable for hours on end, he must have a soft rear end, since I and several others were finding it on the firm side after half an hour.

From the Pan-European, meanwhile, it gets low-down torque, smooth, effortless power and a seamless gearbox and slipper clutch, silky both on the way up and down the revs. When the clever Dual Clutch Transmission automatic/ tiptronic version comes out (later in 2010), it’ll be even smoother.

After a coffee stop in the mountains near Ronda, we emerged to find that the rain had finally stopped. And been replaced by thick cloud.

Still, I was used to this sort of stuff from riding through Ecuador, and as we wound our way through a symphony of curves, I astonished myself by passing a tractor, a sheep, two goats and three of the other riders before we stopped for lunch at a wayside tavern with a roaring fire.

We ate, steaming gently, then set off for the long ride home.

Naturally, having drunk too much water and coffee, I had to stop after 15 minutes to answer a call of nature, and lost the rest of the group as they sped past.

I hurtled off after them, and as I accelerated hard, the back tyre shimmied briefly, then caught itself. With the slipper clutch and little or no engine braking, I was using every sinew of the mighty six-piston calipers on the front into the next corner, only for the front tyre to slip momentarily on road markings before the ABS cut in.

Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself of California Superbike School guru Andy Ibbott’s cornering mantra – “slow in, quick out” – and rode on in a manner less likely to kill myself.

At last the road dried out and gave the bike a chance to prove its mettle, with effortless 90mph cruising on sweeping A-roads all the way home, and even the standard low screen doing an excellent job keeping the wind at bay.

Sadly, as a result of stopping another 4,867 times to check the map, admire the view and answer more calls of nature in assorted olive groves, it was almost dark by the time I got back to the hotel, and everyone else had decamped to the bar to complain about Ducati front ends.

Even worse, I then phoned my wife to find the weather was lovely at home. So the next time someone says the grass is greener elsewhere and the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, tell them they’ve obviously never ridden a Honda in Ronda.

Factfile

Engine: liquid-cooled 1,237cc four-stroke, fuel-injected 76° V4, 172bhp @ 10,000rpm, 95lb/ft @ 8,750rpm

Top speed: 170mph

Fuel consumption: 14.8km/l (43.7mpg)

Transmission: six-speed, shaft final drive

Dry weight: 267kg

Wheels: front five-spoke hollow gravity die-cast aluminium; rear seven-spoke gravity die-cast aluminium

Tyres: front 120/70-ZR17M/C (58W); rear 190/55-ZR17M/C (75W)

Fuel capacity: 18.5 litres

(In showrooms Feb 13th. Price to be confirmed in Republic, but £11,475 in UK, with DCT version likely to be up to £1,500 more)