2007 Honda Interceptor 800 ABS User Ratings

Let's get this out up front: This is by no means a powerhouse bike. If you're looking for a track-day champion you may want to look elsewhere. This is a sport-touring bike. It's a bit heavy, and at just a little over 100 HP it's not going to beat a GSX-R 750 from the stoplight. But what it WILL do is let you run with 600cc sport bikes on a mountain road while enjoying the comfort of its all-day ergonomics, genuine pillion seat, and excellent optional hard luggage. This bike is not my only machine, but it very well could be. It seems to be the one I get on 90% of the time because it does so many things well. It has sufficient torque to putter around town, and enough horsepower above 6500 RPM to give you a nice smile (if not an "OMG" moment like you get from, say, a CBR1000RR). The fueling of the engine is not perfect and it hits a mild flat spot around 4000 along with a fairly sharp jerk when the bike enters VTEC around 6500-6800 RPM. That's right -- VTEC. This was Honda's only bike to employ the technology, and it enables this V4 to go from two-valve operation for around-town torque up to 4-valve breathing when it's time to play. And this bike is plenty happy with one rider who wants to play. I have taken it to Deal's Gap ("The Dragon") and had a good time dancing with the famous 318 curves. The suspension is a little soft (and a few owners on the forums complain about the lack of firmness in the damping of the rear shock), but it is sufficient and I find that it strikes a nice balance between sporting rides and 2-up comfort. This bike is also fond of road trips. I have strapped on a tank bag, the two factory-option hard bags (sourced from Givi), and put my girlfriend on the back and set off for an 8-hour ride with another friend on a VFR800. Try THAT on a typical sports bike. The transmission is excellent. I have encountered only one false neutral in 8000 miles of riding, and that was due to my own lazy foot not moving the lever far enough. The brakes are decent, but not perfect. The confidence of ABS is nice, but this is not a lean-angle-sensitive C-ABS system. It's just confidence to keep you from low-siding on a wet road when a car stops short in front of you. And the feel of the brakes is nice and progressive and the power is just fine, but the initial bite is definitely lacking. I will be trying aftermarket pads in the future to help with this. This same essential bike, the 6th-generation VFR, was made from 2002 through 2009. That's an exceptionally long production run for a bike that soldiered on substantially unchanged that entire time, and it landed on the 10 best lists of many magazines along the way. You can add options for comfort (such as a Sargent or Corbin seat or Heli bars), or options for sport (such as a handful of fine exhausts or a Power Commander). But no matter what the character of the bike will shine through. It's a sport bike that loves to tour. Or maybe a small touring bike that loves mountain roads.