1998 Honda VTR1000F review from United Kingdom

I've had the bike for over a year now, the only money I've had to spend has been on tyres and brakes.

A very reliable bike, but then that's what you get when you buy from Honda.

Being 20, I'm a bit of a speed freak and I like to give my bikes a fair bit of stick. The Honda has been fine throughout, the engine is still perfect and the bodywork hasn't aged at all.

Although it's no Ducati or SP-1, the Firestorm (or Superhawk over the pond) is still a very quick bike. Personally I prefer big V-Twins to inline 4s because of the grunt you get in any gear at any revs, so this bike suits me well!

The looks are starting to look a bit dated compared to the jagged edges of todays bikes, but it still looks good, the half fairing adds to it's aggressive stance. I love the radiators mounted on the sides, they are practical and look racy.

My faults with this bike are:

1) The nature of the big V Twin means it eats tyres and chains (had as little as 2000 miles out of a rear BT010!)

2) It gets through fuel quicker than a jumbo jet. I fill up at a cost of just under a tenner, and the petrol light is on again after 80 miles!!

I know this is partly my fault for riding it hard, but the bikes are renowned for poor fuel consumption. I knew about this problem before I bought the bike, it didn't put me off though as I think this is a small price to pay for owning such a great bike.