Faults:

Absolutely nothing.

General Comments:

Very exciting torquey v-twin engine. Jardine slip-on pipes made it sound incredible.

Vibrations made my right hand fall asleep during long rides, and the seat could have been more comfortable.

If the fuel tank is topped up too much, the engine dies shortly after gassing up. However, a quick opening of the cap to vent the tank once remedies the problem. After a while I learned to do this while driving - quite a trick.

One tooth down on the front sprocket made this bike a 2nd gear wheelie king.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong. Typical Honda reliability. Some models have been known to chew Cam chain tensioners. But I have no complaint.

Big V twins will EAT chains and sprockets like no other bike.

General Comments:

This is the closest bike Honda has with a soul. They make very reliable, well made, but exceedingly bland motorcycles (anyone seen the new colours on the Fireblade???, it looks like my grandad's Toyota Camry)

The VTR has many faults, but these simply add to the charm.

The stock suspension seems to be made out of old bed springs and pudding. But a $500NZ (190 pounds) fixes that up.

The stock cans sound like an asthmatic swimming in snot. But a good set of aftermarket cans $1000NZ, and she will sing like a baratone.

Unfortunately the stock brakes are just plain crap. But braided lines help and the engine braking is sensational... it's a matter of riding style I guess.

So for a second hand bike with under 10,000km on the clock for under $8000.00NZ; spend another $2000NZ on go-fast bits, and you will have a bike that will punch so far above its weight; it can scare the crap out of the odd Japanese IL4. (You should see the look on their face when you take them on the outside, with your rear wheel sliding...)

I had a lovely MATT black model, with italian double-bubble black blade, stainless steel cans, extra heavy bar ends (a must in reducing vibes thru the bars, revised front fork springs (eibach)

I have just sold it and upgraded to an Aprilia RSV, but I still smile whenever I see a hardy sole on a VTR1000 giving it heaps, with the ass of the bike wobbling around like a fat chick on the dance floor.

Faults:

Compression lost in both cylinders @ 47,000 miles, despite oil changes every 3K with Honda SP4 synthetic oil and adult-ridden. The cylinders were basically worn egg-shaped--electroplated bores drilled directly into the (aluminum) top half of the crankcase. (Disposa-bike.)

Despite meticulous maintenance, it was burning nearly a quart of oil every 3,000 miles toward the end.

Cam-chain tensioners needed replacement at ~30,000 miles.

Regulator/rectifier toasted @~30,000 miles.

Hydraulic clutch with slave cylinder mounted on the engine cooked the DOT4 to a dark color and had to be flushed at least every other oil change.

Even with braided stainless-steel brake lines, these brakes were weak. But using the engine-braking helps here.

General Comments:

Fun, bike, fast bike, BEAUTIFUL bike, but ultimately flawed.

This bike is very noisy, due to a cam chain on each side of the bike, with absolutely no noise-dampening material in the crankcase, nor fairing.

A wheelie-machine due to the rearward weight distribution, but it also handles pretty funky (some say poorly) compared with typical I-4 bike.

Terrible mileage, even if you go by the optimistic tripmeter/odometer.

Faults:

Rectifier went in Brugge this year -- apparently common at this age -- cost £80. Apart from that, nothing.

General Comments:

Excellent cheap speed, bought it for trips to europe annually, and it's now done 3 at ridiculous speeds. Not as fast as R1's etc, but who needs to do more than 160 (indicated). Only servicing has been regular oil/filter changes.

Fit a set of Remus Grand Prix -- sounds amazing and definitely makes a difference to the performance.

Only down side is I think it looks a bit bland. Fuel consumption is OK, just the tank size lets it down, but you need a rest after 100 miles anyway.