Hooked on a Honda RVF400

It’s the bike I always dreamed of owning as a teenager, and almost a decade later it’s still as sexy as ever. It truly is a mini-version of the RC45 and every ride so far has had me imagining I’m at the TT.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. In my haste to pick up the bike, I asked to collect it before DK Motorcycles had completed a pre-delivery check on it. And my cunning plan backfired when the next day my brake lines split. With some problems with the original supplier I had chosen, the bike was off the road for almost three weeks, by which time I’d lost patience and phoned Earl’s for a set of their stainless hoses.

And that’s been the extent of my tuning so far. With the NC53 so good looking to begin with, it’s hard to think of improvements. A hugger would save some of my cleaning chore, so that’s on the list, as well as a new front mudguard as the original one has cracked to the point it’s no longer safe.

And despite the new hoses, the brakes still have the stopping ability of the QE2. So that’ll be new pads and an evening spent thoroughly bleeding the system. An alarm will hopefully make my baby a little more secure, and despite the fact the original Dunlop GPR70 SP tyres have performed brilliantly, I fancy trying some different rubber.

The only other mystery is why the front end dives like an Olympic swimmer every time I hit the brakes. It’s either the forks or the head bearings, so my investigation is under way.

If you’re a fellow NC35/NC30 owner, or want to chat about my bike, email daniel.thornton@emap.com.

Discuss the RVF400RR and RT, here.