PAINT THE TOWN RED!
As locations go for a meeting of some very limited-edition (and pricey) Honda machinery, perhaps the coach park ofYork’s Designer Outlet off the A19 isn’t the most glamorous…
But then if any machines are going to glam-up a coach park, it would be these special-edition bikes (along with a couple of classy interlopers).
So what are they? Well, back in 1998 Honda was about to celebrate its 50th Anniversary and, to help make it special, some of its popular models were breathed on to add a bit of pizzazz.
First up for the treatment were the evergreen CBR600F, VFR800 and CBR900RR FireBlade models. Each had Akrapovic exhaust systems; fancy rear-sets (LSL or Harris Performance); Proflex rear shock; Goodridge brake hoses front and rear; some jetting work and a carbon-fibre hugger; yoke cover and petrol cap; and paint was by Dream Machine. Prices at the time were £8500 for the CBR600 (the standard machine was £7077), £10,500 for the Blade (£7524) and £9500 for the VFR (£8757). Later, a limited-edition VTR1000F FireStorm with similar kit joined the ranks for £9200, about £955 over the stocker.
At the top of the tree was the 50th Anniversary V&M Honda CBR1200XX Super Blackbird, which had a much more impressive spec over standard, including a capacity increase to just shy of 1200cc
