Which motorcycle was the first to use Honda’s VTEC variable valve-timing system?

The Honda VFR800 VTEC was the first motorcycle to use Honda’s VTEC variable valve-timing system.

Honda introduced the VFR800 VTEC for the 2002 model year as the successor to the gear-driven-cam VFR800Fi. Its 781 cc V4 engine used Honda’s variable valve timing and electronic control technology to alter valve operation as engine speed increased.

The system was intended to combine stronger low-speed behavior with improved high-rpm performance. Early VTEC VFR models switched valve operation at a noticeable engine-speed threshold, and later revisions refined the transition for smoother operation.

VTEC is widely associated with Honda cars, but the VFR800 brought the technology to Honda’s production motorcycles. The model is sometimes mixed up with earlier VFR versions, which used Honda’s V4 architecture but did not carry the VTEC system.