Since before I bought my 02 WR250F almost two years ago, I've been eyeing off the VOR 530 & 400/450 bikes with a keen eye. I got a good deal on the WR, and so the VOR went out the window for a little while, but with reviews like I've been reading lately, I'm starting to have wicked thoughts about those black weapons again.
The Australian distributors are pushing these bikes a bit, so checkout some of the reviews here:
I particularly like some of the comments in the bikepoint review:
"The big single cylinder donk revs freely, there's torque everywhere and
throttle response is terrific. Put these three things together and you have the world's fastest black tractor or a dirt bike that'll suck the paint off your house. Or both. "
"Anyone who can mono will love this bike, but I warn you now, don't ride
behind it; the goolies that come off the rear tyre are meteorites and they'll peel your Arai like a boiled egg. Won't do your makeup much good either. "
Hehehe. Both reviews are well worth a read.
The Vor homepage is http://www.vor.it/ and has recently had a revamp. Other good sources of VOR info is http://www.vroom.co.nz/ and
http://www.vorclub.com/ (in Italian).
If you've already got one of these black weapons, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it.
oh yeah
hey simon, when youre at the dealer pickin up one of these badass bikes, you can just go ahead and pick me up one too while youre there ;)
Just bought a 2002 VOR En530,
Just bought a 2002 VOR En530, with only 800kms. First ride, it starts making bad noises, so I take it back to the dealer, and a few weeks later the main bearings have been replaced. It seems many 02 models had a main bearing problem, requiring replacement. So did many 02 Husabergs. A bad batch of bearings apparently.
Other than that, an awesome bike. Easier to ride than an KTM 520: smoother power. Great handling, brakes, engine. To me, the VOR looks better than any Japanese bike.
dangerously smooth
Just got an '02 450. Had been out of offroad for awhile, having done sport bikes for the last 15 or so yrs when a redlight running piece of crap car laid me low for awhile. To get my confidence back after wheelchair & crutches I started tooling along the trails on a AJP 125 (bored to 150). Outgrew that in about 6 mos. & now a friend has turned me on to this VOR. My point is-- I am slightly more than a beginner, but this bike is sooo smooth over the rugged stuff that my speeds and abilities are improving markedly. Shifts are almost done by ESP. A kind of back-handed compliment/criticism is that the machine can lull you into trouble. You sometimes don't realize how quick you're going it's so smooth & quiet until suddenly you come onto something hairy find yourself sideways. I think the bike is half pogo stick because I often find myself airborne as well. This VOR is worse than heroin-- defintley should be banned, defintely should be banned... excuse me while I go back out and ride.