Honda's Category for the VFR1200

I just noticed on Honda's website that they placed the VFR1200 into the "Sport" category along with the CBRs and Interceptor. I don't agree with this grouping at all. The ST1300 is more of a sport bike than the VFR1200. In my humble opinion, it should be in the "Sport Touring" category with a heavier emphasis on "Touring".

 

What I want to know is how many miles that contraption will rack up with a 4.9 gallon tank??? It damn well better be able to hit 230 miles when completely dry.

 

Huh?

LIKE PUTTING ROSIE O'DONELL IN A STRIPPER CATAGORY!

 

Oh, thanks just loads for that mental image...

 

Yeah, if a bike isn't likely to be used on the track, it shouldn't be in the sports bike category. It seems HIGHlY unlikely that you will see it on track even for track days. Ok, maybe track days

 

Oh stop, you're killing me.

SPORT bike does NOT mean Repli-Racer...

It's just a category for sales...

 

Yes, you're right, but Honda's only saving grace is that they dont have a super sport or sport touring category in their line up.

But if you look at a traditional super sport line up (in which the CBR600 and 1000 belong) you find the likes of the R1 and R6 by Yamaha, the ZX-6R, 10R and 14R (which i don't really agree with the 14R) by Kawasaki, and the GSX-R 600 and 1000 by Suzuki. You tell me that the VFR1200F belongs in this category of bike? It weighs in at over 40 lbs more than the 14R, which is the heaviest of that bunch, and 140 lbs over the ZX-10R which is the heaviest of the true supersports.

I honestly think its shameful for Honda to put this whale of a bike in the same category in which they list the CBR line. If they had a Sport Touring category, I would have no beef. But honestly, how much sport do you really think you can extract from a bike that weighs 600 f-ing lbs! Thats like asking a lineman to do agility drills and expect him to compete with a running back.

 

Again, it's only 50 lbs more than the 6th Gen, and it's weight is MORE than offset by the additional 65+HP and almost double the torque.

They do have a Sport Touring category, the ST and NV are in it. Based on the specs (specifically trail/rake, which is virtually identical to the 6th Gen), the new VFR doesn't belong in the same category as them anymore than it does with the CBR's.

I agree the new VFR is NOT a super-sport or repli-racer, however it may belong to the same category as the ZX14 or 'Busa (hyper-sport), we'll have to see the performance numbers.

The reality is, it's somewhere between the "sportbike" and "sport-touring" category, and doesn't fit neatly into either. Then again, neither did the 6th Gen. That's kinda my whole point, much like the 6th Gen, it's a 'Jack-of-all-trades' kinda bike.

 

But to me, the more weight you add, the closer you get to the touring category. Hell, even the BMW R1200RT (which we would all consider a touring bike is 505 lbs dry, and the K1300GT is 562 lbs dry...

awwww hell...i know i'm not going to change your mind on this, and you're not going to change mine. What it boils down to is, I don't see the 7th gen as a worthy successor to the VFR name. The styling, weight, and techno-gimiktry are too far of a departure from the current model and the only thing that allows Honda to call it a VFR is the fact that it has a v-4 motor in it. With the styling, I am able to see a fairly linear progression from the 2nd gen up to the 6th gen, but this 7th gen is so far out in left field, its hard for me to consider it a VFR, styling wise.

Also keeping with the looks, the 7th gen, to me, looks like a touring bike, over weight, with too much body, like the bmw's. The 6th gen, again to me, looks like a slightly over grown sport bike. In other words, I can see a sporting heritage with the 6th and previous gens, but in the 7th gen, I do not.

What I really wanted out of the 7th gen was pretty much a 6th gen, with some different styling cues, with at least 150 hp. In fact, I probably would have been completely happy with the current 6th gen model if they gave it at least 150 hp.

What I guess I'm getting at is that the 7th gen doesn't really look the part of the VFR. I cannot picture it on a track, like I can with the 2nd through 6th gens. And to me, thats what the VFR has always represented, a bike that you can ride to the track, kick some ass on the track, then ride it back with minimal joint/muscle/back pain. The 7th gen looks like a bike that would tow a different bike to the track.

 

Great..they built a red connie!!..Call it whatever they want for class....this new one is almost fjr and connie territory! 600 lbs and thats tanker bikes to me. I had the fjr 13 and it was like driving a truck compared to my vfr. Yuk, might as well be on a wing. They should call it the Sport-Wing class.....
Fat aint fun for me, just think Rosie!

 

LOL!

Do any of you dudes really think that any of the bike manufacturers give a rats ass what you think about categories? Cut an English Major with a 2.0 GPA loose on categories and there will be dozens within minutes.

What ya'll should really be worrying about is what "category" your fucking insurance company is going to try and pull off next to raise your rates.

 

Got to agree with reg71. In general VFR owners are getting older and not quite as sports oriented (apologies to those who stay pure) and I for one appreciate a lot of what Honda has tried to do. I don't like the relatively small tank nor the fact they have left damping control out of the front forks and I think the 1200 is a bit of overkill but overall it seems like a pretty good package to me.

 

Speaking as a former owner of loaded 2007 BMW K1200GT, Honda's new VFR1200F (or whatever it's called) is in the Dog House as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, Honda's new V-4 engine sounds sweet, but most of the rest of the bike sounds like a misguided attempt to make a silk purse out of a pig's ear.

In my opinion, Honda really missed the boat here. As it now stands, the new VFR seems very disappointing in so many respects. (Thank God that I own a 2007 VFR 800A, which is holding its original value very well.)

 

WOW! Finally somebody who has seen one and heard it run. Tell us more. TIA.