Shamu at the track

Well on that note, here's a review of the DCT system.

What's the dual clutch transmission on the Honda VFR1200 DCT like? - Hell For Leather

 

I'm getting 44 mpg while breaking in. Thats 211.2 miles before dry tank.

 

Having read your track day story, I can't help but wonder if maybe the suspension tech dialed in too much rebound damping. This could have caused the shock to compress, causing the bike to lose ground clearance (hence the peg grinding), also causing the weight to transfer to the back (causing the head shake). I think it is fair to say that if you are riding around at high speed on a shock that is near bottoming out, it is not going to feel safe and you are going to want to get off of it. I hope others here will also try the bike on a track day and see if their experience is the same. I know I will when I get the chance.

 

are you kidding? a 650lb bike, that is undersprung with a 150-170lb rider with very limited adjustment (relative) isnt going to pogo or headshake due to poorly adjusted suspension.

lets just chalk this one up as "the bike is more touring oriented than sports oriented in comparison to it's predecessors" move on, this whale isnt sport touring, it's touring.

 

Let's not chalk it up to anything until we swing a leg over it at the track. This bike is absolutely not undersprung. I weigh 180 and I had to dial out a fair bit of pre-load.

 

I anxiously await another real world review (i.e., not ad funded)

 

All hail our hero and saviour, Wes Siler! The first person to EVER write about a motorcycle without advertising dollars tainting his words. The first journalist to ever stand up to the evil bike manufacturer marketing funnel corporate juggernaut!

First there was Jesus, then there was Ghandi, then there was the little Chinese student that stood in front of the tanks at Tianenmen Square... and now the Gods have given us Wes Siler! Our champion! We are redeemed!

Not only is Wes Siler brave enough to climb out of the evil corporate marketing funnel... he is also the most gifted motorcycle reviewer to ever live. He is so talented and observant that he can take an unfamiliar motorcycle to an unfamiliar track, wobble around awkwardly in the slow group for only 5 laps and pronounce the bike a complete turd!

When Simon Hargreaves of Bike Magazine said: "The VFR is nimble and light-steering... the suspension is (...) fabulously smooth and controlled, delivering a dreamy ride quality beyond reproach... There's nothing in the VFR's suspension behaviour to suggest it'll be anything other than supremely confident at anything bar truly brain-out riding" Everyone knew he was full of shit! There is a Honda ad right inside the front cover of the magazine! He was probably typing his article on the free laptop that Honda gave him while he was being flown to an expense-paid Monaco vacation on a Hondajet while getting blown by Asimo! Mind you, while he praised the engine and chassis he did give it an overall negative review, calling it "underwhelming". I'll bet his Honda advertising masters wanted him to commit Sepuku after that!

2 months later Bike Mag (who everyone knows is a total asswipe) had to make up for Hargreaves criticism, so they got Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Mike Armitage (both are complete hacks... trapped in the corporate marketing funnel) to perform a sport-touring comparison test of the VFR1200 against the K1300S and Sprint ST. This would be tough, because Triumph took out a full-page ad on page 4 of this very same issue! Of course, the Honda marketing funnel is much more terrifying and that's why the VFR was pronounced the clear winner. Those hacks wrote such drivel as: "...great chassis" "The suspension's taught and delivers sportbike levels of feedback compared to the mushy and disconnected BMW." "A great balance of control and comfort..." They were even so blatantly biased as to conclude that "...it's the Honda that is now defining the sports tourer"

I wonder if BMW and Triumph will continue to advertise in that piece of crap? (for some reason Triumph bought page 4 AGAIN in the next issue! They probably forced Bike to write something good about them)

I wish I hadn't subscribed to Bike, because in the very next issue they said "...if you're out on your late 90s sportsbike and a new VFR1200 comes whistling past, don't be surprised if it stays that way.... the new VFR achieves this feat by virtue of extraordinary user-friendliness, from the way it manages its immense power to the classic Honda trait of perfect chassis balance - the right weight distribution, the right riding position, the right suspension..." Strangely, Honda didn't run an ad in that issue, but everyone knows that BIKE is just a big Honda brochure anyway.

Shills! They may as well just copy and paste the Honda press kit as their article! If only they could get truly objective writers like Wes Siler.... but they are corporate lackies and would never let someone with his integrity write a word for their rag. That hack Martin Fitz-Gibbons took a VFR1200 to a race track (where everone now knows the VFR is TERRIFYING) and had the audacity to write in the August issue: "preparation only gets as far as taking the panniers off - suspension stays standard and tire pressures remain 36/42... I want to spend my time riding not waggling tools about. On track the VFR's a surprise. It feels nowhere near as long or heavy as it is, the brakes are strong and the ABS supportive rather than intrusive. The first few laps, learning a stunning track full of aesthetic distractions, are a breeze."

I can't believe people still read this shit!

Thank the Lord for Wes Siler! God be praised! There is no other motorcycle opinion worth reading!

 

OH YEAH? Just wait until Cundalini wins on one in World Superbike and you will eat your words. I hope my dog bites you too.

 

Ditto - I checked out the new VFR at the dealer, but have not rode the bike. The new VFR is comfortable and yeah big, I am still trying to get used to the new plastics. I am not considering getting the new VFR, but will be shopping for a used gen 5 or 6 soon. Nothing wrong with the new VFR just my preference.

 

All the new 1200s made are not for export. One in particular is the "Sumo".

 

This thread is tiresome, and yet, I am trapped into reading it all because there are bits of info here that are not available any place else.

The VFR is not supposed to be a CBR. If you want a CBR, buy a CBR.
Anybody that calls the new VFR Shamu is not going to be objective.

I test rode the new VFR and I liked it, I think that it is a bike I would consider buying. It didn't blow me away and it didn't make want to get rid of my Gen 6. The only thing about it I didn't like was the twitchy throttle response. I hope they fix that. My test ride was not sufficient to pass judgement on the suspension, thus, all info about that in this thread have been useful.

 

So it sucks on the track. Great. Not that I needed that info. I have no intention of taking it to the track. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to realize it's not a track bike.

I bought it for the street. Not for the looks but because I rode one and liked it very much. It'll be my commuter bike for the next 5 years and it does all I want brilliantly.
I've been on Aprilias for the last 10 years. Been on the track with one of them, no not with stock suspension. But in the fast group and on slicks.

Apples and oranges, baby.

 

Some call it Shamu, others call it Veefalo. I call it VFR1200. Different strokes for different folks.

 

At 15k and change it sure ain't Free Willy either.

 

Bef you turncoat. Me too probably when the T comes out.

 

It is so a trackbike. Just put one of these guys who have one of those 175 mph wimpy 750s or 800s on a 1200 and they could easily whupass on Biaggi. Seen it done plenty of times only it never gets written up except on bike forums.

 

Not turncoat entirely, I still have my Futura which, as amply demonstrated, will kick ass on a track. Plenty of proof on Youtube, just type in Meanstrk as author.

 

All I can say is that the photos of the new bike do not do it justice. Further, although I read a lot of negative comments about the bike, I went and put 20miles on one at the Honda dealer in Grapevine, TX. Yeah, that ride changed my mind about the bike. First, it is truly beautiful in person. The fit and finish is superb, the lines are elegant. Though the color of the bike (maroon) is really uninspiring, it did look sharp.
I rode the bike and was immediately impressed with the smoothness, the power and the stability of the bike. I took it down some moderate twisty roads and noticed the planted feel of the bike. It took more to pitch into a turn (I ride and SV1000S) than my current bike but at no time did I ever feel that the suspension wasn't doing it's thing. In fact, the first thought I had was that the suspension was stiffer than on my SV!

OK, I could go on and give you more personal thoughts on the bike, but I really wanted to counter the HFL "Shamu" review I just read. I owned a candy red VF1000F - rode it all around England when I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath. Took it back to the US with me and rode it on 89A in Arizona to college every day, rain or shine at 120-140mph. I loved that bike, and truly regretted selling it when I left college. The new VFR, in my opinion, is an outstanding bike - I want one, and I'll probably get it.

Yeah, maybe I am that 47 year old, grey haired rider that HFL thinks that bike is made for. Yeah, I am a little overweight but I still wakeboard, play racquetball and handle two sons. Yes, it is an expensive bike, but I've got a bunch of old toys that I'll sell to get this next year (tax return and bonus in hand). Hopefully, Honda will offer sportier color, fixed the fuelling issue and thought about reducing the price of the optional luggage.

It's a great bike, I know I loved it - it's easy to ride slow or fast, the brakes are fantastic and the instrumentation is easy to read and modern. Whereas, the Ducati Multistrada 1200S that I rode had a display that was impossible to read in TX sunlight. I can't imagine spending $17k on a bike that I can barely read the speedometer in sunlight.

 

What would you expect? Would you bring your (full-size) BMW sport-tourer on the track?