30 Days into it - Do I miss the Blackbird - LONG Post...

Howdy,

I've been riding a CBR1100XX for years. I love the ol' Blackbird, but she isn't the ride she used to be. It started giving me electrical problems. The headlights would go out at less then opportune moments. Say, cranked over in a 100mph sweeper. At night. Thank God for full moons... There were other small, but annoying, things. I love the bike. I'm keeping the bike. I am not riding it cross country any more.

So, my local dealer makes me a cannot-pass-up deal on a 2010 holdover VFR1200F. I take it home. I think I love it. There are a hundred great things about this bike. However, I can't help but compare it to my Blackbird. Is my new bike substantially better than the old warhorse?

The wind protection with the 'Bird was better with a double-bubble screen than the stock VFR1200F screen. No matter how I tuck in behind the windscreen I still get turbulance. From what I've read elsewhere the wind deflector from Honda works better than other aftermarket windscreens. It is goofy looking though. I may go with an aftermarket screen anyway. I worry about the holes in the Honda screen ducting rain straight at me. Any thoughts?

I expected the range to suck on the V12. It does. 100 miles before the E starts blinking. Really? I thought the 'Bird had short legs! Once you get up into the North Country around here everything is 100 miles away! I am planning on getting a Tour Tank to mount to the passenger's handles. That will make a world of difference when I'm traveling. Obviously, the extra tank won't be mounted all the time- just when I'm riding for days at a time.

I'm a little peeved about the onboard computer. Couldn't Honda throw in a few gizmos like, average fuel economy, fuel range, etc? Sure, this isn't a Goldwing. Then again, it is 2010. That technology has been around long enough for it to trickle down to other models. Especially one that Honda treated as a flagship model.

Speaking of onboard computers. How about cruise control? Seriously, I gotta put a Throttle Meister on a 2010 sport/tourer? This is one of my major beefs with all the sportier sport/tourers (BMW K1300S!). If I'm not careful I can bounce from 65 to 105 very easy. Especially when riding mountain highways. I'd rather watch the road then my speedo. Granted, I won't use cruise control that often. But it is a great feature to have on anything with hard bags.

The black paint on the tank forced me to purchase Honda's tank bra/tank bag combo. I like it pretty much. Honda loses points for not putting a clear window on the top. It would've been nice to make it expandable too.

Speaking of paint: I have clear film for the whole bike coming from Diamond Shield - their stuff (Nano-Fusion) is supposed to be better than 3M. Their precut kit doesn't include the entire top of the black tank or side bags. They sell film in bulk. So, I'll be doing that. Any thoughts? (I think the hard bags are most likely to be scratched because they are on a shelf in the garage instead of on the bike.)

My throttle is less responsive than I like. I blip down thru the gears. Set up a turn. Roll on power. What? It isn't there. Oh! There it is. I have also wondered if there is a throttle lock-out. Under hard braking prior to a turn I try to "double clutch". I'm having difficulty getting the engine to match revs with the tranny. I haven't fully tested this yet. There is certainly something going on there. Pilot error may be the cause.

I will be installing 5k HIDs soon. I think it is almost criminal to sell bikes without those. I strongly encourage everyone to upgrade whenever possible.

I have a Two Brothers slip on ordered. (Yes, it is the low mount so I can use the hard bags :smile. I hope that helps with the 1st and 2nd gear pokeyness. If not, I'll invest in a Power Commander and have some better maps installed. I understand the Bazaaz (?) work around. It seems a little low-tech to me. The engineer in me isn't going to like that. Goofing with the indicator is going to bother me too. I know, I know it isn't a big deal. Still, it is going to aggravate me.

I went with the Two Brothers because I wanted to delete the exhaust servo valve. My research showed that the Akrpovic retained the valve. Screw that!

I can't decide if I want the rear trunk. It sorta ruins the lines of the bike and sticks way up there. Then again, the g/f might enjoy a back rest and I'm sure extra storage is always welcome. Maybe if I can pick one up cheap (hah hah, right?) I will leave it in the garage and mount it as needed.

FYI: The g/f says she still loves the ol' 'Bird but finds the V12 more comfy. The good news is she is more likely to ride with me. The bad news is she is more likely to ride with me. Next I'll have a Chatterbox...

So, I keep coming back to my original quandry: Is the VFR1200F that much better than the Blackbird? I think it is better. I love the shaft drive. The ABS can be handy. It is fricken NEW. It feels faster and pulls harder above 90 than the Blackbird does (so the seat of my pants dyno says). It is pretty compared to the tired paint of the Blackbird (greybeard?). It is nice having something brand new in the mechanical harem. It handles great. I'm down the the last 1/4" on the edges of the tires and I haven'e scraped the pegs yet. I'm looking for that!

I can't escape the feeling that great as the VFR1200 is, Honda could have done better. Consider this: There is a world of difference going from my '85 VF1000R (that year's tour de force from Honda) to the '97 Blackbird (also a tour de force). The difference between the Blackbird and V12 is not as noticable. The V12 is more refined, but it isn't the leap in technology and comfort that you experience between the first two bikes. It is also interesting to note the difference in ages between the bikes is roughly the same.

Woah! This went on longer than I expected. I'm looking forward to riding the V12 this season. The first trip up to the mountain twisties could be next weekend - weather permiting. Then I may do a shakedown cruise to Gettysburg or maybe as far as Deal's Gap. There's a tree down there I need to hang parts on... That is a story for another post!

Later!

ß!

 

Any of this sound familiar?? ;-}

 

I have a 06 bird, taken out of the box in March 09, just done 5000km. I don't have any problems with the bike other than the mindless grunt available from the engine. I get about 320km before low fuel warning (23l tank and fuel consumption aroud 50 - 54mpg) with a theoretical dry tank at around 400km. The tank size of the vfr1200 is the most offputting thing for me with the bike, 17l is absurd on a sport tourer. They are a really nice bike and well made but putting a 250 size tank on a 1200cc bike? The bike needs a tank in the 23-26l range to give it some legs. My VF1000R has a 25l tank, 1100R tank is 26l, 84 VF750F 23l, even my old boldors have 20l tanks.

 

I have heard - but that's not experience - that the mileage gets better once you got a couple K on the odometer.

You might want to check out this thread if you haven't already.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/7th-generation-2010-present/37405-1-year-later-review.html

 

i've pushed mine to 180 miles and still had 1/2 gallon left...avg. 35-40mpg z-bomb is the only way to fix 1st and second gear pokeyness (huge improvement) power commander will not cure pokey..( or gumby ) .but a remapping is still needed even after z bomb i am going to go with bazzaz z-fi over PC V.....you'll not miss the gear indicator in 1st and 2nd for long !!!...if you do, unplug z-bomb and go back to stock....i dare you to !!!!

 

:lol:ound::rofl: Damn catch 22's !!!!!!!