newbie about to get vfr couple questions

Hello forum first I want to say there is a lot of information here and I am glad to be a part of this forum. A little history I am 27 but have been riding with license for 10 years. I have had mostly sport bikes and a m109 Suzuki boulevard. I stumbled on the vfr because I am married now and want a bike that I can have fun with but has some touring capabilities and is good on insurance. I originally wanted the new ZX14 but at 3000 a year for insurance compared to 800 for the vfr it was a no brainer. Then I realized I wanted something to go touring every now and then so that leaves the big 3=st1300, fjr and concourse all in my opinion more comfortable than the vfr but all 2 top heavy and wouldn’t be that fun as a short range daily driver.. And I wanted something that was fun for every day and for the occasional trip. That left the vfr and I love what a technical wonder it is. All that being said I found a 2010 vfr with dct for 10500 with warranty. I have found a non dct model for a little less but the dealership painted it one black the other white. The 10500 was for the bike plus tax but no dealer fees. The cheapest I have found the non dct version that isn’t painted is 10900. What do you guys think I like the dct and I am interested in it and I like the non dct, but I can’t justify paying more money for a less expensive bike since the dct was originally 1500 more. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Personally, I'm not a fan of the DCT. I test rode one with it and it was really smooth; I can appreciate the engineering. But I like having the old school clutch lever. It's really just a personal preference. I'd buy a bike with a clutch lever for the same reason I'd buy a manual Corvette. If I did a lot of stop-n-go city driving, I think the DCT might change my mind tho.

 

I was wondering about the deal i was getting 10500 for the dct compared to 10900 for reg I am getting the dct for a lower price than the standard

 

I wish they had a black version in the states like europe does. Suprised a dealership would do a repaint unless they got scratched somehow.

 

+1. Although these are my personal thoughts on black bikes...

There are only three kinds of people that buy black bikes, or cars;
1) Those who've never owned a black vehicle and don't know yet how awful they are to keep them looking good (DAILY polishing).
2) Those who have tremendous amounts of free time to sit and polish their black car or bike.
3) Those who simply don't give a shit if it looks like shit.

I've owned one black bike...never again. The little black stripe up the center of this tank made me crazy enough in the first hundred miles to put a tankslapper on it so I wouldn't have to keep anguishing over the daily scratches from seemingly nothing more than looking at it. I absolutely shudder when I see somebody buy a big shiny new black van or SUV at the dealership I work at. Crazy people. Too much black paint for me!

 

I agree black vehicles dont keep clean easily. But personally black is my favorite color and im super happy with my black vfr. I do give a shit if it looks like shit, I dont have a ton of time to polish my bike, and ive owned a black bike before. But really its all about what the owner likes. I dont mind it having a little film of dust on it the very next day after I wash it. Its windy around here half the week so its going to happen no matter what. I still think all the red, white, blue, multi-color paint schemes i see on here look incredible - but like I said black is my favorite color and im super happy with it.

 

I suppose it could just be my obsessive-compulsiveness talking. But every time I walk outside at the end of the work day to my bike, and see the film of dust that shows up horribly on that black tank stripe, but is utterly invisible everywhere else, I just grit my teeth and shake my head. I love black vehicles when they're clean, but they drive me crazy when they're dirty, which is just too much of the time for me personally. No offense intended by my previous post, or this one. I'm just anal about stuff like that.

 

I don't completely understand. Did you say the dealer painted these bikes, one black and one white? :crazy:
Are these brand new? Something doesn't sound quite right here.

If they were painted then I would assume that someone took them for a test ride and dropped it.
Then the dealer decided to paint them a different color, thinking it might sell better.
Am I missing something?

Former Honda Sales Mgr.

 

no offense taken at all Dave. Just wanted to throw that out there cause this isnt the first place ive read about what people think about black bikes. I believe ive read things about black bike owners being immature and random shit like that lol. Doesnt make sense to me that someone would be judged by the color of their bike haha Wow I just made that sound like a controversial issue.

 

My black DCT looks nice even when dirty. The insects at the transparent and silver parts in the front bother me much more than a bit of dust.

You should ask the dealer why it was painted, if it crashed and what was damaged. But other than that never mind the price difference. Just take the DCT for a test ride, try all three modes - D, more important S and most important manual - if possible in a twisty canyon and after that you should be sure which one to go for, most likely the DCT.

 

After doing auto detail for a couple of years, I swore that the only car colors I would get would be silver, gold and white. I would dread a black vehicle coming in. They are a horror to maintain after a high speed buff due to swirl marks. It still annoys me to this day when someone tells me that they got a black car because it looks cleaner than a white car when it gets dirty. For a bike though it is a little different since mine only comes out of the garage on nice days. I want to make mine flat black. Just waiting for it to get scratched up to do it.

 

I'm not sure faster smoother shifting is a must-have either, unless you plan on drag racing it. Frankly, I don't even like slipper clutches because when I want engine braking, I want engine braking. I prefer to modulate the clutch myself, thank you very much. ;-}

 

Aren't there white and black 1200's in Europe??? I know for sure about white from Motorcycle Luke's video review. Maybe the fairings came in wrong, or damaged, and the stealership ordered white and black from Europe? I would almost guess that the dealership did not paint the fairings....

BTW, I think the white 1200 is the sexiest fucking thing. When I buy one in the future, I almost want to sell the red and order some white from Europe.

 

I made up my mind here is my experiance in my humnle opinion. I get to the dealership and i get ready to do my test ride but since I was in a new town the salesman says he will go with me so i get on the 6spd and he on the dct. We ride for 15 mins and then switch bikes we take twistys, highway and regular streets some backround both me and the guy have similiar experiance riding for 10 yrs with a mix of bikes. After the 30 minute drive i talk him into having some fun and he takes me to a desolate rode where we go head to head. before those findings let me tell you my humble review of both. first they are not the same bike the same motor but the trans changes them in a distinct way.

DCT= smooth as butter when you paddle shift, In D or S modes i feel they are not in the adequet gear for daily driving.
At speeds its perfect and slow its ok you need finesse to be good at slow speeds.
over all smooth comfortable bike.

6spd= easier to handle at slower speeds
trans shifts smooth better than my 08 busa and other bikes
feels naughtier over the dct

Ok during my 15 min ride on both i realized the dct is nice but takes some of the fun out of the bike and the exhuast seems a bit muted possibly from the shift points. The 6spd was fun and felt more alive. Ok on to the fun part we did rolling races from 3rd gear to give boths bikes a chance we started about 50mph and went to about 135mph and when i was on the 6spd i pulled away from the dct no question and we did a race from a dead stop and agian the 6spd won. we switched and i got on the dct I pinned it for everything I was worth and the 6spd got away both races. i tested both head to head and the 6spd is clearly faster i dont now why but it is. If you are looking for a refined bike that is smooth and dont care about modding or going very fast the dct is perfect its still fast and a beast . If you like every now and then to gocrazy you cant beat the 6spd its faster and you can mod it its just an animal. DCT refined speed, 6spd raw energy that you can control how you like. I went into this with an open mind and i chose the 6spd its a animal not as clean cut as its brother but ready to fight and get dirty. I did some soul serching and realized i love comfort and speed and the ability to mod to my hearts content and wallet of course. the 6spd gave me what i wanted and needed. Know the DCT is a beautiful amazing machine i guess i am not rady to give the speed yet to refinment. i am sorry for the long rant but i hope this helps someone make up there mind. Ride safe and have fun i will answer any questions. To clarify we raced a couple of times each taking turns and no question 6spd won.

ps sorry for the typos

 

In what mode has the DCT been when you raced? D, S or manual?
It is 10kg heavier so it HAS to be a bit slower. Also you can't slip the clutch from a stop, so below 40mph the 6spd has a clear advantage - the DCT really lacks a launch control.

 

Well the guy riding the bike was about 180 and I am 205 so weight was the same when he was on the dct. We tried a couple passes from about 40 in 3rd gear and dead stop, you are right at a dead stop no comparison but i thought 3rd gear roll ons would change but it didnt we tried s mode and manual.