6th Gen. loosing its appeal?

Mr Puma i have one word for ya SPEEEED sells. it just kills me to see first time riders hope on a CBR600rr , as i said above a few of us know better but the idea of owning a track replica bike fast and sexy is tantalizing but not always the most practical ride for street

 

Up here amongst our igloos, the bike sales have been low across the whole board. The weather has sucked for quite a while with a dismal summer to boot. Most of the dealers that I have visited have the same stock that they had a while ago. Selling a VFR that demands a good amount of money is a difficult thing to do in a stale market. One could have purchased a 848 for just a wee bit more, if their into that sorta thing. I have never seen more that a couple Viffers in a dealer at any given time. It's just not that kinda bike. And you know what... Thats why I bought it. For the exclusivity and of course it's the best bike on the planet :boxing: I personally couldn't care less if they stopped selling, cause I already have one so na na, na na, boo boo. :dance:

...chomper, get your badge up already.

 

Yeah, I know. But you should see all the testimonials from guys buying these fully committed race bikes, Gixxers and R1s, talking about how much BETTER their riding experience is with a set of Heli bars! LOL! Riders want sexy bikes, but sexy bikes can be difficult to live with...as far as I am concerned, the pendulum has swung too far in one direction. It's ironic to think that a modern "F2" would be the ideal bike for so many riders, and yet it would not sell in the 'States because it is not "sexy" enough. Even though it would be a much better bike for them overall.

Don't even get me started on newbies getting a 118 hp 600RR as their first bike...:doh:

 

G*d, I hope so...

 

Jason your right on i dont know how many times other rider or who ever has come up to me and said whats that thing your riding. if you took the honda badge off you could tell them any thing. originally i wanted a ducati just to be different ..ya right ...their sales are through the roof they seem to be every where.. so we are unique

sorry man, i think i may have deleted link with a bit of house cleaning you'll have to send it to me

By the way what a great job on the insgnia well done!!

 

Here here. 6th gens, Sorry guys, a 6 year run is long enough, almost makes one if you did follow the VFR story you'd never know there where any others. love Honda and the mighty V4 power plant, But it's so run of the mill, a dime a dozen, seen one 6th, you've seen em all. Does that make it a bad Bike? Nope. Yep a niche machine, with huge, I mean huge flexibility thats not seen nor felt to many, their loss. That and it's pretty vanilla. I happen to like vanilla but with lots hot fudge on it. So Bring me a new VFR Honda, please.

 

I agree its time for a change that could mean by by vfr i hope im wrong but i cant see them making a bigger one leaning more towards a sportbike thats to close to a cbr and more touring thats to close to should i dare say it a st1300 (almost moving couch) do most current vfr owners want or need to go 160+mph if so those few gave up the v4 & traded for a sprint.
RVFR youll never give up your 4th gen you just love it to much:tinfoil3:

 

Sure sales may be sagging a bit, maybe the VFR has been around a while. But name one bike with all the same versatility, low maintenance cost, character, V4 sound, ABS option, touring, & sport ability all at a reasonably low purchase price? If the 6th generation VFR was introduced today the magazines would probably rave about it.

 

Well, the yellow decal needs to be there. That in fact is what really gives it the "retro" look. Sure the RWB is retro but only in the days of green carpet and orange wall curtains would they put a YELLOW decal on RWB.

I knew this was what it was supposed to be but that didn't stop me from photoshoping out the yellow decal for the "Honda" silver, red, black and none. The bike just didn't have the holy crap factor without the yellow. It looked good but had nothing special.

 

Don't mind sharing, price was posted on the bike for all, the reason why I say it is cost is that is what two different dealerships in two different cities claimed was cost and the price was the lowest they would drop tool.
Dealer Cost = $9,699.00 Don't forget the RWB MSRP is $11,099.00, so dealer cost for standard paint is less.

According to my "people" I am friends with the owner of the Suzuki/Triumph dealership here in OKC and friends with head sales manager at the local Kawi ship, there is not much mark up on new bikes, they make their money on used bikes, service and parts.

 

I did not make an assesment, I just made an observation and asked if anyone else noticed the same thing else where in the country.

I've been warned about you NorcalBoy, you like to start things. I like that, keep up the good work. It keeps people on their toes. <a href="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.smileycentral.com%252F%253Fpartner%253DZSzeb008%255FZS%2526i%253D36%252F36%255F1%255F11%2526feat%253Dprof/page.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_11.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D36%252F36_1_11/image.gif"></a>

 

Sun Honda here in the Denver area has had leftover Interceptors as weekly specials forever. Here's an '06 out the door for $7995+tax, and an '07 for $8500+tax. That's a far cry from msrp, and they still can't sell em'.
http://www.sunent.com/new_vehicle_inventory.asp?page=3

 

Stopped by the Honda dealer in Bremerton, WA the other day to see if they had a used Gen 5 and to look at their 07 RW+B again (just because it is so good looking). No Gen 5s and the RW+B was gone. They did have a low mileage used 06 and a new 06 with ABS, both for under $9000. No 08 VFRs on the floor. Stopped by a huge dealership in Lynnwood, WA as well. The only VFR in the entire place was a left over 06.

 

I don't mind a new vfr, i already have mine.
I also notice everyone wants a race bike, they give no thought to how they will use it.
I ride mine to work, and i also go for week long bike trips that sometimes include a 16hour riding day. But that does nto meen on the weekends i don't want to bust it out in the corners with some friends.

I get tons of comments on my bike and it is stock.
Everyone wants to ride it when i go on a road trip, and even the sport bike guys do a double take as it's stature is diffrent. I really need to get some hard bags...really get some attention.

I also went to the bike show in town and after sittin on almost all the bikes...i still like my vfr best. if i won the lottary i would probably still have the vfr(along with others maybe). that to me says people are missing out.

 

You all know this was coming from me :biggrin:


Go to a Triumph Dealership & ask them why there sealing all there Sprint ST's !

To save you a trip, is because that most of the buyers are ex-vfr owners that wanted a bike that Honda hasn't progressed to in the evolution of the VFR.

VFR prospects & loyalists are moving from the VFR to the Sprints & ST Ducs in droves, that is people that like true performance, fuel milage, comfortable, lighter, & reliability.
That being said, the Gen 6 only just doesn't compare for the most bang for the Lowly buck.
If no VFR 1000 soon, the VFR 800 for '09 will never happen, because the Dealerships just don't want them!

 

they stoped making the st 3 and st 4

 

I regress, I ment Duc sport Tourers:juggle:

either way, the M/C public isn't buying the 6th Gen new !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Man, all of this talk is making me question an FY08 VFR purchase. Ugh!

 

I too have been to look at the Sprint ST 1050 as a replacement for my 3G. I *want* to like it, I really do. It's just too much the other way from what I would like in the new VFR. Too tall, too wide, too heavy, too hot, and the brakes feel wrong. I love the (comparatively) simple and low-tech engine. One cylinder head, no VTEC. I really do want to like it, and if they made a Sprint version of the 675 triple I would probably buy *that*. The 1050 is too much substance and not enough nimbleness for me.

I do like the ST3 and earlier ST2/ST4 but won't own a bike I need to wrench on more than I can ride.

I have thought about buying an early 6g as a stop-gap until the VFR gets a redesign, but in BC that gets me the 751-1150 cc insurance cla$$. That makes for a bike that's more expensive to buy, more expensive to maintain, and more expensive to insure than a good all-round 600 like the F4i that makes the same power and weighs 100 pounds less.

What I really want is a torquey V4 version of the CBR600F4i that comes with a factory integrated hard bag option and ABS. Will Honda take the VFR back to a 750, lighten it up a bit (50# would be a good start) and put down the technology crack pipe? If they don't, I don't really see *anything* offered at the moment that's what I want, and the next best thing will be to forego the ABS, buy Givi bags and put them on a clean used F4i.