Trying to decide

I confess I am not a VFR owner (yet). I am looking for a bike to buy and I'm a little conflicted. The first street bike I ever rode was an '80s VFR. I don't know the exact year but it had the red/white/blue color scheme and I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. It belonged to a roommate and honestly I had no idea what I was doing (lucky I wasn't killed).
Ten years later I have a little more riding experience (and an endorsement) and just sold my Honda Magna. Now I'm trying to decide between a cruiser and a sport touring bike. If I go the cruiser route it will probably be a Honda Shadow or VTX and if I opt for the sport it will definitely be a VFR. (Used)
I'll use the bike for commuting to work and the occasional day trip through the country. I guess I expect to get pro-VFR feedback from this site but if anyone has any cruiser vs. VFR experience I would like to hear it.

 

Look in my photo gallery and you can see my last cruiser, cost four times as much as my VFR and not near as enjoyable. I have so much more fun on my VFR than my Harley, and this might sound strange but I'm more comfortable on my VFR than I ever was on my Road King...

 

Ive only ever ridden a cruiser once but really enjoyed it.

A harley. Theyre nice to ride - on straight ish roads and under about 90km per hour. They are real comfy. Over 90 and your catching wind and bugs and having to hang on.

If you wanna cruise at the speed limit, or even a good proportion more.... and have a ball in the twisties - go for a VFR.

 

When I was checking out bikes before I bought my VFR I tried a couple of cruisers. I'm getting older with a family etc and figured I should try being a bit more laid back. It just isn't me. I like to have the better handling and brakes and a higher fun coefficent that comes with the VFR. I guess my point is how do you like to ride? The VFR is a great all round bike but if you like the cruiser thing there's nothing wrong with that either.

 

My previous bike was an 86 Radian YX 600. Not really a cruise and not really a sport bike. Somewhere in between I guess for the year model. But it was not anywhere near as comfortable nor as fun as the VFR.

Hey reg, if ya put some knobby tires on it it might be more fun in the dirt. hehehe

 

Bad in the dirt

My old 87 vfr700 was shocking on a dirt road. the 16" front wheel made it really scarry

 

I had a 1996 Honda Magna before I bought my VFR. If I ever get a second bike, it would be a Magna again, but I will never give up my VFR. It is the best bike for everything. I just came back from a week long ride, never had any problems with my VFR, not even any soreness from riding 8 hours a day. The Magna never gave me that kind of comfort, but I still miss those four exhaust pipes. The Magna is the way to go for cruisers, but I'll stick with my VFR as my primary bike.

 

No matter what the cruiser guys want to say, the most comfortable riding position is not the Laz-Y-Boy experience cruisers/choppers provide. In fact, it's probabely the worst riding position as far as comfort and back health. All your weight is concentrated on your butt & you have the ridiculous reach to the bars that seems to be the norm in cruiserdom. There's a reason most cruiser riders only style & profile on the way to the local bar, you can't ride longer than that with out serious discomfort.

The best riding position would be your "standard" motorcycle, think the Honda Nighthawk 750. Nothing exciting but you get the idea. All your weight is evenly distributed between your butt, wrists, shoulders & abs. As you move to the more extreme end of the spectrum onto a ass roasting torture rack like a Ducati 999 all your weight is pretty much on your arms and wrists. Not good for long distance comfort. The VFR falls somewhere between the two. I can easily put in 6 hours on the bike with no ill effects & I'm fat & out of shape.

In the end, the VFR is just plain cooler than a cruiser so I say (I'm obviously biased of course) get a 5th gen VFR.

KC-10 FE out...
:biggrin:

 

Thanks everyone for the replies, keep 'em coming. I've been keeping an eye out for a VFR and found one that sounds interesting. Please give me your two cents on whether it's a good deal or not. It's a 2001. It has two brothers carbon fiber exhaust, matching seat cowl, new back tire, and in the ad it looks very clean. I emailed the seller asking about mileage, clear title, etc. and am waiting for a response. He's asking $4400. What do you think?

 

Update on the potential bike purchase. The bike has 17,000 miles, a clear title, and the seller is negotiable on price. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I don't want to miss this opportunity if it is a good deal.

 

That price sounds good to me. I sold a 99 with 36K on it for $4200.00 in August, so I'd say its definetly worth it if it's in good mechanical and physical shape.

 

As Einstien said.

Everything is relative

I love my VFR, but that said, I rode my Hot Rod FXD yesterday through Alabama winter... hell it was under 70 degrees. Lot's O'Fun.

I have often said that if Alien engineers landed and wanted to appear logical, they'd all ride VFRs.

Some folks think 70MPH is fast. If you ride within 5-10mph of speed limit buy a cruiser, if not, buy a VFR. If you'll note, a lot of us have several of each.

You can't have too many:
A. women
B. Dollars
C. Bikes

Not necessarily in that order. All are geat!:clap2:

 

My experience has been that if I have alot of A and C, I don't have alot of B. :tongue: