Tried to like it.

I took the DCT VFR1200 version out for a spin, one word, Weird!! I so want to like this VFR it's just This VFR is so over the top. kinda cool too, but still weird, like someone said it's like a very high end scooter. very very smooth tons of get up and go handles like sh*&^, still hard to explain the auto thing, one button shifting?? or not, one needs to try it to get what I'm feeling. I'm not sure who'd be interested in this model less some rich techno junkie needing the latest and greatest. I know it would take a while for it to grow on me but at $17.9K whew!!! not going to happen anytime in this decade. I really thought this version might get me to change my mind LOL it sure did, the other way. All is good, nothing wrong with the bike, I'm not bashing it, in fact it is built quite nicely hard to find fault other than again it's so refined almost beyond what a motorcycle should be. it's just not the cup of tea I was hoping for.

 

So basically, you still can't just get over it and move on? Get a therapist, man.

 

I have not thrown a leg over one yet and doubt I will but have seen it in person and it is a bit more fugly than I was thinking it was. I am over it but am still looking for a qualified therapist.

 

Have rode gen 3, 5 & 6. Favor 5. Did not much care for VTEC. Personal opinion. I sat on 1200 this year. Yet to ride it. My initial impression was..... CRAP.

 

I looked at the VFR1200 at the same time I looked at the new 07 I ended up buying. I liked the looks of the O7 over the VFR1200...a lot, so much so that I didn't even consider the VFR1200.

 

Personal taste is a funny thing. I like the ST1100/1300 on paper, every owner I've talked to loves them, but every time I sit on one I can't stand it. I have tried to convince myself that I should like them, as they are better suited to the type of riding I seem to do now, but I just don't. Who knows about these things. Other than professional therapists, that is. :biggrin:

 

Seems the more tech they add to bikes, the less fun they are to ride. More expensive, less fun.....not getting it.

 

To each their own, I guess... some guys on 1198S' have a blast at the racetrack laying down dark stripes while exiting corners with DTC on...
It would probably end with an high-side without DTC.

For me, coming exclusively from in-line four sportsbikes for more than a decade, I was looking and was ready for something different in terms of power delivery/character and something still fun to ride at legal speeds, on the highway, while commuting, etc. I had tried the previous generation of VFR but it never did anything to me. I dreamed about a R1200GS for years but was totally disappointed when I had the chance to ride one (the latest version). I really liked the Triumph Tiger 1050 but the thought of being stranded hours from home without a Triumph dealership within a 500km radius was a no-go for me. The 1198 is too radical/not practical enough for 90% of my riding needs and I would be affraid to buy the Multistrada in its first year (and affraid of the long-term maintenance cost of it), not to mention that there are very few Ducati dealerships.

When the opportunity to ride the VFR1200FA occured, I was less than thrilled with the idea... but came back totally impressed and in love with the bike.

Makes you realize how important it is to try before you buy... Too many people buy motorcycles without riding them first and they spend the following years trying to justify/defend their choice.

I say: Try it and buy it if you like it. Does not matter what others say if you like it... they won't ride your bike, you will.

 

I had the SAME reaction - 'cept I mine's an '08. :smile: The $ difference didn't help the 1200's cause either.

 

I'm still on the fence. I do like it. Now that I've felt the horsepower that some bikes offer, I can see why the 1200 is appealing. If money were no object....:crazy:

 

this mention of bad handling scares me a bit. OP, what was it that turned you off? sluggish and heavy or something else? I love my VFR750, but i find myself wanting more power often and that 1200 was looking pretty sweet. Not if there is alot sacrificed though.

 

I would love to see Honda take a couple steps back and not make everything so "over engineered".

 

Hi Zion,
I would disregard the comment about bad handling. When I drove that bike, there was not one ounce of bad handling. It was really nimble, and I was able to avoid a pothole with a last-second slant to the left. The last thing anyone wants to see is to have this bike slammed for a comment that does not seem to have any teeth!! If someone found the handling to be off, it may have been road conditions, that particular bike's setup, or ahem, the driver!! Handles as good as my '08 Viffer for sure!