The bike the new VFR1200 should have been?

Hi Bryan88, I am not sure if you are saying this based on what others have said, or if it's your own opinion. Was your message meant to bring forward a sort of consensus among motorcyclists about the VFR 1200? I do understand that some riders make these judgements without riding a bike, but there are many that ride the bike first to capture the essence of the bike. I feel that this is an extremely important factor in making an informed decision about a bike. For me, an average rider who gets out for an hour or two on the weekend in the summer, I cannot size up what is right for me by looking at a spec sheet or talking to someone else. For me, my hopes/expectations were met with the test drive. You can call it a soft-core sportbike if you wish, you can call it a sport tourer if you wish, or you can call it a let-down if you wish. But I don't follow the crowd, and I never have. There are other people that don't follow the crowd either, and a lot of us congregate here in this forum, because we all appreciate the experience that the 1200 gives us, and, well, if that's the best kept secret in motorcycling, so be it. I personally love what the motorcycle is doing for me, and how it gives me opportunities to push its limits and moreso, push mine. I pride myself in standing up and being unique. When I go to a bike show, I always look for the VFR owners in a sea of CBR's, Ninja's, R1's, and GSX's. Always seems to work out well!

 

There are dudes here that don't need to ride a bike to know what it's like. Some don't even have to sit on one and go vroom-vroom to know all about it. Same dudes talk a lot of shit about racebikes and ain't never gonna ride one of those either.

We may be infested with closet harleydoods and it may be too late. God help us.

 

I call the 1200 "The Big Mammal" because of the engine. I would like to ride one . . .

 

hi Jayzonk. Like I said, I in no way was 1200 bashing and yes I havn't ridden one or even sat on one and gone vroom vroom (probably never will, don't have the 180K they want for them here) . Was just pointing out that IMO it seemed that even the motorcycle press was expecting something a bit more hardcore perhaps. I mean they even went to shaft drive, which I'm not knocking either. I think the 750/800's would have been even more maintainance-friendly with shaft drive, sort of like the Yamaha XJ900. As you said (and especially considering the discounts they seem to be offering you guys) the 1200 may turn out to be the best kept secret ever.

 

It would be interesting if they used that engine as a platform for more bikes. I have seen a few threads suggesting it - making a hardcore bike, making a tourer, and the in-betweener.

 

I'm thinking this is what we were looking for in the new VFR RIGHT ?[video]http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?&p=world%27s+fastest+couch&vid=1293550814207&dt=1317214234&l=126&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D1293550814207%26id%3D77ea2e779d45da16fe7a87d3997f2c91%26bid%3DhYFwGa%252bgrK0oAw%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fvideo.foxnews.com%252fv%252f1186452441001%252fworlds-fastest-couch-sets-speed-record%252f&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.foxnews.com%2Fv%2F1186452441001%2Fworlds-fastest-couch-sets-speed-record%2F&tit=World%26%2339%3Bs+Fastest+Couch+Sets+Speed+Record&sigr=12gsjhnlo&newfp=1[/video]

Oh wait this isn't a gold wing thread.

I liked the bike and see that it is a replacement to the VFR800. Should be Joining the 7th Gen this weekend. That is what makes everybody upset its Honda Civic price point. The math should be Motorcycles less than cars not less than or = to.

 

The dudes from OZ rumor has it will have a booth at Sturgis in 2012.

 

Ignoreance...

Sounds like my moaning and whinning got you a pretty good deal on your VFR1200...lol. Glad I could help!

I'd like to point out to you though that I also got a deal on my NEW, zero mileage, full warranty 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000. They had it on sale for $8,299.00 at my local dealer and had the black or red/black to choose from. OTD for me was $10,240.00, but that's because I included the Givi bags and heated grips. Betting your VFR didn't come with either (add about 2 grand for that on the VFR). Price-wise I got the better deal. My OTD price is less than the list of the Kaw alone ($10,999.00), let alone tax, tag, and title charges.

That was a turn-off for me as far as the VFR1200 was concerned... steep price. IMO, for that price it should have had hard bags and heated grips as standard. Kawasaki had no problems blowing the VFR1200 away in price and standard equipment with the Concours 14. But chasis-wise I'd give the nod to the VFR for better flickability with a better, higher center of gravity. but that's also where I give the handling nod of my Ninja 1000 over the VFR1200. The Kaw 14 is wide, low, and heavy. So was the VFR800 but that didn't stop me from loving that bike. The VFR1200 is to the Kaw 14 what the Ninja 1000 is to the VFR1200. Better, lighter, faster.

There is a dealership about 35 miles from me. They sell Honda and others. I go there about every 3 months or so when I am looking at gear. They have the best supply of bikes and gear in my area. I see the same two VFR1200's sitting in the same spots since I noticed them over a year ago, so apparently they are not yet willing to give anyone a deal like Ignoreance got or they would be gone by now. The Honda dealership near me has the same VFR1200 it started with also. The Honda 250 (Interceptor?) has sold 4 times so far there.

Like I said, the VFR1200 I am sure is a solid bike and many will enjoy them. Just not me. I'd have rather bought another VFR800 than 'upgrade' to a 1200.

Soomeone mentioned oil changes... On the Ninja 1000 you don't have to take any body panels off at all to change the oil or filter. But I do miss my center stand from the VFR.

So much empty space between the rear tire and the seat on the Ninja 1000 I am amazed that they didn't put an under tail exhaust. Really quite perplexes me. Because of that, the Givi mounts on the Ninja 1000 stick out about 3 inches too far IMO on either side. Not as flush as Honda VFR bags, either 800 or 1200, but the bags themselves are excellent. Better than the ones that came with my VFR800.

 

Bowls, baskets, boxes , purses and sacks at Sturgis.

 

Wabbit

There were a couple of things that kept me on the VFR one was wife she was bitching money but then she really liked the size of the saddle on it as opposed to the Ninja.

I stated the ABS was one of my heavy lean factor and would have brought the price on the ninja up another 700-1000 dollars. That was something I was willing to pay for. I'm an all weather rider and if the bike was not my daily commuter as well it would not be as much of an issue.

The shaft drive was the last heavy factor. I just want on a daily rider to jump on and not worry about pulling it on the center stand and checking the Chain. So for me this feature was high on the list.

After having the bike and already putting 400 miles on it I'm still forming impressions. But right now my number one first impression is WTF did they put in the clutch basket/engine case when the bike is in neutral and the clutch is out it feels like there is a rock tumbler in the engine and it comes up through the Handle bars. Pull the clutch in and its gone.

As stated in the post with the pick of the bike the first and second gear seem to be really snatchy could be the electronic thottle could be me learning but I'm thinking it has to do with that torque limited shit Honda pulled with there map. As stated the wife almost got thrown off the back. Definely not linear torque in the first and second gear like the previous vfr I think they should fix this. As I will not power/Bazzer the bike tell the 60 unlimited mileage warranty is up.

From the riding that I have done so far I fell that the bike is just as much sport if not more sport than the 800. I kind of feel the bikes motivation to ride me hard though I have kept it under 5k rpm so far. Only another 200 miles and will feel the full bike. The forks and suspension picked up where the old VFR should have had it on Mid 2006 run updates when they did the engine retune. The Upside down forks and a preload knob make for easy adjustment and an unfortunate product of this is Riding up the 405 freeway the expansion joints could be felt far more prevlent.

Looks opinion is HONDA LISTEN LOUD GET RID OF THIS FUCKING HEAD LIGHT AND GO BACK TO DUAL HEAD LAMPS LIKE MOST OF THE PREVIOUS VFR's.

 

What are the chances of getting someone to do some laps on the RC45 and the VFR and put this thing to the test??

 

Anyone else subscribe to BIKE UK magazine? I've been following their "Bike for Britain" series over the last few issues and they really poop on the Ninja. People were so excited when this bike came out, but it really seems to disappoint. Great engine in a garbage chassis.

Part 1 "B-Roads -"The infuriation is with a few things Kawasaki got wrong and could easily get right (like an ineffective fairing, narrow mirrors, too-wide panniers, and an almost precisely wrong, unadjustable bar position)" -"Unruly engine and boinging shock can catch you out and make the bike feel less nimble than it is" -"The Z's forks and shock feel the absolute minimum acceptable quality" -"In a staggering piece of after-event afterthinking, the pannier racks are mounted with so much clearance you could comfortably fit another pair between them and the bike" -"not especially accurate, a bit blunt" -"It's no fun riding this thing down these roads" -"the Z is too heavy, too poorly suspended and too damn rapid for its chassis"

Part 2 Track -"big, heavy and relatively bouncy" -"the motor is a huge novelty, but the chassis feels relatively ponderous, wobbly, heavy, crude" -"lack of ground clearance pushes it wide and it wallows mid corner"

Part 3 City -"filtering is a no-no with those panniers" -"the bike refuses to change direction" -"ponderous... Difficult on initial turn-in and then offers little confidence" -"feels cheap and worn" -"you could heat a village with the hot air leaving the fairing and fry a steak on the frame spars"

Part 4 A-roads -"if all bikes behaved like this I would think about giving up" -"Steering flops into corners, chassis bucks and complains, it runs wide and you have to wrench the bars" -"well, I've ridden worse, I think"

I wonder if they'll reconsider their 4 star rating?

 

The Brit mags are less driven by corporate ad dollars than our homegrown fodder.

 

American moto-press AKA press release paraphrasers

 

To my way of thinking one of the silliest things about the Ninja is that you can either fit panniers or top box but not both

 

not quite. The Kaw sounded great until i read the weight: 503 pounds. The porker isn't even fully faired. Styling doesn't do anything for it either.

I don't fancy a liter bike, why can't any manufacturer offer a handsome, versatile V4 middleweight?!?!?

 

this is closer to what the 7th generation VFR should have been:

MV Agusta releases more details on F3 middleweight - Sport Rider Magazine