IF they do a 2020 US vfr, when would it be announced?

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by zxmikez, Mar 1, 2019.

  1. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    We'll see how much they really want to win a championship in WSBK. It could be, that they might just want to rub Ducati's nose in the dirt a little. That would be the only reason. They did it before with the RC51....
     
  2. mikem317

    mikem317 New Member

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    There are five year hold-overs sitting in dealership storage in the US. Big Red won't be importing a new VFR into the states.
     
  3. John carnahan

    John carnahan New Member

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    My buddy just bought a new leftover 2014 VFR800 in State College, PA. for $5495. He says the dealer has more. Why in the world would they make more if they can't sell them?
     
  4. OCLandspeeder

    OCLandspeeder New Member

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    They didn't know they couldn't sell them after they built them. Maybe Honda thought bringing us a 2002 VFR800 wearing a new jacket and a new set of sunglasses in 2014 will compel us to buy them? Without even considering where the market has gone! Sometimes I wonder if they think they're smarter than the average VFR consumer. But then again, Ducati is struggling to sell their Super sports, and so is the Suzuki GSXS1000f. The Ninja 1000 isn't such a hot seller either but I don't believe anyone has 4-5 year old Ninja 1000's waiting in some showroom with heavy discounts. It's still an Enduro & Adventure bike market out there.
     
  5. Zapp

    Zapp New Member

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    I was just at a Ducati dealer today and sat on the Super Sport, very nice, comfortable, lightweight and decent power but it is lacking serious OEM luggage and according to the salesman the tank range isn’t all that great for touring, around 150 miles with gentle riding. Same with the Suzuki, I really like that bike but would never consider it without some decent integrated luggage. At least the Ninja is a serious sport touring option for people who don’t like 650lb+ bikes.
     
  6. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    I find it hard to believe that more people don't know just how good of a moto the VFR really is. Don't know why it fell out of favor, they really are great machines from a lot of standpoints. I do have a view that the sport touring "only" direction was definitely the wrong way to go.
     
  7. OCLandspeeder

    OCLandspeeder New Member

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    The VFR800 is a dedicated middle weight sport-tourer.

    The Ninja 1000 is a naked sport bike re-purposed as a ST. Kawasaki did a great job of integrating the hard bags.

    The Ducati SS is similar to the Ninja 1000 but more focused as a sport bike. Same with the Suzuki GSXS1000f.

    They're all great bikes. But the general buying public are too busy with ADV/off road bikes. Pick your poison.
     
  8. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Unfortunately, the general buying public, isn't buying motorcycles. I'm sorry to say it, but none of those three bikes have the character of the VFR, they may have better numbers, but they aren't VFR's and the numbers don't always add up to the best package. It will be interesting to see if any of them have a 30+ year run.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2019
  9. Doug7200

    Doug7200 New Member

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    A friend of over 30 years retired recently from HRA - Honda Research America, and was in charge of long range planning and product development.

    In our many conversations
    over the years, it became clear that the future of motorcycles is not bright...

    For Honda America, they have become a car company that has a little division that sells motorcycles. In Torrance, the motorcycle division is down to well under 75 people! Since Mr. Honda is long gone, and in typical Japanese tradition, no family heirs work for the company, so corporate memory is fading. What we think of as motorcycles will fade away also. Honda, and a few other manufacturers will make and sell scooters and small bikes in markets around the world. But many markets will die.

    Why? Risk adverse population is number 1, costs, regulations, share of corporation sales, and soon...self driving cars - motorcycles and self driving cars are not compatible - https://www.google.com/search?clien...cles+and+self+driving+cars+are+not+compatible

    Motorcycle sales have fallen for each year since 2008, and are down again in 2018 by over 4%.

    I love motorcycles, have been riding and racing them since 1966, But the population has changed. I'm part of group that has put on off road MC races since 1949. My dad was part of the same group. We put on 4 races a year our selves as part AMA D37. I was also a founding member and past chairman (6 years!) of the Big 6 Grand Prix Series - Now the AMA Championship GP Series.

    I wonder how many people realize the largest classes at our PG races are the upper age classes - 40+, 50+ and 60+! Our November 2018 GP had over 1400 entries, and those 3 age classes in all skill levels and bike sizes - 24, out of 83 total classes, represent over 45% of total entries!

    The smallest classes are the youth and young riders. Opposite of what it was 10 years ago and earlier! Not good for the future when a sport has no supply of young people entering it!

    As much as it hurts to to say it out load, I think the best days of motorcycles are behind us.

    YMMV...
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2019
  10. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    I agree that motorcycling in general is down especially here in the US. Hell, kids are not even getting drivers licensees to a large degree. Want to get motorcycles popular again? Put the Avengers or some DC comic characters on them in a movie.
     
  11. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    I guess the Matrix, Borne and Mission Impossible movies did nothing?! I suppose that fictional characters that are not DC/Marvel comic book super heroes don't get any attention. :Laugh:

    It is a different time for sure, I got my motorcycle license when I turned 16, didn't get my car license until I turned 18. I rode for two years with very little interest in driving a car but knew I should learn. I opted to learn on a standard, a sand rail in the desert was a great way to do so! The first car I purchased was a 86 Mustang GT. I did get a hand me down, Toyota Corolla automatic but I considered that a small stepping stone and every car I've owned/own is a standard.

    All I can say is that I'll ride for as long as I can and cherish the times I spent riding, with my dad, my friends and with like minded riders!
     
  12. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    MotoGP runs a virtual MotoGP eSport Championship alongside the real deal, 'nough said.
     
  13. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I think I have said this before, when I go to my Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki dealer and see the big showroom full of bikes, there isn't one in there I would rather have. Yet dealers are giving them away at ridiculous prices. I have had my '83 for 36 years and still love the old girl. My VFR800 gets all kinds of positive comments and looks when it's parked.
     
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  14. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    I'm actually thinking I might start looking around for a 5g when I finish my RVF build. I think it would be a good platform and now is a good time to buy. Don't think there is anything else worth looking at currently, and I have all the people in place to make a tidy example happen.
     
  15. zxmikez

    zxmikez New Member

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    Im bumping this thread again, because, well someone at Honda Corporate might just be reading it. Or maybe just to make myself feel better.

    Build it, damn it....
     
  16. reg71

    reg71 Poser Staff Member

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    Haha. Which time?
     
  17. bk94si

    bk94si Member

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    Captain America and Black Widow have already been on motorcycles.
     
  18. 2Old2Rock&Roll

    2Old2Rock&Roll New Member

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    I started to click "like" on this post but realized that I don't like it. The post is great, but having to face the truth of the last sentence is anything but great! When I was a kid, I counted the days until I could get a restricted license to operate a scooter or motorcycle that had under 5 HP. It meant a totally new level of freedom. Cushman(my first scooter) owned the market until Honda started selling the CA110 50cc bikes for 65% of the price of the Cushman. With Cushman out of the market, Yamaha and other Japanese companies started selling a lot of beginner bikes that were 125cc or smaller. Fast forward a few years and you will see that actual beginner bikes don't exist. If you are looking for something for a beginning rider, your local Honda dealer will try to sell you a something like a CBR300r that has a top speed of nearly 100 mph. I'm sorry, but as a parent, I have a tough time putting my child on anything that fast for a first bike. (Yes, I know, some of the younger riders had a CBR600rr for a first bike.) My kids started on a Z-50, XR-80, Suzuki 125, Yamaha 125 and other age/skill appropriate bikes. The bottom line is the motorcycle manufacturers of the world have been short-sighted by failing to cultivate the market for the next generation of riders for several decades. They are now paying the price for that failure, as stated by Doug7200, "no supply of young people entering it!"
     
  19. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    In an ironic kind of way, motorcycles were looked at as a vehicle for hoodlums..slowly but surely society warmed up to the idea, guys like Evil Knievel became household names by performing "death defying" leaps over 14 Greyhound buses, at the mind altering distance of 133'. But now, young men routinely perform double backflips at twice that distance. Guys on Big Wheels are making those jumps seem humorous and old. There is no longer a sense of rebellion, no air of living on the edge...hell, guys are now freaking skydiving from SPACE! How does motorcycling compete with that? In simpler times, it would have been extreme just to ride a motorcycle...unfortunately, it's now just some guy commuting to work.

    Maybe it will come full circle and the cycle will repeat...electric bikes will be mundane and commonplace, but then along will come two or three guys riding ICE machines, they will appear to be crazy rebels, and kids will catch on and want to be part of that group of rebels. You never know, but history has a strange way of repeating itself, for better, or worse.
     
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  20. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I think it is more to do with economics & tariffs. If tariffs go up any more, the higher Hondas will cost us (we the people) alot more. The lesser models are made in Tiawan.
     
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