hello, I'm considering a VFR800 as my next but unsure of compatability

Well, hello people.

I used to ride some time ago and in the last year have started to ride again. When I got back into riding I bought a cruiser, Kawasaki Vulcan 900, for comfort. When I was in the military I ended up with some injuries that have prevented me from riding like I used to so now I've come really not like my VN900B. It's a great looking bike but painful to ride interstate with.

So I'm looking for a touring style bike that's smooth and doesn't have the V-Twin shake in the upper RPMs.... Parallel Twins concern me as well as my arm and leg don't like vibration, hence no BMW f800st in the consideration. That's the only other one I could compare in the class of a VFR800 it seems.

Right now I've kind of widdled my list down to a few bikes:
Yamaha FJR1300 - High on my list because it's got a lot of pluses but not all of them...
Yamaha FZ6R - cheap street fighter, but could use better fairings.
Honda VFR800, probably an 06 model (I know a guy with a black one for sale).
Suzuki GSX1250 - nice looking but could use a bigger tank, 5 gallon on a 1250???

I had looked at possibly an ST1300 but to be honest, it looks like a cow. The NT700 has a V-Twin that's mounted to the frame and thus in the upper upper RPM would more than likely create too much vibration for me, plus it's not a full fairing bike. ie, protection on the lower legs. I also considered the Kawasaki Concours14 but that one seems to be beat by the FJR1300 a little, I could be wrong though... I

Some of my issues in considering a new bike.

I have had my right arm/wrist completely shattered and put back together, so I don't have much in the way of cartilage there, I already have arthritis problems in there. So I need to stay away from motors that will vibrate like a son of a gun and also I need to keep pressure off of my wrist as well (hence the mostly touring/street fighter bikes I've been looking at). I also had my right leg pretty screwed up while active duty as well. I just recently had 3 surgeries on it at one time to give me some good functionality back. I had ligament repair on the outer ankle, bones fused in the arch, and achillies tendon repair. Basically I was on the table for 5 1/2 hours as I got cut up like a SOB. It still feels like a SOB as well... LOL. So yeah, that doesn't like vibration either...

Here is my dilemma... I've always loved the look of the interceptor! It's just a dead sexy looking bike and the full fairings are great and yada yada yada, I'm sure you guys/girls understand... The problem I have is the forward leaning position would make longer rides a royal pain in the wrist (you thought I was going to type butt, didn't you???). I doubt I could do more than 30 minutes on one, though I haven't actually been on a SS or other similar angle bike since the accident I know that my wrist doesn't like pressure. Granted I could probably lean on the tank mostly and just ride like that but that can get kind of tiring on the gut, ribs and so on.

Is there any bars available for the VFR800 bikes that could get me up to a more neutral riding level or would lowering the back of the bike a couple inches and leaving the front up in combination with some bars equal some kind of good result for a neutral riding position or near it. I'd also probably want to change the angle of the bars a little as well to be a little more flat angled for the wrist.

Once up to speed I could just use the wind to catch me a little and pull me some which I do that plenty with the 900 as it is seeing as I don't put the quick release windshield I have for it on much.

I know there is a lot to read here but it's mostly pertinent to the situation at hand for me, and I guess the pun is intended. I just wish they made a full touring version of the interceptor, such a sexy styling/design. Any input is appreciated.

 

BoneJj, first of all - Thank You for your service! I have a Honda VTX1300 that does everything well - it goes, stops, carries my wife on the back, is comfy and can do 850 miles weekends with no worries. It is a v twin, water cooled of course, and only vibrates while accelerating. Once up to speed, it's a nice quiet comfy ride. I have the Vista Cruise throttle locker to use to give my right hand a break, and I've ridden bikes with CrampBusters (sort of a paddle that attached to the throttle grip to rest your hand on, so you don't have to wrap your hand and twist all the time) and they seem comfortable as well. If you're looking for true cruise control, take a look at the Gold Wings or BMW tourers.
I, very much like you, have always loved the VFR styling and reliability. I pick up my 2000 vfr800 next week, and can't wait to start riding it! They do make risers (heli bars) for the handlebars as well as footpeg lowering kits for the VFR, my advice would be to ride it first, then figure out what will work for you. The Honda Blackbird (CBR110XX) is often described as a "bigger brother" to the VFR. That might be a consideration as well, if you can find a good used one. I looked at and rode Ducati ST3's, FJR1300's and Kaw Concourse and none of them have the style or downright sexiness on wheels of the VFR. Good luck in your search.

 

thanks for the info guys, as for the seat swap that you mention... yeah that's pretty much a given, you'd think they would have start putting better stock seats on bikes by now. I mean hell, your ass is a BIG part of the ride.... It's like cars, if they put blocks of wood seats in them all no one would bother to get a decent car... I'm surprised honda and the others never started with options for seats.

As for the heli bars and other bars, I just can't seem to find what's out there for the bike. The searching systems on a lot of these sites are kind of garbage. jpcycles really needs to work on their system, you end up with tons of junk that you don't want to look at. lol.

It's early and I haven't had my coffee yet, maybe that has to do with my annoyed factor right now... lol.

I'm trying to find a place that would let me take one out for a ride, the dealers get all pissy when you mention demoing or even just riding one down the block and I'm sure you all know how rare they are to come up for sale. The guy I know that has the one for sale is a little sketchy on the test ride thing unless I have cash in hand, I can understand that in a way... If I went down for some odd reason i'd have to buy it no matter what... lol.

EDIT: looking at the helibar website it seems that their bars don't offer much of a change, a change still but not that great of one.
http://www.helibars.com/product/vfr800-02-08

1 1/4 x 1 1/2, that just doesn't seem like much of a change to what I'm looking for. I'd be more looking for something towards the 3x3 mark, I know that's pretty extreme and I understand any strange comments I might get as a result but I kind of feel that's where I need to be to effect the change that would benefit me the most.

 

looking around on jpcycles more, is this even possible. This looks like it might be a bit on the outlandish side of things:
Convertibars Handlebars | ZA50896 | J&P Cycles

8 3/4 bars, how would that even work on the bike? just seems a bit crazy psycho but it's got my interest peaked as then I can put the bars where ever the hell I care to, lol.

 

no offense but a goldwing is a big fat pig.... and they weigh way too much to be worth riding to me.... that and the fact that if I were to get a goldwing I should just drive my subaru WRX instead. That's basically what they are, all the comforts of a car on 2 wheels and the weight of one as well... lol.

 

I take it that's a california event? I would love to make something like that but I live in on the other coast. If there was something in say, Fort Myers, Florida that would be great....

 

I was kind of thinking that but it seems that they can be adjusted to any angle, so they can actually be angled out of the cowling it seems. IDK what tank clearance would end up being in the end though.

 

I've been searching around for any photos of people that may have convertible bars with no luck. Anyone know who on here has them that could put up some photos?

 

Shoot man. To be perfectly honest, it sounds like you are looking for a new crossrunner or maybe a BMW 1100RT. You can get a retired police bike for reasonable money and they are GREAT bikes.

Jose

 

Is the crossrunner supposed to be the cb1000r? if so, I looked at that one and it looks like a nice setup. but where are the fenders? and what's with the 37mpg rating and a lousy 4.5 gallon tank? That's not even going to get me to the college and back... lol. It's about a 120 mile trip for me and I know at 75-80 that's just going to eat some gas. there just ins't any kind of wind protection on it and it doesn't seem like there are any options to add in parts to make it more of a reasonable trip bike. IDK, I just think it's a bit of a failure in a design. They make it look nice and design it more as a street fighter / sporty touring but then give it a tiny gas tank, that just makes no sense to me. It's got a more gas sucking engine on it yet a smaller tank than the interceptor. I just don't get that......

 

The Crossrunner is a VFR 800 engine in a more upright frame. See video. I don't know if they sell them in the US though. Definitely more suitable riding position for you though.

There's a review here:

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/b...Honda/Honda-VFR800X-Crossrunner-2011-current/

And a video:

[video=youtube;XlDub3GZR6Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlDub3GZR6Q&feature=related[/video]

 

If you want to sample what changes to the bars will make to your riding posture, check this site out. Motorcycle Ergonomics I don't think it will show you any clearance issues, so that's something you should take into consideration. As far as my ride, I put the Heli-bars on my '09 and it did help quite a bit for long range comfort. The one thing about the VFR is that it is an all around performer, not too sporty and not too touring, but rides like a champion.

Cheers!

 

now, see that would be pretty much the right bike.... Why don't they have that in the US??? that's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Has the fairing where they need to be, decent sized tank. It sounds like they took out the valve change on the upper RPMs, maybe just made it constant? It doesn't seem to mention seat height. As long as it's not more than 32 I should be okay. That would be my choice right there... think they will start selling in the US in the next few weeks, lol.

 

yeah, that site has been in my bookmarks for a while. I keep going to it every time I look at a different bike, so I can get a better idea of what's going on and all. thanks for posting that anyway as it may help someone else.