Joined The Ranks - Upgraded To A 7Th Gen!

On Friday, I sold my 6th gen. We just didn't get along unfortunately. There was a lot to like about that bike, but in the department that meant the most there was just nothing there. Yesterday, I brought home my new girl!



Yeah, I know you guys know what they look like. You know what they sound, feel, etc... so I won't go on about what you already know. All I can say is that everything I have heard about the fit & finish of this bike is completely true. Now I will readily admit that we are still in the honeymoon phase and want to say that this is the greatest bike that has ever ridden the earth. I'll have to wait a few thousand miles before I pass that kind of judgement. But I do have one honest question...

All the negative reviews and opinions that I have read on the net and in magazine; did they ride the same bike I just bought? Granted, I figuratively stole this bike from the dealership... but it is an incredible bike!

 

Honda did a much better job with the engineering than they did with the marketing. If the original MSRP was say $12,999 insted of $15,999 I'll bet the initial reviews would have been more positve.

I expect the VFR12 have a following for a long time.

 

That's okay. I love that story. Tell it to me again!

 

Mine is my 37th bike, and after 2000 miles, I have a very strong suspicion that this IS the best bike I ever owned.
Congratulations!

 

Agreed ... I love the fit, finish, yet mostly the pure power and enjoyment of the 7th gen VFR.When you own it, like everything else, you discover flaws.
This forum may emphasize flaws more than is deserved to be heard by non-owners.

Yet i'm going to re-flash the ECU from Don Guhl to get all those advantages among other improvements : -)
In the same way I bought an way-too-expensive Weber grill and re-landscaped my whole yard - it was probably good enough.

This bike is great, yet I can help myself.
Thank goodness for this forum to help me decide.

 

For those expecting a track bike instead of a road GT, shaft drive and a bit more weight weren't desired. The manual shift version is not at all unreasonable, put in the context of the weight of the 6th gen with chain drive; the DCT is getting a bit heavy at nearly 600 lb. The DCT was an interesting technology experiment, and if they could have done it with less weight and lower cost, might have succeeded. Maybe if this had been styled and marketed more like a Blackbird, it would have succeeded with the supersport crowd. But then the insurance would have been hugely higher- and with hardly any tweaking, you can get that level of performance (well, OK, nothing inside the engine cases, but with a PCV and de-cat and Don Guhl's ECU re-flash, about 179 is on tap- but who needs that on the street?

For me, its the rock solid frame and lack of twitchiness, and the fairly monster torque curve, as well as very usable power- especially once you de-restrict 1st and 2nd.

As I ride on the road, not the track, and don't much care for chains, I think it's an amazing piece of engineering and a great sport/GT ride. These are reasonably popular in Europe, but it's the closest Honda has ever come to building a BMW, you know...

 

Here is the story as I told it on another forum:

Well the day finally arrived! My wife, father-in-law & I drive 2.5 hours to pick up my bike on Tuesday. It was a beautiful sunny day with a high of about 65. Warm in the sun, but very cool in the shade. I was so excited about picking up the bike that I didn't document the food porn nor scenery, so please forgive me. This was my first time buying a bike from a dealership, so I was expecting it to be similar to a car. Thankfully it was very simple, whether by nature or by the efficiency of the staff I do not know. There were a few documents to sign, then money exchanged hands. The salesmen gave me a tshirt, kickstand puck, and magnetic bumper sticker as some swag. All I could think was "Give me the fricken keys!"

I hurriedly changed into my gear then we casually walked outside as they brought my bike up. Oh man... it was so gorgeous! I am so ready to hit the road! Unfortunately, it took so long to get up there I am now hitting the road at the same time that schools are letting out. I have to hurry back to Dayton because my youngest has a soccer game that I don't want to miss and I am about 40 miles from the highway. Normally I would be all about the curvy roads, but I am on a timetable. The lines of traffic are ridiculously long on the 2-lane roads we are on and we are of course doing nothing more than the speed limit. But this gives me ample time to get acclimated to the big girl so I can't really complain. Once again, I never make it out of third gear.

I finally get to the highway and start onto the ramp. "Got to get up to speed to merge with oncoming traffic..." is my internal monologue. So while in second gear straightening out from the curve, I start to turn the throttle. Did I say "get up to speed"? Because evidently I meant "pass everyone within visual range"! I thought I had only gave it enough to merge, but I was suddenly over 100mph and no one was around me.

This is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The power seems limitless! It is definitely intoxicating. I found that I had trouble keeping the bike under 90. At 85 the bike is humming along at 5000rpm! I'm telling you, it boggles the mind! Everything I have read about this bike at speed is true. It is completely planted. Cruising around town at 45, blasting down the highway at 85... it feels the same. Anytime I needed to pass, it was effortless. I just don't know how to describe it. I mean, words just fail me trying to describe this bike. More time with it will help, but I'll just have to muddle through this first review of the bike. I can tell you this, there were many moments of uncontainable giggling and unrepentant mirth. There were also a few niggles.

By the time I made it to Columbus, it was full on rush hour. Honda made the decision on the VFR1200 to switch the placement of the horn and the turn signals. I found myself furiously canceling my turnsignals at assholes on the road and politely honking to change lanes. But an hour into riding it, I actually understand it. As your thumb comes up, the first thing you feel is the turn signal which is what you will use more often than the horn. Once adjusted, you kinda wonder why it wasn't always this way.

I said before that I though the foot pegs were kind of high. But as I rode on, I started to get comfortable with the position. So I thought I was just focusing on the difference to what I was used to instead the actual feel. However, after around 80 miles my knees told me that my original assessment was correct. They are a little too high. Also around this time, the seat I had previously thought was awesome let me know that it is in fact not cushioned properly for me. The shape seems fine, but the foam doesn't seem to mold itself well to my big ass.

Wind control on this bike is stellar. Honda made a big deal in their marketing how the dual layer fairings slice through the air and move heat away from the rider. They succeeded wonderfully. On dull flat highways, I passed semi's with virtually no buffetting. My head was up above the windshield true, but it was clean air and again, no buffeting. It was kind of like going from the NH750 to the VFR800, or from a naked to a faired bike in general. I mean it really is impressive. I kept bracing for the gusts of wind from traffic, but they never came.

I also said before, the bike is quiet. And it's not just the engine. You don't realize how much noise a chain makes until you don't hear it anymore.

I had read about driveshafts causing "lash", but I felt nothing but smooth power transference. I just can anything bad about it. And it just looks so damn nice!

About this time, I look down and see that I am blinking on gas. I had read about the MPG being abysmal, but I only had 145 miles on the trip. Man, this could be an expensive ride! However, when I filled up it was only about 3.8 gallons. The tank is 4.9, so I had another 30 miles at least. I guess I can live with that. Plus I am sure they filled her up with regular instead of premium.

And just so you know, I am not one of those people that think any car will run better on premium. It does not burn cleaner or any of that marketing crap they put out there. The only difference is the octane rating, which is not even real octane. However, since this is a high compression engine, it does require higher octane so that the fuel does not ignite until later. My 5th gen happily took regular with no pinging. 6th gen needed mid grade. This one is just going to be a premium bike. I'll live.

I make it to the game, but just as it finished. My daughter forgave me though since I brought the bike to her game. (Love that kid!) I had a small crowd of guys come over. Some thought it was a BMW, others had no idea. Only one guy knew what it was, but he and I talk all the time anyway. I can't go visit with any friends because the girls have homework, and that means I have homework.

 

Much better! Thanks for the post. A pleasure to read. I'm excited and happy for you.

 

Nice post! I can relate to it a lot, as I picked my new 2013 up this summer from a dealer 100 miles away... had the blinking gas light when I got near home, too.

A couple of suggestions- I found the peg height an issue also, but a set from Knight Designs helped a lot- almost 1-1/2" worth- keep in mind the "feelers" on the stock pegs are quite long, much longer than any other Honda I've had, so lowering them a bit isn't unreasonable. You may want to adjust the brake a bit, but I've had no issues with the stock shifter position.

If the stock screen works well for you, that's good- I preferred a little more coverage- tried on after market screen, then back to the OEM screen with the add on deflector, but settled on the tall National Cycle screen and am happiest with that, particularly when cruising down the highway over 70 mph.



Windblast shear hits me at about nose level, it's ok having the helmet shield cracked open at speed without any air forced up into your eyes. (I'm 6'2", to calibrate how that works out)

If you like the wind shear point to be at or below shoulder level for some support of your weight on the handlebars, then a lower screen may be your preference. YMMV and all that...

 

Yeah jonmarsh - I have already talked to KnightDesigns about the footpegs. I would have prefered to go with BLS lower blocks, but no one has ever taken their 7th gen to him. And since I live in Ohio and he lives in California, I guess I wouldn't be the guy to do it!

The wind feels perfect right now for me. However, I do love the looks of a slight double bubble. So I will be looking into that as well. I got luck and scored a Two Bros Black Series exhaust can for $150 that I plan to mount this weekend.

 

marriedman ... Thanks for that post ...

"Well the day finally arrived! ..."

One of the best I have read since joining this forum.

You were channeling my VFR experience - only much better than I could have sounded out.

Thanks again

 

Very nice post MM and an enjoyable read. Glad to hear that you love the new bike and I'm sure that as time wears on you will only more things to love about the bike. You even managed to get one that is almost the same color as your old one.

PS. Don't forget to change your profile to update the "In Your Garage" portion. LOL

Ohhhh, and I almost forgot, since you have a new VFR1200 and I do not, YOU SUCK.
Just kiddin. Very happy that you have the bike of your dreams. (So far at least)