I think that was the trade off for comfort on both the 800 VFR and 1200 VFR. What it also got you was stability at high speeds.Lighter sport bikes are great on the track or billiard table smooth roads but when you hit a pot hole or bump on an Ontario backroad at warp speed it ain’t fun. The VFR was designed for real world sport riding. Did I mention how much I love and miss my VFR?
|
|
|
Honda VFR1200 or ST1300
- Thread starter Sam Z
- Start date
Well since the 800 is more than 100lbs lighter than the 1200 it must be really uncomfortable and unstable…….
Norcorider
Well-known member
I have a gen 6 vfr800. If it's luggage capacity you need, you can easily add Shad hard cases on vfr800. I have Shad 23s. I reckon you don't need vfr1200 , I have ridden all the way to Gaspe on this bike, it's all the sport touring you need.
Also, I met a guy who rides vfr1200 on a group ride, he mentioned it was not good on fuel.
But I love the look of that bike nevertheless, not everyone's cup of tea.
Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
Honda made a lot of bikes that made you scratch your head. I'll take 120 kph in first over some of their super low hp, low redline turds that were miserable to ride. Just when you are on the verge of accelerating you bang the limiter and need to change up. NC and CTX redlined at just over 6000 rpm. For me, on a bike under 1000 cc, redline should be five digits or at least damn close. ~50 hp out of 700+ cc sucks for a toy imo.Rode a VFR1200 at Rock the Red when they first came out ...was just trying to sort what the purpose of a bike that would do 120 kph in first.
Never did get the VFR800 I'd wanted for a long time.
I liked my 2nd gen FZ1 but it’s not a great tourer. Fuel tank is way too small is the biggest issue, you’re looking at 250km max from full to dead empty. Also while the ergos are not terrible, they are pretty tight, especially in the knees.
OP, you didn’t mention it but figured I would throw it out there, have you considered an ADV style bike? The ergos are infinitely more comfortable for touring compared to a sport touring bike. They generally have big fuel tanks. The square aluminum ADV style panniers fit way more stuff, at the same capacity, than the curvy sport touring panniers. Can also strap stuff to the pannier lids for more storage. Most importantly, I find them more fun to ride on the street compared to a sport touring bike.
I understand where you're coming from. I love my 1090ADV, but I find on the most boring stretches of road (like ALL of the 401) I find myself fixating on things that don't bug me elsewhere. I have always liked the FJR in particular but also the ST1300 and the BMW and wonder that since they are built for chewing up miles on such roads if the experience would be different.
You can still find the odd one for sale.
Most of them have very high mileage though.
I saw one at the bike show about 4-5 years ago that had very low mileage and was selling for a very reasonable price. Sorry my memory sucks for the details.
@xxrider loved his
If you're never going off-road with one of those, make sure you look at getting one of the faux-ADV bikes with the lighter 17" cast wheels. Like the Multistrada Pikes Peak, KTM SMT or the S1000XR.
No point having a 19" or 21" front if you're sticking to tarmac. Especially if it comes shod with knobbies.
That’s exactly what I did and would also recommend. I shopped every sport-tourer including the VFR1200, 1000SX, FJR etc and decided on a sporty faux-ADV Multistrada 1200S (although with the straight bars it handled packed trails just fine). Tons of storage, comfy 800km days no problem, great fuel range, keep up with anything in the twisties.
Nice bike! I've always loved the look of the Multis.
Yup that 700/750 cc motor ported from their auto division were horrid...worst demo ride kid and I ever had.
Motors can still stay within the learner limits of 50Hp and still feel decent.
The CB500 series....especially the X had a real good run for Honda where the 700s were duds.
Honda was chasing fuel economy for a commuter bike and the hard limiter on the 700 was just awful.
No thrill in the throttle tho on the 500s ....I guess that was the program. 70 mpg and a reasonable red line on motor willing to rev.
My problem with the VFR1200 was not just the stupid power - it was the idea of a tubby sport tourer with too much weight
This was my dream bike ...
S1000XR.
Light weight for a liter bike, upright seating and 160 hp on tap Excelllent sleeper at the lights.
Last edited:
??? Some look lovely (like hw's), some were like a teenager in their awkward years.
??? Some look lovely (like hw's), some were like a teenager in their awkward years.
Can't see the pic, but if it's one of the earlier models with the split front fairing and the windshield that moved with the handlebars, yeah, those look weird.
??? Some look lovely (like hw's), some were like a teenager in their awkward years.
Yep, that's the one.
Apologies to @Wingboy...
Can confirm it’s an amazing bike (and after the ECM is opened up with power limiters taken out, faster quick shifts, and a proper tune to get the low-mid power back it’s much much better).Yup that 700/750 cc motor ported from their auto division were horrid...worst demo ride kid and I ever had.
Motors can still stay within the learner limits of 50Hp and still feel decent.
The CB500 series....especially the X had a real good run for Honda where the 700s were duds.
Honda was chasing fuel economy for a commuter bike and the hard limiter on the 700 was just awful.
No thrill in the throttle tho on the 500s ....I guess that was the program. 70 mpg and a reasonable red line on motor willing to rev.
My problem with the VFR1200 was not just the stupid power - it was the idea of a tubby sport tourer with too much weight
This was my dream bike ...
S1000XR.
Light weight for a liter bike, upright seating and 160 hp on tap Excelllent sleeper at the lights.
It’s in the garage if you want to try it out.
That's a generous offer. I think MD has left us and may never be coming back to canuckistan.
Priller
Well-known member
The VFR1200 often offers amazing used value, as they were poorly reviewed (I recall Bondo being particularly vitriolic in either CMG or the Star, can't remember who he was writing for at the time) and the perception was they weren't toury enough for touring riders and weren't sporty enough for sporty riders.
I came close to pulling the trigger on one particularly well priced example, but the tank range was a dealbreaker for me on a touring bike, especially on the 2010-2011 models that are most common. It's not the worst ever, but it's not great, and if I'm going to give up the handling that the bigger bike sacrifices, I want at least 300 km between stops to play with...
I came close to pulling the trigger on one particularly well priced example, but the tank range was a dealbreaker for me on a touring bike, especially on the 2010-2011 models that are most common. It's not the worst ever, but it's not great, and if I'm going to give up the handling that the bigger bike sacrifices, I want at least 300 km between stops to play with...
Haha. The really cool thing about those is that it's the same chassis as the Hypermotard.
|
|
|
|
|