The VFR 1200 Dogpile Merged Derisionfest Thread

It really is a wonderful bike, and I completely understand why you would buy another. It gets under your skin. Spent Monday and Tuesday on a quick trip to ride some twisties in southern Missouri. Rode 450 miles the first day and 550 the second. I only have 2500 miles on the bike, but the big V4 is already becoming my favorite motor of all the bikes I've owned. Fuel mileage ranged from 37 to 41 mpg on the trip. My only complaint is the seat, which is just too hard for my liking after a couple of hours. I do like the shape of the seat, so I've ordered an Airhawk for longer trips, which I think will solve my issues. Mine is a 2010, and I understand they've improved the seat on the '12 and '13 models.

Most interesting to me is the interest I've gotten from people - riders and not - at fuel stops. It's been a conversation starter more often than any bike I've ridden. The comments have all been complimentary, but no clue what they've said after they've left.

Love the bike.



*edit*
Oh yeah...wrong thread. We can now return to the regularly-scheduled dog piling and derision.

I only want to get another so I can bitch about range, weight, suspension, etc. Arranged to go and see friendly dealer for a test ride on DCT part ex he's just taken in.

If the dealer can upgrade the software so the 2010 is not restricted in gears 1 & 2 I'll be happy to get a 2010 DCT version, there's some really low mileage ones - I guess people have just sat admiring them

You weather looks great ... 999 on fleabay, I can't wait

Awesome pic! I also hate you.

Viffer12 is def the bike I love to hate. It just irritates me so much to think of the manpower and financial resources Honda devoted and this thing and this what they came up with. It falls short in SOOOO many ways, which would be fine if their goal was another superhawk or whatever, but no their goal was to build the ultimate performance street motorcycle.

It shines in certain areas, but all bikes do that. Honda did not set out to build a bike that got the reception it did, which makes them and the V12 a failure in my book.

It does have one of the best motors I've EVER sampled though!

Apparently they used knowledge gained in Moto GP and form their dirt bike so the investment was pretty much free beyond tooling :)
It polarises - at least you ve ridden which many armchairs critics have not. I enjoyed my previous one tremendously- toured Scotland with wife (no days without weather)
I like marmite I m guessing you don t :)

I see Remus makes an exhaust system for the VFR1200 now. That must sound good - and improve the looks as well.

You know you got an ugly bike when you have to resort to false advertising

http://denver.craigslist.org/mcd/3740845578.html

Youtube is not, of course, the perfect place to judge exhaust notes, but to my ears NOTHING can make this new V4 sound good. IMO they sound awful!! They just drone and wail with no thump at all. They sound like an I4 in all the worst ways with none of the screaming high positives.

I always thought the same thing about the ST1300. Even with pipes it sounds gay. Like something George Jetson would ride.

I didn't watch the video. I was on the east end of Waterton Townsite, and watched an 800 or a 700 with a low restriction exhaust, accelerate away. Really liked the sound. But maybe they have a different cylinder firing order than the 1200.

But the love or hate of certain sounds, like Geddy Lee's voice, is very subjective.

I just got back home from Honda Roadshow wher i tested the VFR1200.
First time i saw pictures of the VFR i almost puked, then i saw it in real life and i toght its not so bad looking after all, today i saw it in real life for my secound time and i actualy think it looks good.
Was realy looking forward to test it.
The seating position is very good and its lighter in tight corners then my ZX14, so far so good.
But what tha hell have thay done with the engine? I was so disapointed.
its was jerky at low speed crusing(PC might fix this) and under 4-5000rpm it was dead. It also was vibrating a lot. I drove it for 30min and the engine ruind the bike.
I had to punish it to realy get any power form it, i mean this is a damn 1200cc with 173HP! It suposed to have som damn tourq.
The clutch was heavy as hell and will have nightmares about geting in a stop and go traffic jam:eek1

I realy wanted to like this one, but the engine ruined it.
The VFR800 engine is so much better.

And yes my english sucks but so does the 1200cc V4

Couldn't disagree more with your assessment of the 1200 V4. It's quickly becoming my favorite all-time powerplant of the bikes I've owned.

However, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, and my hat is off to you for actually RIDING the bike before you levy criticism.

This is odd, as the engine has perfect primary balance. I wonder if there wasn't something amiss with your test bike.

The 750 and 800 have a 90* V4. The 1200 has a 75* V4 with a different crank plane and firing order -- they sound NOTHING alike. The crank in the 1200 may be technically more "race derived" but it sounds like ass

Ofcourse that could be the case, but i realy doubt it. It was a 2013 with bearly 3000miles on it. The vibration was defently from the engine.
A friend of mine that havent much riding exeperience that have a GPX600 from 89 said the exat same thing as me about the VFR. I give the VFR one more try next year but im pretty sure that it will be the same.

Well i am sorry, i realy wanted to like this bike and i loved the chassi and the ergos but for me, i hate that engine. Cant help it but i was realy disapointed.
Lucky i got to drive the CB1000R right after and it put a stupid smil on my face

I'd love to try one, but there's not many of them around here, and there's already one sport tourer in the garage.

I am a bike fan, i dont care of what brand it is or what type. The roadshow are one of my favorit happenings, becouse you can test alot of difrent bikes you normaly dont see.
On the 22may its Suzukis turn and i hope they bring the B-king(they did last year) and the M109R/M1800R.
I have a litle thing for the M109R.
And ofcourse to test the GSR750 is a must

The bike comes with a brutal restrictor in the first two gears below 6K RPM. Bazazz sells a $70 part you plug in to make the bike think it is in 3rd gear when it is in first and second. It completely transformed my bike, and it's a damned shame that Honda engineered such a great engine and then intentionally screwed it up. The bike is far safer as well with the restrictor removed as you don't have the light-switch transition in the first two gears that Honda introduced to protect you from yourself..

And I never noticed a heavy clutch in my 14K....