Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted July 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2013 Tell me more about your electronic cruise control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Guess the small tank size isn't an issue for everyone... 4 liters smaller than the 800. You can let it bother you, or you can... not. Not once has my range exceeded that of the VFR1200. Neither have the places I ride - and tour - ever have gas stations far apart enough to test its limits. Carrying any more than 5gal, to me, is not even a nice-to-have. It's a sloshing dead weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted July 15, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2013 Agreed, it's a non-issue for most. After 150-160 miles I'm ready to get off anyways and stretch, on any bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Tell me more about your electronic cruise control http://www.mccruise.com/collections/honda/products/15 Not cheap, and would have been nice if Honda did their own, but Tony Guymer was especially nice in personal communicaton with me to get this kit made, and delivered for the DCT. The DCT's control module is mounted on the right however, mine below the bar, the control buttons within a stretch of the thumb. Overall exceptionally happy with the product! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 RE: Resale value... I understand this is a concern for some people, especially those with multiple motorcycles. But resale value is probably the last thing I think about when looking at new or used bikes. I've put so many miles on my 6th gen (now 9 years old) that it will be worth very little when I'm finally ready to sell it. And that doesn't bother me at all. I've more than gotten my money's worth out of this bike. And I hope that will be the case with pretty much any bike I buy in the future, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted July 16, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 16, 2013 Tell me more about your electronic cruise control http://www.mccruise.com/collections/honda/products/15Not cheap, and would have been nice if Honda did their own, but Tony Guymer was especially nice in personal communicaton with me to get this kit made, and delivered for the DCT. The DCT's control module is mounted on the right however, mine below the bar, the control buttons within a stretch of the thumb. Overall exceptionally happy with the product! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted July 16, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 16, 2013 BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!!! dont make me get your mom!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoystonRocket2 Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!!! dont make me get your mom!!! Seems reasonable My decision is to buy a 2013 standard clutch or new standard clutch 1200 depending on what comes up deal wise. I rode a standard one again last week for over two hours and loved it, it was just as I remembered it from my first ride in 2010. Alright there's the odd issue like low down lumpiness in first and second and the throttle is a little slow responding at slow speeds but this was the old pre-updates model so I'm hoping those things are better or fixed on the latest incarnation. I'm not bothered about the tank range, 150 miles is plenty for me when touring and to be honest on a spirited ride out with mates I usually get less than that out of my 800Fi1, it all depend how hard you twist the twisty thing IMHO. DCT? can't get a test ride for love nor money here and I'm not buying without having ridden a 1200DCT, clutchless changes are so smooth on the standard bike I'm not concerned anyway. Decision made, I've tested the opposition over the last few days and for me it was a relief to get back on my 800 let alone a 1200. Thanks for the replies all, interesting reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 That MC Cruise looks like a nice piece of kit. Kudos to the guy for coming up with a VFR-specific kit. I wonder why he doesn't use a servo motor instead of the bulky vacuum pump and actuator. I bought an automotive cruise control kit some 12yrs ago and it was all electrical and very compact. Still, to think that all it would take Honda to add Cruise Control to the VFR1200, which already has fly-by-wire, is software implementation and a couple of buttons on the handlebar. Sheesh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petey Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Downsides to a VFR1200: Premium gas requirement and poor resale value. Otherwise it's a fantastic bike. Well, I purchased the bike because I like/love it.... and to ride the hell out of it, not for resale value...BTW a lot of great bike on the market require premium gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted July 16, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 16, 2013 Downsides to a VFR1200: Premium gas requirement and poor resale value. Otherwise it's a fantastic bike. Well, I purchased the bike because I like/love it.... and to ride the hell out of it, not for resale value...BTW a lot of great bike on the market require premium gas. Every bike I've owned in this century has called for it, and 6 of 7 of them have been Hondas so bitching about this is kind of stupid. That MC Cruise looks like a nice piece of kit. Kudos to the guy for coming up with a VFR-specific kit. I wonder why he doesn't use a servo motor instead of the bulky vacuum pump and actuator. I bought an automotive cruise control kit some 12yrs ago and it was all electrical and very compact. Still, to think that all it would take Honda to add Cruise Control to the VFR1200, which already has fly-by-wire, is software implementation and a couple of buttons on the handlebar. Sheesh... Liability and lawsuits. You won't see this on any Honda any time soon in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Other mfrs (BMW, Yamaha, HD, etc.) have OEM CC. Goldwing has it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 That MC Cruise looks like a nice piece of kit. Kudos to the guy for coming up with a VFR-specific kit. I wonder why he doesn't use a servo motor instead of the bulky vacuum pump and actuator. I bought an automotive cruise control kit some 12yrs ago and it was all electrical and very compact. Still, to think that all it would take Honda to add Cruise Control to the VFR1200, which already has fly-by-wire, is software implementation and a couple of buttons on the handlebar. Sheesh.. Nod. Total agreement. I love the bike but it isn't perfect (what is?), and frankly I thought it was a little overpriced and a bit undercooked without including traction and cruise control from the offset. I'm not sure Honda didn't miss the mark, or did not have its mark in clear focus with the 7th gen. VFR, especially the DCT model which could have and should have been more touring oriented than it's standard shift counterpart in my opinion, with the manual version perhaps equipped as the clear sporting choice. Having said that, for me the DCT WAS/IS THE reason I bought the bike, and it represents again IMHO a technical tour-de-force in engineering and execution. To add the traction and cruise control, and a touring seat and accessory lights as an optional Touring package which included bags, would have represented a more total touring attitude, with still the very good all-round performance the bike has, and I think, better sales of BOTH the manual and DCT models being somewhat separated in the consumers and reviewers eyes. The price point of the manual could have been at least 1000 less than it was when introduced, and the full touring package as i described could have done fine in sales with a 1000 greater cost for everything, as well as perhaps a distinctive touring VFR badging. Therein lies the short sighted Honda marketing. More manual models would have been sold to the sporting crowd who could in a sense disassociate themselves from the touring model, and the true sport touring people I think would have stepped up to the plate even spending more money IF they had MORE included in an already relatively expensive package. I've added what I could to fill in the gap from what I had hoped for from the offset, and it frankly has cost more than I'd ever get out of the bike in resale. And yes the MCCruise control with it's old school vacuum basis is not as smooth or seamless as a full on electronic, but it's dependable and it works, and works better as you learn the idiosyncratic marriage with the DCT. But really all that doesn't matter. For me the DCT marks a jump in technology and thinking in motorcycles. I wanted it... wanted to be on the vanguard of a future in biking, see we DCT owners as a rebirth of the bikers "in the day". A bit rebellious, needing to try something different, not wanting to be part of the crowd, free spirited, and willing to go on leaps of faith to a new horizon. The DCT COULD have been marketed as such. Instead after the initial "how it works" vids, were released, advertising got dodgy and then non-existant, and reviewers were quick to poo-poo what they could not embrace in a short review test with limited saddle time. Hell, they in a sense could be, and could have become playfully ribbed in commercials as the status quo, while the DCTs were the rebellious ones... commercials airing riders with millisecond shifts and music that sliced and diced miles and time. Perhaps the DCT should have been introduced on a Superbike model. That would have been ballsy. That would have prepped the world in a much more dynamic and bold way. Honda played it safe. And they got burned very badly for doing so. As a company they run the risk of losing their soul, even as I hold the heartbeat of my favorite bike in the soul of a 21st century bike waiting to be born, while Honda now pushes the DCT on a commuter generation with a capable but uninspiring "bike for the masses" line. Miles pass. A click; another, another, another... the white lines run together. As does rider and mount. Soul is soul, no matter foot or fingers as the spur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zedXmick Posted July 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2013 My other thoughts about the DCT on another thread. Cool pics. Thanks for sharing. What are yrour thoughts on handling of the Viffer Grande on a track? Unlike my track bunny, I don't run the VFR hard enough on public roads to spot any deficiencies. It would be great to hear from those who have put theirs through the proper paces. The handling was very good at RA....the big VFR felt very stable....even on the very high speed corners,the bike was just locked in. On the very tight stuff you felt the weight of course. The DCT on this track was phenomenal..... I used sport mode all day.....perfect redline upshifts.....and the downshifting from the High speed front and back straights was unbelievable.....everything was happening so fast....it was GREAT not to even think about shifting......especially the downshifting......it let me think about my lines....and brake points. The brakes on the BIG VFR are also phenomenal....going into the track day I had 7500 miles on the stock pads (75% wear left on them) I never had ANY brake fade all day.....they flat out worked! RA should be on everybodies track day bucket list......what a track!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I am somewhat bemused by the complaints about having to use premium fuel. You guys have no idea how lucky you are to have cheap fuel. It's just hit $2.27 per litre here, for low-octane gas. Cost me nearly $40 to fill up this morning. If the Honda DCT is as good as the DCT on my car, I'd be interested. But even with the heavy Honda clutch in stop/go traffic, I'd prefer a manual transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2013 http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/02/despite-recent-increases-gasoline-prices-in-the-usa-are-cheap-compared-to-any-country-in-europe/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Belfry Posted July 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2013 http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/02/despite-recent-increases-gasoline-prices-in-the-usa-are-cheap-compared-to-any-country-in-europe/ ​I think the Germans have a word for this: schadenfreude. I feel a little better about paying $1.415/litre CAD ($1.36 USD/$5.14 USD/US gallon) after seeing the European and Aussie prices. Less than a week ago our prices inexplicably jumped to $1.515/litre for a few days before going back down. How can they justify a 10 cent/litre hike overnight? More importantly, now I know why they ride bicycles everywhere in the Netherlands: a.) It's pretty flat; and, b.) Gas is $9.38 USD per US gallon! Dutchy, you must be a millionaire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted July 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2013 I am somewhat bemused by the complaints about having to use premium fuel. You guys have no idea how lucky you are to have cheap fuel. It's just hit $2.27 per litre here, for low-octane gas. Cost me nearly $40 to fill up this morning. If the Honda DCT is as good as the DCT on my car, I'd be interested. But even with the heavy Honda clutch in stop/go traffic, I'd prefer a manual transmission. That is your country taxing it to death though. Also why it's high in Europe. The EU countries like to tax petrol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoystonRocket2 Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 An update, after some test rides of potential alternatives and a discussion with the Senior and more sensible partner in my marriage, AKA 'the wife', yesterday I placed an order for a nice brand new 2013 VFR1200F in the fastest colour (sorry color ) of red that will sit alongside my VFR800 Fi1 for company. I don't take delivery until end of August but that is down to me. I could have it in about two weeks but I have too much on over the next few weeks and it would just sit in the garage waiting. One of those things is fixing and selling my track bike to a make a bit of room in the garage and that's almost complete. I'll not be doing any track days for the foreseeable or maybe not at all, my two main partners in track day crime won't be there (one lost in an accident one quit TDs) and then I crashed last September and broke my collar bone, some ribs and punctured / collapsed my left lung at Oulton Park here in the UK, an awesome circuit but unforgiving, it was at this point while laying in a hospital ward that I realised it was an end of an era as far as TDs are concerned and started thinking about a new toy to cheer myself up...so W/C 26th August I'll take delivery and as I'm off work that week will start piling on the miles. Thanks for the replies all, I decided not to go the DCT route for three reasons; 1) I could only get a test ride on a DCT NC700 and just wasn't willing to spend the money on the VFR DCT without having ridden one. 2) I do all my own maintenance and will do on the 1200 when it's out of warranty and felt the dual clutch may prove to be a PITA. 3) As I tend to keep bikes for quite a long time some time in the future when I'm out in the middle of nowhere and the R/R gives up or the battery gets tired I won't be able to bump start a DCT and keep moving. I'm really not bothered about DCT anyway so it's the standard bike with luggage, centre stand and hugger for me... Thanks again all...can't wait now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted July 25, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 25, 2013 congrats. start budgeting for farkles/mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 25, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 25, 2013 Lands End to John O Groats (Jan de Groot actually) beckons........ B or C roads only!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoystonRocket2 Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 And here it is, picked it up yesterday. Only had time for 110 miles yesterday but it'll be getting a few more shortly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted August 27, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2013 I hear Thurso is nice this time of year...... Nice ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Yokel Posted August 27, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2013 Ah, love it! Best coloUr out there! Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted August 27, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2013 Awesome. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.