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2014 Vfr800F - Diary


Guest NobbNibble

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Hi All,

So update (I'll add a general one to the original post and keep the detail here) since I've just done the bikes first service, at a cost of £159.00 and had rear pannier set fitted.

post-30411-0-90218800-1401720468.jpg post-30411-0-79732700-1401720472.jpg

Personally I think it looks rather smart, with the rear seat cowl intact. I fear that with the TopBox it'll ruin the lines a great deal, given that a mounting bracket needs to be fitted. Very well weighted as standard and the mechanism works great, typical Honda quality, no cheap feel especially not for the cost £673.00 including fitting and the Queens VAT! Hop on the bike and you can instantly tell you've got something sticking out at the sides and that your lean angle is now reduced - this is a good thing, you wouldn't want panniers or side-bags that make you feel otherwise.

They definitely overhang the side of the wing-mirrors, which again is a shame, because these are your radars when filtering, so now you need to be aware of approx 1inch or so (i'll need to give exact measurements soon) overhang, or else you'll be on your side in no time and in a lot of trouble! See below:

post-30411-0-72467800-1401720475.jpg post-30411-0-93315700-1401720743.jpg

On the road, you only notice the difference with turbulence bouncing off the traffic and buffeting on the panniers behind you. The change is small, but you do feel the bike (strangely enough) pulling through the atmosphere more than you do without them. Getting off now means you tend to strike the Right Pannier with the foot a few times, but with practice you'll get used to them being there and will adjust your dismounting to compensate. Apart from that it's business as usual behind the bars and the bike still goes bloody fast and handles incredibly well.

In terms of overall space, these bad-boys are big. I have 3 of these on my Ambulance Bike and the 2 on the Honda would most likely fit all of the Paramedic kit from the 3 on the FJR, give or take a few litres of space. See below:

post-30411-0-46879200-1401721027.jpg post-30411-0-92878000-1401721032.jpg

The real disappointment however is that they are pretty low and do hide most of all that fantastic work on the Single-Side Swing-Arm, Bronze Wheels and Exhaust, which will be even more of a shame when I upgrade it to an Akrapovic. You can see that the right pannier has the required protection from exhaust heat added, and it's barely noticeable on the pannier set - so a very good job again by Honda:

post-30411-0-14614700-1401721183.jpg post-30411-0-00160900-1401720787.jpg

So now it's a case of getting it out on the road, with and without these panniers, see what I can do to tempt Traction Control into play and give feedback on how it copes with the miles and varying weather conditions that only England can bring in the changeable summer days!

Cheers

Nobby1

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Wow, you can do a house move with them. I have ordered panniers and the topbox, but these will only be needed when the wife travels with me. Do you know if the topbox carrier is mounted by removing the pillion hand holds!! Still looking good, the more photos you take the more excited i get.

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Wow, those are big! I have the Honda ones on my Vtec and they're nowhere near that wide.

Beware high speed with those buggers sticking out......I started to lose directional control at 126mph. And yes, I was on a German autobahn!

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Totally agree - I was really surprised at the size (story of my life).... That said, it means I most likely wont need a TopBox from a space perspective now - which will save a great deal of money.

Apart from that, every other feasible option will be added :-)

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I've been focused on other things and didn't spot this thread until now, but i did a quick comparison of the foot peg arrangements on the parts diagrams between 6th and 8th gen VFRs and it appears that the pegs are very similar if not identical. However, Honda did assign different part numbers. This may mean that peg lowering tricks for the 6th gen may apply to your bike. I didn't see Busy Little Shop chime in. But I suspect you do have options. The Buell Uly pegs that I have on my 6th gen are still available in the market even though HD did kill off the Buell brand.

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does a helmet fit in the panniers?

Do 2 helmets fit in each pannier?

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Hi All,

Sorry for the delay.

EPIC FAIL, that the Panniers don't fit a helmet - I've tried a SHARK, BOX, SHOEI and SCHUBERTH - None fit!

Which is nuts, given how big they appear!

Nobby!

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Did you try both panniers? They look just like ones on my 1200 and one side will fit my Schuberth but not the other. They look the same on outside but slightly different shape on inside.

Sent from my cerebellum using Tapatalk

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Hi All,

Sorry for the delay.

EPIC FAIL, that the Panniers don't fit a helmet - I've tried a SHARK, BOX, SHOEI and SCHUBERTH - None fit!

Which is nuts, given how big they appear!

Nobby!

Contemplating buying one of these VFR's and found this thread - fantastic!! I've been reading loads of reviews, and have to say found this the most informative of them all!!

I'm amazed that a helmet doesn't fit though!! Was really hoping it would so one could avoid putting the unsightly top box mount on the back!!

Thanks for taking the time to do the write up, and post the pictures, really interesting.

Have you thought about having the bar risers fitted?

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Hi all,

Sorry correction!

My Schuberth does for when packed like this:

post-30411-0-29662900-1402436029.jpg

I'll try the others again and be a little more inventive on how it's packed.

All in all good news :-)

Nobby

Also thought you might like this picture:

Old and New VFR :-)

post-30411-0-04779500-1402436218.jpg

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Hi all.

Interesting thing about seat height. Today I had a test ride. I have 177cm. When I first sat on it I thought that I fell in a hole and my knees were very bended. After I have made a stop and adjusted the seat height and it was better. Since I had a limited time and without any manual I have risen the seat only at the "back". Is there an option to rise also at the front?

However ... the bike drives like a poem.....much much better than 6th gen. Till now I was sure to buy a Triumph Street Triple but now I am completely confused.

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Please explain how it drives "much better than a 6th gen." I need to hear more. I love my 6th gen, it handles great has over 70,000 miles and runs strong, but I really like the looks of this 8th gen. I would appreciate details on the handling comparison.

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I have tried the bike on highway (around 30km), town (15km) and mountain roads (60km). On the highway I can not say that I have noticed much difference, maybe the bike felt a bit faster. Also I think LED lights make car drivers to notice you faster. I town the higher torque is very noticable...also the engine is more responsive (I have LeoVinces on my 6th gen). Since seat height was not proper for me I did not feel as comfortable as on 6th gen. In the mountains I could notice that bike is more nimble ... specially in slow corners. Also I think that engine is more willing to rev. In slow corners I have also noticed that if you turn off TC small slides are possible on behalf of better torque.

If I sum it up I think that the biggest difference towards 6th gen is engine low-middle torque, smothness and suspension. The suspension absorbs small bumps like butter. In the mountain road there is a corner with smal bumps and cracked asphalt. I usually drive through it with cca. 130 and 6th gen is shaking quite a bit... on 8th gen I drove the corner 140 with ease almost without shaking.

The brakes are also good. I did not miss combined system...but I must say that also there were no special situations.

The only add-on which I would definitely buy is Akrapovic exhaust because bike is very very quiet and i think more V4 soud would be very very nice.

P.S. I apologize for my bad English language.

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Please explain how it drives "much better than a 6th gen." I need to hear more. I love my 6th gen, it handles great has over 70,000 miles and runs strong, but I really like the looks of this 8th gen. I would appreciate details on the handling comparison.

My guess is that it is 25ish pounds lighter, and you would notice that in the handling department.

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Let me tell you as a new VFR800FD owner, its amazing to ride, it pulls in any gear, at any almost any speed. The engine sound is very nice, its exhaust is quiet until you open it up some. It goes over bumps, and holes so smoothly, it feels like its almost the same weight as my old cbr600 F4 when your riding, but far better, yet at a stand still it doesnt feel that much heavier really, no way does it feel anything close to 100 lbs more, heck it feels like a few lbs. An old friends ZX-9R (sold it years ago) felt bigger, heavier, and bus-like in comparison to this VFR.

Oops back to this, I just got back from another ride on it, this time at night, those LED headlights are amazing, wow do they light up the road, and everything around it.

Years ago I thought I should have gotten the VFR and not the CBR, but Im glad I got this one.

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Here are my opinions, I have previously owned a 5th gen, 2 X 6th gens and now also own a mint 4th gen

Honda have done a lot of work on the vtec engine in this version. Gone is any hint of hunting, surging or snatchiness that I had with my old one when it was in stock form, I can find no fault at all in the fueling.
Not only that, they seem to have changed the throttle contour (if that is the right term).
By that I mean it has the feel of a carby bike like my 750 in that you need to move the throttle more than I recall from my old 6th gen to get the same result, which results in much smoother driveability, especially on a bumpy road.
But having said that, the throttle response is very lively and the motor spins up real fast, and although I have only done 250 Kms there is no apparent feeling of tightness at all.
60Kph in 6th gear doesn't bother the engine at all.
I think there may be marginally more torque 3500-6500Rpms than the previous vtec but its hard to say.
The engine is super smooth and makes my 750 feel agricultural by comparison in terms of vibration (character, I hear you say)
The suspension feels good to me, very sportsbike like in terms of firmness and damping, some people may find it overdamped if they are expecting a plush ride, but the handling is good with quick direction changes made easy and it holds a good line when gunning it in bends, although today I didn't feel confident in the fitted tires when there was a lot of green moss on the road in the shadows of trees etc so I didnt push my luck with that. I felt that it was impossible to get enough heat into the tyres in that situation. It is winter here.
The instruments are good with a bewildering array of functions, but access to the buttons is awkward on the move, I havent found any sun glare problems at all.
The front brake is awesome and it is so nice to be able to come into a corner under both brakes then feather off the front leaving the rear to trail without the interruption of linked brakes standing the bike up.

The finish on the bike is excellent, the red paint has a real depth to it. The only thing I would change is the pannier brackest are a tad on the ugly side and it doesn't look like they can be easily removed.

The handling and flexibility of this bike really click and it quickly sucks you into "naughty" behaviour on a nice twisty road, I really love this bike.

Pity the gold colour of the wheels is not lighter as the wheels are lovely but easily overlooked in their current colour.

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However ... the bike drives like a poem.....much much better than 6th gen. Till now I was sure to buy a Triumph Street Triple but now I am completely confused.

I like that! It rides like a poem...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I agree it rides like a poem

I do like to ride my VFR

It's so much better than being in a car

The seat is so comfy that you can ride quiet far

The new gen. 8 is really a star. .....lol

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