Pjcliffo Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Why I chose the vfr800 I won a trip from triumph to ride over 2000kms through Americas national parks out of Las Vegas. This was on a big cruiser the thunderbird Lt. Pic 5 A great bike for this type of trip but not my kind of bike. I like the light responsiveness of my street triple. Pic 4 This trip gave me an itch to do some touring in Oz. plus the bug for a new bike was biting hard. After a couple of trips I realized the triple was the wrong bike for this type of trip especially with an occasional pillion and some luggage. I thought about a second bike as a tourer and tried the Suzuki gsx1250f, a bandit with a fairing. Nice bike, good value but too heavy and a bit boring. Decided 2 bikes would be silly, Rego, insurance, space. So a sports tourer is the way 2 go. 2 bikes in one. No luggage sporty and fun. Luggage and screen go touring. The first bike to get me excited was the ninja 1000sx. Loved the look and well designed luggage and ticked most boxes on paper. Pic 3 Took this for a long test ride (difficult to organise, the salesmen are very reluctant). Great bike in many ways but put off by the buzz over 7000 revs, the ineffective screen, even though it's adjustable and the poor rear brake. Also it was much nicer back on the triple. Tried 2 of these with the same result, very disappointing. Next tried Honda crossrunner 800. Couldn't like the looks but strangely comfortable and welcoming, an easy ride and I liked the idea of vtec for the 2 bikes in one theme. Unfortunately the practical looking screen was hopeless at 110kph. Then the new suzuki gsx s1000 came out which looked promising. Took it for a ride and loved it but too similar to my street and not for touring however the gsx 1000f came out soon after and it is better for touring. Pic 2 Now I was getting excited. Took it for a short test ride and loved it. Great power, good aerodynamics and comfortable.this was more like it. I held back though because no proper luggage, the pic is a ventura setup. Only comes in blue and grey for oz, shame on you Suzuki. Engine sounds busy at 110kph and throttle very sensitive. Doesn't like steady speed, wants to go go go. Handling also needed some sorting. But the best yet. Tempting but not quite right and the pillion seat is an instrument of torture. Always loved this look but the salesmen at lane cove were hopeless. Do you know where I mean? Worried about the sporty riding position, legs up head down. Salesman couldn't organise a test ride and couldn't find a key to open the panniers but wow I was reluctantly allowed to sit on it! Saw an ad for a great deal but in Newcastle on a black vfr800f 2015 with all the touring gear! Spoke to the seller, a nice lady who changed her mind about touring with hubby and said I could test ride. Drove straight up, great looking bike 1600km and still smelling new with 16 months factory warranty so took it for a 40 minute ride with her permission. Pic 1 What a sweet bike! Felt at home immediately, great gearbox, sound and quality. Lovely to ride and look at. Very different riding position and power band to the triple but that's what I wanted, and you still have that vtec up your sleeve. Aerodynamics good but the screen could be better, but it comes with a puig touring screen and blade still new in box! Panniers and top box perfect and comes with the fitted Honda luggage. Weight disappears as soon as you move. Sound of the v4 wonderful. Returned, haggled from $13000 to $12400 bought it on the spot, locked my car and rode the 160km home and the old highway from Brooklyn. Excellent smooth secure handling in twisties and relaxed cruise on the highway. Had a slight soreness at back of neck from leaning forward and looking up. Slowly building the muscles to get used to that. Bought second hand 1.25 inch risers in case and a beautiful arrows pipe that without the baffle sounds amazing. Also fitted T. rex sliders after nearly dropping it when moving in the garage and didn't notice the side stand had gone up! Bike suddenly got more and more heavy as I leaned it onto the non existent stand. Not as heavy to lift back up as I thought. The quality of the paint, fittings, features and design is exceptional. Nice to have suspension that actually absorbs bumps. Still loving the street until I sell it but enjoying a new world of bikes. Sent by Peter Clifford View triumph rides America on YouTube to see the USA trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer windyrun Posted March 20, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 20, 2016 Great writeup-thanks! Great looking bike too-enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer fink Posted March 20, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 20, 2016 I wouldn't even bother attempting fitting the puig touring screen with the flip up.. I have a post about it somewhere on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 20, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 20, 2016 Great choice! Love the 8th gen in black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 21, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 21, 2016 Hi Peter. Great write up and for $12,400 with all the Honda luggage = Excellent deal, the Arrow does look the part on a Black VFR. Enjoy the V4. Cheers. Grum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted March 21, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 21, 2016 WELCOME to the "VTEC BATTALION" ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epyon007 Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I loved my Street Triple to death, quite literally actually. I had no plans to get rid of it till it got killed :(. I picked up a Ducati Hyperstrada and I like it but it just isn't working for me. I'm trading to a 5th gen on Friday. It's pretty much perfect!!!! A friend of mine did a 2 up tour on a Street Triple R and said it was great. I'm sure I could have done something like that on my Street Triple but never got to it. I can't wait to travel on the VFR! I'd say you likely made the best choice!!! Also the VFR fits better in the garage next to my RC51 ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfrnick Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Nice bike, Looks good in Black. Love the exhaust too. Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoke4ndmears Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Black looks so sharp on this bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bent Posted March 21, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 21, 2016 I'm still trying to figure out if I have a 2014 VFR or Interceptor in my garage. I think it's a Honda too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted March 22, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 22, 2016 Awesome!!!! Congrats on this sweet deal. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormShadow2 Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 hows the chain oiler going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjcliffo Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Oiler is a great fit. Making a bit of a mess of rear wheel. Had to cut back the flow, it has an adjustment wheel. Will test again tomorrow. Once set correctly you never touch it except to refill the bottle occasionally. Worked great on my last bike and useful when touring. I'm learning that this bike likes plenty of revs, which wasn't necessary on my street triple. Makes for a different type of bike and ride. Exploring it is great fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormShadow2 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 v4s good but lot of low and mid torque, you can t ractor it through corners instead of reving its head off. yeah looking to fit a chain oiler at the moment, as im committing pretty far now. the tutoro looks the cheapest and simplest, but not 100% on how it fit to my 6th gen vfr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjcliffo Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 Can mount inside the pillion pegs or near the rear brake master cylinder reservoir.. Or maybe under threat like mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer fink Posted March 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 30, 2016 Oiler is a great fit. Making a bit of a mess of rear wheel. Had to cut back the flow, it has an adjustment wheel. Will test again tomorrow. Once set correctly you never touch it except to refill the bottle occasionally. Worked great on my last bike and useful when touring. I'm learning that this bike likes plenty of revs, which wasn't necessary on my street triple. Makes for a different type of bike and ride. Exploring it is great fun. What oiler did you fit? I must have missed that post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjcliffo Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Can mount inside the pillion pegs or near the rear brake master cylinder reservoir.. Or maybe under threat like mine.Hmm how about under the pillion seat like mine. See separate thread for more info on oiler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Doc4216 Posted April 16, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted April 16, 2016 Congrats on finding the right bike! That's exactly how I felt when I bought mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer LangoPTC Posted April 16, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted April 16, 2016 Great choice! Love the 8th gen in black. What he said. Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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