New Bike!

[Rectaltronics]

Even my local shade-tree guy doesn't mind doing the valves on VTEC motors.  Just sayin'.  Of course there's no shortage of stories of people going many tens of thousands of miles, putting off the valve checks repeatedly, then after finally getting around to it discovering everything was in spec.

 

The matter of VFRs selling or not selling is something that comes up in many threads here.  Saying it's because folks are uneducated sounds to me like a poor excuse made up by folks in Honda's marketing department for the crap job they did.

 

I do know that I am biased toward the VFRs.  Even if the test ride were crap I would have liked it because I'm convinced I would.  Sort of like folks who want to vote for Trump.  ;-)

 

The newest VFR has some warts.  Yes, it's pricey and this STD/DLX bullshit is offensive, especially when you consider that in some markets Honda only sells the DLX.  I don't understand why Honda sets the idle to absurdly high off the factory floor, or why a computer controlled, FI engine even needs an idle speed adjustment in the first place.  The Traction Control is inexcusably bad and should have the responsible engineers seriously considering seppuku.  The suspension is on the stiff side for my city's third-world pavement.  The 13 lb rated weight limit for the panniers (each) is a bit minimal (though hasn't been an issue in practice).  The only thing more absurd than the cost of panniers is the cost of the hardware just to mount a top-case.  The auto-shutoff turn signal feature is worthless.  And several times this summer I've found my hands burning because I accidentally pushed the button to activate the heated grips.

 

But I'm not one to whine about power or weight, except to the extent that I'm quite happy with the 8th gen's performance and am happy the VFR has gone back to ~800cc.

 

 

[winvfr]

My opinion as to why the VFR/Interceptor hasn't sold well is that the sport-touring market has evolved.  Sport-tourers today are either pretty much touring bikes (FJR1300, Concourse,  R1200GT, etc.) or adventure style road bikes with the middleweight sport-touring class consisting mainly of bikes like the FJ-09.  Unfortunately, the classic middleweight sport-tourer that emphasizes sport is a dying breed and there's only a handful like the VFR and the FG800GT left (actually, these are the only 2 I can think of) because those other bikes in the class have become more popular.

 

BTW, I love the VFR because it's still a sport oriented sport-tourer.  As for performance, it does what I need it to do 80% of the time so I'm happy.

[LangoPTC]

Lovely bike. Welcome!

[01ragtop]

I don't think the reason it doesn't sell is an education issue. I hear, either directly or indirectly, people commenting on mine all the time. I've never heard anyone say the VFR is crap. Every comment I've heard, or over heard, is about how great they are.  

 

The VFR isn't the BEST at anything. Most people have a goal in mind when buying a toy. It has to be comfortable for long distances. Or it has to handle the track or canyon riding with all the bells and whistles the Internet and magazine riders/writers say we need to go fast. Or it has to fit in with the pirate brigade. Or it needs to "adventure". 

 

The VFR doesn't excel over the purpose made bikes in any of those categories. 

 

Then there are those of us who love to ride hard in the mountains, occasionally ride across country,  commute, etc., and thought it would be cool to have one bike for all of the above. 

 

We're a psychographic segment, not a demographic or geographic segment of the market. It would be interesting to see what some of the common traits are among this group with a scientific psychographic analysis of VFR owners. 

 

Just a guess, but I'd bet you might find that we tend to think outside the box, we don't always go along to get along, individuality ranks high in our group, and reason takes precedent over trendy and stylish. 

 

Just an uneducated guess though. 

[jhenley17]

This is the second very unpopular (in the US, at least) bike I've bought from Honda. I thought the last one was great and I think this one is great. I'm never going to buy a vehicle and not criticize it, though, and want to do things to it to suit my purposes and make it my own. I'll tear into this bike sometimes, but I don't think I'll ever willingly get rid of it.

And I do miss my 599 as well (I killed it), even though I constantly complained about the suspension, flimsy frame, and want for the latest CBR600 motor. I've contemplated picking another up several times.

[wannabfast]

14 hours ago, Bent said:

True on people being uneducated.  That statement could be made in almost any context concerning the state of education and the population.  

 

As far as adjusting the valves, I don't ever plan on doing that unless there is an apparent reason to do it given the VFR's record for not needing valve adjustments.  Any local bike shop that refuses to do a VTEC valve adjustment is not where I would take work to.  They apparently know nothing about business.  All they have to do is quote the price they want instead of refusing to do it.  I suspect they aren't capable of doing it.  

ive taken lots of bikes to this mechanic and i trust his expertise(20+ years) however he does all the work at his place. its mainly because he doesnt want to spend a whole day on one bike to get paid peanuts... i sure as heck wouldnt want to...

[fink]

If they are charging for the hour then it would make no difference. If it was fixed price like BMW  then the maths will have been done already so no difference really.