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What type of riding do you use your VFR for?


VFR80025th

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I would think that a lot of VFR riders are sport touring and riding longer distances. I may be wrong.

As most of you may have noticed my rear passenger pegs and grab rails are off to save some weight. LOL!

Seat cowl always on. Never ride with a passenger.

MY VFR is my sportbike. Didn't want a GSXR CBR etc (Dime a dozen and look Blaaah)

I still love my speed and don't need to ride the fastiest thing on 2 wheels.

I love exclusivity, refinement and drop dead looks and my VFR gives me all that.

On the street i don't have to scrape the side of my fairing to proove I am a good rider. Take it to the track if you need to proove something.

The VFR gives me the comfort I want in a highly sporting package.

That why I ride a VFR.

The Gentlemen's Express.

 

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The plan was to ride mine to visit friends and family, plus weekend trips to nowhere,

but currently I can’t get it running appropriately so I just sit on it and make bike noises... the thought of touring fast. 

 

I needed soemthjng that could tour with camping gear, and if it ran well it would do that great. I wanted to be able to drag pegs too because sport riding is fun! But I can’t keep it below 225*F so I don’t want to  ride it when it’s hot out.

 

interested to hear from the rest. 

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43 minutes ago, VFR80025th said:

On the street i don't have to scrape the side of my fairing to proove I am a good rider. Take it to the track if you need to proove something.

+1

 

I ride mine on long trips, short trips, and anytime I want to get on the one bike I have that 'fits like a glove'.

 

ACE

 

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2 minutes ago, Urbanengineer said:

But I can’t keep it below 225*F so I don’t want to  ride it when it’s hot out.

 

Ouch.  Low speed running thru my neighborhood commuting, I often see 210, but never up to 225, and it's hot out down here as well.  I assume you've posted asking where to look for a solution?  I wish I had one to offer ...

 

ACE

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I have two VFRs and each has a purpose for me. My 6 Gen is primarily my commuter/tourer. I use it to go to jobsites when I’m called out to commission systems and I use it for long touring rides. For the most part I’m solo on it but it is the bike my wife like to ride with me on as it is more suited for her (top box with a back rest pad). Some of the mods I did were for comfort, I.e. Heli-bars, Sargent seat, MRA windscreen, and I also had the suspension modified by DMr with commuting/touring as my targeted riding type.

 

My 5 Gen I built it to be my “play” bike and i use it more for canyons and track time. Yeah, I could have and many say I should have, bought a CBR but I’ve never really been a CBR fan (for similar reasons stated above). Ironically, I got my 6 Gen first and when I had the opportunity to ride it more spirited, I wanted another VFR just just for fun. That’s when I decided to get the 5 Gen and dedicate it as my fun bike. In an other Irony up until a few months ago, my 6 Gen had more mods than the 5 Gen but that has now been remedied! Both bikes are now pretty equal with exhaust, suspension and tuning nods.

 

Although I have done many canyon rides and even track days in my 6 Gen, I try to leave it for my intended purpose of its use but it’s not a hard set rule as it is a fun bike and like mentioned by others, comfortable enough to ride all day! With that said, I did take it to the track this past weekend and almost killed it! Not because I almost crashed but my water pump began to leak. I won’t hijack this thread but can tell you that the temp gauge was flashing 255F! When I looked down at the dash on the front straight.

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Sport touring, I guess. I don't eat a ton of highway miles, just to-from the canyons/mountains. It's more of a sport bike to me then, with the option to throw hard bags on and tour if needed. 

 

2 hours ago, carlgustav said:

 

Ouch.  Low speed running thru my neighborhood commuting, I often see 210, but never up to 225, and it's hot out down here as well.  I assume you've posted asking where to look for a solution?  I wish I had one to offer ...

 

ACE

 

As long as everything is in working order (tstat, fans, temp switch, the like,) the solution is to turn your temp display to ambient temp, and ride. 250F is overheat by Honda.

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I bought my Gen 6 just because I’ve always wanted one, I didn’t really have a plan for it. After a 200 mike ride this weekend I’m not sure I want it for anything more than weekend riding. I have a Versys 650 LT that is substantially more comfortable, has much better range and better handling that I will use for touring. 

 

Having just wrote all that I’m really enjoying my Interceptor and very happy with the purchase. 

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Basically my grocery getter..  LOL well I have.  But I use the Viffer if its nice and it works out for just about anything if the weather and timing works out to use it. But i'm more incline to use it for those spirited mountain runs.  and if and when I can get a week to do this,   it's a great adventure exploring the back country roads.

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4 hours ago, Urbanengineer said:

I had a Versys 650 too and you are crazy to say it handles better than a VFR!

 

but glad you are enjoying it. It’s nice to have two bikes in the garage. 

Don't think I'm crazy, from my experience the Gen 6 VFR is heavier and slower to turn into a corner and not as planted once it's over.  It's also more sluggish when changing lanes or transitioning.  I'm not saying it's bad at those things, it's a comparative statement.  I had a test ride on a Gen 8 VFR and found that to be more planted and a bit more responsive than the my Gen 6.  For what it's worth I have a Gen 3 Versys though I don't think that there is a major difference in handling characteristics between those models.

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I'm on my 2nd VFR800.  The first one was a 2001 5th Gen I rode for sport & sport-touring.  I did a lot more of the latter because I had tons of vacation time.  For true sport-touring (searching for twisty fun roads far from home), the VFR800 was the perfect tool--small and nimble enough to be fun in the twisties, yet big enough to carry reasonable luggage while providing very good wind & weather protection. 

 

When I transitioned over to my 6th Gen my riding changed to mostly sport riding and commuting with only a yearly sport-tour.  Two trips if I'm lucky enough to have the time.   So my current VFR is 75% commuting, 20% sport riding, 5% sport-touring.  I'm generally happy with my VFR for what I use it for.  And she is beautiful.  However, since I also have a CBR600rr for sport riding,  I'm constantly reminded how much heavier and slower the VFR800 is.  So every time I feel frisky & playful (which is most of the time) I always bring the CBR.  And when I'm on the VFR, I wish I had the CBR.  Except when when I'm covering hundreds of miles a day then I'm thankful for the VFR!  When I'm commuting or sport-riding I always wish I was riding the CBR.

 

I've come to the conclusion that the amount of love (or lack of) for my VFR800 really depends on  state of mind, and where I'm going.  I'm generally impatient and always at the verge of being frisky when I'm riding.  That's probably why I gravitate towards much sportier, faster bikes.  I still love my VFR800 and there really are few bikes that provides or exceeds what the VFR brings to the table. 

 

Since Honda doesn't want to bring us a 450 lbs. VFR800 with 105-110 rwhp., I might have to convert a sport bike into a "VFR-like" machine.  Someone recently told me a GSXR750 (God help me!) with Helibars and lowered footpegs comes close to the ideal hybrid.  Mmmmm......

 

 

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Mostly touring, long distance. I just got back from a 6 day 2100 mile jaunt to the south, First day 600 miles then a bit shorter for the remainder. I have done a 740 mile day when I picked the bike up in eastern Iowa and headed west. About 5800 total before I hit Maine again. I was running Bridgestone S-20's when I bought it but when the S-21's came out I spooned them on, so when the bags come off, I can turn it on. Not a CBR or Gixxer, but not an embarrassment in the twistys either. I've put 32K since I bought it 5 years ago, and I work out of the country 6 months a year. Love my 4th gen.

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For 30 years my VF and VFR's have been the perfect answer to "if you could only have one bike..."

 

Sportbike. Sport tourer. Ride to the store. It is the best all-around street bike you could ever own. VFR's do it all, with that incredible V4.

 

Now, for the last two years I have finally been fortunate enough to have two bikes in the garage, so I don't need that bike in the middle. I think.

 

But geez, I've never owned a 5th gen...

6.3.04 001.jpg

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Teeing up a softball, here  I think! I bought this knowing I can only get one bike, and there is no other bike that can do it all; possible exception is a Triumph Sprint.

This year I've done an Ironbutt from Wichita to Kingman, AZ, and an about to do my 2nd track day. Zero disappointment in either. I put no fewer than 10k miles a year. It looks great and feels great. Living in the midwestern US, the heart of Harley country, when asked why I ride this instead of a Harley, I say, because MATH....It costs a quarter as much as a Harley, goes twice as fast, using a third the gas...No. Freaking. Brainer. Can I name any one bike that can beat the VFR in any one thing? Of course. May just be me, but can I name one other bike that can do it all? Um, no.

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4 hours ago, St. Stephen said:

For 30 years my VF and VFR's have been the perfect answer to "if you could only have one bike..."

 

Sportbike. Sport tourer. Ride to the store. It is the best all-around street bike you could ever own. VFR's do it all, with that incredible V4.

 

Now, for the last two years I have finally been fortunate enough to have two bikes in the garage, so I don't need that bike in the middle. I think.

 

But geez, I've never owned a 5th gen...

6.3.04 001.jpg

 

+1

For 20+ years, the VFR/VF was all I needed...

 

But then the chance came to scratch an itch....

 

:tongue:

 

IMAG6811-1600x905.thumb.jpg.79d0edc09e7ddcafd91a2bb2b9b45980.jpg

 

 

 

IMG-20180720-WA0002.thumb.jpg.192c7372f886edd337e16065f90e2e89.jpg

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I did a little bit of commuter riding when I first got my VFR, but I started to feel like associating riding with work was spoiling the riding! That doesn't say much for my enthusiasm about my job, does it? 

 

I do some sport touring and some sport riding... really though, I go after the same kind of roads either way. Sometimes there's a tailbag on the bike...

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Do a 50mile round trip commute to work 3 -4 days a week on  A- Dual Carriageway roads and motorway, usually at or above speed limit and occasional weekend jaunts; if its dry!

 

Did think I would be doing long hauls but my bike buddy changed jobs and seems to be working 8 days a week!!

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On 9/18/2018 at 10:58 PM, TedJake said:

...there is no other bike that can do it all; possible exception is a Triumph Sprint.

 

May just be me, but can I name one other bike that can do it all? Um, no.

I came so close to buying a Triumph Sprint ST a few years ago and was searching for both when I found an Interceptor I liked.  Having said that I think the BMW F800GT and the Kawasaki Ninja 1000 are in the same neighborhood for comparative sport touring bikes.

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On 9/18/2018 at 7:58 PM, TedJake said:

Teeing up a softball, here  I think! I bought this knowing I can only get one bike, and there is no other bike that can do it all; possible exception is a Triumph Sprint.

This year I've done an Ironbutt from Wichita to Kingman, AZ, and an about to do my 2nd track day. Zero disappointment in either. I put no fewer than 10k miles a year. It looks great and feels great. Living in the midwestern US, the heart of Harley country, when asked why I ride this instead of a Harley, I say, because MATH....It costs a quarter as much as a Harley, goes twice as fast, using a third the gas...No. Freaking. Brainer. Can I name any one bike that can beat the VFR in any one thing? Of course. May just be me, but can I name one other bike that can do it all? Um, no.

 

Suzuki V-Strom 650 can do it all.

 

Hence the popularity of the middle-weight ADV bikes.  These are today's "VFR".

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1 hour ago, Urbanengineer said:

True but they are slow unlike the VFR. I really wish we got a Versys or Vstrom 800 2 or 3 cyl that would be ideal. 

There is the Yamaha FJ09 and now called the Tracer. 

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