LoopRider

The first VFR I ever owned was the 1200 and I have found it to be a great bike. It has also awakened my interest in other VFRs and the general history of Honda V4s. Now also as an owner of an earlier VFR, I know the 1200 deserves and is a good chapter in a proud VFR story. So it is interesting to see forum posters concerned about the poor sales rate of the VFR1200 in the USA and more recently no new model years. This is simply part of the VFR tradition going all the way back to 1986. The 1200 is a quality well designed road sport machine that was designed in its own tradition, not following the market trend. The original VFR750 was not a major market success in the US either but still became a cult bike that people hold on to for many years. Greg Pullen in the history of the Honda V4 notes that despite the Honda VFR750F "... winning the Best 750cc sportsbike award from Cycle World an accolade it would win again and again ... the VFR did not live up to sales expectations in the US market. Indeed, some 1986 models were still available after the 1987 versions had arrived ... For 1987 only, the 700 version was imported to the US, but no VFRs at all came into the USA during 1988 and 1989". Sound familiar? Honda generally back themselves with their innovation ie the VFR, the ST and the Goldwing. None of these bikes were market followers, they created new niches which are still here today. They are often highly refined, quality items with good reputations for reliability. So I would not be too worried by its lack of sale's success. We are just experiencing a reasonably predictable part of the Honda story. Critically the VFR1200 is generally highly acclaimed, not unlike the original VFR. See UK Bike magazine rating the 1200 as 5 stars, and it prevailed in the original Motorcycle USA comparison with the BMW K1300S which is a similar design brief. I think in the end it will become acknowledged as a special bike but it will take a long long time, just as it still is for the original VFR750 which many classic bike magazines are only just beginning to acknowledge. In the end the original CB750 became a classic and so has the originally maligned and very poor selling CBX1000. So in the meantime, until I am proved right, I will just have keep clocking up many enjoyable miles on the big beast, maybe using the money I save from not having to upgrade to buy one of those very original 1986 Interceptors, in red, white and blue of course!

I have the early model, says the tank can take 18.5 litres. I can get close to that without having run dry, 17.9 the most I put in once. Touring, solo, full panniers and top box. Gets 280-290 km if I leave it that long. I normally fill up around 250-270. Just seems to be when everyone else is stopping or where a logical gas station is. Rare in NZ to have a stretch longer than that without a fuel station on the route.

This looks a fun thread, birds are obviously very ballistic and the feathers clearly unable to absorb much of the force. I hit an unshorn sheep once. There are a few around here and some of the fencing in the remote parts leaves a bit to be desired. Lucky I was travelling at less than 100 kph, came around a corner when confronted by a line of four of the woolly absconders. I went hard on the brakes so must have taken even more speed off before glancing one sheep on the left. It shot up the fairing, hit me in the leg and bounced across the road. No damage to the bike, and I stayed on. I could not believe it, and looked in the rear vision mirrors to see the sheep get up and run off. Great brakes and very stable these VFR1200s.

Nice in blue. Think about a change in the muffler, they sound great with an aftermarket. Welcome to the big VFR club.

Ouch! might wait for sale day on that one.

My apologies for techno incompetence. I cannot quite work out on the Ipad what the link is, but it comes up first in Amazon if you use 'Greg Pullen Honda' as the search. And the price seems to have changed, now to just over nz$13. Maybe it was a sale day? I would still buy it.

The book? Honda V4 : The complete Four-Stroke Story The writer? Greg Pullen I found this searching Honda on Amazon. For $8 you get an electronic Kindle version. This book is close to a complete history of Honda itself as Greg sets the scene for the evolution of the V4 against Honda's racing ambitions, Soichiro Honda's engineering quirkiness and the wider culture of the Honda Motor Company. It is a must have for any VFR owner. Very recent as it covers the 8th Generation VFR800. Has an excellent graphic of a VFR1200 too ...

Thank you. And people here think vacation USA is just theme parks, movie stars and Vegas. I am now educated. Stunning.

UK Bike magazine rates them.

Just recently bought two Givi bags, one a very small one handy for short trips and the other a 25 litre bag which swallows a full size helmet. What I have found useful with having more than one bike is the interchangeable system once you have the tanklocks on. Swapping them around between bikes is a breeze. I have just done a 4000 km tour using the large bag and it was great, except it obscured my GPS. A longer stalk on the ram mount would fix that. The side pockets are useful for pressure gauges, sunscreen, ferry tickets and the like without having to dive into your main luggage. I find it easy to carry around using the safety strap which locks around the steering stem. This also works as well as a shoulder strap. It also comes with a separate IPad case which clips on top or fits in side. There is a rubber sealed access for an external charger as well if you have a socket fitted. On shorter trips I find myself just using the smaller one. There is also a mid size which looks closer to the OEM bag. I did use the raincover during one wet run and it is easy to put on. However I have often been in the rain without it and so far it does not leak. I think it is just sufficiently shielded by the fairing. They are quite easy to lock on the bike with small padlocks.