01ragtop

Michelin Power RS report ~1900 miles: left edge is gone, right still has roughly 200 miles left, center has a ton of miles left. I guess I favor left handers. I don't commute, but I did do a 700 mile road trip with about 130 miles of highway. The rest of the miles are on SoCal mountain roads. These tires are temp and pressure sensitive. By that I mean if they get hot, they will get greasy. I had the rear set too low on a 90 degree Fahrenheit day and they squirm at lean under acceleration. That's the bad. Now the good: most confidence inspiring tire I've ever used. Mileage isn't as good, but for performance, these are better than S21, PP3, and for the street, even better than the vaunted Pirelli Supercorsa. Ok, that is bold. Let me explain. The RS gets up to operating temp much faster than the Supercorsa on the street. In fact, I always feel like i really have to push the Supercorsa before it comes up to temp, and those first couple of miles after a break are always a little adventure. Not so with the RS. Great tire for someone that commutes, but also likes to ride the canyons hard. If you only ride the canyons, you'll leave a lot of life in the center of the tire. The pic was taken at 1700 miles.

Ahhh. Good to see this thread dying the shameful death it deserves.

Yep, I haven't been able to ride in a couple of weeks; guess I'm feeling a little snarky. I had avoided posting on this thread too, dammit. The whole "I got squeezed"/"no you didn't, your riding just sucks" is kinda silly. Action cams distort speed and perspective so badly, who can know. It doesn't look close on video, but I wasn't there. I also understand the proper line, but at the speed in any of the videos shown on this thread, the line taken isn't critical. Certainly not worth the drama of insinuating death and dismemberment is imminent.

Sorry, but there is nothing particularly enlightening or twisty about that either. Judging lines on public roads always seemed presumptuous to me. I have an ideal line in my mind when I ride, but road conditions play a role. I won't ride over patches or pot holes just because they are in the technically proper line.

I didn't know this was a thing. So anytime you lose service, you decide to drive on the other side of the road? What a bizarre and completely unpredictable method for determining on which side of the road one should drive.

I can agree about the weight; but dude, are you wearing Crocs?

Correct. Those are not sport touring tires. I haven't ran a sport touring tire in a long time, but I hear really good things about the Bridgestone S21/T30 front/rear combo. Can't say for myself though.

In this case, the RS is the Michelin Power RS. Another linear tire is the Bridgestone S21.

Met up and rode with guy that just bought the brand new RSV4. That bike is sick. Electronics galore, beautiful fit and finish, and that sound. Even with the stock exhaust, that thing sounds angry. He offered to let me ride it after the break-in period is over. I may just take him up on that.

That wasn't aimed directly at me, but since I share the opinion: The RS is a bit slower than the PP3, but it is far more linear. It gives that dial-a-lean feel. The PP3 has a more triangular profile which is great at initiating the turn, but IMO, gives the feeling that the bike is falling into the lean. I almost feel like I have to counter steer away from the apex to keep the bike from leaning too far. It is a personal preference, but I like the more neutral and linear feeling, especially mid corner. I agree wirh your comment on the 2 compounds.

The guy I bought my 675R from just bought a brand new RSV4. I'm riding with him Saturday. Should be fun.

No doubt a good rider on a VFR with sport touring tires can certainly leave an impression. I'm not good enough to be comfortable with all the sliding. Especially the front. When I first switched from sport touring to hypersport tires, I was blown away by how much better they grip. I like the mileage of the ST tire, but love the handling of a sport tire more. Bottom line,there is no right or wrong here. It's how you ride. If I lived in a straight flat area, I wouldn't waste my money on hypersport tires, but in SoCal wearing out the center before the edges is almost a crime.

What pressures were you running? I had S21 bstones on my VFR, and loved them. I ran 34f/36R, and I'm heavier than the average guy. Can't say how they were in terms of longevity, they were wearing well when the bike was stolen. I have the new Michelin Power RS on the Daytona. Loads of grip, more neutral than the old PP3, and warm up quickly, but mileage may be an issue, I'll see. Plus I want to find out if they go off at the wear bars like the PP3 did.

Not sure about the new CBR, but I wanted the old one right up until I rode it. It lacked character, and had a odd (for me) riding position that caused me to lack confidence in the bike. Before you blame the aggressive position of a sport bike, I never felt that with the 675R. I was comfortable on it right away.

I don't have either of the two bikes you mentioned, but I've done 300 plus miles a day on an old ZX-7R which is similar to the Ducati riding position, and I'm in the planning stages of a 700 mile 2 day trip on my 675R. What you consider acceptable is unique to you and you alone. I don't find the 675R that bad, but others can only do a couple hours before their done. As far as nimble and fast track oriented bikes go, the GSXR-750 is the most comfortable I've ridden. You sit in them more than on them. The R6 has you perched way up on top. The 750 is a great bike too. Fast, Nimble, best power for street use and my buddy is faster round the track on his 750 than he was on his ZX-10.

Tough question. Do you want sportier, more comfort, better adventure capabilities, etc. I wanted sportier, but if comfort had been my goal, I would have went with an FJR or a Concours. I'm not into adventure riding, so I don't have any opinion there. I'm not really into straight line speed either, but if I were, a ZX-14 or Hyabusa, either one can be made fairly comfortable.

I've seen mine as high as 235F on a +90F day while pushing between 7 and12K rpm in 2nd and 3rd gear climbing a twisty mountain road. It took it awhile to recover, but it did cool down.

Comparing the Daytona to the VFR is like comparing walking shoes to track cleats. One is comfy and sporty enough; the other is purpose made for a specific task. That said, I'll try. The weight and geometry of the 675R make it more nimble than the VFR could ever hope to be. My braking and turn in points are all way off at this point. I've always liked the brakes on the 8th gen though, so I can't fault the VFR's brakes. The difference is mostly in perhaps a little better feel from the 675's Brembos, and the fact that the Brembos are tasked with slowing a machine that weighs over 100lbs less. Speaking of weight. I know a large contingency of VFR owners want the VFR to lose some weight. After riding the 675, I'm not sure that's the best idea. The wind, even slight, blows the little Triumph all over the road. It's acceptable for brief gusts while out riding the canyons, but if you had to fight that for hours on end of touring, it would get old fast. Where the VFR could use some help is in the power and suspension departments. Even an extra 25-30HP would be great. The fact that it doesn't come with a fully adjustable suspension is just unacceptable at this stage. I wouldn't even care about USD forks, if it came with a really good conventional setup. The Daytona has only slightly more power, but its suspension is world class compared to the VFR. The ergonomics are what they are. Surprisingly, the knee bend on the Triumph is about the same as on the VFR, but the bend at the waist, or crouch, is substantially more committed on the 675. The Daytona's saddle is awesome. No complaints there, I personally even favor it over the VFR's stock seat. However, the VFR is an all day bike, the Triumph is decidedly not so. If you ride 2up, your passenger will hate you and never ride with you again if you force them onto the 675. Not necessarily a bad thing. In short, the 675R is a scalpel and the VFR is a top of the line Leatherman. Pics (I'll see if I can get some better ones) https://goo.gl/photos/PtazG5uz9fTxJHEm8 https://goo.gl/photos/CfWA8jycRGVpsZu59

Well, the saga is almost over. I authorized my Credit Union to payoff a 2016 matte black 675R from a Private Seller. He's actually more than a private seller, I ride with him frequently, but he has decided to give up two wheels in favor of a hot little Mini Cooper. His loss. Bike only has 4,500 miles, and the previous owner doesn't ride wheelies or any other shenanigans. He also installed the Tanks Slapper protective film when the bike was new, and purchased the Maintenance package to 24,000 miles. He even installed a brand new Pirelli Super Corsa on the front this afternoon so, "I could go ride without spending anymore money on it." Anyway, everything should clear the banks this week, and I'll post pics when I get it home.

Might try pushing down on the back of the cowl to make sure it fully engaged the latch mechanism.

I'm in. Let me get a ride under me, and that sounds like a plan. Speaking of getting a ride, the insurance company surprised me today by not low-balling me. Their offer was very fair, so I can say now that Progressive Insurance treated me like a customer and not another number. Kudos to them. I'm working this weekend, but soon I will be back on two wheels. The weather is great and with my work schedule lately, I'm in need of some motorcycle therapy.

I'm going to go a different route. I never regretted buying the VFR, I wasn't even looking at other bikes. I wouldn't be looking at other bikes now if someone hadn't decided to relieve me of mine. I learned to enjoy the fact that I could push the sport-bikes on all but the tightest canyon roads while riding a bike that was 100lbs heavier and down on power. It was comfy on long rides, and Mrs. 01ragtop enjoyed riding with me. She stopped riding with me when we found out she was pregnant; 2 months after I bought the VFR. Now my daughter is 15 months old, and she still doesn't ride with me. If I don't need room for a passenger, I don't need a sport touring bike. Bring on the super-sport. I've never owned a 400 lb. motorcycle with razor sharp handling and 120+hp, so I believe it is time. Maybe a D675R or a 636. I may not be welcome since I won't be on a V4, but I'll at least drop in to share some pics before you all run me and my non VFR bike off.

Thanks all. I've been so busy at work I haven't had time to ride, now once I do have time, I have to go find a ride instead of going for one.

Well, the adjuster was out Friday, the bike is a total loss. He got to $7500 in damages without really getting into the small things that were wrong. Big ticket stuff was all new plastics, new headlight, new tank, new forks, new front wheel. Add that to the labor to clean the paint off the frame and engine, and she is toast. The numbers the adjuster was giving me seemed pretty fair, but they hadn't accounted for it being a Deluxe, aftermarket exhaust, and protective 3M kit. They also guessed low on the mileage even though I gave it to them correctly. I will find out early this week what their settlement offer is going to be.

Who knows? I guess if you're low life scum that has the time to trash a near perfect motorcycle, you rest by casting a line.