Buffhunter

Funny innit? Lots of folks praise the TRX for its 'character' as opposed to the TDM (tedium). Yamaha changed the firing order on the TRX to 270 degrees to give it a bit of soul, I believe. I loved mine, but certainly not the most practical of machines. I think the VFR is the better looking than the BMW, which definitely counts. This is why I decided a against the Fazer 900 GT, which might well be a better bike than either_ just can't get past that 'King of the Insectoids' styling that's all the rage now. Leaning towards the VFR. Maybe one of the earlier V_tecs, as they can be picked up at a really good price and I don't think the supposedly abrupt change in power delivery would bother me much. Just have to reassure myself re pillion comfort for the other half ( a she, not a he as per previous comment. Some things spell-check cannot do).

Hi again all, and thanks for your thoughts. Absolutely agree that a few tenths of a second here or there are pretty meaningless, but alas, figures (and solicited opinions) are all I have to go on. To clarify my situation, when I say I live remote, I mean really remote - as in an Aboriginal community nine hours drive over bush tracks to the nearest regional town, (hence the Buffhunter moniker) then a likely cross continental flight to wherever the bike of my choice is. I will definitely not be Riding my baby out here - it will be waiting for me in civilisation for twice a year holidays. This being the case, if I find a late model bike at a good price somewhere where I am unable to test ride the alternative, I'd like to be able to make an educated assumption about the nature of the two bikes. Nothing beats a test ride, I know, but they both look very competent, albeit different machines. So I'm thinking the F800 might tend a little towards the TRX850 once owned and loved: relatively light and flickable, a torquey motor that punches out of tight corners, plenty of engine so long as you don't want to tear around the country at 120 mph plus. But inevitably a bit rougher around the edges that the Honda, as to be expected with a twin. VFR, maybe like a much more refined version of my mates Super Blackbird; smooth everywhere, liquid power delivery, great build quality, anything it gives away to the BMW on a windy road it gets back when things open up. I''m sure there is a lot of overlap with these bikes, and probably either one would be good for me. Limited as they are, the figures are useful because they give me confidence that the oft repeated idea that the BMW is a bland slug next to the VFR can be taken with a large grain of salt. One other thing, if you would - lots of talk from Beemer owners about two up suitability but not quite so much from the Honda side. My Ball And Chain is 5'7" in the pre-metrics, weight classified. Is he likely to strangle me in the hotel room after 400 miles on the VFR? Any difference in models re pillion accomodation. Don't expect either bike to be a roomy as my old V-strom, but it is a consideration. Thanks again, fellas. Anyone want to shoot a buffalo, drop by.

Hello all, I’m looking to pick up a new tourer/ weekend sports bike and have narrowed the choice down for a VFR800 or BMW f800GT (like so many before). These bikes have been compared a number of times on this forum and the general consensus seems to be that there is a lot of overlap, with one of the big factors in favour of the VFR being its extra power and performance. That interests me because I don’t want to find myself on a bike that feels underpowered to me. I might mention here that I live in a very remote area of Australia, so I’m pretty much going to have to commit to one bike or the other, then fly to wherever to pick it up. Not much opportunity for multiple test rides, unfortunately. Thing is, when I take a close look at the figures, it actually seems the Beemer has the VFR well covered for performance, due to its significant weight advantage. Here’s a dyno chart comparison of the VFR and F800st, which is very similar to the GT: Hello all, I’m looking to pick up a new tourer/ weekend sports bike and have narrowed the choice down for a VFR800 or BMW f800GT (like so many before). These bikes have been compared a number of times on this forum and the general consensus seems to be that there is a lot of overlap, with one of the big factors in favour of the VFR being its extra power and performance. That interests me because I don’t want to find myself on a bike that feels underpowered to me. I might mention here that I live in a very remote area of Australia, so I’m pretty much going to have to commit to one bike or the other, then fly to wherever to pick it up. Not much opportunity for multiple test rides, unfortunately. Thing is, when I take a close look at the figures, it actually seems the Beemer has the VFR well covered for performance, due to its significant weight advantage. Here’s a dyno chart comparison of the VFR and F800st, which is very similar to the GT: First thing I take from this is that anywhere below 9000rpm the BMW easily tops the Honda for power and torque, while pushing about eighty pounds less weight. To my mind that has to equate to a significant performance advantage. Above nine grand the VFR starts making more power, but it still has a lot of ground to make up before it matches the BMWs power to weight ratio. In fact. I did some back of the envelope calculations and it seems that with a 180lb rider on board (me) the Honda only ever catches up with the BMW at absolute peak power, a narrow between 10500 to 11500 rpm. Everywhere else the BMW is making more power and torque, and carrying a lot less weight, with all the advantages of braking, cornering and agility that implies. I suspect the extra power of the VFR could give it an advantage at very high speeds, where wind resistance takes over from weight as the major limiting factor on performance, and I guess that would account for the VFRs slight better top speed and standing quarter times, but I don’t spend a lot of time on the salt flats or the drag strip. I can still see plenty of good reasons for buying the VFR, not least the gorgeous build quality I keep hearing about, and as the bike gets loaded up in touring mode, the balance would start to shift back to the VFR, so it might well be better on two up trips. But it does look like the BMW has got the sports part of the sports/tourer equation better covered. That said, for the previously mentioned reasons I have yet to ride either bike so I would be very interested in anyone who experience with both, or who can point out some fundamental flaw in my reasoning.