Rodan

They are the Delkevic "X-oval" cans. I wanted something a little different than their round cans. They weren't listed as an application for the 6th Gen VFR on Delkevic's site, but most of their mufflers have the same inlet dimensions so I was going to mix/match parts. I then found the X-oval set as a VFR application on their eBay store. IMHO they do look a little better than the short round cans on the 6th Gen. They sound fantastic.

I don't do as much touring as I used to, but I do like the utility of hard bags, even around town. I think the widest setup I've had was a 1st gen VStrom 1k with Givi bags... definitely needed a 'wide load' placard! I had Givi 'cruiser bags' on my 'Busa and that was a really nice setup. Much narrower, and top opening. Had to pile more stuff on the seat, but it was a surprisingly good touring mount. I run just a small top box on my FJ-09 occasionally, and that was a nice compromise, but the factory bags on that were pretty narrow, so I usually just ran the bags.

Since I also have an Interceptor with GIVI bags in the garage at the moment*, here's a comparison back to back.... The Honda bags are about 6" narrower overall. OEM Honda: GIVI: * My BIL was shopping VFRs at the same time I was, and after a couple deals fell through, I put him onto a bike here in AZ that was my back-up plan if the deal on the one I bought fell through. He ended up making the deal, so I picked up the bike for him and am storing it until he can do a fly-ride or have it transported back to WI. So for now, I have double parked VFRs in the shop...

I thought my experience in obtaining OEM hard luggage might be informative/useful for others, because things have apparently changed over the years since the bags were in production. When I bought my '07 Anniversary Interceptor a little over a month ago, I knew I wanted hard bags. I was unsuccessful in locating an Anniversary RWB bike with OEM Honda bags, so once I got it home, I started researching. I pretty quickly decided that I wanted the OEM Honda bags... even though they are basically Givi bags, the mounting brackets tuck them in better, and shape integrates better with the bike. Option #1 was to look for used bags (eBay, etc), but I couldn't find anything, so I started researching part numbers. I was able to find the part numbers for the brackets and bags pretty easily, and discovered that there were originally two separate part numbers for the brackets (side mounts and center brace) and additional part numbers for the bags. I was able to track down the center brace on eBay, and found what I believe to be the last set of side brackets in the US at a dealership in Ohio. I was also able to order the bags new from Honda, and was told at the time I got one of seven sets of blue bags left in the US. Side brackets: 08L41-MCW-1000W Center brace: 08L41-MCW-800B (number no longer in Honda's system) Blue bags: 08L41-MCW-1E0 To my great surprise, the bags purchased under the part number above included all the mounting brackets! None of my research had indicated that would be the case, but then again, almost all the threads I found on the subject were at least 10 years old... All in, it's not a bad deal, and only about $200 more than buying the current production bags and brackets from GIVI (not including my extra brackets... LOL). TLDR: there are still some OEM bags out there, and the blue ones, at least, come with the mounting brackets. On to the rest of the story... When I started installing the mounting brackets it was immediately apparent that they were not going to fit with my Delkevic exhaust. The mounting arm that bolts to the center bracket behind the license plate is angled to match the triangular OEM muffler and wouldn't clear the oval aftermarket muffler. I am fortunate enough to have the ability and tools to do some fabrication, so I cut off the offending mounting arm, and modified the center brace so the stay would be horizontal instead of angled, and thus clear the muffler. Then I welded everything back together. The rest of the mounting procedure was easy bolt-up, per the instructions.

The Chief Joseph Hwy is a great ride! It's been a long time (2004!) since I was there on a bike. Not too far off 120 we came across a BMW rider that had hit a deer. He was OK, but his bike was wiped out. We continued over the Byway and Bear Tooth into Red Lodge and back to Cody. I drove it on four wheels a couple of years ago.... middle of June and still lots of snow. We have friends living in Cody now, and get up that way every couple of years. I need to take a bike with me next trip! 2004 2019

I've long been a VFR fan, and in fact a '96 VFR750F was the first bike I ever bought new... I think I was on a VFR forum way back then, but it's been a minute. Since then, I've done a lot of riding, drag racing, road racing and touring and 20 some bikes later, I'm back to a Honda V4. I sold my last bike (FJ-09) about 3 years ago because I was tired of the homicidal drivers where we lived. We've since retired, and it was time to get back on two wheels. Last weekend, I picked up a very clean '07 Interceptor in Freddie Spencer colors. Back when these came out, I loved the look, but the VTEC was a bit of a turn-off, and what I really wanted was a 1000cc VFR, so I never got that interested. Today, these bikes are a really good value, and I had forgotten how nice the Honda V4s are to ride. Even if it doesn't have gear driven cams... 😉 Anyway, I'm sure I'll be scouring the forum for info on the bike since it's been a while since I had a VFR. Looking forward to many happy miles!