1 Year Later (a VFR1200F Review)

[ZenMoto]

Ok, so January 23rd marked the 1 year anniversary of me buying the VFR1200, something I was thinking about Sunday as I was navigating the rippled, torn up, gritty, off-camber, crap-shoot that is Deer Creek Rd..

In that year I have managed a paltry 12,000 miles (give or a take a couple hundred) due to various family obligations, etc..

While I was riding around I started to think about the trap I always get myself into with vehicles.  I use them for a while, then something shiny and new comes along, and I find myself thinking "That would be so much cooler / better / more fun than what I have!"  It got me to switch from my trusty Tacoma to the FJ Cruiser (which I still love, but am not IN
love with ...really need a pickup).  And it's happened with several bikes I've owned; ...and I've owned a lot of bikes!

...granted, some, like the KTM 950 Adventure, for good reason, it really did kill my lower back to ride more than a couple hours at a time (unless it was off road, with a lot of standing).  In truth, most of the "I gotta have it" that I've experienced stemmed from a real need or deficiency in my current conveyance; the Magna just wasn't sporty enough anymore, the XR400 was terrible in the sand ...which the desert is full of, etc..

So while I was out and about on the VFR, I started wondering, what will replace the VFR when the time comes?  ...what could a bike offer that would make me want to give up the VFR and go with something else?

...and the answer I kept coming up with was ...nothing!

Granted, my VFR is MUCH improved from stock; it had SERIOUS issues from the factory, many of which are killing it on sales floors around the globe.  So here is my list of complaints / criticisms as it came from the factory, as well as the solutions (if any):

Fuel Range - If I ride in a sporty fashion I'm on the blinking light at 110 miles (but now know I have at least 30 miles until I NEED gas).
        If I baby it, I can get 46 mpg which gets me over 200 miles on a tank ...but I can't ever seem to baby it that much for a whole tank.  ...perhaps on a trip up the coast, at night ...in the fog!
        On the 2012 they've squeezed 0.4 gallons more into the space ...not much, but it helps.
       ***I've learned to live with it.  ...my Magna had worse range, and it never killed me, but it could be an issue should I ever get the chance to do another cross country trip!

Fuel Gauge - Ok, WTF Honda!!!  Very consistently, I will go 48 - 54 miles with before the 1st (of 7) bars on the gauge drops off.
         I will lose a bar every 10 miles after that until I'm blinking on empty (the final bar) at around 110 - 115 miles.  Is it really THAT hard to make a reasonably accurate gas gauge???
         ***not a big deal, just freakin' ANNOYING!!!

Power deliver / 1st & 2nd gear restriction - If you look at this photo you will see how bad the power delivery is in 1st gear from the factory (RED LINES are OEM POWER AND TORQUE):

         

         ...and here is the HORRIBLE 2nd gear, again RED lines are what you are looking at:

         

         ***If you looked at the BLACK lines, you'll see how the Bazzaz Z-Bomb improves performance
                  The Z-Bomb is just a plug in version of a known wiring harness hack, which fools the ECU into thinking you're in 3rd for 1st & 2nd.  The down side is, your dashboard displays 3rd from 1st - 3rd, ...I'm waaaay over caring about the dash display, the bike
is SO much better like this.
                  I'd LOVE to hear someone who knows (from Honda) explain why they felt like fucking up the bike this badly; it REALLY is THAT bad stock!!!  ...bad enough I was having buyers remorse until it was fixed!!!

Suspension - Well, what can I say, I'm not a skinny guy @ 6', 225#, so it's hard to judge stock suspension fairly.
         That said, on a $16,000 bike, it's criminal that Honda puts better suspension on their $10k sportbikes than on their flagship techno-tour de force.
         From the factory the settings all had to be zeroed and slowly dialed in (normal), but nothing, and I mean NOTHING could make the rear feel good (remember, I'm 225#, so this isn't shocking).  There is only preload and rebound damping front and rear, and that's too damned bad!!!  On the rear, with the sag set correctly (preload) you only had rebound left to play with.  
         Dial in more rebound damping and the ride gets brutally harsh and feels disconnected from the pavement.
         Dial in less rebound and suddenly you're riding on a pogo stick, just bouncing your way down the road; ...very unsettling.  The rear was so bad it was impossible to draw a conclusion about the front!

         ***I spent $1000 of my former KTM on an Ohlins shock!  It's still not perfect, and I still need to play with it more, but night and day better!!!
                  I was able to dial the front in to a very usable setting after getting the rear to settle down, which makes me very, very happy.
                  Even though it's still not 100% dialed in, I can now ride the bike as hard as my sight lines will allow, and feel confident in the process; impossible with the stock shock!

No center stand? - I thought this would be and issue ...until I thought about it!
         Honda wants something like $250 to add a factory center stand, PitBull wanted $150 for a rear stand that works in the OEM bracket.

         ***PitBull for the win!!!  I have their rear and front stands for the VFR for little more than the center stand would have cost.  ...it's not like I'm servicing a chain on the road!!!

Black paint on the tank - A minor quibble, but the day I brought the VFR home I noticed that the black section of the tank was already rashed up pretty good from just a quick spin in the Santa Monica Mts..
         The black paint is very soft, and black shows scratches badly!  I didn't want to wear through the paint on the tank like a buddy did on his matte black Speed Triple.

         ***TheTankSlapper.biz to the rescue.  For $30 I got a 3M tank protector kit from them that is nearly invisible and super tough.
         It took some patience to install, but it has proven worth while, and when it starts to wear out, I will install another set ASAP.

                   BEST $30 I've spent on the bike!!!

Buzziness - This is a me thing, I think.  Every VFR I've owned (4th & 5th gens) have made my throttle hand fall asleep; this one is no different.
         Exacerbated by the displacement, no doubt, it would make my hand fall asleep almost instantly on the slab (not good).

         ***Throttle Rocker, Throttlemeister bar ends, and gel grips have all been employed in an attempt to curb this, as well as some hokey "tuned resonance in-bar dampers" which don't do shit. The result is somewhat less vibration, possibly at a different RPM range, that make the bike much more user friendly for me.
         My hands still eventually go to sleep on the slab, but now I can lock the throttle and give my hand a rest, and it's not as severe to begin with!

Bar reach - Riding a friend's 6th gen VFR back to back with my 1200 confirms that the reach to the bars is just a little more aggressive than previous VFRs, and I notice it.
         At first my neck bothered me, though now I'm used to it. ...now it's just that my wrists get fatigued a bit after a day of riding.

         ***This could be as much due to my flabby core as the reach, but I'm willing to shed pounds more quickly than I'm willing to shed $350 on bar risers!

                   ...I may try Heli-bars in the future, but for now, it's just not worth the $$$ for a 3/8" increase in height.

Tires - Not surprisingly, the OEM tires are CRAP!

         ***Pilot Road 3 ...'nuff said!  These tires are the shizzle!  ...that's right, I just said SHIZZLE!!!

Luggage - It's small, but expensive!  ...but I really like it.  I don't pack heavy on long trips, so there's plenty of room in the 3 bags, and I got them thrown in for a decent price.
         The left bag will let significant water in if left sitting on the side stand out in the rain.  ...nothing seems to get in when in motion, but it definitely gets in while sitting (so use a WP bag when packing)
         Most size large and smaller helmets will fit in the trunk, no helmet (maybe a half shell) will fit in the side bags.  

       ***I love the mounting system and locks, and the look great on the bike.  I've wired and SAE power adapter to the bottom of the trunk, so my phone etc. can be charging while I'm out and about.

So that's my "As honest and thorough as I can be!" assessment of the
V12's negatives.

As for the positives, I'll just run through them quickly:

Power - Pure awesomesauce!  Now that the 1-2 thing is fixed, the bike is sheer joy to ride at any speed, on any surface.  She pulls like a freight train and will allow you to unleash the hooligan inside on a whim!

Comfort - Seats are highly personal, I've never had an OEM seat that didn't kill me  ...until now!  I can do canyons, literally, ALL day on this seat.  On the slab though, 3-4 hours start hurting (not bad for OEM).

Wind Protection - Without any of the overpriced OEM add-ons, it puts the wind right where you want it (for my 6' frame anyway), and I get NONE of the heat on my feet of previous VFRs.

Fit and finish - Simply stunning.  Not only does it look fantastic, but it's the easiest VFR to take apart for basic service yet.  ...I'll know more about valve service this spring!

Maintenance - Speaking of...  No chain!  The shaft not only feels like a well adjusted chain (very, very little noticeable lash) but it's super easy to change the oil (and the service interval is WIDE, though I change it more frequently than required, since it's so easy).

Handling - Have I mentioned, that with the new shock, I can ride the piss out of this thing???  It easily handles as well as my 4th gen VFR (which had Fox shock and Race Tech front and stands as the best handling bike I've ever owned).  ...that is some feat for a bike that weighs nearly 200# more.  

...you seriously don't feel the weight, and the bike only feels big after climbing off, and onto say ...a Superhawk or older VFR!  lol  ...once moving, forget it though, pure heaven!!!

Brakes - Dear Lord!  ...a bike this heavy shouldn't be able to stop this fast, but it does, and it has ABS too!

Bazzaz - Not only did they fix the 1st and 2nd gear BS from Honda, but they gave it the full fuel management system, complete with bar switchable mapping (why? ...who cares!)
         They also gave it traction control, again, complete with a bar mounted dial with settings from off to very aggressive control.  Did I mention the quick shift?  ...I don't use it all the time, but sometimes, it's SO much fun to blast up to 135 mph without ever letting off the throttle!  :wink:

Akropovic - Very, very nice exhaust.  Limited choices due to having the luggage (everyone makes a "hi-mount" system, that is incompatible with the factory bags) but Akro offers both, and it sounds amazing with the baffle out (the way I run it).  ...not annoyingly loud, but sounds great!

Grin Factor - Possibly the most important feature of any motorcycle!
        Grin factor is that thing that gets you out of the house at zero-dark:30
        It is what makes you decide to take Piuma - Schuerin - Saddle Peak - Tuna Cyn. - PCH to get to Malibu Market from the Mulholland / Malibu Cyn. intersection!

        It's why you make excuses not to take the cage to work ...even when it's cold and wet out.

This bike has Grin Factor in it's blood.  When I get on the VFR I find myself thinking things like "Should I run to the beach, or head up to Morro Bay ...I've got a couple hours!!!"

In the past year, there hasn't been a time I've gone out on the VFR and not come home to say "God I love that BIKE!!!".  ...true story!!!

If this one were to die and untimely death, or when it just plain wears out (which, with my lowish mileage of late, should take a long, long time) I don't think there's another bike that I would want. ...this is it.

For me, the VFR, as it currently stands, is pretty damned close to the perfect bike!!!  Could it use more range, sure.  Could I use a custom seat for long days, sure.  Do I wish it were less buzzy on the fwy, yeah, but not enough to get an inline 4.

If I had to buy a new bike tomorrow, I'd go get another VFR1200F; that's as high an endorsement as I can give a bike today!  

...so that's it.  My year in review from the seat of a 2010 VFR1200F.  No punches pulled, and I don't think I missed anything!

[Dan K]

Nice write up.  I guess you like your bike!  First I've heard of the 1st and 2nd gear issue - nice fix.

- Dan

[Justin]

Nice write up.  

- Dan

+1

Glad you are enjoying it. It wasn't what I wanted from Honda, but glad it's what you wanted. And the fuel gauge issue, mine does that too. But mine will go 60 or so miles before it crosses the full line, then drop like a rock in the middle, then do the same at the end. But if you look at the shape of the tank and the position of the arm, it makes sense.

[ZenMoto]

Actually, on paper, it isn't at all what I wanted.  ...I wanted Honda to make the Aprilia RSV4.

But after spending significant time on it, I've come to realize that it is a pretty great all arounder, just like the VFRs before it were.  I hear a lot of people complaining that it isn't a sportbike, or "sporty enough" for them ...makes me wonder if they've really ridden one.

I can, quite seriously, ride it just as hard, just as quickly (only faster in the straights) as my previous generation VFRs.  While I'm not a racer, and have no aspirations of making this a track-day bike, for real world sport riding, I can ride it every bit as fast as my sight lines allow as "reasonably sane" in the canyons.  ...and I'm not a particularly slow rider.

I think the biggest tragedy of this bike, is that Honda missed the mark so widely, in a few key areas, that really kill it for a chunk of the core enthusiasts (of which I generally count myself among).  The suspension lacks adjust-ability (trademark of all VFRs, sadly), and the range is a bit short ...not as short as people try to make it out to be, but short all the same.

If you look up the VFR1200 on fuelly.com, you'll see that mine has the most fill ups (at 94 as of today) with an average of 35.1, and that's mostly very aggressive canyon riding.   ...that's 172 miles to true-empty at an extremely spirited pace.  If you go with my best mileage (done cruising PCH from Morro Bay to Thousand Oaks, CA.) of 49.4, that's 242 miles on a tank ...not too shabby!

The 2012 adds a (whopping) 0.4 gallons, which doesn't help much, but doesn't hurt either.

The big shame is that Honda didn't see the resistance to the new bike coming, and that it was priced so high relative to past VFRs.  If Honda had gone out of their way to let VFR owners really get a feel for the 1200, and avoided some of their stupidity in the development (the 1st & 2nd gear handicap), they could have left a whole different impression on the market.

[Silverbird]

The '12 only adds .1 gallons but I hear they might de-restrict 1st and 2nd because of traction control.

Great to hear you enjoy is but you left out a couple of things that's a deal breaker for most. Looks and price.

[Justin]

Actually, on paper, it isn't at all what I wanted.  ...I wanted Honda to make the Aprilia RSV4.

And I wanted an CBR1100xx replacement  

Honestly, my biggest complaint with the bike when it came out was the price. But that seems to be a moot point now, seeing as you can grab them for $10k these days.

But it's nice to actual hear feedback from someone that has ridden it for a year, rather than the usual threads where us folks who have not ridden it bitch about what we don't like about it  

[mcrider007]

Suspension - Well, what can I say, I'm not a skinny guy @ 6', 225#, so it's hard to judge stock suspension fairly.
         That said, on a $16,000 bike, it's criminal that Honda puts better suspension on their $10k sportbikes than on their flagship techno-tour de force.
         From the factory the settings all had to be zeroed and slowly dialed in (normal), but nothing, and I mean NOTHING could make the rear feel good (remember, I'm 225#, so this isn't shocking).  There is only preload and rebound damping front and rear, and that's too damned bad!!!  On the rear, with the sag set correctly (preload) you only had rebound left to play with.  
         Dial in more rebound damping and the ride gets brutally harsh and feels disconnected from the pavement.
         Dial in less rebound and suddenly you're riding on a pogo stick, just bouncing your way down the road; ...very unsettling.  The rear was so bad it was impossible to draw a conclusion about the front!

         ***I spent $1000 of my former KTM on an Ohlins shock!  It's still not perfect, and I still need to play with it more, but night and day better!!!
                  I was able to dial the front in to a very usable setting after getting the rear to settle down, which makes me very, very happy.
                  Even though it's still not 100% dialed in, I can now ride the bike as hard as my sight lines will allow, and feel confident in the process; impossible with the stock shock!

Nice evaluation!    I have been waiting for someone who actually owns a VFR1200F to document that is comes with some of the worst suspension ever put on a modern motorcycle.  I was only able to ride one for 60 miles but I thought both ends were total pieces of shit...and it didn't matter what the surface was.  One of my friends (who owns a 07 VFR) also rode it because he didn't believe the suspension  could be as bad as I described but afterward he said my comments were point on.   I am surprised you could get the front end to work without new springs and re-valving but maybe that's something you should also consider.  As you said, its (almost) criminal that Honda put such cheap, non-adjustable suspension on their flagship techno-tour de force that they are actually trying to market as a sports bike.  I hope Honda loses a lot of money on this bike because anyone who paid anywhere near MSRP is going to be in the same position.

[ZenMoto]

The front really isn't that bad ...once you get the rear end to actually connect to the road.  The rear, it seemed to me, just had WAY too much compression damping, so no matter what you did it felt harsh and jittery.  ...so it was either stiff, harsh and jittery, or bouncy, harsh and jittery!  lol

With that settled, I was able to dial the front in reasonably well (which I also found surprising)!

[scottzilla]

Cool write up.

Reminds me a bit of the XX.  Overpriced on the showroom floor, inadequate suspension on their flagship Sport bike, long reach to the bars, EXPENSIVE luggage options, Enormous gas tank but it has you pull over with 2 gallons left in the tank (Yup-not quite the same but in the typical Honda gas guage spirit),
Handles better than you would think.
Honda doesn't stray far from it's roots (But I do have a center stand).

[squeezer]

Nice evaluation!    

Darn tootin'. I was hoping someone would give us a real world review. Thanks.  

[garry]

Great review. I haven't followed the bike at all, but was amazed at the before/after dyno curves you posted. How could Honda release something so crippled?

[scottzilla]

Great review. I haven't followed the bike at all, but was amazed at the before/after dyno curves you posted. How could Honda release something so crippled?

I think he's just being brutally honest.    

[mcrider007]

The front really isn't that bad ...once you get the rear end to actually connect to the road.  The rear, it seemed to me, just had WAY too much compression damping, so no matter what you did it felt harsh and jittery.  ...so it was either stiff, harsh and jittery, or bouncy, harsh and jittery!  lol

With that settled, I was able to dial the front in reasonably well (which I also found surprising)!

I thought both ends were way under sprung with way too much compression damping, the worst of both worlds...and the dealership had set up the front with max preload.  I wasn't that concerned about the shock since the shock can always be replaced but I didn't know what I could do with the forks since I live 225 miles from a good suspension shop (GP Suspension) and I figured it would take a couple of tries to get the valving right on a brand new model.... but even if they were able to work their magic on the forks, the compression damping would still be non-adjustable and I ride in temperatures that range from 40 to 105.

I really wanted to like the 1200F, and I did except for the suspension, but that was too  much of a deal breaker, even if my dealer were willing to sell it at cost (which they did after it sat in their showroom for a year).  After I did my test ride I went back and re-read every magazine and online "test" I could find and never found any negative comments about the suspension except for one lone comment that heavier riders might want stiffer springs.

[leanin]

I bought a leftover '10 VFR1200 less than 2 months ago and have a little over 2,000 miles on it...best January weather ever for motorcycling in OK, AR.  I'm very surprised at the criticism of the suspension.  I weigh 175lbs and am extremely impressed with the suspension on the new VFR.  The only time I've even considered changing the suspension is when riding 2-up.  I turned the preload up and it handled the 125lb wife just fine.  

For those familiar with the XX, for me the VFR suspension is much better than that on the two XX's I had('97 and '99).  BTW, the suspension on the '99 XX was MUCH better than that on the '97.  I bought all 3 of these bikes new, so the XXs didn't have clapped out suspension when I bought them.

I also have an '08 CBR1000RR and '06 MV Agusta Brutale.  I know comparing the VFR suspension to them is apples and oranges.  But, for the VFR's intended purpose and my purpose... sporty, sport-touring, I'm as happy with the suspension on the VFR as the CBR's... which is extremely happy.  The MV suspension, on the other hand, is quite bone jarring in comparison to the VFR and CBR's.

2 friends also have VFR1200s.  One weighs about 140lbs and the other weighs about 290lbs.  They've both fiddled with their adjusters and are very happy with the suspension on their's as well.  The 290lbs puts about 120,000 miles a year on motorcycles and swears that the stock VFR suspension is better than his Ohlins equipped Bandit 1250 and his Ohlins equipped ST1300.

[mcrider007]

I bought a leftover '10 VFR1200 less than 2 months ago and have a little over 2,000 miles on it...best January weather ever for motorcycling in OK, AR.  I'm very surprised at the criticism of the suspension.  I weigh 175lbs and am extremely impressed with the suspension on the new VFR.  The only time I've even considered changing the suspension is when riding 2-up.  I turned the preload up and it handled the 125lb wife just fine.  

Thank you for your input...and after reading your comments I don't know what to think.    You obviously have a lot of riding experience and some good bikes to use in comparison.  In my case, two of us rode the same bike about 3 weeks apart...over the same roads and at the same speeds.  We both have over 30 years of riding experience and owned dozens of bikes including VFRs.  I weigh about 215 without riding clothes and he is around 195.  Our sport bike riding skills are pretty equal, when we ride different bikes the one on the fastest bike is also the fastest rider.  On the day he rode the 1200F I was riding my C14 and when we got to our favorite twisty section with lots of bumps and broken pavement...he could not keep up with me....stating that the Honda was so unstable going through the uneven corners that he did not have confidence it would stick to the road and he had to back off the speed.  I knew exactly what he was talking about because I did the same thing on the same corners when I was on the 1200F.  

The only thing I can add is that the rebound damping felt fine, all the problems seemed to be with the spring rate and compression damping.  We both thought the engine was great.

[leanin]

mcrider007, wow, your response confuses me too!    I haven't ridden a C14 to make that kind of comparison.  But, now I want too!  I admit my favorite roads for the VFR aren't rough, broken and potholed.  Those are the type of roads I've only enjoyed on the 950 Adventure and other dual sports.  But, to me the VFR1200 handles those roads as well or better than any other sport/sport touring bike I've ridden.  Now, you have me wanting to bum a ride on a C14.  

[ZenMoto]

mcrisder007, I'll add that the OEM tires, combined with the not-so-great stock suspension meant that my first 3081 miles were at a much reduced from normal pace! ...but I still pushed them reasonably hard:





The stock tires SUCKED and made the bike feel even more vague than the suspension did!

The second set of tires I mis-ordered, and got Pilot Powers instead of Pilot Roads (hint, don't order tires online at 2am)!  lol

Didn't shoot the front, but you can see on the Powers that I'm still spending more time in the middle of the tire than the edges, but starting to get a feel for the bike (and favoring the left side a bit):



...this was at 5825 miles, so I only got 2744 miles out of that set.

It literally took me getting the Ohlins shock, a few weeks of dialing in the suspension (with the stock front) and a full set of Pilot Road 3s (about 4200 miles) to finally hit my comfort level on the bike.  Now, on my 2nd set of PR3s, I have them more than half shagged in about 1400 miles of canyon riding.

I don't have any pics of the 1st set of PR3s I took off the bike but they were definitely more worn on the sides than the middle finally, and are definitely THE tire for this bike.

As I said above, I can now ride this bike as fast, or faster, than any of my previous VFRs over the same roads ...definitely faster in the straights!  lol

[atadaskew]

  As you said, its (almost) criminal that Honda put such cheap, non-adjustable suspension on their flagship techno-tour de force that they are actually trying to market as a sports bike.

Honda also does that with their flagship touring bike.  My Wing 1800 had crap suspension too.  A popular mod was to go to Traxxion Dynamics but that is big $ and seeing the Wing now is over $20K...

It seems they only put decent suspension on their CBR bikes.

[mcrider007]

mcrider007, wow, your response confuses me too!    I haven't ridden a C14 to make that kind of comparison.  But, now I want too!  I admit my favorite roads for the VFR aren't rough, broken and potholed.  Those are the type of roads I've only enjoyed on the 950 Adventure and other dual sports.  But, to me the VFR1200 handles those roads as well or better than any other sport/sport touring bike I've ridden.  Now, you have me wanting to bum a ride on a C14.  

Well, I didn't mean to imply that the C14's suspension is all that great.  The front end is over sprung with 1.2 KG springs and the shock has too much compression damping but on that day I was easily out running my riding partner.  He was being conservative since he was riding a demo but he was also very frustrated at how unstable the 1200F was on uneven and broken pavement.  I recently upgraded the C14's suspension with fully adjustable ZX-14 forks (with heavier springs) and a Penske shock.  I think if you rode my C14 today you would be impressed.

[mcrider007]

Honda also does that with their flagship touring bike.  My Wing 1800 had crap suspension too.  A popular mod was to go to Traxxion Dynamics but that is big $ and seeing the Wing now is over $20K...

It seems they only put decent suspension on their CBR bikes.

Been there, done that.  When I tell people the GL1800 has crap suspension they think I am a noob and give me strange looks when I tell them the GL1800 only has a cartridge in the right fork and and a pretty useless damper rod in the left fork.   I had Traxxion rebuild the OEM shock and went for the cheap $125 spring upgrade kit for the forks.  It still did not have as good as ride as my FJR but was a huge improvement over stock.  If it had been my only bike I probably would have written Traxxion a check for $1200 and got the AK-20s for the forks.