1 Year Later (a VFR1200F Review)

[mcrider007]

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.

You seem to be burning through tires at a pretty fast rate.     If you are OK with the OEM springs and have any adjustment left in the rebound damping, you might get better performance/ride by reducing the compression damping with a lighter fork oil.  Go to:

http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/lowspeed.htm

and look at the oil viscosity chart at the bottom of the page.  I think Honda puts SS-7 is their sport bikes so you can use that as a baseline.  I would guess you need an oil that is about 15-20 percent lighter to overcome the excessive compression damping.

[atadaskew]

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.

On the upside, the suspension on the Wing was better than my Valk Interstate.

[Meemuh]

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.

Nice write up...I like the first hand info better than what you find in a mag.
I won't buy one, but I like how they look.  

[Rincewind]

Thanks for the very informative write-up, ZenMoto.  

[FJRmgm]

interesting write-up on the bike.

For what that bike costs to purchase, the list of deficiencies should be much smaller..  

I've never owned a bike with a 110 mile fuel range - that is a deal killer to me.

But, glad you are happy with it.

[TwoWhldTerror]

interesting write-up on the bike.

For what that bike costs to purchase, the list of deficiencies should be much smaller..  

I've never owned a bike with a 110 mile fuel range - that is a deal killer to me.

But, glad you are happy with it.

How in the hell does a company make a sport TOURING bike with such pitiful fuel range?

[Silverbird]

I am glad you are happy with it as well and I'd love to own one but having to put all that money and mods into a bike that expensive and considered a do-it-all bike.

[leanin]

interesting write-up on the bike.

For what that bike costs to purchase, the list of deficiencies should be much smaller..  

I've never owned a bike with a 110 mile fuel range - that is a deal killer to me.

But, glad you are happy with it.

I always get at least 160 miles out of a tank on the VFR1200.  I had a SuperHawk that would only get 110 miles out of tank.  It was a FUN SPORT touring bike.  But, I definitely had to plan the gas stops in Montana and I never took a big trip without a siphon hose.  

[Acadian Rider]

Nice write-up ZenMoto.  

I have a weakness for Honda products (see my avatar) but the range would be a deal breaker for me.  

I did a 4,300 mile trip with 3 other riders lat year and one of them had to fuel every 150 miles.  That was a pain in the butt.  

 

[ZenMoto]

Glad you guys liked the write up.  ...I forgot to mention the grips (a definite negative).  The OEM grips are terrible; no other word for it.  My preference is a set of the ribbed (for her pleasure?) BMW grips, which make my hands much, much happier.

The range is definitely not tour-worthy, but is easily sport-tour worthy.  On a cross country burn it would be a paint to stop every 150-160 miles (which is exactly what I had to do on my VFR 800 when I rode that cross country).  I haven't seen a VFR get over 200 miles on a tank since my 4th gen (carbureted bike), but on the freeway I can average 40+ mpg on the 1200, which is good for 196 miles, if I take it really easy I can get mid 40s.

...most of my riding is in the canyons these days, and with the tight roads we have here, that means an average of 32ish mpg ...but that's NOT touring mileage!  lol

My list of complaints seems long, but it's really not significantly different from any other bike I've owned; it's just the sticker price that makes it seem overly-harsh.  Every bike has a bunch of foibles, some people just refuse to admit them!  lol

My evaluation was 100% honest (and somewhat picky), but VFR owners are a picky bunch.

All that said, I've yet to have someone ride my bike who didn't come back saying "Hmm, I could really get used to that!".  

[Paul B]

Thats really suprising. I have had 22 motorcycles, Mostly sportbikes (R1, GSXR750 & 1000, 2 Hayabusa's, 1100XX...) and currently ride an FJR. I am 46 years old, 5'10", 225 and got to take a new VFR for a 60 mile test ride. I loved it. I thought the suspension was great. I didn't think the reach tot he bars was to far at all. Felt like they made it for me. I'm thinking of buying one this week because I liked it so much. I also thought the grips felt great.

Paul B

[DaleFranks]

Thats really suprising. I have had 22 motorcycles, Mostly sportbikes (R1, GSXR750 & 1000, 2 Hayabusa's, 1100XX...) and currently ride an FJR. I am 46 years old, 5'10", 225 and got to take a new VFR for a 60 mile test ride. I loved it. I thought the suspension was great. I didn't think the reach tot he bars was to far at all. Felt like they made it for me. I'm thinking of buying one this week because I liked it so much. I also thought the grips felt great.

Paul B

+1

I was in almost exactly your situation last month. Except, I DID buy it. 4 weeks and 1100 miles later, I've discovered one horribly disappointing thing about the VFR1200.

It BEGS you to...do things. Awful, illegal things. Adrenaline-surging, V-4 growling things. Things you absolutely, positively, cannot do. It is a minute-by-minute struggle not to lay my palm heavily on the throttle, feel and hear that growly V-4 surge, and take off like a rocket. 100MPH on the VFR 1200 is nothing. It’ll do that in third, with plenty of top end to spare before redline. It is positively painful to obey traffic laws on the VFR in a way the FJR never was.

And now I live with that pain every day.

[staedtler]

And now I live with that pain every day.

hang in there bro...hang in there  

[falconati]

Thats really suprising. I have had 22 motorcycles, Mostly sportbikes (R1, GSXR750 & 1000, 2 Hayabusa's, 1100XX...) and currently ride an FJR. I am 46 years old, 5'10", 225 and got to take a new VFR for a 60 mile test ride. I loved it. I thought the suspension was great. I didn't think the reach tot he bars was to far at all. Felt like they made it for me. I'm thinking of buying one this week because I liked it so much. I also thought the grips felt great.

Paul B

If it feels right to you, get one - they're an absolute steal at the 10/11k you can get one for brand new.  I was looking at one, but realized I only wanted it because of the great price.  I haven't been able to ride it, otherwise I might just buy it.

[Kraz]

Very nice write up!

I certainly like seeing all the thoughts in one nice, well-thought out post from someone with plenty of experience.

 

With all the differences in opinion here - it's no wonder nobody can build the perfect bike.  

[Silverbird]

I just don't get the crap suspension thing. I weigh 160 and as an example think the stock ST1300 suspension is excellent.  I guess I just don't ride that hard.  Could anyone who dislikes the stock VFR suspension say the same thing about an ST1300?  All the mags adore the suspension, not that you can trust them.

[MisterSmooth]

Nice writeup and thorough explanation of both the good things and the bad things about the 1200F.  Thanks for taking the time.

And that opening photo is terrific!   Lovin' that!

[evilted]

I'm "only" 185 lbs, but most Japanese bikes seem under-sprung and insufficiently damped to me.  

If the widely held/oft cited belief that Japanese manufacturers use a 160 lbs rider as their suspension tuning reference is correct, then it seems likely that you'd find the stock suspension on most Japanese makes to be better sprung and damped than a heavier rider will.

I just don't get the crap suspension thing. I weigh 160 and as an example think the stock ST1300 suspension is excellent.  I guess I just don't ride that hard.  Could anyone who dislikes the stock VFR suspension say the same thing about an ST1300?  All the mags adore the suspension, not that you can trust them.

[Silverbird]

Maybe so, my XX stock was garbage all the way around but that thing was designed in the mid-90's.  Getting on my Dad's ST1300 surprised the hell out of me.

Time to piss some people off/conradict myself/plant tongue in cheek

The ideal body weight for a 5'10" man is about 155-160lbs. The average American is probably closer to 175.  You can't scream at Honda for not suspending a bike that won't hold up your fat ass.  The aftermarket has your solution, but just like your double bacon cheeseburgers, you are going to have to pay for it.

[evilted]

Hah, let's not pretend Honda's indifference means they give a damn about the average American's health.  

Even assuming that the "ideal" figure you're quoting has anything to do with anything  (the US Dept of Health has a BMI calculator that claims I'd be in the "healthy" range at a weight so shockingly low that I can't imagine being strong enough to carry a single bag of groceries to the car.)  The Big 4 are sending under-sprung bikes -- bikes that do not fit the requirements of the average American -- to the American market to save themselves a few bucks.  If Honda wants to assume that the average CBR600RR rider is 160 lbs, they can do it under the pretense that such bikes are race replicas, but a Goldwing or an ST1300?  C'mon.  

BMW riders may disagree as I lack firsthand experience here, but Ducati and BMW seem not to have this problem (all of my Ducs have had vastly better suspension, including the non-Ohlins bits).  As far as the Japanese are concerned, the American motorcycle market is small, and does not account for enough of their annual output for the Big 4 to feel motivated enough to make the bikes fit the market better.  Compare this with the history of Japanese cars in the comparatively large and lucrative American car market, where the product has continually been changed and refined to fit American needs rather than trying to make the American fit the product.

Japanese motorcycle sales in the US have cratered since 2008, whereas BMW and Ducati have done pretty well.  I think there might be a connection.   So, Honda can do whatever it wants, and it will suffer the consequences accordingly.  

The ideal body weight for a 5'10" man is about 155-160lbs. The average American is probably closer to 175.  You can't scream at Honda for not suspending a bike that won't hold up your fat ass.  The aftermarket has your solution, but just like your double bacon cheeseburgers, you are going to have to pay for it.