This month's issue of Motor Cyclist magazine on pages 14-15 has the same spy photos of the 1200 VFR it also talks about the engine configuration and the dual clutch transmission. There's a sidebar on the ST 1300 replacement too but still these are sketches and spy photos.
In the back on page 90 they feature the 6th Gen under Smart Money listing the BMW F800ST, Ducati ST3 and Suzuki Katana 750 as also smart, if you are familiar with the layout of this section. Back to the 6th Gen VFR, the article sums up with Cheers, "inimitable V-4 charisma in a sporty, long playing package. Jeers Crotch-cooking engine heat in city traffic, VTEC dent in power curve. I don't agree with the heat and have no problems with the V-Tec, Verdict: The light-heavyweight sport touring champion of the world. On this I agree.
I was looking all over the place to see if there was a picture of Magellin in the "Goin Green" story! They had his electric bike he helped develop for sure but nope not him.
[image: View Post]choco, on Sep 13 2009, 09:56 AM, said:
Jeers Crotch-cooking engine heat in city traffic, VTEC dent in power curve. I don't agree with the heat and have no problems with the V-Tec,
Is it possible your climate may be different that what other people experience?
In Florida, I've gone as far as to shut it down at known long traffic lights. On the other hand the radiator heat has been helpful when It turned cold after dark and I was wearing warm-weather leggings.
I'm hoping that "heat problem" will extend my riding season a little. :biggrin:
[image: View Post]marbs34, on Sep 12 2009, 10:23 PM, said:
[image: View Post]choco, on Sep 13 2009, 09:56 AM, said:
Jeers Crotch-cooking engine heat in city traffic, VTEC dent in power curve. I don't agree with the heat and have no problems with the V-Tec,
Is it possible your climate may be different that what other people experience?
In Florida, I've gone as far as to shut it down at known long traffic lights. On the other hand the radiator heat has been helpful when It turned cold after dark and I was wearing warm-weather leggings.
I'm with Choco on this one. I get hot sitting in traffic in summer from my riding gear, but never from the 6th gen....
I actually haven't even heard of this one before, ST yes, 6th gen VFR, no...
No engine heat problem here either, even on 90+ deg days.
Obviously whoever wrote the 6th gen piece has never owned a 1st gen FJR. :laugh:
I don't recall ANY heat issues on my 6th gen.
How about this scenario.
90+ deg 80+% humidity.
You have moved less than 1/2 mile in about 10 minutes and the fans finally come on and blast your inner legs with hot air from the radiator.
This is where i personally agree with the mag writer, if you've never been there then don't worry about it.
This of course is what it's like for me to take a trip home during lunch sometimes. I never said that the fans and radiator weren't good at getting the job done, but if you have to sit still with them on while idling waiting for two light sequences to pass through an intersection then you can understand that it momentarily sucks.
[image: View Post]marbs34, on Sep 13 2009, 12:29 AM, said:
How about this scenario.
90+ deg 80+% humidity.
You have moved less than 1/2 mile in about 10 minutes and the fans finally come on and blast your inner legs with hot air from the radiator.
This is where i personally agree with the mag writer, if you've never been there then don't worry about it.
This of course is what it's like for me to take a trip home during lunch sometimes. I never said that the fans and radiator weren't good at getting the job done, but if you have to sit still with them on while idling waiting for two light sequences to pass through an intersection then you can understand that it momentarily sucks.
What motorcycle would be cool in this scenario??
[image: View Post]marbs34, on Sep 12 2009, 09:23 PM, said:
[image: View Post]choco, on Sep 13 2009, 09:56 AM, said:
Jeers Crotch-cooking engine heat in city traffic, VTEC dent in power curve. I don't agree with the heat and have no problems with the V-Tec,
Is it possible your climate may be different that what other people experience?
In Florida, I've gone as far as to shut it down at known long traffic lights. On the other hand the radiator heat has been helpful when It turned cold after dark and I was wearing warm-weather leggings.
I consider the Vfr on the border line heat wise , but I know bikes like st1300 are far worse than vfr as are many other bikes. But I rate the vfr at the heat limit to the rider, cause I live in Far southern U>S. I agree in the winter heat is good.
I just read that piece. I'd agree with some of it, but not all of it. The heat can be annoying while sitting in traffic on a hot day, but I think most bikes make you suffer in that scenario at least a little.
Name one bike that's perfect off the showroom floor for every person who buys it? Yeah, that's what I thought. The VFR is no different. The 6th gen. may not be the best VFR ever but it's one of the best all-around streetbikes ever produced IMO, and its brilliance more than makes up for its flaws. (Not that I'm biased. ;) )
[image: View Post]marbs34, on Sep 13 2009, 12:29 AM, said:
How about this scenario.
90+ deg 80+% humidity.
You have moved less than 1/2 mile in about 10 minutes and the fans finally come on and blast your inner legs with hot air from the radiator.
This is where i personally agree with the mag writer, if you've never been there then don't worry about it.
This of course is what it's like for me to take a trip home during lunch sometimes. I never said that the fans and radiator weren't good at getting the job done, but if you have to sit still with them on while idling waiting for two light sequences to pass through an intersection then you can understand that it momentarily sucks.
To be fair, this describes (in part) my first experience with VFR. On my test ride, I got stuck in heavy traffic, on a hot and humid day. I came back home and wrote a review of the event (largely for my own notes, and partly for a couple of friends who were interested) and in that report I described the knee-cooking and right-heel-heating that took place while standing there.
Knowing it's going to happen makes it a bit less worrisome, and the fans evidently do well at their jobs. But it was a bit disconcerting the first time I experienced it, having spent all my time with "naked" inline fours before.
IDK. 90+ degs and humidity too - still no problem for me. Knees or right heel. About the same as standing on hot macadam in the same weather conditions. Maybe it is the Oxstar boots that keep the heat away from my heel? Hot in those conditions was sitting in traffic for well over an hour at bike week in Laconia on my 1500cc HD with no fans or cooling other then an oil cooler at the front of the frame. Heat rises and bakes your 'nads in very short order. Finally pulled to the side and shut it down in a spot of shade and watched everyone else cook them selves.
The article is mostly fair, and the engine does tend to ride hot. But like Motorhead, I've never had engine heat translate into baked legs or crotch. The bike does an excellent job of keeping a hot engine from roasting the rider. I would never, ever, even think of this as a reason not to buy a 6th gen. It's just silly to me. Yes, you'll get hot while stuck in traffic on 90 degree 80% humidity days, but try that on any other bike and see how cool you feel. Heck, many bikes would make you wish you were on the VFR at that time.
The Sprint ST 1050 I owned actually burnt my right leg - one reason why I don't own one today
Maybe the VFR was more designed for the California market where little time is spent stopped in traffic. ;)
Funny, I just got done posting about this in the 6th gen section. Oh, well...
Mine does get up to 220 degrees very quickly in traffic, but doesn't cook ME. The fan comes on and gets things under control. It runs 170-180 down the road, so I don't see where this is an an issue. They imply the bikes are known to overheat, but mine has never overheated...