How the VFR1200 Should Have Looked

MCN article:

http://admin.motorcy...ld-have-looked/


�It�s like a hippopotamus� says British bike designer John Keogh, deriding Honda�s new VFR1200 as �Pug-nosed, disappointing� the wrong direction � not a patch on the two bikes [Blackbird and VFR800] it replaces.�


I have to admit, I like his design better than Honda's.

Kevin

[image: View Post]Cageless-in-Seattle, on 09 January 2010 - 12:49 PM, said:

MCN article:

http
I have to admit, I like his design better than Honda's.

Kevin



......................word. But it's still a phat lumbering pig. :laugh:

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id buy either one if I wernt broke.

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yup, i definitely like the revised version much better...especially the fix of the stupid humped fuel tank...

The exhaust looks better, but for the rest? I prefer the Honda design.

Meh. I think this guy just tweaked the bike to his taste and then tried to justify his changes.

I'm not sure aesthetics have ever been the biggest problem with Shamu - I mean, the buffalo - I mean, the hippopotamus. I don't remember anyone saying "the front fender and mirrors ruin it for me." In fact, I thought Honda did a great job with the pannier attachments? :unsure:

He's right about the exhaust, though. Simple=better. :fing02:

[image: View Post]Veefer800Canuck, on 09 January 2010 - 01:13 PM, said:

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Gotta vote for this one, too. That being said, 1) My opinion is worth jack squat and 2) I still can't afford one.

[image: View Post]carlitos92, on 09 January 2010 - 01:34 PM, said:

Meh. I think this guy just tweaked the bike to his taste and then tried to justify his changes.

I'm not sure aesthetics have ever been the biggest problem with Shamu - I mean, the buffalo - I mean, the hippopotamus. I don't remember anyone saying "the front fender and mirrors ruin it for me." In fact, I thought Honda did a great job with the pannier attachments? :unsure:

He's right about the exhaust, though. Simple=better. :fing02:


:+1: The other thing I'd mention, though, is the tank. A lot of people complain about the hump back look, but mostly about the low capacity. To me, it's not a big deal.

But the re-done exhaust is soooo much better.

MY GOD THAT LOOKS MUCH BETTER !!! I mean the new bike is a technological marvel...as expected from Honda. BUT what crowd were they shooting for??? It looks like......dare I say it? A BMW. Oh the shame !!!! THIS one is the bike I would buy. Why didn't they poll VFR owners??? I'm tempted to put that engine in my 2002! PS- Apologies to any BMW riders.

[image: View Post]Baketech, on 09 January 2010 - 05:09 PM, said:

That rendering looks like an ass-sandwich compared to the the actual bike... :schla15:

I disagree, and like MCN-guy's tweaks better. But, hey, that's what forums are for, a marketplace of ideas and differing opinions. And that OEM exhaust...REALLY can't wait to see what the aftermarket does with that.

[image: View Post]jeffro-vfr, on 09 January 2010 - 03:32 PM, said:

Why didn't they poll VFR owners???

You're not the first to ask this question but it was Honda that set up a website two years ago that had a poll on how people thought the bike should look and I've never heard of other manufacturers doing the same. I may have missed those so can you name a few that did?

[image: View Post]V4 Rosso, on 09 January 2010 - 07:55 PM, said:

[image: View Post]jeffro-vfr, on 09 January 2010 - 03:32 PM, said:

Why didn't they poll VFR owners???

You're not the first to ask this question but it was Honda that set up a website two years ago that had a poll on how people thought the bike should look and I've never heard of other manufacturers doing the same. I may have missed those so can you name a few that did?

Not sure about looks but I just read an article in Motoecyclist that said Kawi did something like that for the 2010 Concours, apparently they addressed all the major negatives about the bike from owners of atleast the 08, maybe the 09 also. Motorcyclist were hugely impressed by the tweaks and changes that made an already excellent bike better.
Didn't Suzuki do something similar with the Busa?

[image: View Post]Cageless-in-Seattle, on 09 January 2010 - 12:49 PM, said:

MCN article:

http://admin.motorcy...ld-have-looked/


�It�s like a hippopotamus� says British bike designer John Keogh, deriding Honda�s new VFR1200 as �Pug-nosed, disappointing� the wrong direction � not a patch on the two bikes [Blackbird and VFR800] it replaces.�


Somebody tell Keough we've already dubbed it The Buffalo. I guess they don't have any of those in the U.K., understandable. :goofy:

Waste of his crayons IMHO. It doesn't look any better than the real thing.

The Rock says, "...it doesn't matter what this jabroni thinks!"

[image: View Post]jeffro-vfr, on 09 January 2010 - 03:32 PM, said:

MY GOD THAT LOOKS MUCH BETTER !!! I mean the new bike is a technological marvel...as expected from Honda. BUT what crowd were they shooting for??? It looks like......dare I say it? A BMW. Oh the shame !!!! THIS one is the bike I would buy. Why didn't they poll VFR owners??? I'm tempted to put that engine in my 2002! PS- Apologies to any BMW riders.


You dare compare it to a BMW?? :wacko: Would that BMW's looked as good! Some BMW's remind me of the fat chick with too much makeup, just ain't gonna cut it.

Keough blew it, He just smeared marker over the Honda design and fussed it up. Why not take a stand and actually draw a NEW design?

The tail design looks straight out of 2003, the exhaust looks like my stainless steel kitchen tidy bin, and the nose looks like a CBR929 that's rear-ended a truck.

IMO :)

I'll take Honda's design, thanks. In two years it will look 'right' and every bike around it will look redundant. Just wait and see.

What I have to ask is how many of you have seen, and sat on the 1200? At the motorcycle show yesterday there were many current VFR owners walking around when I was at the display. The same thing that just about everyone kept saying is "it looks much better in person". The pictures don't do this bike justice. When you sit on it, you forget your not sitting on your 5th or 6th gen (they had a 6th gen sitting right beside it for comparison). I don't know where the extra 80lbs are, but you can't feel them moving the bike around underneath you. It feels exactly the same. All of the Honda reps said that without a doubt the exhaust is something that the aftermarket crowd will immediately start working on. All in all I'm actually excited about the new bike since I've seen it and sat on it. The thought it conveys is hopping on my bike and magically having an extra 70hp.

[image: View Post]jeffro-vfr, on 09 January 2010 - 03:32 PM, said:

MY GOD THAT LOOKS MUCH BETTER !!! I mean the new bike is a technological marvel...as expected from Honda. BUT what crowd were they shooting for??? It looks like......dare I say it? A BMW. Oh the shame !!!! THIS one is the bike I would buy. Why didn't they poll VFR owners??? I'm tempted to put that engine in my 2002! PS- Apologies to any BMW riders.


That's what i said a few months ago....like BMW built it and honda slapped a Honda badge on it.... :biggrin:

[image: View Post]rufrydrsc2, on 10 January 2010 - 09:18 AM, said:

What I have to ask is how many of you have seen, and sat on the 1200? At the motorcycle show yesterday there were many current VFR owners walking around when I was at the display. The same thing that just about everyone kept saying is "it looks much better in person". The pictures don't do this bike justice. When you sit on it, you forget your not sitting on your 5th or 6th gen (they had a 6th gen sitting right beside it for comparison). I don't know where the extra 80lbs are, but you can't feel them moving the bike around underneath you. It feels exactly the same. All of the Honda reps said that without a doubt the exhaust is something that the aftermarket crowd will immediately start working on. All in all I'm actually excited about the new bike since I've seen it and sat on it. The thought it conveys is hopping on my bike and magically having an extra 70hp.


45 HP maybe to the ground.

[image: View Post]VFRXX, on 10 January 2010 - 11:22 PM, said:

45 HP maybe to the ground.
What a disappointment, only a 50% inrease in power, now it's not worth it at all. :rolleyes: