I just rode my VFR 1200 thru New Mexico to Colorado, then all over Colorado and back to 104 deg West Texas. I lived on it for 8 days and a little over 3000 miles, I now have a little over 3700 miles on mine. This bike is a weapon! I did some 450 to 500 mile days, rode all day in the rain one day on very curvy roads that were covered with mud and crap from offroaders. It was still fun in the rain. This bike handles extremely well.
I had people try to keep me from passing them (other bikes, and cars, and trucks), shift to 4th and twist the throttle and you just reappear 100 yards ahead of them, there is nothing they can do about it. This bike is FAST! The suspension is very good, well damped and perfectly controlled like a Porsche or BMW.
I had my Honda Hard bags loaded up and a Cortech tail bag, I decided not to take a tank bag. 8 days worth of clothes and gear fit into the 2 panniers with no problem, Ive never had so much room. I rode for hours in a frog drowning rain storm high in the rocky mountains with 38 deg temps and sleet/hail on the road. It was stable and true, never scared me one bit. One of my hardbags leaked a slight amount, although not much and this was the only time. I packed in spacesaver plastic bags so no issues with wet clothes.
This bike handles as good as any bike Ive ever ridden/owned, including a CBR 954, CBR 900, Superhawk, and my RC 51. Once moving the weight and size just dissapear and you may as well be on a new R 1 that is comfortable. I scraped my feet several times going up and down WolfCreek pass, chicken strips are gone. Tight and twisty Bear Creek Canyon road was no problem, this bike is good on tight twistys and sweepers, makes no difference. I am in love with it!
The only thing I will change is the seat, I have a severe case of Monkey Butt after 400 miles. I ordered an Airhawk seat cushion yesterday to use for the droning parts of any trip. I will probably order a Sargent seat when they come out with one. I averaged about 41 to 42 MPG and typically filled up at 150 miles when my butt couldnt take it anymore. I think it would go close 200 miles on a tank, but I wont.
I saw another VFR 1200 on Bear Creek Canyon road ridden by "Hispanic Slammer" from VFR Discussion. Nice guy! He says it doesn't handle as well as his previous gen VFR but has a lot more power. I don't know, Ive never ridden a previous gen bike, but Ive owned a few other sportbikes (still do) and it does as well as them and tours much better! I honestly don't think there is a bike that is better suited for SPORT touring than this one. I am very happy with it!
Ill post some pics when I get them from my riding partners, I forgot my camera in my excitement to get on the road!
Yes I was quite surprised to come around the big bend on hwy 92 of the Black Canyon to see another vfr1200 on the pull out. I see all kinds of bikes on that road but this is the only other 1200 vfr I have seen on the road yet.
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1280899174/gallery_491_3463_216347.jpg Is that a vfr1200? why yes it is!
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1280899174/gallery_491_3463_784464.jpg another vfr1200 dressed up for touring from Midland Texas
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1280899174/gallery_491_3463_486244.jpg Another vfr1200 with side bags
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1280899174/gallery_491_3463_79672.jpg Two vfr1200 owners I am awful at remembering names - he says hes a member of vfrd
[image: View Post]CraigC, on 09 August 2010 - 10:10 PM, said:
The only thing I will change is the seat, I have a severe case of Monkey Butt after 400 miles. I ordered an Airhawk seat cushion yesterday to use for the droning parts of any trip. I will probably order a Sargent seat when they come out with one. I averaged about 41 to 42 MPG and typically filled up at 150 miles when my butt couldnt take it anymore. I think it would go close 200 miles on a tank, but I wont.
I looked on the Sargent webpage and saw nothing about the VFR1200 so I bought an Airhawk seat for $95 shipped to my house, it took 2 days to arrive after ordering it. I havent tried it yet but I have heard good things about it from those that have tried it. I will e mail Sargent and encourage them to make a seat for the bike. I looked at Corbin but they have a funky cruiser type seat for it that I didnt like the look of.
The seat is MUCH better than the stock RC 51 seat. Ive got a Sargent on the RC too. The VFR seat may be fine for some people but It just isnt that good for me when Im droning someplace. It is certainly a beautifully made seat and Im dissapointed it doesnt fit me very well. In the curves it is easy to move around on and I dont notice it being uncomfortable. Maybe it just needs to break in some.
Ive thought about riding in my padded roadbike riding shorts but have never had the courage to try it. I thought the padding or chamis would be to bulky. I may try those in the link you sent. Thanks!
I am riding to Arkansas over labor day. That ride will also be approx 3000 miles. After I get out of Texas and OK it will be pretty curvy in western Ark and Missouri. Ill be riding with a really fast guy that tours on a CBR 954. It will be interesting to see if Im able to keep up with him on his CBR. I venture to say I will have no problem. Maybe he will bring his Duc 999. He lives near there so it is not as bad a drone for him as for me.
All the folks dissing this bike that have never ridden it, need to ride it. It is a GREAT street bike. I agree the looks are somewhat subjective and that is fair. I would love it more if it looked like a Ducatti superbike. My Superhawk was not rated very highly on the track but it is also a great street bike and about as fast as anything on a curvy road, and it has personality, it is a real world bike just as the VFR is a real world bike. This new VFR has personality too. On the other hand my RC 51 is pretty focused as a track bike, although I dont ride it on the track. I like the way it sounds and handles and I also like it for the pose factor. I rarely ride it further than 200 miles at a time and would never consider touring on it. I used to tour on a CBR 900. I rode it 4000 miles in 9 days once and I was pretty whipped when I got home and that was 10 years ago. The new CBR 1000s are even more focused as track bikes than the CBR 900 was.
The VFR 1200 is a sportbike for the real world. I would never take it to the track because there are so many other better bikes made for the track. I live in a place that ensures at least a 4 to 5 hour drone to get to any decent roads at all. I like the VFR 1200 because I can enjoy the curves and the tour without eating Advil twice a day.
One thing I noticed about Miguels bike as he was coming down the hill was how great it sounded with the stock exhaust. It was the first time I had heard a VFR 1200 without wind noise and earplugs.
No I havent tried the powder. I took my 25YO daughter on a 450 mile ride on Friday to the Davis Mountains and both of us were in pain when we got back home. It was 104 deg for the last 2 hours of the ride. Im going to try the suggestion from 2thdr in the post above. I ordered both sets of shorts he suggested to wear under my riding pants. I have another long ride (drone to OKC) and then curves in Arkansas coming up in a month and Ill try the shorts and the AirHawk. Ive read of lots of folks using baby powder or Gold bond powder but I dont wont to look like Ive been hit in the rear with a sack of flour.
[image: View Post]CraigC, on 16 August 2010 - 08:04 PM, said:
No I havent tried the powder. I took my 25YO daughter on a 450 mile ride on Friday to the Davis Mountains and both of us were in pain when we got back home. It was 104 deg for the last 2 hours of the ride. Im going to try the suggestion from 2thdr in the post above. I ordered both sets of shorts he suggested to wear under my riding pants. I have another long ride (drone to OKC) and then curves in Arkansas coming up in a month and Ill try the shorts and the AirHawk. Ive read of lots of folks using baby powder or Gold bond powder but I dont wont to look like Ive been hit in the rear with a sack of flour.
Yea I want to give those shorts a try as well my boxers are a no go but I like this stuff they sell it at walmart
Yes, West Texas is a very big place. It is one of the reasons I need a bike like the VFR 1200. It is a 4 hr drone to get to any decent roads, otherwise it is a ride in the straight , flat, hot or cold (depending on the season) desert.
Ive lived in Tulsa and Houston and they both have great riding nearby. Easy to get on that radical sportbike CBR 1000, R 1, Aprillia RSV4, RC 51 etc. for a 300 mile day of curves.
In West Texas you ride about 200 miles to the first set of curves and then it is another hour to the real curves. There are a lot of Harleys here.
[image: View Post]CraigC, on 17 August 2010 - 02:43 PM, said:
Yes, West Texas is a very big place. It is one of the reasons I need a bike like the VFR 1200. It is a 4 hr drone to get to any decent roads, otherwise it is a ride in the straight , flat, hot or cold (depending on the season) desert.
Ive lived in Tulsa and Houston and they both have great riding nearby. Easy to get on that radical sportbike CBR 1000, R 1, Aprillia RSV4, RC 51 etc. for a 300 mile day of curves.
In West Texas you ride about 200 miles to the first set of curves and then it is another hour to the real curves. There are a lot of Harleys here.
I just returned from a 2100 mile trip to Arkansas that included several 450 mile days.
I have to thank 2thdr for this suggestion "I wear a pair of Jockey mesh (polyester) boxer briefs as a first layer and a pair of the padded Andiamo's over that. No monkey butt! " because I ordered and used his method and no monkey butt! I also bought and used an Airhawk seat for the first time. If you find the VFR seat unconfortable after about 300 miles get one of these. It is a wonderful device and I think I paid $95 shipped to my door. Search ebay and pick the cheapest small new one. My trip would have been over 3000 miles if We hadnt been rained out by the tropical storm. Still got in 3 days of curvy roads. What a great place to ride!
If youve never been you need to go and ride the back roads north of I-40 around Clarksville and Mountain View.
My good riding buddy didnt bring his CBR 954 but brought his RC 51 instead. I managed to keep up with him in the curves as well as a very well ridden YZF 600. Both of these guys have many many thousands of miles and are excellent fast riders. I am very pleased with the VFR 1200 in the curves and on the drone. It is a weapon of a streetbike and is just awesome for what I need it to do.
There was also a guy there with a Concours 14 and I could drop him in the curves at will. Those are really big and heavy compared to the VFR 1200. I had never ridden with him before so it may have just been the rider.
I now have 5800 miles on my VFR 1200. I can routinely get to 150 to 175 miles before the fuel indicator flashes. I think it depends if the fuel has ethanol. The MPGs are much worse if it has alcohol in it.
Here are some pictures. The rear tire has 5800 miles on it and mine came stock with Bridgestone BT 021 tires. Very nice tires and what I use on my Superhawk too. I may have worn it a little to long but the last 500 miles was the drone back to Midland from OKC.
A lot of long distance riders have praised the BeadRider seat pad, so I tried one on my '07 with a standard seat.The first weekend out, I put on over 900 miles and had no problems. An added benefit is that the upgraded beads have a slippery finish that allows for easy movement for hanging off.
Thanks, I spent a lot of time in the garage so I made it into a nice place to tinker on cars and bikes. Its still unbearably hot in the summertime but its like that in pretty much all of Texas. The trip was great except for getting rained out by the tropical storm 3 days early.
[image: View Post]RED RUNNER, on 09 September 2010 - 10:28 PM, said:
[image: View Post]roadpilot, on 12 August 2010 - 12:22 PM, said:
[image: View Post]HispanicSlammer, on 09 August 2010 - 11:43 PM, said:
I am awful at remembering names - he says hes a member of vfrd
I'm gonna go out on a limb and take a really wild guess and say his name might be Craig ... :laughing6-hehe:
good one.
I did not annotate the caption for this post, so it was before he ever posted here, before I knew his name was craig - just in case yall think I am an idiot! The first time I posted that pic was in my blog - using the gallery posting tool.
Miguel,
No problem with not remembering my name. Up until I met you in Colorado I had been a lurker on this forum. It was the maiden voyage for my new and only VFR. If I had been online before Im sure you would have known me. I enjoyed meeting you and seeing your new bike, maybe we will meet again someday.
It was also my first time to see another new VFR 1200 alongside mine, made me feel good, as I have only seen one other VFR 1200 on the road besides yours.. They are rare bikes in the States. I saw a white one in France in April of this year and that is when I decided to get one.
I also appreciated the pics you posted from the Black Canyon road encounter. It was my favorite road in Colorado. Not much room for error!
[image: View Post]CraigC, on 09 September 2010 - 09:08 PM, said:
I just returned from a 2100 mile trip to Arkansas that included several 450 mile days.
There was also a guy there with a Concours 14 and I could drop him in the curves at will. Those are really big and heavy compared to the VFR 1200. I had never ridden with him before so it may have just been the rider.
It coulda been that billboard sized wind screen on the Connie... :goofy:
Seriously great bike and being ridden as it was intended, good on you.
For the earlier post that said it was a long way across west TX, you are correct. When I would leave Dallas driving to LA, El Paso is the halfway point between Dallas, TX and Los Angeles, CA.... :huh: painful.
Thanks for the great reports on both the new VFR and your ride reports. My local bank would also like to thank you as I'll be taking out a loan to buy one as soon as I can! I'd love to show the many college-age (K-State) and Army (Ft. Riley) sport bike squids who's boss!!
Hopefully we'll meet up on a trip someday. I'll be the other one with the sh*t-eatin' grin on his face :).
Way cool that you are getting a VFR 1200! You wont be dissapointed! Ive become one with mine but I have to admit the Superhawk feels like a carbon road bike compaered to it. The VFR 1200 is a great Sport Tourer with an emphasis on sport. Maybe we will see each other in Ark. one day, its not to far from Manhattan, Kansas. I used to spend a LOT of time on drilling rigs in SW Kansas around Liberal and Garden City. Talk about a Cold place in the winter!
It could be the guy on the Connie was just a bit more sane the some of the rest of us, but those are way bigger and heavier than the VFR 1200.
I was pleased I could keep up with a well ridden YZF 600 and a well ridden RC 51 on really tight technical roads. The VFR 1200 is a great streetbike and you will find it has the ability to
materialize in front of slower moving vehicles. If you are going 65 and want to pass... 2 downshifts twist the throttle to the stops and you just reapear about 200 yds ahead of the offending lanehog. It is a miraculous experience!
Craig
End of thread · 30 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 28 Nov 2010