#1 Thread starter
Today was customer appreciation day at the local honda dealer! Both the manual and dct were available, so I did what any vfr enthusiast would do. I rode them both. I know many magazines and fellow vfrd members have reviewed and given their impressions on this bike, and I have read alot of these reviews, both good and bad. Reading only does so much for me. So here are my two cents worth on todays demo rides..
First up was the manual transmission. Threw the leg over and settled in. The first thing I notice is my reach to the ground. At 5'4", the narrow seat allowed a better reach to the ground than a 6th gen. Nice. I also noticed I leaned over a little less compared to my 06. I was expected more power than my 6th gen and well it definitely does have more power. Very intoxicating, I really do not need that extra power but well, I liked it.
This bike is smooth, just as I expect from a Honda VFR. Smooth, fast, and comfortable. The brakes, well are excellent. The ABS did its thing during emergency braking conditions! The suspension was a little more stiff than my 800, but that is a good thing! This bike handled very well! Slow speeds, high speeds, both straight down the road and in cornering situations. I believe this bike to be just as nimble and agile as the 6th generation. Again, this bike is smooth. It definitely put a smile on my face :biggrin: .
Next up was the DCT. Drive mode, sport mode, and manual are all available. Personally I believe the drive mode is worthless, unless you like low revs. I shifted through the gears very quickly. Into 6th before I knew it. Nice for puttering around I guess. Sport mode was much better, allowing higher revs through the shifting process. This dct was not bad and I actually started to get used to not using a clutch and shifting. It is just different. The dct compared to my manual shifting was interesting. I seem to rev higher manually before shifting gears compared to the dct. Where I would be in lower gear and higher rpms entering a turn, the dct would be in a higher gear at lower rpms. Not bad, just different.
The manual shifting on the dct was similar like the manual clutch bike, but the shifting was done with the left hand finger and thumb versus the left foot. Again, not bad, but just different. There seemed to be a slight delay or hesitation at higher revs going from first to second gear with the dct manual shifting. I did not really care for this. Other than that the dct manual shifting is the mode I preferred the most.
Both bikes were fast, comfortable, and rock solid! If I was in a position to choose between the manual and the dct, I would go with the manual.
That is my two cents worth. At the dealer, I parked next to a BMW K1300S. Sweet looking ride. The owner also demeod the manual vfr1200 and I asked him what he thought. "Well, he said, the bmw is faster, but I wish I would have ridden the Honda before I bought it!" He didn't seem to blink at the price tag, said it was alot cheaper than his current ride. Personally, the price tag on the Honda does bother me...lol. Nice ride but just to much money for me to replace my paid for 06 vfr800 with 53,000 miles at this time.
First up was the manual transmission. Threw the leg over and settled in. The first thing I notice is my reach to the ground. At 5'4", the narrow seat allowed a better reach to the ground than a 6th gen. Nice. I also noticed I leaned over a little less compared to my 06. I was expected more power than my 6th gen and well it definitely does have more power. Very intoxicating, I really do not need that extra power but well, I liked it.
This bike is smooth, just as I expect from a Honda VFR. Smooth, fast, and comfortable. The brakes, well are excellent. The ABS did its thing during emergency braking conditions! The suspension was a little more stiff than my 800, but that is a good thing! This bike handled very well! Slow speeds, high speeds, both straight down the road and in cornering situations. I believe this bike to be just as nimble and agile as the 6th generation. Again, this bike is smooth. It definitely put a smile on my face :biggrin: .
Next up was the DCT. Drive mode, sport mode, and manual are all available. Personally I believe the drive mode is worthless, unless you like low revs. I shifted through the gears very quickly. Into 6th before I knew it. Nice for puttering around I guess. Sport mode was much better, allowing higher revs through the shifting process. This dct was not bad and I actually started to get used to not using a clutch and shifting. It is just different. The dct compared to my manual shifting was interesting. I seem to rev higher manually before shifting gears compared to the dct. Where I would be in lower gear and higher rpms entering a turn, the dct would be in a higher gear at lower rpms. Not bad, just different.
The manual shifting on the dct was similar like the manual clutch bike, but the shifting was done with the left hand finger and thumb versus the left foot. Again, not bad, but just different. There seemed to be a slight delay or hesitation at higher revs going from first to second gear with the dct manual shifting. I did not really care for this. Other than that the dct manual shifting is the mode I preferred the most.
Both bikes were fast, comfortable, and rock solid! If I was in a position to choose between the manual and the dct, I would go with the manual.
That is my two cents worth. At the dealer, I parked next to a BMW K1300S. Sweet looking ride. The owner also demeod the manual vfr1200 and I asked him what he thought. "Well, he said, the bmw is faster, but I wish I would have ridden the Honda before I bought it!" He didn't seem to blink at the price tag, said it was alot cheaper than his current ride. Personally, the price tag on the Honda does bother me...lol. Nice ride but just to much money for me to replace my paid for 06 vfr800 with 53,000 miles at this time.