I understand everyone has an opinion about what looks good or not so YMMV. I have never had so many positive comments from strangers about any motorcycle I have ever owned. I find people hanging out looking at it when I return to the parking lot at the mall, gas stations, zoo, national monuments etc. It seems its looks go over better with the public at large rather than the motorcycle buying crowd. I have been ask multiple times by " guys in the know" if its a BMW.
Are you other 7th gen owners getting this kind of feedback?
Yep. I got a few looks from the old '02 back in the day, but this bike gets all kinds of comments from non-riders. Not that I care, but I have recognized it.
I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the looks of the bike when it first came out. Especially the exhaust. I bought mine for the DCT. After having more time with the bike though, I really do think it looks nice and am happy that it doesn't look like everything else that's out there.
I was sitting in Five Guys today eating my lunch with a former co-worker. He wanted to go to lunch just so he could see my new bike. From the restaurant, he had eye-shot of my bike in the parking lot and he mentioned several times that people were stopping and talking about it. I have no idea if they were praising or flaming it, but the last time I turned around to look, some poor kid just about buried his moped into a parked car as he was staring at my bike going by. It certainly gets attention.
The red color probably doesn't hurt either. With my 800, I had a few motorists ask me at a stop light what it was, and commented on the red. I also had several co-workers comment on the red color of the 800. In fact, when I bought my 800, I specifically bought a '07 out of state because that was the last year of red, and all I could buy locally was a black '09. I really like the extra metallic in the 1200. It's a shame that Honda is only offering one color in the US.
[image: View Post]lnelson, on 17 January 2012 - 10:54 PM, said:
With my 800, I had a few motorists ask me at a stop light what it was,
That happens to me too quite a bit. The VFR isn't a common bike so not many people know what it is...which is probably why the 1200 gets so much attention as well. The bodywork is in many ways "revolutionary" in that it's entirely different than any other bike out there. Sure all bikes are different but they all share a certain commonality. The 1200 doesn't and the attention it receives is well deserved.
I don't have a 7th Gen but I nearly came to own one a year ago when I was shopping for my next bike. I ended up with the 6th gen because the 1200 was in its first production year and I felt it wise to wait a while before jumping in. I wanted a 1200 because I love the Blackbird.
The 1200 looks better in person (by far) than on paper and I don't doubt that you guys get a lot of looks wherever you go.
I was thinking that it was about time I updated the Photochop page. Then I started thinking that maybe I should put a folder up there for the 7th gen. Then I started thinking, "Is anyone going to bother doing a paintjob on the 1200?"
I don't own one but I'm sure when I do the looks will grow on me. I do however believe it would have been a lot better recieved by the public if it didn't look so... "different"
Unfortunately, I think it is one of those machines that doesn't photograph well. I think the 1200 looks so much better in person. There is a lot of detail that is lost in the photography, at least in the shots that I've seen. I think a lot of supercars are just the opposite. They look great in photographs, but in person, most of them look incredibly long (at least to me).
I get the same reaction when I ride my 1982 CB900F. When I ride my GSXR1000 or VFR750, I'm invisible to the general public. It's certainly a "different" looking bike, which is why, I think, people tend to be intrigued by it.
This is good for me to know I guess. I'm having a heard time visualizing myself touring on a VFR1200, it's like a mental block or something, it just doesn't look like a all day rider to me. Stock anyway.
[image: View Post]Auron, on 18 January 2012 - 04:10 PM, said:
This is good for me to know I guess. I'm having a heard time visualizing myself touring on a VFR1200, it's like a mental block or something, it just doesn't look like a all day rider to me. Stock anyway.
I've done a 900 mile day on it, part of a 3000 mile week. The bike never beat me up. Stock windscreen and seat, helibars.
Sure do get lot's of questions and lookers but not as many as when I rode a Triumph 2009 T100 but it's close. I'm not an attention hog but I'll talk bikes with just about anyone.
I have been ask multiple times by " guys in the know" if its a BMW.
I think it would be hard to avoid saying something sarcastic.
Can't they read? :rolleyes:
Best BMW ever! (Points at Honda logo on bike). :laugh: