Traded in ktm rc8r 4 a vfr 800 2014 greetings to all

Good day to you all,

names Robert, just call me rob .

live in the south west of France, real vinyard country and

i just traded in the love of my life ( KTM RC8R 2012 mod ) which i bought in March of this year New from KTM (2 yr warranty/assistance included) on which i did 7000 kms (4375 miles) in 5 months traveling 80 kms (50miles) per day to work .

KTM had made me a good deal, 12500€ (16533$) instead of 16669€ ( 22074$ ) the prices here in France . i had been searching for a VTR SP2 but they are a collectors item here already and prices are Mad !!

i had a suzuki SV1000S 2005 before .

her name was Katy and unfortunately cost me way too much to run, insurance alone was 2000€ (2648$) per year and with 145kms (90 miles) per tank fuel economy and 1 ltr of 22€ (29$) engine oil every 1000kms (625miles)  she was slowly but shorly killing me ........... ( the best fuel economy i ever got was 180 kms (112 miles ) before reserve light. )

So i walked into my local honda dealer in the little town of Cognac near to where i live yesterday and traded her in for a Red 04/2014 VFR 800 with the honda saddle bags and 2000 kms (1250 miles)  on the clock, warranty and assistance till 04/2016.

i raised the seat height hoped on and rode the 40 odd kms home .

WoW , is this thing smooth and comfy, i find the accelerator a little snatchy in first and i have to get used the gearbox/change, but i am impressed to bitssssss .....

This little gem just seems to ooze quality, from startup to switch off. ( i just wish that beautiful rear wheel wasnt hidden behind the bloody exhaust .

and with a quoted (dealer) easy 350 kms ( 218 miles ) per tank , and 1200€ (1589$) less insurance per year this seems to have been a very good idea . ( No 1ltr of oil every 3 weeks iether ) Lol

the display just seems to have it all, or at least checks all the boxes i need for day to day use .

the honda dealer said i should hold off on buying the AKRA end can 900€  (1191$) here, because arrow/leo vince and Devil will be selling some soon. at around 4-600€ (529$-794$)

just with regards to manouvering the VFR compared to the ktm in my garage, the VFR seems to me to be longer and lower, ( i'm 1.76 m tall ) which adding to the little extra weight the VFR carries makes me a little nervous when parking her . the KTM was really high and light, easy to throw around . ( on the KTM in the highest position with he tail bag a Tarzan vine was need to get my leg over )

The RC8R was like a scalpel in corners even with Bridgstone BT023GT's on her, and surpisingly enough the VFR is amazing too, it just seems to be able to do it all, on country roads speed limit 90 kms (56 mph) i dont even get anywhere near the Vtec 7000rpm kick in .

i didnt even notice the VTEC at 7000rpm, i did however hear the exhaust tone change to a rather amusing shrill !!!!! made me smile ....

i do miss Katy,  but at least here in France the RC8R is a rich mans bike and im not rich for the moment.

 i could be falling in love with this VFR .............

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Welcome. I am on my THIRD Honda V-4 in a row, and have owned no other streetbike except those three.

You could say I'm a fan.

Welcome Rob! Sounds like you, just like all of us, are falling for your new VFR.... congratulations on your purchase and may she bring you many years of pleasure...

Welcome. Nice bike. I'm sure you will like your new stalion. Time for touring and trip reports?
C

Thanks guys,

and yes time to tour around France/europe .... all shall be reported, well almost ....

ride safe to/for all, Bonne route a tous !!

That KTM looks like it would've been Great Fun in the twisties, enjoy your VFR, they do amazingly well in the corners @ a sane street pace and are comfortable also.

Hi trjerm,

it was amazing in the twisties, ive never know anything like it,  no traction control, no abs, no rider assists and max torque from 3850 rpm ,  but i have to admit its not close to the comfort of the vfr for daily comuting,

then again they are made for 2 different worlds . would be great to have both ..... i'll probably keep my licence and my life longer on the vfr, i hope . :biggrin:

Welcome to VFRD from up north!!

Wow that KTM is beautiful but so is the VFR.  Welcome!

Very nice...welcome from SoCal bud

WELCOME    .

hi Rob16,  I think I'd be in serious jeapordy of losing my license again if I owned that RC8, but I'd have FUN, probably a wise choice to trade in on the VFR, But what a beautiful machine

Bonjour notre frère  bienvenue à la maison folle de VFR (Vee Eff Erghhh huit cents)  :cheerleader:

Merci raoufhakam !!!! bonne route ....  :wheel:

Oh by the way ..that RC8 was sick...hope they gave you a good trade in value. Enjoy

Welcome to the asylum Rob.

For me the RC8 reminds me of origami. Too many angles in the design for my taste, but then I own a VTR SP2, which is not dissimilar in performance to the RC8R.

Anyways, welcome - the VFR is a good bike too! :)

Congrats man, that's a great looking bike, im in new to this sit (this is my first post)
I'm currently without a bike and looking to buy a used vfr iv heard nothing but great thing from the vfr folk but having trouble finding one to test my local shop is closed for the holiday weekend till Wednesday, had to sell my last cbr for a down payment on my house, wife said I had to grow up since we are now expecting a child but I will never be without a bike for long lol

I too had to "grow up" when I became a father. But after she became an adult it was back to the Peter Pan Syndrome: 'Never Goin' To Grow Up'.

So there is hope for you. Eventually.

Hey Stig,

before i bought the RC8R i searched for a long time for a Black/red VTR SP2 2005-2007 , to no avail, here in france they sold them till about 2005-2006 according to the Honda dealer, and the few that are for sale have extreme Crazy prices and are 2003-2004 models,  2000-3000€ less than the price i paid for the RC8R new . they are collectors items here already unfortunately .

and here in France we have that STUPID french 100bph law for motorcycles, ( which no one sticks to but hey, its law ) so going to englad to fetch/buy one will take over a year to get t he paperwork done though honda, they only have 1 guy who works on this type of paperwork for 4hrs once a week for the whole of france .

the rade in on the RC8R was not great, but acceptable, makes my life alot easier, and i ride alot less aggressively now . i like the vfr alot, exept my legs feel a little cramped after about 50 kms, but hey small price to pay. ( the seat is really extremely comfortable ) ...

just got the panniers, honda was waiting for the locks, they didnt have any in stock and had to order and code to the key .

ive never rode a bike with panniers, got to get used to that larger rear when parking in confined areas, Lol ...  and what an pleasure to put on and remove, easy peasy ....   :cheerleader:

funny, my helmet ( icon or the scorpion fits perfectly, but only upside down ) at least it fits, coooool ... happy i b .

Congrats man, that's a great looking bike, im in new to this sit (this is my first post)
I'm currently without a bike and looking to buy a used vfr iv heard nothing but great thing from the vfr folk but having trouble finding one to test my local shop is closed for the holiday weekend till Wednesday, had to sell my last cbr for a down payment on my house, wife said I had to grow up since we are now expecting a child but I will never be without a bike for long lol