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One of the cool sides of what I do is testing new bikes. Last night was a beautiful evening, s I knocked off work an hour earlier than usual, and headed into Edmonton to one of the Powerhouse Stores. They do a bike night every Tuesday with bugers and soda's and last night they even had a live band. My main purpose other than scamming a free burger and a coke from my two buds, was to test ride the new VFR1200f.
The bike feels alot like a CBR when you first sit on it, but as soon as you fire it up, it sounds almost exactly like an ST. No marks for exhaust note R&D. Out on the street things improve quite a bit, it pulls fairly hard, but it's not going to scare the knickers off your elderly Aunt either. Power gets more serious once the V-tec kicks in, but not like a 1000rr. Suspension is cushy, especially for a sport bike (which this suposedly isn't) and while it is more nimble than an ST, it's only due to the 170 lbs less bulk on the VFR I think. It does one thing almost exactly like both the CBR and the ST in that it makes you want to ride it fast (illegally fast) for a long time, ok all the time. That's why I sold my ST, I value my license too much. It corners well, but thanks to the soft suspension and the high weight (for this type of bike anyway) it's no track star, and it would get a seasoned rider in deep doodoo if you got hamfisted in the tight corners. But yeah, I liked it. I liked it a whole bunch, it's very nice to ride. But for the type of rider Honda is gunning for nice don't butter the bread. The paint is beautiful, but paint doesn't make a great motorcycle. I'm a Honda guy and I hate to say it, but move over Rune, yer gonna git sum comp'ny
The bike feels alot like a CBR when you first sit on it, but as soon as you fire it up, it sounds almost exactly like an ST. No marks for exhaust note R&D. Out on the street things improve quite a bit, it pulls fairly hard, but it's not going to scare the knickers off your elderly Aunt either. Power gets more serious once the V-tec kicks in, but not like a 1000rr. Suspension is cushy, especially for a sport bike (which this suposedly isn't) and while it is more nimble than an ST, it's only due to the 170 lbs less bulk on the VFR I think. It does one thing almost exactly like both the CBR and the ST in that it makes you want to ride it fast (illegally fast) for a long time, ok all the time. That's why I sold my ST, I value my license too much. It corners well, but thanks to the soft suspension and the high weight (for this type of bike anyway) it's no track star, and it would get a seasoned rider in deep doodoo if you got hamfisted in the tight corners. But yeah, I liked it. I liked it a whole bunch, it's very nice to ride. But for the type of rider Honda is gunning for nice don't butter the bread. The paint is beautiful, but paint doesn't make a great motorcycle. I'm a Honda guy and I hate to say it, but move over Rune, yer gonna git sum comp'ny
