Rumors of a Honda Supersport apparently false

[Groo]

I don't care what anybody says... the front end of that bike looks way too much like this dude's grill...

 

[wheatonFJR]

I don't care what anybody says... the front end of that bike looks way too much like this dude's grill...

Now THAT is funny. :lol:

 

[madmike2]

A feature of one of the patent submission illustrations (below) that immediately caught my attention is the very upright riding position with feet positioned behind lower fairing. Either the engineer that drafted this drawing got it way wrong (and nobody caught it prior to submission), or this is what we might expect in a yet-to-be announced "T" model. Interesting....

Generic rider positioning. The purpose of the illustration was for the air bag location/performance not rider position on the final design of the bike.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

The English magazine, Visor Down, in their Feb. 2010 edition test-ride the 2010 Honda VFR1200 (std. manual trans, un-dressed model) in Spain Nov. '09. Some impressions are:

• nice build quality
• compared to Pans & BM-GTs, "The new VFR looks and feels much more manageable and far less intimidating."
• V4 engine's exhaust note is a deep bass drone/snarl
• wet weight=588lbs -- 175hp@10K RPM
• suspension is decent but not fancy
• too expensive ($18,677, converted) and too late (5 years)

They say: "It's almost sportsbike fast, immensely stable and with top class build quality. ...it's a package that simply works."They go on to say that they hope the (later release) dual-clutch touring model will impress with more cutting-edge technology.

 

[MotorToad]

• wet weight=588lbs

... they hope the (later release) dual-clutch touring model will impress ...

It's 600 freaking pounds. I can no longer be impressed. :glare:

 

[user 213]

It's 600 freaking pounds. I can no longer be impressed. :glare:

But....But.... Dude! It's got a wicked spiffy paint job! :glare:

 

[Fred W]

• wet weight=588lbs

... they hope the (later release) dual-clutch touring model will impress ...

It's 600 freaking pounds. I can no longer be impressed. :glare:

You missed part of the quote:

[*]wet weight=588lbs -- 175hp@10K RPM

So the VFR1200 has a power to weight ratio of .297 (3.36 lbs/hp)

Let's compare that to a bike that most people around here think is pretty darn good:

2010 FJR1300 = 641 lbs 145hp @ 8k rpm for power to weight of .226 (4.42 lbs/hp).

A 30% difference is not insignificant. Impressive? That would be a subjective term...

 

[Checkswrecks]

Sat on one at the DC bike show and liked it, but not to the full retail price. Screen's too low and footpegs WAY too high, but I'm sure there will be aftermarket stuff pretty quick.

Centerstand is an option! Huh???

 

[Aasland]

Having come from a 2000 VFR (450'ish lbs, 99 hp) I think I echo the VFR community in being disappointed that it is significantly heavier. Sure, we were hoping for a bigger motor, maybe even a V5 .. but an extra 150 lbs, is like having a built-in passenger. And that's before adding sidecases. The weight, and the sky-high price, are the two reasons I'm not too excited about it. Maybe in a couple years when the FJR is worn out there will be some nice used VFR1200's on the market for reasonable $$$$.

I wonder if the manufacturers start to think that, if the bike has a strong motor, weight doesn't matter?

At least I can jump on my wife's 363 lbs SV650 when I want something small and light.

 

[MotorToad]

2010 FJR1300 = 641 lbs 145hp @ 8k rpm for power to weight of .226 (4.42 lbs/hp). A 30% difference is not insignificant. Impressive? That would be a subjective term...

I don't ride an FJR, either. Pounds per horsepower doesn't make a bike fun to ride, just fast. I'd rather ride an NT-650.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

2010 FJR1300 = 641 lbs 145hp @ 8k rpm for power to weight of .226 (4.42 lbs/hp). A 30% difference is not insignificant. Impressive? That would be a subjective term...

I don't ride an FJR, either. Pounds per horsepower doesn't make a bike fun to ride, just fast. I'd rather ride an NT-650.

A valid comment.

In a country where 'More is Better', if taken further, you could get an even heavier motorcycle with even more horsepower (and still have a good power/weight number) -- but, who could ride it (or, want to)?

There's a reason the 'specs' are always listed and deemed important -- you could almost judge a m/c by the specs alone.

Almost, but 'not quite' -- there's almost always that 'certain something' that separates a great bike from just a good bike.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, yeah... The Boss Hoss V8 monstrosity probably has a very good power to weight ratio.

My reason for pulling out the "specs" was to show that the new VFR has more horse power and weighs less than the FJR, which (almost) everyone around here thinks is a pretty decent bike.

Is it the end-all be-all? Clearly not.

 

[MotorToad]

What gets me isn't its power to weight compared to the FJR, even though I think the FJR is a great bike (ask wfooshee) what gets me is that I've been a fan of VFRs and I hate what they've done to it. They pretend to make it a flagship of technology (V-TEC! HA!) but they continuously make it worse and worse as a "VFR." Now it's a heavy and expensive transmission that I'd rather live without. Sure it might be a great bike... for something, but it's not a VFR. At best it's a VF-F, but even more so an ST.

Imagine a '97 VFR with a 1000 cc 90º V-4 with unicam and the rear cylinders inboard. That would be a VFR.

 

[exskibum]

Imagine a '97 VFR with a 1000 cc 90º V-4 with unicam and the rear cylinders inboard. That would be a VFR.

An awful lot of us XX owners were hoping for something like that as a best-of-both-worlds amalgam between the XX and VFR , but with a torque monster 1200cc version of the V5 engine they were campaigning in MotoGP. Now, THAT coulda been the ultimate GT bike! But alas, we were all looking to HONDA in its 21st century guise, so there was and is no joy in what coulda been. At this point, I'd be surprised if a bike like that is ever built by anyone.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Imagine a '97 VFR with a 1000 cc 90º V-4 with unicam and the rear cylinders inboard. That would be a VFR.

An awful lot of us XX owners were hoping for something like that as a best-of-both-worlds amalgam between the XX and VFR ... At this point, I'd be surprised if a bike like that is ever built by anyone.

From the English magazine road-test:

"The new riding position is similar to the existing VFR800."

"The real star of the show is the water-cooled 1237cc engine. It makes power in a smooth, linear fashion from tickover (idle) upwards, with a noticeable urgency chiming in at 6000rpm. From a standstill, even in the wet, the VFR (1200) will hit 100mph in around 5 seconds and go on to a top speed in excess of 160mph. Midrange and top gear roll-on performance are equally impressive."

"Ever tried a fast two-up overtake (pass) on a VFR800 and wished for more power? You'll be wanting one of these then, sir."

Well..., it seems Honda did address one of the complaints about the previous VFRs... :blink:

 

[Aasland]

Back in 2000 I bought a brand new bright yellow 2000 VFR800 for $9500 out the door.

The VFR1200 costs nearly twice as much ... I don't think it will get much traffic as a replacement for the VFR800.

At that price (and weight) range they are competing with BMW K1300GT's, and should have built it with an eye towards touring, i.e. more upright, more fairing, and adjustable windshield (not to mention better MPG). Frankly, I'm not sure who they're marketing the VFR1200 to.

When Honda announced they were dropping the price of the red-white-blue 2007 VFR800's to $8500 or so .. now THAT got a lot of thinking. Despite the VTEC, it is still an excellent bike, more so when priced with the 600cc's.

On a different note .. after three crashes and 92,000 miles the yellow VFR thing still runs as good as ever. It has been maintained (bearings, suspension, valves etc) but the only thing that actually broke was the thermostat being stuck open around 30k miles. Gotta hand it to Honda for the quality of their machines.

 

[MotorToad]

Frankly, I'm not sure who they're marketing the VFR1200 to.

And "Bingo" was his name-o.