High_Sides Trips and Pics

[Wrider]

Which one would that be then ?

Woohoo, they put it back up!

[blues2cruise]

Oh boo fricking hoo. Wait until they are over 50.

[sapaul]

Sooo glad you put that back, bust a gut laughing


which is crappy cause the Drs bills are so expensive when you get old. BBAAWWAAHHH

[High_Side]

Congrats on your VFR1200. On ST.N in the Honda board, an owner wrote his one-year review of the 1200 - particularly interesting was his list of mod/small fixes that apparently solve any issues the bike has (except for the small tank) and transform the ownership experience: a Bazzaz "Z-bomb" to fix the 1st & 2nd gear power delivery glitch and an Ohlins rear shock. It's a good article- PM me and I'll point you to it.

Life has gotten in the way of me putting on too many km on the new Viffer but my initial impressions for the first 2K are that it is a keeper. As it turns out though the first and second gear restrictor really does suck with modest power down low and a wall of power slamming you at 6000rpm. I had ordered the Bazzaz Z-bomb on line but after waiting for a couple of weeks they inform me that they will not sell to Canada directly. So yesterday I went to my dealer and ordered one that will be here on Tuesday for $20 less than the price in the US even.....

As for issues, I was never a fan of Bridgestone tires and nothing seems to have changed in the past 20 years. I almost cant wait for them to wear out so I can get a decent set of Pilots Roads installed. The suspension is adequate and may see some work over the next couple of seasons but it is good enough for now. The luggage is a little small and flimsy compared to the aftermarket set-up I had on my previous VFR. The mounting system for the bags though cant be beat and in a matter of moments the bags are removed with little trace of any brackets. If I sound like I am complaining I am not - the rest of the bike rocks.

The engine - while not sounding like an older Viffer does sound great even stock. This is the first bike that I have owned in a while that I have not had the need to through something aftermarket on straight away. And there is power everywhere. While the first couple of tanks of fuel worked out to a theoretical max of 220 km (I was worried(!)), today's tank worked out to a theoretical maximum of 320km! It's not the 360 km range that I was used to with the old VFR but for having close to twice the hp I can live with it. This was even with several high-speed runs throughout the day. I expect that with a lighter throttle hand things could get even better.

Anyhow I have been lax with the pictures so the first one is from a Go-Pro off of another bike...


This one was taken today with my Blackberry in my front yard:

[sapaul]

Awsome machine, best bike in years from Honda

[High_Side]

Awsome machine, best bike in years from Honda

Thanks buddy

[High_Side]

Why friends don't let friends buy Bridgestone tires:



6800km (!) on a original equipment Bridgestone on the VFR. Pressure held at 36psi for the entire life. Wow. From new the bike would slip when pushed hard and in the rain they were practically slicks even when they had tread left on them. Horrible useless tires. Why anyone would buy them is beyond me.

The scary thing is I noticed just how bad this was getting on the second last day of my tour however there was what is normally 2000km worth of tread left on it. 200km from town it really started steering heavy but I really had no idea just how bad it was getting. I have never seen a tire go off so quickly with touring (alright - very sporty touring) use.

Tommorow a fresh set of Pilot Road 2s are going on and I really find out what this bike is like!

[Wrider]

Yeesh, 6800 km out of a front? Were you doing stoppies the whole way?!?!?!

[dr_bar]

I love my Avons...

[Wrider]

I like the 2CTs. I'll be trying out the Pirelli Angel STs next. I'll let you know how they handle.