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2012 Honda Crossrunner VFR800X

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2012 Honda Crossrunner VFR800X Review

A rugged adventure bike with added excitement and flexibility; meet Honda's all-new Crossrunner.

The 2012 Honda Crossrunner represents the best aspects of two seperate biking genres: The flexibility and exciting attitude of a naked performance machine with the upright riding position and rugged appearance of an adventure bike.

The Crossrunner is a radical new concept that provides all day comfort and effortless handling in the city, exhilarating performance on the open road and the ground clearance and suspension travel needed to truly bring out the adventurer in you. A 782cc V4 engine provides the Crossrunner with an incredibly smooth power output. Honda technicians reengineered their renowned V4 technology specifically for this bike so that it combines a smooth power surge with the energy of an Adventure bike. Wide handlebars and an upright position have been incorporated to give high levels of stability and manoeuvrability as well as all day comfort and great visibility. The dual layered fairing completes the rugged, purposeful look and benefits the riding dynamics by enhancing stability at higher speeds. The Crossrunner has been created to give riders great flexibility. Designed with pillion in mind, the seat positions the passenger on the same level as the rider, shielding them from the wind and creating a feeling of comfort and safety. With great handling and stability, good ground clearance and ample suspension travel you can take on the bumpiest cobbled roads and dust tracks to get to your destination.

With its 800cc V4 motor the Crossrunner provides a thrilling riding experience, be it for short urban trips or for covering vast distances.

Extensive customer research indicated that whilst buyers liked the appearance and the image of adventure bikes, for some the compromised stability caused by long travel suspension, tall seat heights and dual purpose tyres was a serious deterrent. The Crossrunner offers the best of both worlds by addressing all of these demands.

DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT

Stability and rider-flattering ease of use were two core design motivations for the Crossrunner project. It was always at the forefront of the design team’s minds that this motorcycle should be performance-focused, yet supremely manageable to cater for a wide skill set.

The Crossrunner’s smooth, flexible and soulful 782cc V4 engine is specifically tuned for the kind of riding suited to this cross-purpose machine. An elastic, turbine-like delivery and smooth, readily accessible power make it very easy for the rider to find an effortless, flowing rhythm – an attribute always appreciated by the pillion.

STYLING

The European design team designed a motorcycle that reflects the riding conditions of this new decade.

The Crossrunner had to be exciting to ride but at the same time easy to master, and the styling of the machine needed to reflect these cross discipline attributes.

Crucial machine data is provided by a 'floating' instrument binnacle, placed high for optimum visibility at all times.

The bike's sophisticated styling is accentuated by the high and wide handlebars.

ENGINE

Liquid-cooled 782cc, 4 cam, 90° V4 engine delivers a smooth curve of power with excellent torque throughout the rev range.

The traits of the well-proven Honda V4 engine configuration are legendary. Along with the appealing engine note, this distinctive engine architecture provides a smooth curve of power with excellent torque figures from idle to the rev limit.

To provide both optimum low speed torque and peak power, a highly developed version of Honda's revolutionary VTEC system has been specially adjusted. This technology offers variable valve timing to optimise the degrees of valve opening – a unique proposition in the motorcycle market.

Crossrunner engineers have laboured to refine these characteristics. Throttle control linearity – the feeling of heightened rider control – was an early design goal and formed an importantly large part of the Crossrunner's development time.

The net result is a smooth rush of progressive, linear power with abundant torque throughout the rev range and precise control at every parameter of revs, throttle position, gear position and load.

In pursuit of this goal, engineers experimented with several different inlet trumpet shapes and lengths before the optimum settings were achieved.

The 782cc, quad cam, 90 degree V4 runs an over-square bore and stroke of 72.0 x 48.0mm for efficient cylinder filling via the four-valve, down-draught cylinder heads. The liquid-cooled unit feeds its power to the rear wheel via a six speed gearbox, wet clutch and chain final drive.

An added benefit of maximising the progressive nature of the torque and power curves is efficient fuelling, resulting in a 348km range from the 21.5-litre fuel tank.

CHASSIS

An adaptable engine needs an equally capable chassis, and the Crossrunner delivers this with a proven aluminium alloy, twin-spar frame that provides excellent rigidity for when the rider demands more.

This sportsbike-derived chassis technology is part of the Crossrunner's unique cross-over proposition.

The design allows a much lower headstock height than traditional adventure bikes, resulting in much improved levels of rigidity.

BRAKES

With standard-fit ABS, the triple disc braking setup of the Crossrunner is not only powerful, but safe too. Twin 296mm floating discs are arrested by three-piston calipers at the front, whilst the rear 256mm disc brake adopts a twin-piston caliper for precise control.

Extensive development work with the ratio of master cylinder-piston to caliper-piston ratios has achieved a high degree of rider feel for optimised levels of braking control and heightened aspects of rider feedback.




2012 Honda Crossrunner VFR800X - Specifications
MSRP Price - TBA

Engine
Carburation PGM-FI electronic fuel injection
Displacement 782cm3
ACG Output 386W
Ignition Timing 8° BTDC (idle) ~ 50° BTDC (1200min-1)
Sparkplug Type IMR9D-9H (NGK); VNH27Z (DENSO)
Battery Capacity 12V/11AH (YTZ-12S)
Starter Electric
Max. Power Output 74.9kW/10,000min-1 (95/1/EC)
Type Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 16-valve DOHC 90° V-4
Oil Capacity 3.8 litres
Ignition System Computer-controlled digital transistorised with electronic advance
Max. Torque 72.8Nm/9,500min-1 (95/1/EC)
Bore × Stroke 72 × 48mm
Throttle Bore 36mm
Idling Speed 1200min-1
Compression Ratio 11.6 : 1


Transmission
Final Reduction 2.687 (43/16)
Final Drive O-ring sealed chain
Clutch Operation Hydraulic
Clutch Wet, multiplate with coil springs
Transmission Type Constant mesh 6-speed
Primary Reduction 1.934 (64/33)

Dimensions and Weight
Caster Angle 25° 45'
Fuel Tank Capacity 21.5 litres
Wheelbase 1,464mm
Aircleaner Oil-permeated, cartridge-type paper filter
Trail 96mm
Frame type Diamond; aluminium twin-spar; pivotless
Dimensions (L×W×H) 2,130 × 799 × 1,243mm

Here we go! Vote now.

Just released, the 2012 Honda Crossrunner VFR800X went from a concept bike last year to a full production model this year. Honda, the company who is (was) known for safe designs have ventured out with the Fury, Rune, VFR1200, DN-01 and now the Crossrunner... Is Honda on the right track with the Crossrunner?

Would you buy one? Do you like the design idea? What do you think about it's looks? Is this the future of design?

Discuss and debate.

Very cool. I'd buy one if I had the disposable income. I'm a sucker for cool standard naked bikes.

NorthernPete wrote:Very cool. I'd buy one if I had the disposable income. I'm a sucker for cool standard naked bikes.

I wouldn't call it a nake standard, after all it does have plenty of plastic wrapped around it and you can only see the rear half of the engine. Plus I really do not like that Transformeresque styling on any bike. I voted uncool, it seems to me that the bike is not sure what it is, a sport bike, a sport-tourer, or a standard, interesting piece of technology tho.

totalmotorcycle wrote:Would you buy one?

Can I buy one? It's sure not listed on the Honda USA website. If it's sold in the USA, what's the price?


EDIT: to answer my own question, I checked the Honda websites for USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Crossrunner is on the German, Austrian, Swiss, and UK sites, but none of the others. Europe only, I guess. (Didn't check any Asian or African sites, come to think.....)

ceemes wrote:I voted uncool, it seems to me that the bike is not sure what it is, a sport bike, a sport-tourer, or a standard, interesting piece of technology tho.

Same here. Y'know, I usually like it when a manufacturer tries to design a "do it all" bike. So why not just make it a naked standard? That style of bike, with an 800cc V4 and single sided swingarm, would be unique, interesting, practical, and versatile.

Why make it look like a dual sport when it obviously isn't designed to go off-pavement?

Or why not just update the VFR800 but keep it looking and acting like a midweight sport tourer? That would also be pretty rare; the VFR800 and BMW F800ST are the only sub-liter sport touring bikes I can think of. Not all of us want to tour on huge liter-plus bikes.

PS, what's the interesting piece of technology?

Looks and reads like a fine piece of machinery to me. Cool.

jstark47 wrote:

totalmotorcycle wrote:Would you buy one?

Can I buy one? It's sure not listed on the Honda USA website. If it's sold in the USA, what's the price?


EDIT: to answer my own question, I checked the Honda websites for USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Crossrunner is on the German, Austrian, Swiss, and UK sites, but none of the others. Europe only, I guess. (Didn't check any Asian or African sites, come to think.....)

You should be able to get one in USA and Canada soon, they had them at the motorcycle shows and I'm thinking it will be available as soon as more 2012 models get released in North America. I jumped the gun on putting it up with a bet that it WILL be available in NA.

Let's see if my best guess turns out to be correct. I think it would sell very well in USA and Canada myself and the VFR800 engine in it would be a welcome return.

Mike

just my own opinion, but with all the plastic work up front, it looks stubby - a naked should be just that. the lines just don't look balanced to me ...

zeligman wrote:just my own opinion, but with all the plastic work up front, it looks stubby - a naked should be just that. the lines just don't look balanced to me ...

I do see what you mean, the front of the bike seems "short" and it's very flat (which is odd for a motorcycle) from the fairing to the tail as well...

Mike