Moto-Journal France - VFR1200 Video review

Discussion in 'VFR in the News' started by skimad4x4, Dec 6, 2014.

  1. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    I don't think this very thorough review during 2010 of the then brand new VFR1200 was ever mentioned on VFRWorld.

    So just in case you all missed it - check out this exhaustive test ride review - some of the trip looks amazing but they don't like the seat!

    (Even if you don't speak a word of French - riding seems to be an international language - and if nothing else you may find it entertaining).

    https://www.youtube.com/v=Stu45JW42W4 This link is not working

    Thanks to Tiutis this is the correct link --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stu45JW42W4


    Enjoy




    SkiMad
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2014
  2. Tiutis

    Tiutis New Member

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    The link doesn't work. Are you talking about this guy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stu45JW42W4
    I did not understand 99% of it but I still enjoyed it a lot. The guys is funny and makes his videos so much fun!
     
  3. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    It looks like a great video. It's really well done but I didn't get a word of it.
     
  4. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Well at least I managed to spot the word VFR (vee-eff-err) from time to time!

    Tiutis - Thanks for sorting out the link - it is indeed the video I was trying to link to. You have to be brave to stay with it for the full length but they certainly gave the bike a comprehensive review.

    The main points seemed to be that whilst they liked the shaft drive (cardan) they were not happy with the standard seat (so Corbin et al can continue to make better aftermarket seats). It was also interestingly to see that the fuel range was never an issue crossing Europe and I suspect that just like their VFR1200F most Paris-Dakar riders would have to resort to carrying extra fuel containers for sections in North Africa.

    With used models now available at affordable prices in Europe the 1200 is a strong candidate to join the fleet.




    SkiMad
     
  5. iamzombie

    iamzombie New Member

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    At 15:00 he mentions that he can only get 250km out of a tank, and then proceeds to refill using a water bottle filled with petrol. 15 seconds later he mentions that some of the gaps between fuel stations was over 320km so he added some 10l aux tanks :)

    Not gonna lie, I have a hard time understanding that guy's accent since I'm used to "quebecoise" :p
     
  6. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Well spotted but it seemed that the VFR fuel range was more than adequate for the huge "kilometre, peage, essence, kilometre, peage, essence" sections when he was blasting south through France to Spain, including that mountain section where he was really giving it some. I was very impressed to see how well the 1200F behaved on those twisties, and how it made little difference to the fun when his luggage seemed to magically appear and disappear.

    It was only after he had left Europe at 15:00 when fuel range really became a concern as he was somewhere in the Sahara desert in North Africa where fuel stops can be a lot further apart, so carrying extra fuel containers is the norm for pretty much all motorbikes not just an issue for the VFR! In comparison with another V4 1200 - the MCN review managed to empty the 15 litre tank on a Yamaha VMX1200 V-Max in under 150km.



    SkiMad
     
  7. iamzombie

    iamzombie New Member

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    Yeah the sections of desert where he's flying along on tarmac at crusing speeds and then crosses through drifted sand made me wince each and every time.

    I've only put 3 or 4 tanks through the VFR since I bought it, but he's getting better range to a tank loaded w/ full paniers than I do riding solo unloaded. I'd never have thought the VFR would go less on a tank than my R1, but I can easily get 240km on my yammy before the fuel light comes on (slightly larger tank, much lighter bike, I guess... offsets the fact that I am rarely in low revs on my R1 :)
     
  8. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Exactly - riding style is probably a key factor in all these numbers - and I bet his mpg was not as good on those really wobbly sections.

    As always regardless of the bikes official fuel range, what really matters is - is it big enough for the sort of riding you are likely to want to do?

    Inherently any motorbike designed for use as a sport tourer is going to be a compromise, but at least within developed areas of the planet, like Europe, the 1200F seems to strike a decent compromise especially when you start to compare it with smaller fully faired bikes like the Daytona where the smaller tank chosen by Triumph gives a safe fuel range of barely 200km with a 675cc engine and yet the reviews suggest that is adequate for normal riding.

    It makes me wonder if Honda had decided to fit a similar small tank to the 800vtec many of the reported low speed tip-overs could have been saved. You would be removing a lot of high up weight from the bike and also reducing the potential dynamic effect caused by fuel suddenly sloshing to one side of the tank which can be enough to push the bike beyond the point of no return. OK we would probably all be moaning about the resulting poor fuel range, but I suspect it would have saved a lot of bikes from battle scars, and as Honda would have put Randy out of a job - you can never win:eek:hwell:



    SkiMad
     
  9. marriedman

    marriedman New Member

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    I thought it was a great video, but I didn't understand anything he said. If it had English subtitles, it would have been the perfect motorcycle review. That is definitely a real world review! Much better than the ones that the magazines here put out.
     
  10. Scubalong

    Scubalong Official Greeter?

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    Great video :thumbsup:
    Thanks for sharing
    The guy is funny as hell :wink:
     
  11. iamzombie

    iamzombie New Member

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    You can enable french subtitles (using youtube's speech recognition, so not perfect) and have google translate it on the fly, but the french subs aren't 100% accurate so you can only guess how far off the translation is from time to time :p
     
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