Anyone else find the VFR King of the long distance tight twisties ?

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by John451, Mar 7, 2007.

  1. John451

    John451 Member

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    It's hard to start a thread like this without sounding like a wanker and in all honesty have made some generalization's but time and time again over the last few years of VFR lovership have found myself being waved past and rocketing away from newer, better spec'd and powerful machinery most usually when riding over long distance sets of tight twisties with the disclamer of usually finding myself being passed as the road opens. Oddly enough when riding with the local VFR crowd usually find myself somewhere in the trailing half under the same conditions .

    Its not that I'm more expirienced (not usually) than some of these guys and have ridden the same roads with them for years and it may partially come down to a personal love of tight roads then again some of it may come from the confidence Pilot Powers bring but mostly feel it is down to how well the VFR with it double Vtwin like engine gets its power to the ground and its deceptive but nonetheless brilliant midrange. :cool:

    Having quizzed some of the riders over the years have come to the simplified conclusion that the SuperSport 600's eg CBR600RR's and R6's while developing more upper Rev HP and are much lighter are actually harder to keep on the boil over time and when the corners get slow tight uphill suffer a little by having too tall a first gear to get power down quickly out of the bend leading to the rider suffering concentration loss when having to do this for hours.

    Post ride gas bagging with riders of Litre Superbikes eg R1 & GSXR1000's find the opposite is true where they have to concentrate on not feeding too much power on too quickly for fear of wheeling or arching up the rear, again this comment is to be gauged over distance not just a few corners.

    Through the long distance tight stuff ( my favourite ) the VFR seems to have the advantage of not continually worring about being in the wrong gear like the 600's making life easier and just using the available creamy midrange and an ablility to use 100% of throttle to jump out of the corners without risk off wheelspin like the 1000's, my only fear at this time is of one day coming against a well ridden GSXR750. :redface:

    Am I the lone ranger or has anyone else discovered the VFR King of the long distance tight twisties ?
     
  2. chesthing

    chesthing New Member

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    I'd say it's 80% rider 20% bike as to speed through twisties. What makes me chuckle are guys who upgrade to more powerful bikes when they never even came close to the potential of their "beginner" bikes thinking more hp will make them faster. Wrong, it just makes them more likely to crash. A great rider on something like a 1988 Goldwing will be much faster than a mediocre rider on any bike available today, unless your talking straight line speed. A monkey could be trained to redline gears.
     
  3. VaRollOn

    VaRollOn New Member

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    Chesthing is totally correct. Its all the rider. I once saw Randy Renfrow ex-champion racer (RIP:frown: )beat everyone up Thorton Gap in VA on an Ex250 while the others in his wake were on liter bikes and no slouches themselves. Its all riding and stones.
     
  4. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    I have found simular that I have avoided 600's generally because you have to rev the piss out to get them to move. I have pretty much stayed with viffers because of its midrange and ease of using it over a thousand miles of twistys.

    The liter bike I rode - I am not skilled enuff to use the power over 10000 RPM on a consistant basis in the twists over a mega miles haul. (Although it is fun to try!) The ergos will kill you too.:eek:

    Like you pointed out a GSXR750 is the perfect blend and balance of power and handling. I have always thought that 750s are the perfect sporting displacement, I wish the other manufactures would step up to the plate.

    The Triumph 675 comes damn close.

    MD
     
  5. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    Holy crap! I just checked the wet weight of the Triumph675 and it's 417!! (Motorcyclist data) Thats a full 60 to 75 lbs less than my 5th gen wet! Holy crap again! :eek:

    It ought'a be nasty in the twists....

    MD
     
  6. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Love the Gsxr750, but as a reminder as great of a bike it is where do we ride 90% of the time? on the open road, not the track. I'm loving my 750 VFR it truly has the blend of being able to do both worlds of riding More than really well yes theres time I wish for more power but All I need to do is remind myself what I have :biggrin: I prove this time and time again to others with R1s and the like, Love it..:)

    Came across an article once where Freddie Spencer was doing a track day schooling, all these dudes where on the latest and greatest 1000cc sportbikes , guess what Freddie was on?. VFR800 and was on the heals and passing them. so yes 80-85% rider for sure.
     
  7. SLOVFR

    SLOVFR Member

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    After this last Track day Sunday at ButtonWilliow, I am a believer ! Tori on his 800 and I on the 750 were out braking and out corning the "sport bikes" . I think this leads to the great VFR secure feeling and stableness of the VFR. I saw guys squirming all over the turns on their "sport bikes" . We were all in Novice class, and there was alot of good riders but the VFR held its own and then showed them the what for !!! :first:
     
  8. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Very nice, you did good
     
  9. John451

    John451 Member

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    While agreeing the riders ability is most important, my posts aim was to discuss that given rider's of similar ability the VFR's blend of good mid range power and using its Vtwinish like tyre pulses give's it an "unfair" :cool: advantage in the real world.

    Was trying to focus on the VFR's 100% usable thrust out of tight corners and its naturally better blend comfort Vs handling over flashier Sports machines allowing for concentration at 8/10's to be maintained for a longer period of time in distance V's Twisties scenario. :smile:

    So does anyone else believe just riding the VFR gives an advantage over the unknowing riding other Sports machinery in the real world ? :biggrin:
     
  10. chesthing

    chesthing New Member

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    I certainly think it has an advantage over liter bikes and Busas - you can open it up exiting the turn until the next one, do that on a liter bike and all hell will break loose. Over powered bikes like that must be ridden with a lot of guess work, either getting it just right or much more often erring on the side of caution (you sure don't want to err the other way!) but I'd have to say modern 600's generally have an advantage because they have more power and much less weight, you just have to ride at very high rpms. But I'll take the VFR anyday for comfort and the extra weight for stability, I personally think I would ride faster on it than any newer 600.
     
  11. Bubba Zanetti

    Bubba Zanetti Member

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    I believe just riding the VFR gives an advantage over the unknowing! Hell, I have dumb comments said to me every riding season. "Why don't you get a Gixxer"?

    This coming from Gixxer owners and others, that when you look at their rear tire, they obviously drive in a straight line fast or do nothing but burnouts?!

    "Sorry gents, but I enjoy "riding" and carving corners".

    I've said it before in other posts, the liter bikes and straight out sport 750's are alotta fun to ride, but what the hell am I going to to with a bike like that!? Piss on all the squids LOL!

    On a side note, has anyone ridden a SV650? That bike has great low end torgue and is blast to use carving corners!

    Have fun!

    BZ
     
  12. Legs

    Legs New Member

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    Bubba's right. Now that I am temporarily without VFR and having to ride Harley's for work and Magazine assignments, I'm doing my scratching on a SV650.

    I'll be riding w/Ferris several members on my SV before the AMA race at Barber's in April!:cool:
     
  13. SLOVFR

    SLOVFR Member

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    Never rode one but passed them alot last Sunday (track day .... Im still not over it):biggrin:
     
  14. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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  15. grinder

    grinder New Member

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    I believe that it does. Any bike that is easy, comfortable and forgiving to ride will give an advantage in the real world. It is hard to concentrate when you are worried about sore wrists or backs or necks etc. Plus I think the VFR just feels right which tends to give you more confidence.:smile:
     
  16. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    Agree, then theres the time when I'm out all day 300-400 mile day get home then just for the fun of it, I go out again. talk about a user friendly non pain in the ass bike that rocks, try that on your doublezz sportbike woulds ya...
     
  17. chesthing

    chesthing New Member

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    Sometimes when bored I lurk at other sport-tourer forums like Busa, Blackbird or Sprint forums, and those owners frequently dismiss the VFR for lack of comparable power. I don't think they understand the concept of useable power for the street, they concentrate on magazine stats instead. Riding fast through the rocky mountains a few weeks ago I was right with the 2 fastest riders, a ZX-6r and a CBR1000R - about 8 others on various true sport bikes weren't even visible in my rear view for most of the day. The VFR is all the power one needs to go as fast on the street as you would ever want and keep up with any bike the rest is up to rider skill. The track, that's a different story - no track around me so it's a mute point.
     
  18. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    My #1 riding buddy has a ZX9r and he always follows me in the twists because i can smoke him at will.. - in the straits is another story.
    MD
     
  19. John451

    John451 Member

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    I have and you are quite right, the mighty little SV650S I had before my previous '03 Gen 6 was a brilliant fun machine with a fat mid range and light and easily chuckable, unfortunatly it also caused me neck, wrist and knee pain any rides above 220miles or so, the VFR was then and still is the best cure. :smile:
     
  20. Bubba Zanetti

    Bubba Zanetti Member

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    On straights or corners?
     
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