New User recently purchased 7th Gen

Hey y'all. Mark from South Mississippi. I've been riding for about 4 years, first bike was an 85 Magna V45 (VF700C). I had an ST1300 for about 2 years and put 40K miles on before trading it in on a Goldwing. I've been missing that V4 ever since, so I bought a 2010 VFR1200F in early April,

I'm so glad to be back astride a big, burly Honda V4 - the sound and the torque are intoxicating. I've already put 2K miles on the bike, and I will definitely be keeping this one around long term.

 

Welcome Mark, 2000 miles since April is good going. The 1200 is pretty different to the ST, did you know that Honda had planned to replace the ST with a VFR1200-based ST bike? Sadly, the 1200F wasn't well received and they shelved the project. I have owned a couple of the ST1300s and there's not much that can beat the easy-going nature and ride position, but I find the 1200 to be much more stable in wind and a lot cooler to ride.

 

Hey Terry. Thanks for the reply.

I loved the ST. But the heat was more than I could take. It should've had a 6th gear and Cruise Control. And the weave was pretty terrifying. Other than those things, it was great!

I never understood why the VFR1200F failed. I thought it was the most beautiful bike ever made from the first time I saw it. And the performance it brought was phenomenal.

 

Hey Mark, Welcome aboard! I also had a V45 Magna back in the day. I sold my ‘23 Goldwing last year and picked up a Blackbird a couple of years ago. Traded the Blackbird for the VFR12 last month. Loving the VFr12. Just finished servicing the plugs, oil, filters, brake fluid and coolant. Did a couple hundred miles yesterday with my buddy on his ST.

 

Welcome & congrats Mark!

From what I gathered one of the biggest challenges for the VFR1200F as a touring bike was in regards to the smaller tank size and overall distance per tank compared to the competition, or even compared to the prior gen VFR800. Beautiful bike though I agree, I got to test ride one years ago and it definitely gets up and moves, enjoy it!

 

Honda shot themselves in the foot by hyping up the 1200 far too much. I think their original plan was to maximise the platform and create a GS-rivaling adventure bike (the X model) and also the stillborn T tourer, which left the F to be a playful do-all but not an expert in any one area. The F also had to fill a Blackbird-shaped void, so needed some serious high-speed ability and a matching committed ride position. My assumption is the tourer and adventure model dictated a shaft drive and length, and hence weight, so the F is heavier and longer than it needed to be. Then to keep the wet weight down and help the stylists' crayons, they kept the tank size down. And in a world with real touring bikes, real hyperbikes like the Hayabusa, new widgetry of riding modes, the F looks a bit too compromised.

However, if you look at the F in isolation, it has a fabulous motor, a very good chassis, great air/heat control, great brakes. Ridden carefully/legally, the fuel consumption on my 2015 is lower than my 5G, and some Helibars and padded shorts make it decently comfy for a longer run (but not quite as good as the ST1300).

 

My riding buddy started at the same time I did, and the bike he wanted from the start was the Blackbird. I LOVE that bike.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. John Q. Public didn't look at it in isolation.