Give me some reasons to have a VFR

Hi everyone. This is first message of me..

I'll give you some arguments about me and ask some reasons to have a VFR..

From the first day I have seen a VFR, I fall in love.. Soem of my friends have it and everyday they suggest me for buying a new VFR.

Although I want to have it, I have some reasons or some doubts about it.

Here is me.
I ;
- live in Istanbul, Turkey
- have a K4 Varadero with ABS.
- ride minimum 25-28 K kilometeres every year.
- usually prefer long rides out of the city.
- ride my bike, how to say, so hard (never mind bad road conditions and dive every kind of holes etc..
- like to enter some roads which is not asphalt. Sandy, gravel or secondary roads (This is the most important obstacle for me to have a VFR). But this is not for enjoying bad road conditions but I like to discover some new places which is over mountains, inside forests etc.

And here in Turkey, we have really good road conditions in general. But when you decide to discover some secondary towns and places, roads with bad surface conditions will wellcome you..

Although everything, still I want a VFR. I can not stop looking at the photos or wathcing my friends who ride it.

But I can't. Or can I?

Give me some reasons, support me to have it. Or stop me to think about it..

Thanks and regards..

Ilkay

 

Sounds to me like you would be more intereseted in a dual sport, like a KLR or something. VFR's aren't built for taking off road.....unless you put on some knobby tires and adjusted the suspension. But even then you would be better off picking up a non-sport touring motorcycle, one which is built to handle abuse like you have described.

 

The new Buell sounds like just the ticket for you. I can't think of the name of it, but I just read about it in CycleWorld a few months ago. It's supposed to be built for some dual-sporting, but still has a lot of on-road capability.

 

Vey good with the Buell. It is called the Buell Ulysses XB12X. Nice looking bike that took its styling cues from the old VF500, 700's of the 80's. ( Open bike with chin fairing & moderate front fairing)

Cut/pasted:


MSRP
Manufacturer's Suggested
Retail Price (1) $11,495

DIMENSIONS
Overall Length 85 in
Overall Height without mirrors 52.4 in
Seat Height
Laden (2) 33.1 in
Width 35.1 in
Ground Clearance 6.75 in
Rake
Steering Head 23.5º
Fork Angle 22º
Trail 4.8 in
Wheelbase 54.1 in
Fuel Capacity 4.4 gal
Fuel Capacity, DDFI - Low Fuel Indicator Light 0.83 gal
Oil Capacity 2.5 qts
Primary Fluid Capacity 1 qts
Weight
Dry Weight 425 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 950 lbs
Load Carrying Capacity 452 lbs

ENGINE
Engine Thunderstorm® 1203cc Air/Oil/fan-cooled, four-stroke, 45º V-Twin
Displacement 73.4 in³
Bore 3.5 in
Stroke 3.812 in
Peak Engine Torque (3) 84 ft-lb
Peak Engine Torque (3) 6000 RPM
Peak Horsepower (3) 103 hp
Peak Horsepower (3) 6800 RPM
Oil Sump (Wet or Dry) Dry
Cooling System Type (Air, Air/Oil or Liquid) Air/Oil
Fuel System (Carburated or DDFI) DDFI II
Intake Throttle Configuration and Bore Diameter Downdraft 49mm, single-piece design
Compression Ratio 10.0:1
Mileage per US EPA Urban Trace, CITY (4) 51 mpg
Mileage per US EPA HIGHWAY Fuel Economy Test (4) 64 mpg

DRIVE TRAIN
Primary Drive Type Chain
Primary Drive Ratio 1.500 (57/38)
Secondary Drive Type (5) Constant path, 14mm pitch aramid-reinforced Goodyear® Hibrex® belt with Flexten® Plus technology
Secondary Drive Ratio 2.407 (65/27)
Clutch Type Wet, multiplate, compensated, reduced lever effort
Transmission Type 5-speed, Helical gear
Transmission Ratio
1st 2.648
2nd 1.892
3rd 1.407
4th 1.166
5th 1

CHASSIS
Front Brake System ZTL™ Braking System
Front Rotor and Caliper Configuration 6-piston, fixed caliper. Single-sided, inside-out, floating rotor
Front Rotor Size, OD 14.77 in
Front Rotor Size, Width 0.2 in
Rear Brake System
Rear Rotor and Caliper Configuration Single-piston, floating caliper. Fixed rotor
Rear Rotor Size, OD 9.45 in
Rear Rotor Size, Width 0.2 in
Rear Suspension Type and Configuration (6) Showa® Fully adjustable, coil-over monoshock with remote, underseat reservoir
Front Fork and Suspension (6) Showa® inverted fork with adjustable compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload
Front Fork Slider Tube Diameter 1.69 in
Suspension Travel, Front Wheel, Along Fork Line 6.51 in
Suspension Travel, Rear Wheel, Vertical 6.38 in
Lean Angle at Full Suspension Compression, Soft Contact, Left 39º
Lean Angle at Full Suspension Compression, Soft Contact, Right 39º
Lean Angle at Full Suspension Compression, Hard Contact, Left 40º
Lean Angle at Full Suspension Compression, Hard Contact, Right 43º
Frame Aluminum frame with Uniplanar™ Powertrain vibration isolation system
Swingarm Extended Cast aluminum swingarm with detachable brace
Exhaust System InterActive exhaust, Mass centralized muffler with extended outlet - mounted under the bike
Muffler Finish Black with polished outlet

WHEELS AND TIRES
Front Tire (brand | model) (6) Dunlop® D616F
Rear Tire (brand | model) (6) Dunlop® D616
Tire Size Designator, Front 120/70R-17
Tire Size Designator, Rear 180/55R-17
Wheel Type, Front Reinforced XB-type 6-spoke, ZTL™ Braking System, cast aluminum front wheel. Magnesium Tone
Wheel Type, Rear Reinforced XB-type 6-spoke, cast aluminum. Magnesium Tone
Wheel Size, Front 3.5x17 (width x dia) (in)
Wheel Size, Rear 5.5x17 (width x dia) (in)

ELECTRICAL
Battery Type and Specifications Sealed Lead Acid, maintenance-free, 12-volt, 12 amp-hour (per Battery Council International rating), 200 cca
Charging System Specifications 38-amp permanent magnet 3-phase alternator with solid-state regulator (481 watts@3,000 rpm, 494 watts peak)
Starter System Specifications 1.2 kW electric with Bendix-type engagement
Headlamp Type and Wattages (high and low) Twin quartz Halogen (H7) 55-watt low beam. 5-watt position lamp (EUR, ENG, JPN, AUS)
Tail Light Wattages (stop and running) Ten segment LED tail light - 3.36watts Stop/.36watts running
Turn Signal Lights Type (manual or self-canceling) and Wattage Manual canceling, 10w
License Plate Lamp Wattage 5w
High Beam Indicator Lamp Available Yes
Neutral Indicator Lamp Available Yes
Oil Indicator Lamp Available Yes
Low Fuel Indicator Lamp Available Yes, plus odometer shows miles traveled on reserve
Turn Signals Indicator Lamp Available Yes
Hazard Warning Indicator Lamp Available No
Engine Diagnostics Indicator Lamp Available Yes
Speedometer/Odometer Type (mechanical or electronic) Electronic
Resettable Tripmeter Available Yes, dual
Tachometer Available Yes
Additional Electronic Features Clock, auto fuel counter, two auxiliary power outlets (outlets are 12V,120w max individual or in combination)

MISCELLANEOUS
Under Seat Trunk Available Yes
Windscreen or Flyscreen Clear windscreen, Molded-in color flyscreen
Tool Kit Available Yes. Expanded to include suspension and mirror adjustment tools
Luggage or Protective racks Triple Tail™ System
Tie-Down Hooks Yes

COLORS (7)
Body Work Barricade Orange/ Midnight Black
Frame Graphite Grey
Wheels Magnesium Tone
Engine Silver Cylinders, Heads and Cases with Magnesium Tone Clutch and Cam Covers, Black Derby, Inspection, Pushrod Covers and Black Clutch and Cam cover perimeter fasteners

Interesting note though, that it took Buel 1203cc to make 103hp, while back in the 80' Hondas Vf1000 made 110hp and the R version made 120. Harleys 883 only makes/ makes like 43-maybe 50 hp while my Vf500 F has 73-74 with mild mods and still 68 stock out of a 500(498cc)!! Respectful #'s from a bike built back in the 80's. But back to you issue- I still wouldn't mind a Ulysses for your kind of riding. And it is a good looking bike to me. Good luck!:smile:

 

Sorry for that horrible blue font. What I meant to say was Interesting note though, that it took Buel 1203cc to make 103hp, while back in the 80' Hondas Vf1000 made 110hp and the R version made 120. Harleys 883 only makes/ makes like 43-maybe 50 hp while my Vf500 F has 73-74 with mild mods and still 68 stock out of a 500(498cc)!! Respectful #'s from a bike built back in the 80's. But back to you issue- I still wouldn't mind a Ulysses for your kind of riding. And it is a good looking bike to me. Good luck!

 

Buel not a bad bike, But the jury is still out for me on the engine, there are so many better. So that said take a look at the KTM super duke Very nice bike for the road, does well off road as well, see Paris-Dakar rally. Yes VFR is not really made for any off road work though a gravel road here and there won't kill it. but for long term use I would stay way from the VFR as nice a bike it is wasn'r designed for that sort of use. I'd think you would be better off to use the Buel or IMO better yet the KTM. good luck, oh also check dealer support, as that is always nice to have a dealer that is user friendly

 

Ktm

I'd go for a KTM, not the Superduke though - it's a great bike but not off road. I'd go for either the Adventure (if you're over 5'10" ) or the SM, same engine as Superduke but longer travel suspension.

 

Well, to me the issue here is that the large amount of miles that you put on. I test rode a BMW R1200GS and I would have to say that that motorcycle is very well built. The road use on it was very good. The off road ability was also very good. (I got to ride it in some fields and some gravel roads) The small creature comforts are very good as well.

I'm not knocking the VFR, I think it is a very good bike, but not for the riding you do. Good luck in your search for total enlightenment.

 

Something like a KLR, XLR, KTM Adventure, Suzuki DR400, BMW GS, but probably not the VFR. It's too heavy and street-focused to be useful on any unpaved road. Any of the other ones are great offroad and decent onroad.