07-10-2019, 09:57 AM
(07-09-2019, 10:24 PM)misterprofessionality_imp Wrote: can confirm the presence of some leftover VFR1200 and VFR800 in some dealers. I just don't know what kept people from buying those, and frankly i'm aghast at Honda not including a V4 in more platforms.
Cost, needless complexity, and a too-aggressive riding position.
Countless VFR owners TOLD Honda what they wanted, and Honda simply wouldn't listen. Instead, they continually jammed a bunch of excessive weight, cost, and complexity down our throats, in a package that was too narrowly focused to be comfortable for Older VFR Guy, i.e., the only person who could afford the new VFRs.
It was very simple. Here is all Honda needed to do to ensure the continued success of the VFR...
-Take the 2001 VFR800 and make it a full liter bike. Instead of 90-100 rwhp with 55-ft lbs of torque, give it Ninja 1000 hp and torque: 125 rwhp and 75-ft lbs of torque.
-NO V-TECH! Get your mitts off of our beloved gear-driven cams! THAT signature sound IS the VFR, and no one likes a big drop-off in power, smack-dab in the most important part of the power curve. V-Tech literally added nothing anyone wanted to the VFR experience. It sure hurt it, though.
-Keep the weight the same as the 2001 model, or even shave it down a bit, which wouldn't be difficult.
-Raise the bars to Ninja 1000 level, or, better yet, give them a range of adjustability, from the standard VFR position up to Ninja 1000 territory.
-Upside down forks, and a remote preload adjuster out back.
-Radial-mounted brakes. Not a deal killer, obviously, but at that price point people generally prefer radial brakes to those ancient CBR600F2-era units.
In a nutshell, give us a gear-driven cams, V4 Ninja 1000. Bestow it with the usual VFR panache and refinement. Don't price it into Ducati/BMW territory. That's all Honda had to do.
But no...
...again and again with that bike, no....
Instead, Honda just kept trying to answer questions absolutely no one was asking, until they finally managed to do the unthinkable, and kill the best motorcycle they or anyone else ever made.