ST vs VFR

[SMSW]

A guy in our BMW club owns a '17 VFR 1200, and I saw it for the first time last Wednesday. I did a little looking online and discovered the VFR's go back farther than the ST, it is considered a sport touring bike, though perhaps with the sport aspect emphasized, has a smaller gas tank, shorter range, and more power. It's styling is also not as integrated as the ST - the panniers hang on the bike rather than look like part of it like the ST.

What are the other pros and cons of the VFR, especially the motor and handling?

 

[Upt' North]

Ay up me duck, this bike wasn't well received by the media in the EU. They killed it off with vigour before it even had a chance to sell. I think Honda's problem was that they promoted it as a replacement for the ST but sportier and better. I spose a bit like they did with the new GW.
I have sat astride one, but not ridden one. It feels a bit cramped and more sports than tourer, just like every VFR that came before it, from the 750 on. The owners love em, but they would of course. The engine is supposed to be a snorter and the DCT was well received by owners too.
But when it was competing against Germans finest, it was just seen as second rate. There were a umber of recalls too. The Honda luggage was of the small variety in most cases.
To sum up, it would ride rings around an ST of any vintage but you wouldn't want to tour on it perhaps
Upt'North.

 

[Grabcon]

Which VFR1200? The "X" or "F". Similar engines but two completely different beasts. I believe the VFR1200F in the US was from 2010 to 2012 and the VFR1200X was from 2015 to 2017 in the US. I had a 2016 VFR1200X and for me it was much more comfortable that a ST1300, it had great performance, more adventure bike styling than the ST. I put 40k mile on mine it was a great bike for what I needed.

I cannot speak to the F model other than it was a more sport oriented bike than sport tour.

 

[Uncle Phil]

I rode the VFR1200F for 1,800 miles while in Europe -

Uncle Phil - Ireland 2010

Not really a 'two up' machine and you lose about 1/3 of the luggage space compared to a ST1100 or ST1300.
The mirrors were pretty much useless and the riding position aggressively forward.
But the motor and the power - smooth and strong - no heat, no notchy throttle just roll on power.
I had no trouble leaving ST1100s and ST1300s in the dust when I wound her up.
Stretch it a little bit, add risers and a decent windshield and you would have an incredible sport tourer.
But the 1200 version has nothing in common with the early versions except the letters VFR.

 

[Slydynbye]

I was really excited when the VFR1200f was about to be released. What a Beautiful bike!
When it came to a dealership about 40 miles away I made a trip there to see it and sit on it.
That was enough to tell me it wouldn't work for me. The seating is like a sport Bike and the forward lean was not how I wanted for a long journey.
You can compare the ergonomics here http://cycle-ergo.com/
I still lust for one but unless it was heavily modified I don't think it would work for me. I'm 6'3"

 

[red one]

Just read about the VFR 1200 in motorcycle magazines never seen one in thee wild. Still from what I read and the pictures I agree with most here. Would be a great platform for a proper sport touring machine with a little work on the hard bags, shaft drive don't remember if it had chain drive. Proper weather protection and a ridding position that would be comfortable for old guys then I'd consider it maybe. But truth be told hard to come up with an ST replacement.

 

[Uncle Phil]

VFR1200F is shaft drive - and they curved up the bottom of the saddle bag to accommodate it like they curved up the bottom of the other saddlebag to accommodate the large muffler. And then they curved the front of both bags to accommodate the pillion - so you lost a lot of space in the bags. If they would take the new Goldwing 'concept' and drop a VFR1200 engine in it, that would be the cat's pajamas!

 

[Upt' North]

Not much chance of that UP. The engine was dropped because of the regs wasn't it. I think in the tourer segment they've only got the 1100 twin and the 1800 GW.
Upt'North.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Not much chance of that UP. The engine was dropped because of the regs wasn't it. I think in the tourer segment they've only got the 1100 twin and the 1800 GW.
Upt'North.

I know - but what a machine that would be!

 

[Sadlsor]

The VFR in the 750 / 800cc versions were a huge hit over here in the US and still command a large following.
(OK, I know this isn't the viffer y'all are talking about, but...)
I know a few riders who successfully toured (sporty-like) with add-on Givi bags, as I did on my Blackbird. Several frame-ish bits were interchangeable between the two, such as handlebars / clip-ons, etc. Fantastic machines, unlike their remade, non-VFR 'VFR 1200'. Through its production life, roughly 1983 - 2009, it underwent about 6 major / minor revisions.
Just wanted to weigh in to clarify the VFR wasn't all about the 1200, and once was a (arguable, needed add-ons) viable sport tourer, but was absolutely a solid V4 engine and chassis. I always thought the single-sided swingarm was so trick and so cool.

 

[Upt' North]

Yes, @Sadlsor and @Uncle Phil the VFR1200F was exactly what a VFR should have been, sporty, I'd love one in the garage, now there's a thought. But it was never going to be a Pan.
It could have easily morphed into one if Honda thought the market was there, just like the NT has come from the AT. I think the NT is probably a better attempt but with chain drive many will reject it.
Now if they could make a Pan that makes a noise like a VFR750 on full song with the comfort of the ST11, wow. Where do I sign.
Upt'North.

 

[SMSW]

Stretch it a little bit, add risers and a decent windshield and you would have an incredible sport tourer.

My friend's has enormous risers. They must push the bars up and back about 4". However, they are sculpted, and look like a factory option - they are that nice. His bags were aluminum and the right bag had a huge scoop out of the bike side for the muffler. He also has crash bars that look more like what I have on my VStrom, or what you see on an adventure bike.

 

[Uncle Phil]

After riding the VFR1200F for almost two weeks, my ST1100s felt like I had ape-hangers installed when I got back!
The one I rode had the factory bags and trunk installed.

 

[TerryS]

I think Honda did plan to replace the ST13 with a VFR1200-based machine but it never made it to production.
https://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/solo-moto-thinks-more-upright-vfr1200f-may-replace-st1300-this-fall/

 

[Uncle Phil]

That would have been, IMHO, a very good bike!