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Honda 2016 VFR1200X Coming to the US!

Good bike. Very strong motor. Good sound. Plush suspension. Nice gearbox and of course shaft drive. I had one out for a day. It is slightly stronger than my Triumph but overall did not motivate me to change. It is quite heavy though. Honda had difficulty in understanding why many Varadero owners did not naturally progress to the VFR. It did not sell that well over here. If it had cruise control I would have been tempted.
 
belrix said:
I'm tempted! Between the Africa Twin and changes to the 2016 NCX it is looking like 2016 might be a new bike year for me!
Click to expand...

I don't think you would be disappointed with a test ride on the Crosstourer. Imagine a better suspended, heavier NC on massive amounts of steroids !
 
It's shaft drive!!! I want this. I looked at the Crosstourer in Europe with envy every time. I'll wait for a second hand one as I got my NC700x setup how I like it. Maybe late 2016, early 2017 winter I'll pick one up and trade in the nc700x.

Shaft drive and DCT. All I wanted. Now its here! (soon) YAY!!!
 
Maybe someday I'll want one when it comes in an actual color . . .:(
 
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Just out of curiousity, for all those in favour of this bike, what would the particular appeal be, over a Yamaha Super Tenere? My riding buddy has the Super Ten and he loves the thing.

I don't think I've heard of any particularly grim and fatal flaws with the big Yammie, and it's a big, 1200cc comfy barca lounger of a beast, with shaft drive, tubeless spoke wheels, 270* crank for that awesome V-Twin-like sound, 26,000 mile valve inspections (!) enough rugged simplicity (plain model) for technophobes, or more electro gizmos (ES model with cruise control, electric suspension adjust etc.) for technophiles and so on. I don't picture the Honda being any better/worse on road or off, to any real matter of importance. The blue colour is beautiful!

A style thing, or mega brand loyalty, or...?
 
I think the VFR1200X will be even less of a real adventure bike than the NC700/750X. It's just styling. Too big, too heavy, and has excess power you'd need/use 1% of the time. I've done the bigger bike thing and I now believe being light and nimble is more important than the weight penalty that comes with more power. By the way, I couldn't even find a weight listed in the official Honda specifications.

Wikipedia says the DCT is 628 pounds/285 kg.
 
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I was excited because it was something new on the Honda website under the Adventure section and I like the looks of the VFR1200X slightly more than the Super Tenere. Plus I talked with my local dealer and they are planning on getting an Africa Twin and a Crosstourer in the Spring, and they allow test rides! No local Yamaha dealer provides test rides and factory sponsored demo days don't make it to my location.
 
L.B.S. said:
Just out of curiousity, for all those in favour of this bike, what would the particular appeal be, over a Yamaha Super Tenere? My riding buddy has the Super Ten and he loves the thing.

I don't think I've heard of any particularly grim and fatal flaws with the big Yammie, and it's a big, 1200cc comfy barca lounger of a beast, with shaft drive, tubeless spoke wheels, 270* crank for that awesome V-Twin-like sound, 26,000 mile valve inspections (!) enough rugged simplicity (plain model) for technophobes, or more electro gizmos (ES model with cruise control, electric suspension adjust etc.) for technophiles and so on. I don't picture the Honda being any better/worse on road or off, to any real matter of importance. The blue colour is beautiful!

A style thing, or mega brand loyalty, or...?
Click to expand...
If anything it's the S10's lethargic dull motor ( I know, it's a relative thing. Compared to the NC700X it's a rocket ship but in comparisons across the pond the S10 comes in last behind the GS and CT. )
 
It is all relative I guess, eh?

I was quite impressed being able to easily power wheelie the Super Ten with a handful of throttle, so it felt pretty peppy to me on the first ride my buddy sent me out on lol. Apparently a software reflash and/or a clutch interlock defeat trick does a treat to liven up the Yamaha quite a bit, too.

Got some pretty good air doing berm jumping, it took it in stride with probs. But having lifted up and unsticking my NC compared to doing the same with the STen, oof! I wouldn't go anywhere near doing the same kind of off roading as I do with the X. That weight from the big models is just too much for me to cope with.
 
Oh the Crosstourer is heavy indeed, but when you start moving, all the weight seems to disappear. When I first rode it, I planned to trade my NC in for the CT, I really really like the bike, but I chose to stay with NC because the CT was just too expensive (NC is around 9000€ full spec and CT is about 18000€). I even looked pre owned CTs.
 
L.B.S. said:
Just out of curiousity, for all those in favour of this bike, what would the particular appeal be, over a Yamaha Super Tenere? My riding buddy has the Super Ten and he loves the thing.

I don't think I've heard of any particularly grim and fatal flaws with the big Yammie, and it's a big, 1200cc comfy barca lounger of a beast, with shaft drive, tubeless spoke wheels, 270* crank for that awesome V-Twin-like sound, 26,000 mile valve inspections (!) enough rugged simplicity (plain model) for technophobes, or more electro gizmos (ES model with cruise control, electric suspension adjust etc.) for technophiles and so on. I don't picture the Honda being any better/worse on road or off, to any real matter of importance. The blue colour is beautiful!

A style thing, or mega brand loyalty, or...?
Click to expand...

I liked the Crosstourer but as previously mentioned it did not motivate me to move from my Triumph even at a time when my confidence in the Triumph had been somewhat undermined due to ongoing warranty issues. However the Crosstourer was lacking something in overall appeal that the Triumph possessed. I tend to agree with others who are leaning towards lighter bikes, but my ownership of such a style of bike is mostly about two up touring with luggage, and a shaft drive + cruise control is a plus if available.

Now back to your question. For me, the Crosstourer would not have more appeal than the Yamaha. Truth be known, if my Triumph becomes troublesome at any point in the future, it will probably be replaced with a Super Tenere. I have a friend with one also and he loves it. The difference between the Crosstourer and the Yam is that the CT is heavy and feels it, whereas the Yam is heavy but conceals it very well. Having said that, the CT is a heavier bike than the Yamaha, but it is also more powerful. I think the Yamaha is an excellent motorcycle, but for now it remains number two choice for me. Of course I would also have to consider the Africa Twin if a change was being made.

I also take the point that these big heavy bikes (including my Triumph) lose their heavy feel once moving. The same could be said about my previous GL1800. However what gets to me is the pulling and dragging involved with them when not on the road.
 
iSlander said:
Oh the Crosstourer is heavy indeed, but when you start moving, all the weight seems to disappear.
Click to expand...
True with most bikes. That is why most drops are at low speed in places like gas stations or driveways. Then one finds out how heavy it really is. This 63 year old out of shape guy can and has picked up his NC. Once in mud and once at a gas station.
 
Yes, the weight of heavy bikes tends to disappear when they're in motion (I have a GL1800, so I know the concept). But aren't we talking about an adventure bike here? One that, if used for it's intended purpose, would get you in tight spots where light weight would be more of an advantage than having 127 horsepower.
 
Fuzzy said:
True with most bikes. That is why most drops are at low speed in places like gas stations or driveways. Then one finds out how heavy it really is. This 63 year old out of shape guy can and has picked up his NC. Once in mud and once at a gas station.
Click to expand...
I know, but CT feels really agile once you take your legs of ground, I only noticed how heavy it was when I wanted to push it into my garage
 
Weight really matters if you are lifting it as dead weight. The point the weight is acting through, the Center of Gravity, greatly influences how "heavy" a motorcycle feels when we sit on and ride them.

My Triumph Tiger 800 weighed about 30 lbs less than my Honda DCT and 10 lbs less than my manual transmission 700 but if you did not know that you would think the Tiger was much heavier. The Tiger was harder to get up off the side stand and much less tolerant of being leaned over when walking it or pushing it around. Out of the box the seat height of the Tiger on low setting is 3/4" lower than the NC but the Tiger feels taller, heavier, and not as agile at low speed. The low CG of the NC disguises it's heavier total weight.

EDIT to add; what is the appeal?

When the CT came out three years ago I was very interested in it as a replacement to my ST1300. Though the V4 engines are different in layout and location in the frame I was jazzed about the similarity of the horsepower and torque curves. Though the CT has 10 or so more rear wheel hp the shape of and the area under the torque curve is almost identical. Honda's V4s are great road engines with lots of usable power and a silky delivery. However time marches on and I'm really no longer interested in replacing the ST1300 with a big adventure bike. The year on the Tiger confirmed that. The ST1300 and NC700 do everything I want for the present.
 
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