Nice to see a member from the apple isle, i was down there not so long ago on my KLR.

So Michelle please give us the details of your bike, what part of tassie you from

sorry to hijack

Aussie Johnno

 

I just noticed, nice Avatar Aussie Johnno

Aussie Johnno

 

I have been looking.....just looking.

My friend who demo-ed the GL1800 told me that he could not believe how it handled. They are truly a great bike. I would like to see a version of it without the ugly top trunk and queen's throne. Not that it is truly ugly but I ride one-up and think it would look cleaner without that mess when it is not needed. They do have reverse but they are still heavy to push around.

To replace the 1kF with the VFR is not that much of a change to me other than newness and more bells and whistles.

What I have been thinking about is not replacing but to pick up a second bike. I was thinking about a GL1500 for longer rides. I just got back from a 643 mile ride and the old bones felt just a little cramped on the 1kF.

The problem is that there is no answer.

Have you ridden a Roadliner or Stratoliner yet? There could be one in my garage soon. They rock.

 

The VFR1200 to me typifies the contempt Honda has for its Touring Customers.

Peaople always liked the Blackbird, but it was heavy and had budget suspension.

So Honda go and make a great V4, make it as heavy as a CBR1000F and put budget suspension on there that has limited adjustability and then charge a fortune.

You consider for the same coin you can get a Kwaka GT with fully adjustable suspension.

 

There is one thing with onda suspension, and you have the same phenomenon on evry of their bike, it will be supple over bumps but when the pace gets higher the suspension behave quite nicely, example, cbf1000, etc....in every road tes i read it is always the same unless they tune it differently deopending on the market where the bike will be sold

 

I own both a 2003 Goldwing and a 2005 CBR1000 and I have to say that
they both have their place. I ride my wing to work most everyday and take it on cross country trips. The CBR is fun but with a passenger or on a 15 hours ride it stays home. If you have never rode one of the new modern wings then you really have nothing to compare it to. It certainly isn't for everyone but until you have ridden one you really can't appreciate just how GOOD the wing really is. I like to call it civilized were my CBR is a street fighter. I would not be without either of them but if I "HAD" to pick which I kept I would keep the wing. It i just better for general purpose riding year round. My CBR is more fun but I wouldn't log 15k a year on it like I do my wing and in the winter when most other bikes are parked I just turn on my heated grips and seat then keep on riding the wing.

Just my .02 cents worth :-)

 

I agree with the majority on the VFR1200. My sons have been instructed to JUST SHOOT ME if I ever get a G-wing

 

Bassman I've owned a 1500 wing for 9 years now and I have never riden another bike like it. WWillcox covered it well, the CBR is so much fun but the wing will be in my hands long after the CBR has gone. Thats not to say I'm thinking of getting shot of it, but the wing will just out last it. Every time I ride either of them I enjoy it and despite all that is said about the wing, It does go round corners very quickly. You just have to be brave and ride it hard. It will never be a sports bike but then I've done a 1480mile trip in 1 day and walked after it. You could do it on the CBR but you may find the back would suffer after. Try a wing it may just shock you, folks I know have tried mine and 1 who always said he would never own 1 actually bought his first wing last month after riding mine and found himself shocked by it.

 

I have a funny feeling about the new VFR . . . no one much seems to like it now, it's not much like the old VFR, it's not a Blackbird replacement, it seems like the answer to a question no one asked. But 5 years from now I have a hunch that lightly used VFR1200s will be as sought after by the sport-touring crowd as Blackbirds and ZZR1200s are now.

 

I've ridden with guys that have wings. The saddlebags make great beer coolers when we went to the track. I've even ridden an older wing, 1200/4. Maybe the 6's are different. All my buddies wings are gone. They don't ride anymore.
I've ridden the 1000F from CT to the track in Lexington OH, about 600miles in 8 hr. and partied that night. How did you do 1480 miles in one day? You'd have to ave. 62mph for 24 hr. straight or 124 mph for 12hr. That's not easy when you have to stop for gas, food & bodily functions. Or did you mean 1480 km? That's doable.