| VFR1200F Demo Ride and First Impressions
My current VFR was purchased at a Honda Dealer located just blocks from Wal-Mart's Home Office, and happened to be in the area.
Another customer was sitting on the bike, but was injured and couldn't ride. I rode up on my 06 VFR and the salesperson wasted no time wheeling VFR1200F out on the lot and setting me up for a demo ride.
My first impression of the look is that it is a well-built machine. There could always be a debate about various aspects, but my dislike is the tank construction - the sides of the fuel tank are covered with extensions of the fairing. It may make for an impressive two-tone look, but didn't like it. Magnetic tankbags aren't going to be common unless there is a solution made specifically for this bike.
I spent some time getting accustomed to the controls and then started it up. The initial takeoff was effortless, I was almost immediately familiar and rolled off the lot through a side entrance and went out to the first stop sign.
At that moment, my first frustration - the turn signal control has been swapped with the horn. I thought to myself what kind of engineer would think the horn should take priority over the turn signal?
Going down the street toward the bypass was simple, but I started to notice that it wasn't easy to find a place to put some speed on the bike. It's low-end power was so good that there wasn't an opportunity for a quick acceleration fix - there wasn't anywhere to go with that much power until I got on the highway.
Maneuvering the bike through a couple busy intersections and onto the highway was simple, but the placement of the turn signal inhibited my automated abilities. In other words, movement was effortless but overall control was a challenge.
The power on the bike made accelerating to the highway another ho-hum effort. In seconds I was doing 70mph on the bypass with cars around me and still in third gear; thinking to myself about how I was going to find some space to open this thing up.
A few minutes later, the next major issue arose - unusual vibration. My right-hand can be a bit numb after a couple hours of brisk riding, but this was much more noticeable. It started making me think about bar-end weight strategies used by some FJR owners to diminish vibration. However, the bypass was coming to an end and had to think about traffic again.
I drove the bike through part of Bentonville and had no trouble turning it around in a gas station parking lot. The safety issue with turn signals was still a problem, used it only once when it should have been uses several times - because I kept touching the horn switch instead and confusing myself.
In the southbound direction out of Bentonville, picking up the bypass represents a bit of an upward slope and there was no traffic. In fourth gear, there was no problem getting up to 95mph but was running out of road and safe distance from traffic. That section was actually a bit exhilarating.
However, the last issue was noticed in that while riding at a brisk pace I felt like I was on top of a board - not in a bike. It wasn't a comfortable feeling. This may not be an issue for other riders, but I like being able to see mirrors and feel the tank. The windscreen and mirrors seemed so low. In general I like larger sportbikes, which the VFR1200F does represent, but with the wind hitting me straight-on I actually was cautious and held on a bit tighter than usual; as if I was going to be blown off the bike.
I took the bypass exist back to the Honda Dealer, was too frustrated and wanted to get back on my own VFR.
I cut my sportbike-teeth on a Triumph SprintST and Triumph Daytona bikes. My last being the oldest (and heaviest). My VFR was a noticeably lighter motorcycle, but never had a problem feeling "one" with the bike. With the strange control placementss, vibration, and unusual seating position; it made me think that more test rides are going to be in my future.
The new VFR1200F is a nice bike, but I'm trying to understand why Honda gave it a VFR name. It's an overall comfortable bike, but not necessarily what one would cut through Arkansas Mountains the same way as it can be done on the VFR800 or other sportbikes.
I may feel differently if the opportunity for another demo ride presents itself, but I rated the experience a 6 (out of 10). | 
VFR1200F Demo Ride and First Impressions
