30-11-11, 08:35 AM
My ideal bike ? well yes it would be either a big twin or triple , to get engine character...as IMO 130 bhp is enuff for road bikes. Your comment on vfr 12 is intresting since after my test ride I actually thought this bike has not got the oomph of a fazer below 6k let alone the outgoing blackbird.Its all about torque and usability. Its why I love the triple engine.Plus its actually a more " satisfying " power delivery. Gutsy, almost a bit savage ( on the speed triple anyway ! ) ...how a bike " should feel". My issue with 4 cyl bikes is the turbine delivery of power, which while impressive enuff cos of the numbers, is just a bit sanitised in delivery.I do believe Yam deliberately gave the FZ-1 this lightswitch power delivery to try to give it " character".
The viffer 12 makes sense over 100 mph where it has phenomenal grunt , but at 60 its almost like any other large capacity 4 cyl bike.The old 750 felt almost like a twin in its gruff power delivery , very satisfying , power just where you want it. I test rode my 750 back to back with a firestorm back in '97 and was surprised just how comparable in grunt a 750 V4 was to a 1000cc twin. Feck, somehow along the line, Honda lost that V4 sparkle.I fell in love with that vfr even though it cost way more than I wanted to pay. Sadly I got taken out by a smidsy car driver and it was destroyed along with my right knee! It actually was the very last 750 in the country at the time and irreplaceable. I would buy one again 2 moro .
Our beloved gen1 is almost in a class of 1. I have tried alternatives over the years but none hit the spot for one reason or other. I put it down to the great combo of easygoing chassis with an outstanding engine , power way above anything in its class at the time...and the incredible aftermarket work done by several fazer gurus eg ivan, pat etc....as well as pioneering work done by several veteran foccers eg falcon in getting aftermarket solutions to known issues, and the ease of working on this classically styled simple to work on bike.
It has meant that one can simply log onto e bay or look in mcn...buy a good condition low miler fazer for around £3k...spend a max of £1k to uprate sussies, fit a jet kit , and be rewarded with what is still a very potent competitive yet incredibly useable competant road bike.TBH on the road ones speed will be limited mostly by ones cojones, and on track by the footpegs ( or crash bungs) touching down. Even if I do end up buying a MS , GS , or whatever,I cant see me selling my fazer . I mean it dont owe me anything but it has given me so much fantastic biking adventures over the last 10 yrs to last a lifetime. It is a classic bike, and will be a keeper .
However we cant just stand still, and I for one will want to sample these latest goodies just to see if they do indeed offer some sort of alternative. Out of all of them my feeling is still the only real alternative is gonna be a GS 12 simply because it can do the off road stuff , and has without doubt the best alpine/ back road handling of any bike I have ever encountered bar none ! So , while it does give away a big chunk of top end power ...one questions just if that really counts on most roads ??.....dont like to admit it , but I could end up " joining the clan" ! :rolleyes .... :lol ...
if nothing else to satisfy myself as to its real capability vs the hype ???...now you can get them with a road bike seat height rather than towering traillie, its more likely than ever .
The viffer 12 makes sense over 100 mph where it has phenomenal grunt , but at 60 its almost like any other large capacity 4 cyl bike.The old 750 felt almost like a twin in its gruff power delivery , very satisfying , power just where you want it. I test rode my 750 back to back with a firestorm back in '97 and was surprised just how comparable in grunt a 750 V4 was to a 1000cc twin. Feck, somehow along the line, Honda lost that V4 sparkle.I fell in love with that vfr even though it cost way more than I wanted to pay. Sadly I got taken out by a smidsy car driver and it was destroyed along with my right knee! It actually was the very last 750 in the country at the time and irreplaceable. I would buy one again 2 moro .
Our beloved gen1 is almost in a class of 1. I have tried alternatives over the years but none hit the spot for one reason or other. I put it down to the great combo of easygoing chassis with an outstanding engine , power way above anything in its class at the time...and the incredible aftermarket work done by several fazer gurus eg ivan, pat etc....as well as pioneering work done by several veteran foccers eg falcon in getting aftermarket solutions to known issues, and the ease of working on this classically styled simple to work on bike.
It has meant that one can simply log onto e bay or look in mcn...buy a good condition low miler fazer for around £3k...spend a max of £1k to uprate sussies, fit a jet kit , and be rewarded with what is still a very potent competitive yet incredibly useable competant road bike.TBH on the road ones speed will be limited mostly by ones cojones, and on track by the footpegs ( or crash bungs) touching down. Even if I do end up buying a MS , GS , or whatever,I cant see me selling my fazer . I mean it dont owe me anything but it has given me so much fantastic biking adventures over the last 10 yrs to last a lifetime. It is a classic bike, and will be a keeper .
However we cant just stand still, and I for one will want to sample these latest goodies just to see if they do indeed offer some sort of alternative. Out of all of them my feeling is still the only real alternative is gonna be a GS 12 simply because it can do the off road stuff , and has without doubt the best alpine/ back road handling of any bike I have ever encountered bar none ! So , while it does give away a big chunk of top end power ...one questions just if that really counts on most roads ??.....dont like to admit it , but I could end up " joining the clan" ! :rolleyes .... :lol ...
if nothing else to satisfy myself as to its real capability vs the hype ???...now you can get them with a road bike seat height rather than towering traillie, its more likely than ever .