Monthly Archives: March 2010

VFR1200F

In my quest to find the perfect sports touring motorcycle (just an excuse to ride lots of fancy new expensive bikes actually…), I spent a couple of hours on a Honda VFR1200F today. The bike was from Hatfields of Crowthorne, it was dry and sunny but cold.

OK – I stopped at Bulldog for a coffee 🙂

First impressions: don’t like the colour but other than that, it looks a bit BMW-ish. I think it’s the fairing with the round badge and the swingarm/drive shaft assembly.

The heated grips were awesome – too hot in the end. The bike was really comfy and suited my riding position. I took it down the M3 and it absolutely flew along. With only 600 miles on the clock, I didn’t thrash it (too much) – suffice it to say that the exhaust valve gives a VTEC-ish kick when actuated and the sound changes from a V4-fart to V4-howl!

The mirrors were clear at all speeds.

The steering and handling were what you’d expect from a new bike, although I did have a bit of trouble riding around the mini-roundabouts in Crowthorne as the transmission was really jerky at low speeds. Is it a(nother) Honda fueling issue? Don’t know but I didn’t like it. It does the same at low speeds in high gears.

Better than the K1300S that I rode the other day?
No (see comments on jerky transmission).

Would I like one?
Yes please.

For £12K+?
No thanks.

Silver Wheels (Sprint ST) – Updated 12th April 2010

The “So What Should I Do With These Wheels?” project continues apace. Well, as “apace” as can be expected when you have very little spare cash and are holding out for a bargain.

The front wheel came up first and I secured it for £30 – bargain!

The rear wheel was £90 but came with a part-worn Bridgestone 021; again a bargain in my view when they are £400-odd new and £200+ from most breakers.

A call to my mate Gary Beresford who has agreed to run them up on his machine to check integrity, bearings and rebalance. He will also fit a part-worn Bridgestone 021 front that I picked up from a mate (swapped for a bedside cabinet!)

Fitting pictures coming soon.

Update 12th April 2010

Here they are fitted:

Fender Extender (Front)

Further to my recent blog about “Who Needs a Fender Extender?“, I have been on the lookout for a front extender. You see them sometimes on eBay where the seller is selling a “Front Fender” but the photo shows the Triumph extender fitted.

As this is a £20 part, I’m happy to bid on these even if I don’t need the whole piece.

I’ve also blogged about motorcycle_recycle (eBay seller) before, as they supplied the 955i engine for my Sprint. Last week, one of these came up on their shop and I got it for the only bid of £7.99

Now I have to remove the four plastic pop rivets, find some replacements and fit to my Sprint.