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I passed my bike test about 16 months ago - a journey that started with my brother getting his orders for Afghanistan and not wanting his Bandit to sit around. To do him a favour financially, and realise my dream of finally getting on two wheels I purchased the bike off him and did my test. It looks a bit like this, an air/oil cooled 2006 naked 650: I love this bike to bits - I enjoy the hooligan feel of it and it, to me, it rides lovely. BUT, the lack of fairing is getting to me - I've been doing a lot of high speed motorway miles and the fatigue is terrible. Even my dad, a biker all of his life, commented on how cold his hands got on the Bandit. So, while I don't really want rid of the Bandit, I do want something I can do longer trips on. I don't feel ready for anything that's too much "more" than the Bandit. I've borrowed my dads GSXR600 and while I liked it a lot, I'm not sure I could live with it. I'm definitely more of a sports-tourer guy. Two questions, then: What upgrade would you recommend for a new rider? Would a VFR800 fill the gap? I keep seeing them in bright yellow, and now I want! hermand fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Aug 12, 2014 |
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Aug 12, 2014 10:15
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 04:14 |
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VFR800 is an amazing bike, and definitely fits where you want it - sports tourer with fairings and all bells and whistles. It also comes with nice luggage option. I would definitely go for one (red is also nice for a VFR  )
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Aug 12, 2014 10:51
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Since you're talking about the bright yellow ones, you're probably looking at a 5th Gen. Yellow was the only color offered in 2000, and I owned one. 5th Gens are amongst the first years of Honda's EFI on bikes, and you can tell because there are some teething issues. Initial throttle response tends to be jerky and can make the bike feel slightly squirrely in on-off-on throttle transitions, but this is remedied with a PowerCommander or piggyback EFI of your choice. The VFR is a porker of a bike but can hide its weight well when riding. The suspension is bit outdated but the weakest point, the rear shock, is replaceable with a 929 unit (or 954, can't remember clearly) with a few things from McMaster-Carr and 15 minutes at a machine shop. The engine is reliable as hell, the R/R problems aren't as common on the 5th gens compared to the prior models. The engine is also hot as hell and will bake your rear end/junk while sitting in traffic on a hot day, as you have 2 of the cylinders right under you. They're notorious for running hot but most properly maintained examples won't fail from that. The V4 sounds like thunder from God with a nice slip-on and makes you feel like a badass when you crack the throttle open. Super sport riders will leave you in the dust, but you can put on a solid 4-5 hours on the bike and feel great, while their backs/wrists/asses will hurt by that point. Keep in mind that the VFR at this age is Honda's "jack of all trades" unit, where it isn't exceptional at anything in particular, but is competent at almost everything. If you discovered you really like hitting the twisties hard, you won't be happy. If you like touring on the super-slab, there are better options. But, if you want to ride the bike on the highway to a nice twisty backroad, hit it for a while, then stop off for a nice evening at a hotel or camp, the VFR is your machine. Good luck in your search and feel free to ask questions and post any examples you find.
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Aug 12, 2014 11:41
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Have you thought about just adding heated grips and an aftermarket flyscreen or windscreen to your bandit?
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Aug 12, 2014 14:57
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Simkin posted:Have you thought about just adding heated grips and an aftermarket flyscreen or windscreen to your bandit? I've got heated gloves which makes things bearable - and, frankly, the additional fly screens look horrendous IMHO.
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Aug 12, 2014 16:48
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Get a VFR they are good bikes.
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Aug 12, 2014 18:19
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Get a Bandit 1250 they are better bikes
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Aug 12, 2014 18:56
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Get a Bandit 1250 they are better bikes ^^This guy knows what he's saying...^^ I'm not biased at all:  
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Nov 20, 2014 09:07
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Get a Ninja H2.
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Nov 20, 2014 18:15
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Get 2 Ninja H1s.
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Nov 20, 2014 21:53
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Save the VFR's for me. Get a bandit. If you do get a VFR, get a 6th gen. The 5th gens are getting pretty tough to find parts for (a lot of this is due my refusal to let them just die). You'll have to deal with a catalytic converter and vtec cams but it's not the worst thing.
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Nov 21, 2014 18:19
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I have a gen2 Bandit 1200 with a 3/4 fairing and higher wind screen. I've ridden down to sub-freezing and in the most miserable of wet conditions and once I figured out a system, I never had any issues with weather nor wind fatigue. If your hands are getting cold while riding, no amount of fairing will help that. I'd highly recommend getting some Tusk mitts for your bars as they're the only things that have helped, and ultimately went above and beyond my expectations. Also, B12s are very, very docile bikes and the torque is phenomenal for daily riding. I have bar risers along with the aforementioned windscreen and can do most rides under 4 hours with only needing to stretch my legs (36" inseam) every so often. My longest ride was 12 hours and wouldn't recommend that for anyone on any bike ever. tl;dr consider bandits because reasons
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Dec 1, 2014 00:55
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Gen2 Bandits own, having owned a b1200s and vfr800 VEE TECH no contest for the bandit (oh and half price). Also love hating on the VFR any chance I get.
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Dec 4, 2014 02:01
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The last carb'd VFR was better than the first FI VFR and I've not heard much good about anything newer than that.
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Dec 5, 2014 00:12
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Where are you at Hermand? I'm selling a 96 vfr750 in Southern California. Edit: ^ I agree, bummer I have to sell mine.
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Dec 5, 2014 01:20
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n8r posted:The last carb'd VFR was better than the first FI VFR and I've not heard much good about anything newer than that. the first FI VFR was the best FI VFR.
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Dec 5, 2014 22:47
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Nitramster posted:Where are you at Hermand? I'm selling a 96 vfr750 in Southern California. Edit: ^ I agree, bummer I have to sell mine. England  Still haven't done anything with the Bandit - took it to a shop who had a nice VFR and they offered a pitifully low price for the Bandit, so I decided to give it a good service, chain and sprocket, brakes and rear tyre and keep it a little longer yet. See how I feel next year.
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Dec 6, 2014 22:00
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hermand posted:England Bandits (especially 650's) are loving everywhere in this Country. The majority of people who own them use them for commutes in all weathers, grit on the roads, everything. You're not going to get much for it. People specifically look to a Bandit generally for a cheap, winter runner, not for pleasure.
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Dec 7, 2014 02:20
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Motsew posted:winter runner This is something the VFR750 does not do terribly well, but the VFR800 is excellent for.
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Dec 7, 2014 18:37
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Infinotize posted:Gen2 Bandits own, having owned a b1200s and vfr800 VEE TECH no contest for the bandit (oh and half price). Gen. 1's own as well. Shorter wheelbase, better brakes, etc. The gen 2's had better gauges and that's about it. 
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Dec 7, 2014 19:01
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I put Gen 1 brakes on my Gen 2 
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Dec 8, 2014 18:32
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 04:14 |
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Heated gloves and a heated jacket liner are a billion times more effective keeping you warm than even a brick wall attached to the front of your bike. If your heated gloves are only "bearable" then get ones that don't suck. Also something like this, there are also bigger ones that pretty much encompass your whole hand:  If people can ride snow mobiles at the south pole with warm hands then you can keep yours warm too.
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Dec 17, 2014 06:53
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