Honda VFR1200F
To come soon: more details on the dual-clutch transmission.
Honda made-available images and videos to-all interested in the VFR1200F. What’s the story that they really want us to tell? I think they were saying, yes, the new VFR is a large sport-touring bike: like the Yamaha FJR1300A, the Kawasaki Concourse 14, and numerous BMWs before it, but Honda also has a long legacy of:
- Racing V-engined motorcycles
- Building high-tech hot-rod motorcycles
…and they deserve to write their own history: one that doesn’t begin with the words: “Following in the footsteps of the Yamaha FJR1300A, the Kawasaki Concourse 14, and numerous BMWs, before it…”.
Honda has built other VFR (a/k/a Interceptor) models for a number of years, but over time, as other sport bikes became more knife-edged the VFRs became more touring focussed: some of this was due to design decisions, and some of it was due to the fact that every other sport bike was getting sportier. That said: this new VFR is so new, that we believe should be considered a completely new motorcycle, and not an updated VFR.
Here is how Honda’s New VFR story broke:
1) A couple of years ago Honda released a sculpture that I believed could-not possibly be a real motorcycle, but the motorcycle magazines believed that the sculpture was newsworthy. They were correct. I was not. My other thoughts about it were:
- Why is Honda so proud of this?
- I like art just as much as the next Justice Potter Stewart, but really: riders won’t appreciate a motorcycle that doesn’t work!
- Ooh! The fairing-sides look like the Honda Red Wing logo!
2) Then Honda told us all about their new dual clutch transmission, without reminding us that Honda has built motorcycles with special transmissions in the past: only to not have them sell (see: Hondamatic). What’s a dual clutch transmission? It uses one clutch for the odd numbered gears, and another clutch for the even numbered gears. The clutches are activated mechanically, so that the gears can be changed without the rider needing to use a clutch control. This allows a single transmission to be used as both an automatic transmission (without the wasteful torque converter), and a manual transmission (without the clutch control, but with the rider’s ability to choose a gear). It reminds me of Tiptronic transmissions, and similar, but is actually different in design, and implementation.
3) motoblog.it released spy shots of the VFR1200F.
4) Honda makes these photos, and videos available to us, and they look really familiar. That’s what was going on during the spy shots.
The Conceptual Model
The VFR1200F
Is a picture worth a thousand words? These images say so much about planned options, how to adjust the suspension, features, who provides the GPS (Garmin of Olathe Kansas), etc. Interestingly, I didn’t include every image here.
Honda’s V-Engined Racing History
Honda’s V-engined racing history includes all of their MotoGP bikes. Here are some images of historic Honda’s that Honda chose to share. Click on each image to see a larger version.
These 1979 Honda NR500 (OX) videos and text were shared on YouTube by litaisan.
A factory road racer fitted with revolutionary oval piston engine (containing 8 valves per cylinder.) 1979 British Grand Prix entry. Rider: No.5 Takazumi Katayama.
1979 Honda NR500 Part 1, 1979 Honda NR500 Part 2, 1979 Honda NR500 Part 3, 1979 Honda NR500 Part 4
