dwestly
New member
My wife rides an 06 VFR ABS and I just traded my 06 VFR for an 07 1200GS. The ONLY reason I got rid of the VFR was that despite heli-bars and other mods, I couldn't get enough forward pressure off my wrists for long rides. I've ridden the ST, as well as just about every other current BMW (we know the BMW demo fleet guys and gals pretty well..), and we work part-time as volunteers for Honda, so have ridden everything they have as well. FWIW, my opinion is that the VFR is hands-down one of the best, most capable sport-touring bikes I've ever ridden (35 years of riding experience). It isn't spectacular in any one aspect of either the sport or touring categories, but it does all of them very well. My wife and I just completed a FL-CA-FL cross country trip of 7000 miles, and she did numerous back-to-back days of 600-700 miles (sometimes more), without a hitch. The bike is almost Gold Wing smooth, fast, good in the corners and bullet-proof. It gets between 45-50 mpg, loaded at touring speeds. The hard bags (OEM, made by Givi for Honda) look great, come factory-color painted to the bike, and are HUGE inside for their size. The bags can pack more than my OEM GS bags when they're expanded. They go on and off easy and are sturdy. In fact, while we were on the trip, we accidentally leaned the bikes against one another, and her plastic bag DENTED the aluminum side of my GS bag, with no damage to her plastic or paint. (I really like my GS, but I have several issues with the quality and design of the OEM bags...)
If there is a downside to the VFR, its the VTEC engine configuration, but not in terms of horsepower or torque, or even the horsepower surge with the extra valve cut-in at 6800 rpm (you use it to your advantage, ala dusting the ST). The problem is tune-ups and valve adjustments. The 16,000 miles valve adjustment, if done at the dealer (and its pretty complex for a do-it-yourselfer, you don't just adjust, but replace if out of spec), will run you somewhere between $800-$1100. Ask me how we know...
Anyway, there's no doubt the ST is a good bike. BMW doesn't make anything but excellent machines. Its one of the reasons I chose to go to the GS. It is just like others have said, the VFR has 25 years of refinement behind it, and it shows. Everyone on the Honda side was betting they were going to replace it this year, but its been brought back unchanged for 08 save a new color, silver. If you want a really good sport-touring machine for the price range, you can't beat it.
If there is a downside to the VFR, its the VTEC engine configuration, but not in terms of horsepower or torque, or even the horsepower surge with the extra valve cut-in at 6800 rpm (you use it to your advantage, ala dusting the ST). The problem is tune-ups and valve adjustments. The 16,000 miles valve adjustment, if done at the dealer (and its pretty complex for a do-it-yourselfer, you don't just adjust, but replace if out of spec), will run you somewhere between $800-$1100. Ask me how we know...
Anyway, there's no doubt the ST is a good bike. BMW doesn't make anything but excellent machines. Its one of the reasons I chose to go to the GS. It is just like others have said, the VFR has 25 years of refinement behind it, and it shows. Everyone on the Honda side was betting they were going to replace it this year, but its been brought back unchanged for 08 save a new color, silver. If you want a really good sport-touring machine for the price range, you can't beat it.