All Duels – Honda VFR1200F Vs Kawasaki 1400GTR: The Seven League Boots – Biker Philosophy

Honda VFR1200F Vs Kawasaki 1400GTR: The Seven League Boots

All Duels - Honda VFR1200F Vs Kawasaki 1400GTR: The Seven League Boots - Biker Philosophy

Between sport and travel, the new VFR1200F and 1400GTR have a lot to offer. Site therefore compared the eagerly awaited new Honda and the latest Kawasaki development over 1000 km. Which one wins this game of a thousand terminals ? Comparative test.

Biker philosophy

We have speculated a lot about it, notably lending it a V5 from the Moto GP … We dreamed, hoped, expected it, and this new VFR has finally arrived !

And its task is not the least since it must take over from a line of legendary machines dating back to 1986. Twenty-four years during which the famous Honda sporty road has delighted several generations of bikers with its versatility. , its extraordinary efficiency and reliability.

Back to a massacre

To say the least, this VFR1200F has received a mixed reception from the entire motorcycle press. This machine has always been supposed to constitute a technological showcase, demonstrating the stylistic as well as mechanical know-how of the world‘s leading manufacturer..

However, if the lines of this new version of 1200 cc have – pleasantly! – surprised, its high-tech content was rather disappointing! We can probably explain this by the fact that Honda made the "pellet" of offering the standard version before unveiling the (semi) automatic version with double clutch … which, for once, constitutes a real advance !

What is a VFR ?

It could be a philo subject: "what is a VFR, for you?". When released in 1986, the VFR 750 created its own concept of a sporty roadster. It promised itself to be barely less efficient on the track than the extremely extreme Suzuki GSX-R 750 released the previous year, while proving to be able to comfortably cut the road with weapons and luggage..

She succeeded so well that she enjoyed commercial success that did not falter for 20 years. All the more so as the V4 and its famous cascade of pinions very quickly acquired a justified reputation for indestructibility. !

But since then, the VFR 800 V-tec has been there: the latter has been less convincing in a constantly shrinking sports road market, with French bikers preferring either wise road or indomitable sports…

Two motorcycles and a road

We will therefore ignore all this heavy past to objectively assess this new VFR1200F against its competitor of the day, the Kawasaki GTR 1400.

The latter is also "new" since it underwent a good development at the end of 2009 which corrects its youthful flaws and perfects its aptitudes for safe travel. Indeed, in addition to its new screen, a new traction control is invited on board, as well as an intelligent and configurable combined braking.

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