All Duels – Honda VFR 1200 DCT Vs BMW K1300S: supremacy challenged … – Clash of the titans!

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Honda VFR 1200 DCT Vs BMW K1300S: supremacy challenged…

All Duels - Honda VFR 1200 DCT Vs BMW K1300S: supremacy challenged ... - Clash of the titans!

Considered as the benchmark for Sport-GTs, the Honda VFR is adorned with a new 1237 cc V4 and above all a double-clutch transmission (DCT) to keep its crown. Will this innovation be enough for a fully mature BMW K1300S? ? Duel.

Clash of the Titans !

Cubing now 1,293 cc, the BMW K1300S is intended to be the archetype of the motorcycle acclaimed by the "gentleman rider": equipped with a four-cylinder in-line sufficiently torque (140 Nm at 8,250 rpm in Full) to cut the road far and long with weapons and luggage, the "K13S" also offers a monumental reserve of pure power (175 hp at 9,250 rpm everywhere except in France) and a whole battery of electronic aids as elaborate … as optional! Scheibe…

Our test model was therefore copiously equipped by BMW France with the "Safety" pack (tire pressure indicator DRC + traction control ASC") at 425 € and the" S "pack (shifter + electronic adjustment of ESA II suspensions + heated grips + on-board computer) at 1450 euros. Faced with such a degree of sophistication (when will the horoscope and the weather forecast?) , the VFR looks sad: if there is one point on which the new Honda surprises – negatively -, it is precisely with regard to its meager technological content, whether standard or optional…

Surprisingly, apart from the standard full ABS and the double-clutch gearbox – an option at 1300 euros -, the VFR 1200 does in fact dispense with the services of electronics: no traction control – while the Honda V4 balances everything from even 173 hp and 129 Nm of torque at the rear wheel in Full! – no choice of injection maps or handlebar suspension adjustments, and even less on-board computer.

A final shortcoming all the more damaging on this type of machine as the austere Honda on-board console ensures only the minimum union (read the "Instrumentations" parts of our technical sheets below): two trips, an hour , a fuel gauge – but no warning light or spare shift trip -, the air and engine temperature and, on the DCT version, a gear indicator engaged and the choice of selection: automatic (AT) with its "D" or "S" or manual (MT).

Fortunately, the main novelty for 2010 from the world’s leading manufacturer has assets particularly worked on this vintage, starting with its aesthetic originality and its quality of realization above all suspicion. !

Placed side by side, the observation is indeed clear between the Honda and the BMW: the VFR attracts all eyes with its headlight in the shape of a half X and its magnificent double fairing blank of all screws. !

Apart from the unflattering character of the bulky silencer and the crankcase screws, the Honda borders on visual flawlessness, especially in this white version which only reinforces its distinguished and innovative lines. Statutory, the beautiful VFR 1200 DCT dominates a BMW K1300S with more "raw formwork" plastic: long as a day without pretzel (1,585 mm of wheelbase against 1,545 for the VFR), the German exhibits an optical "Kolossale" front, lines cut with the billhook and a finish unworthy of its rank in certain aspects.

Admittedly, the presence of braided hoses and a diode taillight on the BMW is appreciated where the Honda is satisfied with rubber and bulbs, but at more than 16,000 euros (without options!), The German manufacturer would have were able to pay more attention to the welds of the aluminum frame, and above all to review certain surface treatments: inadmissible rust spots were already strewn over the three brake discs with less than 5,500 km on the odometer !

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