All Duels – Honda VFR1200F Vs Kawasaki 1400GTR: the seven league boots – The city: why not?

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Honda VFR1200F Vs Kawasaki 1400GTR: The Seven League Boots

All Duels - Honda VFR1200F Vs Kawasaki 1400GTR: the seven league boots - The city: why not?

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

The city: why not ?

Our two Japanese competitors are above all road cars designed to swallow the kilometers of asphalt greedily. But their users also often have a "bike-to-work-to-sleep" use that they have to cope with. However, if amenity in the city is not one of their priorities, they do quite well in urban areas.

Given their full weight, between 267 kg for the VFR and 304 kg for the GTR, of course they cannot claim the same efficiency as a mid-size roadster or a 125 scooter. !

Do not be fooled by appearances

However, these two machines allow you to get to the office very well in the middle of traffic jams..

A first observation that certainly amazes bikers who have never ridden on the GTR: the Kawa is as massive visually as it is accessible and easy to understand! Very few machines of this size are so reassuring at first glance.

It’s simple, if you ignore the width of the suitcases and mirrors, handling the 1400GTR is almost as obvious as that of a 100kg lighter roadster. This is achieved thanks to a perfectly balanced cycle part and above all, to a front axle bluffing of lightness and neutrality. A real success !

In town: better than the VFR

If you take care to remove its big suitcases (which is very easy), the GTR even has the luxury of being nicer than the VFR in traffic. Although wider, the Kawa ‘is forgiven by an impressive smoothness of operation.

The controls, the gimbal and the 4-cylinder compete smoothly to offer high-level driving pleasure! The upright and natural position as well as the important lever arm offered by the large handlebars make it an honorable city car. More punchy, the VFR is also a little more demanding in the city.

Honorable VFR

Because of his position further forward, the Honda rider is less comfortable. The narrow handlebars – and the steering angle of which deserves to be more open – makes more feel the respectable weight of the machine yet lighter than its competitor.

In addition, the all-new 1237 cc V4 is bound to be rougher than the Kawa’s inline 4-cylinder engine. It requires a little more attention with less tolerance for guesswork. However, the electronic "Ride by Wire" type accelerator allows perfect control of the mechanics, as does the gearbox and clutch free from any reproach … we are on a Honda. !

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