silverbird1100 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) I bought one a few weeks ago after a test ride that went well but I guess wasn't long enough. I was thinking it would respond to mods better than it did. I had the ECU flashed and forks re-valved but it still has poor fueling and feels heavier than an XX which I didn't expect being so compact. It's the vibes that I can't live with, I've never had numbness travel up my shoulder before, hands maybe but not like this. Seems fine on the highway but climbing up a canyon or under any kind of load is just too distracting. Handling is good and heat management is excellent. It's quite visceral, which is great for some but doesn't disappear beneath you like an XX or ZX14. I was expecting something totally different. Just venting here that I have to sell another bike in search of a blackbird replacement. FML Test ride thoroughly if your blackbird did for you what it did to me. Edited June 10, 2016 by silverbird1100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 1 hour ago, silverbird1100 said: It's the vibes that I can't live with, I've never had numbness travel up my shoulder before, hands maybe but not like this. It is hard to believe that a Honda V-4 would do that (not saying you are lying). Are others on forums complaining about this? If not, maybe there is something wrong with yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverbird1100 Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 It's fine on the highway, cruises great but it must be the frequency or something under load that really gets to me. Even my FJR was a little buzzy, my bird was too now that I think of it. Only I-4 that didn't give me problems was my ZX14. It's not just the buzziness though that turns me off, there is plenty not to like IMO. As mentioned I'm just venting, I'm pretty hard to please. Oh well, maybe I can find a nice XX somewhere if this doesn't turn me off of motorcycles all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 If the bird is too buzzy, and it wasn't a broken one, I think you need an electric bike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peepa Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 After losing my 03 Bird a few years back I picked up a 04 gsxr 1k, CBR 929rr, Buell XB9r, 04 ZX10, 05 Hayabusa and a Vulcan 1500 classic. You'll never guess what I own now, some things are just hard to improve on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverbird1100 Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 8 hours ago, superhawk996 said: If the bird is too buzzy, and it wasn't a broken one, I think you need an electric bike. I said the bird was a little buzzy, not too buzzy or so buzzy I didn't love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
googus Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I always wanted to get a BMW K1200s to replace my bird. I would think that that is the closest to a bird. I lived all my VFRs but then again I never had the 1200 version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 15 hours ago, googus said: I always wanted to get a BMW K1200s to replace my bird. I would think that that is the closest to a bird. I lived all my VFRs but then again I never had the 1200 version Look at the K1300 - the K1200 had known weaknesses in the geartrain. A guy I know lunched a K1200 gearbox in the first week of owning it and they gave him a new bike because it was a known design flaw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverbird1100 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 I may have been a little harsh but I just don't understand what Honda was trying to do with this bike. The 1st and 2nd gear restrictions are so harsh why did they even make it a 1200? An unrestricted 1000 would have had way more appeal. I kept thinking while riding it... I should have just gotten either a ST1300 or CBR1000 because this does nothing well enough to justify owning it. And I'm an all-arounder kind of bike buyer. My 919 was probably my favorite bike out of more than 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer212 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Thats wierd - as I've said elsewhere, my experiences with the VFR1200 were just the opposite. I rode one about 300 miles when I lived in Virginia. It was the most souless motorcycle I ever road. So smooth and so quiet - relatively - it didnt stir me anymore that a sewing machine does. Twist the grip and the world went by faster, but you couldnt tell the motorcycle was contributing to that. I felt disconnect from the bike. Hated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverbird1100 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 I hate it as well, we can definitely agree on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 I hear Harley has a lot of soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 And when you roll the volume control all the way up you can really feel and hear it almost accelerating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadicdread Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 On 6/13/2016 at 2:00 PM, superhawk996 said: And when you roll the volume control all the way up you can really feel and hear it almost accelerating. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomek Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 Thread resurrection. Lol. I rode it without bazzas first and second gear power cut eliminator. I does feel weird, not much power below 7 k rpm, and then boom !!. It feels like engine getting on pipe, cam and turbo all at the same time. Gear indicator works properly though. Installed bazzas back on right away. Much better that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverbird1100 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 I was a little lost when I created this thread. The VFR1200 does not suck. It's just that the Blackbird is so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadicdread Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I was actually looking on the internet for a comparison when this thread came up in the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.