2012 NC700X vs 2001 Honda VFR 800

[rumberobueno]

Hello everyone !

I need help with some informed opinions.

I've been agonizing over this for a while now. I have a 2012 NC700X but I've been thinking of also getting a 2001 VFR800.

Which one is better for long distance touring ? I am mostly interested in sightseeing, camping, etc.

I love the ease of riding and practicality of the NC but for whatever reason I keep thinking of that VFR.

The engine sound is amazing. Handling wise seems a bit more twitchy and heavier than the NC but people seem to praise it for its long distance touring capabilities.

Can someone that rode both for a while enlighten me on this one (and hopefully end my agony ) ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[L.B.S.]

I haven't kept up on my VFR model year specifics, but is the last of the gear driven cams and no VTech engine? Does it have a single sided swingarm?

If you can get this for a good deal and it's in decent shape, I would jump on it!!!!! Get it, now!

 

[Bug Dr.]

They are both going to require some farkles to make them comfortable for touring. If you are taking two-lane roads only on your trips then the NC is just fine and you can load it up and still have fun in the twisties while getting 60 mpg. The VFR would be better droning down the slab for long periods (probably) with a few modifications.

If you ever encounter a dirt road the NC wins hands down even with street tires. If you camp in more remote places you will encounter dirt. The NC has a lower COG which makes it easier to move around. After typing my thoughts, I see really no reason to own the VFR over the NC unless you just want the bike. They both need work to be adequate tourers.

Ultimately, this is your decision to make.
Mike

 

[rjcrtc]

I owned a 2000 VFR800 and also hoped it would be comfortable for long rides. Even after adding bar risers, I could not ride it for more than 150-200 miles without needing to get off it. I was about 50 years young at the time. It was just too hard on my hips and wrists. I am 5'7", 30" inseam. I haven't figured out the seat or windshield solution for my NC700x yet, but the upright seating position is very comfortable.

 

[TheEdge900]

When I bought my NC700x, there was a 2007 low mileage (3200 miles) VFR800 for the same price as the 2013 NC700 with 3600 miles. I looked at both, and since 95% of my riding is commuting and I was focusing on low cost of ownership, I decided on the NC. My wrists would not have been happy riding the VFR for more than about 20 minutes at a time. In the last year and a half since buying my NC I have ridden about a half dozen other bikes, and none of them are as comfortable to me as the NC. It has enough power for my needs and is about as cheap to operate/maintain as you can get for a freeway friendly motorcycle.

 

[DirtFlier]

Regardless of the type of cam drive used on the VFR or whether it has V-Tech, it is a real bear to work on compared to the NC.

I've worked on Honda V-4s starting from the first models in the early-80s and they were never fun to work on.

 

[Ruggybuggy]

Man it's just such a sexy looking bike and silky smooth!

 

[kebrider]

The 2001 VFR is the last year of the 5th generation VFR and the last VFR to use gear driven. I owned 2 of them along with one 4th gen and 2 6th gens (both 2007 red, white and blue 25th anniversary models). The Honda VFR was my streetbike of choice for many years though I did own an 1100XX (Blackbird), superhawk and a couple of SV1000s. Fabulous bikes no matter what generation.

After I swapped my 07 VFR and 09 Kawi Versys for an ST1300 last year I waited a month to choose a replacement sport/ADV/fun bike and I chose the NC. 99% of my riding is mountain roads and after 3 years of hustling the Versys and VFR through the mountains and racking up 60K between both machines in the process, I came to 2 realizations; excess horsepower is a liability and I would rather ride than wrench. The VFR and Versys both were ultra low maintenance but they were also a set of tires a month during the peak riding season and a set of brake pads a year. Both the Versys and VFR could get up to speed quickly, and most importantly, maintain that speed on just about any road. Neither the VFR or Versys were track fast but they easily could run down all but the most aggressively ridden sportbikes.

I really could care less about the actual speed I carry in the mountains, it is more the quality of the speed, handling and riding comfort. The NC still has me looking forward to a day in the mountains with the same zeal I had with the VFR. The VFR had a much more sporting engine and the riding position and overall feel was sporty, yet refined and composed. The exhaust note at full song stirs the soul, I would turn off my music when I was in sport mode. It was that good. The 5th gen VFR is still a viable all-around sportbike, I rode a friends just 2 weeks ago and I was reminded just how much fun they are. If my old knees could take the riding position I probably would have kept my VFR but the NC with the Cogent suspension will get me down a twisty road within micro-seconds of what the VFR could do and it does it with so much less drama I spend more time simply enjoying the sensation of flight. Sometimes though the drama is a great deal of fun and some people crave that sporty feel so you should try a VFR, at this point they don't change much in value so not much of a financial commitment at all.

As for maintenance the 5th Gen valve adjustment is easier than most inlines. Once the required items are out of the way getting a feeler gauge to the valves is easy and if you actually find one out of adjustment you simply mark the cam gears, unbolt the cam bearing caps and lift the cam out to get to the buckets. I had 5 VFRs and never had a valve out of adjustment and I treated both my 6th gens as sealed units as I never found an improperly torqued anything in the modern Honda shim-under-bucket engines I checked. The final straw for me was at my friends shop in Florida and I got to look into a 2006 VTEC engine with 176,000 miles on it. The engine needed work because the owner had improperly torqued a spark. The valves were all in adjustment. I was on a VFR rally ride where one of the VFRD forum moderators hit 100K on his 02 VFR that had never had its valve covers off. On the other hand I have read and heard of way too many problems brought on by mistakes made during a valve adjustment on VFRs that I just figured life was too short to worry about Honda VFR valves. Engine is well over-built.

NC valves are a 2.5 hour job for me and it is as much a therapeutic exercise as scheduled maintenance.

 

[evrensutekin]

I've owned a 2007 VFR 800 before my brand new NC 750x. VFR is so much fun to drive, vtec engine is brilliant, brakes work very well and it sounds amazing. NC is comfy, reliable, huge mpg and not so-much-fun or good looking like VFR.
Overall, for distance touring, sight seeing or a weekend trip i definitely choose NC over VFR.

 

[Fuzzy]

Kebridr, I agree on speed in mountains. Not fastest acceleration out of curve or best brakes prior to curve, but lean and speed actually in the curve where the fun is.

 

[kebrider]

Kebridr, I agree on speed in mountains. Not fastest acceleration out of curve or best brakes prior to curve, but lean and speed actually in the curve where the fun is.

Exactl Fuzzy. When experience meets wisdom comes that very realization.

I watched a good friend high-side his VFR off the side of a mountain 3 weeks ago. He was fine and we got the VFR banged straight enough to get him home but as I am pulling tools out of the CB500F's trunk (same tools that live in the NC's frunk) I remembered why my 2 current sport bikes both make less than 50 HP. We were on a nice run and I was keeping pace on the CB. But the chances of me high siding a CB500F are nil, and exponentially less likely on the NC which is actually a little quicker than the NC on that particular road.

Sensibly powered bikes that handle well are a dream to own and ride in the mountains.

 

[rumberobueno]

Thanks everyone !

It looks like for long distance riding the NC is still the preferred option.

That being said, I might still go check out that bike and see if I can test ride once again. I might just talk myself into buying it ;-) ...

 

[ld_rider]

Hello everyone !

I've been agonizing over this for a while now.

I can TOTALLY empathize with you...
My current ride is a Toyota Corolla and I have a chance to buy a clean, one owner Ferrari 355 with full service history...What to do....what to do...The Corolla get such great gas mileage!!

J/K

 

[rumberobueno]

I can TOTALLY empathize with you...
My current ride is a Toyota Corolla and I have a chance to buy a clean, one owner Ferrari 355 with full service history...What to do....what to do...The Corolla get such great gas mileage!!

J/K

Keep the Corolla and buy the Ferarri if that rocks your boat.

For me is more like if I am willing to do maintenance on yet another bike (have 2 already ;-)) add windscreen and tires, change oil, etc just to ride it for a while.

Regardless if I buy the VFR or not, I wouldn't sell my NC. It's too practical and easy to ride and gets 65 mpg on top of that ;-).

As kebrider rightfully mentioned: I'd rather ride than wrench.

A car is not as much maintenance as a bike so the maintenance overhead might not apply for your situation.

Keeping on the car theme, I have a Honda Civic and I bought a Honda S2000 a few years back just because it's such a fun car (and it's a Honda = very reliable).

The S2000 is a bit more expensive to run and requires more maintenance than the Civic (less mpg, more fluids to change, shorter intervals, etc) but it makes up for that with the fun factor and character.

 

[happy]

NC is very flickable compared to the VFR which is quite fat TBH.
Best bikes to flick down each side is usually a thin one, and these are usually "enduro" styled.

 

[dduelin]

I had a 5th gen '99 VFR and to me the Honda racing bloodline of the Interceptor was impeccable. Even though it had a 180 degree crankshaft the bike evolved from the glory years of Joey Dunlop (and others) blistering the road racing competition with a series of Honda V4s in the 80s. It's not even comparable to an NC because ........it just isn't. It's like comparing a Civic to an NSR. My problem was it competed for seat time to my ST1300 and while some folks do long miles on VFRs I couldn't keep both bikes at that time and a wife so I kept the ST. (And the wife).

 

[rumberobueno]

I watched a good friend high-side his VFR off the side of a mountain 3 weeks ago.

kebrider: What happened ? The rear came loose and when it regained traction the high-side happened ?

My understanding is that this is when a high-side happens. I'm not sure if there are also other scenarios when this can happen. More experienced riders please chime in.

 

[kebrider]

kebrider: What happened ? The rear came loose and when it regained traction the high-side happened ?

My understanding is that this is when a high-side happens. I'm not sure if there are also other scenarios when this can happen. More experienced riders please chime in.

That is exactly what happened, coming into a left turn at speed the rear was spinning and sliding all the way into the corner. The bike started to drop to the inside and the rear started to come around, then suddenly the bike hooked up and flipped the violently up and over its right side and off the side of the road. That is the classic high side. I had a perfect view of the entire process as we were following a quick KTM motard and I was on my CB500F "sport bike".

When trying to make quick time on a heavy 100HP bike the tendency is to get on the throttle early and that is what it appeared happened as the rear was spinning on corner entry. Add to that the rider had been using premium sport tires on his VFR and then put a set of Michelin PR2s on for this ride. The Road 2 is a good tire but there is no way it can hang with the group we ride with unless the rider is very skilled at sliding their tires. The guy we were chasing has a $40,000 custom KTM which is essentially a race bike and he runs racing slicks that he slowly brings up to temperature and keeps going faster as he gets heat in them. Not a great pace bike for a VFR with sport touring tires.

I really love the NC and CB in the tight mountain stuff because they are quick enough with super sticky sport tires to hang all but the nutters but you really have to make a bad move to break the rear loose. The CB500F with modified suspension (same cogent fork kit as I did on the NC and I put the NC shock on it) is an absolute beast on roads like the dragon. It is almost unfair the ease with which it turns and how tight a line it carves. It is a set of rearsets and a more inward mounted exhaust away from being ridiculously fast. My NC hangs with the CB with almost identical corner speed and superior torque which helps mostly with uphill acceleration.

Someone told me this weekend he went with an FZ-07 because the "NC has no balls". I told him legs are more important when you want to go quickly and he got a first hand demonstration what a difference a well tuned suspension makes.

 

[rumberobueno]

Thanks kebrider for the explanation. I assume that the correct thing to do for your friend would have been to keep sliding the back and have a low-side rather that a high-side. Is that true or there are other things to be done in this situation once the rear starts sliding ?

BTW, I enjoyed your previous reply about the differences between the NC and the VFR. Very insightful. Thanks again.

On the other hand the 2001 VFR 800 that I was looking at has been sold so I'll be sticking to the NC for now. It's probably better for me anyway since I just started riding and I have much less of a chance for getting into trouble.

 

[kebrider]

Thanks kebrider for the explanation. I assume that the correct thing to do for your friend would have been to keep sliding the back and have a low-side rather that a high-side. Is that true or there are other things to be done in this situation once the rear starts sliding ?

BTW, I enjoyed your previous reply about the differences between the NC and the VFR. Very insightful. Thanks again.

On the other hand the 2001 VFR 800 that I was looking at has been sold so I'll be sticking to the NC for now. It's probably better for me anyway since I just started riding and I have much less of a chance for getting into trouble.

Keeping on the gas when low siding is much easier said then done but it is considered the best way to avoid a high side. Rolling off the throttle instead of chopping it off will prevent the problem if you catch it early enough. Better still don't rely on throttling hard through tight corners to make up ground. I believe Kenny Roberts said once: "Go fast in the fast corners and slow in the slow corners". Whomever said it I repeat it often and they are words to live by.