By John Hopkins
Photos courtesy Honda Canada
KINGSTON, ON -- The distinctive new Honda VFR1200 willl form a cornerstone of Honda Canada's 2010 model plans, company officials revealed on Friday.
In a press briefing at Kingston, ON's Fort Henry, the VFR1200 was introduced to journalists along with the CBF600, the other new street/sport model that will come to Canada for 2010. Honda's latest cruisers will be unveiled in November.
The VFR1200 features a number of innovative and unique styling elements and is meant to become something of a signature model for Honda. Although defined as a sport tourer the bike is closer in design and performance to the CBR1100XX Blackbird sport bike than VFR800, according to Honda Canada's Warren Milner.
"This is a grand tourer in the classic sense," Milner said. "It is meant to be a statement bike."
Designed in Europe the VFR1200 has very distinctive lines, with an hourglass profile when viewed from the front, with the top and bottom of the bodywork curving in to a very narrow middle section. The fairing is distinguished by its two-layer construction, which helps regulate airflow around the bike and rider and is intended to assist in heat, noise control and rider protection.
The centrepiece of the new VFR, however, is a brand new V4 engine, with a narrow 76-degree vee-angle as opposed to the more traditional 90-degree vee. The narrower vee gives more freedom in positioning the engine in the chassis, while any issues with vibration caused by the narrow vee-angle are mitigated by an off-set crankpin, which has been used-previously in twin-cylinder bikes but never in a four. The UNICAM camshaft design, with the camshaft situated directly over the intake valves and rockers operating the exhaust valves, weighs less than a more conventional twin-cam layout. The UNICAM concept is also used on the latest CRF450 and 250 motocrossers. The engine also features a revised piston layout, with the two rear pistons inside of the forward pistons, as opposed to a more conventional staggered layout. This also permits a more compact engine design. Power output of the new engine is quoted at 172 hp.
The VFR1200 also features an all-new shaft final drive which is said to produce a feeling more similar to that of a chain drive design. The Honda has a new ABS braking system, with six-piston radial mounted calipers at the front and a revised throttle by wire set-up.
The bike is available with manual or automatic transmission. The automatic could be more accurately described as an automatically shifting manual transmission, where the transmission shifts like a manual unit with a computer operating the clutch. The system is similar to that on Honda's TRX420 ATV and is new to the motorcycle world.
The VFR1200 will be available to all Honda dealers, both Powerhouse and non-Powerhouse, and will be priced in the high teens or low 20s in thousands of dollars. Available accessories will include Garmin GPS, topbox, sidebags, windshield and heated grips. It will be available in Candy Prominence Red, Seal Silver Metallic and Pearl Sunbeam White.
The CBF600S will be new to Canada in 2010 although the bike has been in Europe for a number of years. It is being positioned as a possible step up from the very popular CBR125R entry-level model.
The CBF600 is designed to be easy to ride and versatile, giving newer riders a motorcycle they can be comfortable on while also keeping it for a number of years. It is light weight (it is said to be around 450 lbs. dry), features an aluminum frame and the engine is a former CBR600 design. Seat height is low at 785mm (30.9 inches) but is adjustable, and the CBF600 comes with an adjustable windscreen.
A topbox and sidebags are available as accessories, opening up the possibility for the CBF600 to serve as a sport tourer as well as commuter.
The bike will be available in Pearl Nightstar Black and will likely retail in the low $9,000 range, athough there will likely be incentives for CBR125R owners to ugrade to the CBF600.
Also in Honda Canada's 2010 street model line-up will be a new Gold Wing, the ST1300 (unchanged from 2009), an ABS-equipped Fury, three new VTX1300 cruisers and a new series of 750 cruisers, the CBR1000RR and CBR600RR, available only with ABS, the XL1000 Varadero and CBF1000.
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