euan

My heated jacket is great - that with heated grips and layer or two of thermals and I managed a 170 mile trip with temps of -6 for c 50 miles of that (just ).

It only takes a couple of seconds to plug the jacket liner in (one plug), and the rest of my body doesn't seem to get too cold with the core temp kept up.

With the electric heating it means far fewer layers, so less bulk and easier to move around on the bike. Terrific invention IMHO.

Spuffington

Thanks for the info guys - yes, the weight is something other people have told me.

I'm a sucker for a sports-looking bike and a nice fairing, so my other option is to go for a CBR600F if I didn't go for the VFR straight off. From what I've heard it's reasonably forgiving, softly sprung and brakes aren't too grabby and it'll cope with a pillion reasonably well(ish)?

I think probably the best thing is to see how I get on with the DA and then sit on / ride both bikes perhaps.

Appreciate the advice - thanks!

MikeC'S2k

Spuffington - the CBR600F will "cope" fine with a pillion, but it may not be that comfy for your pillion!

For instance, a Triumph TT600 is a similarly proportioned/sized bike, perhaps a tiny bit smaller, but here's my mate (taking a dump?) on the back of mine from a couple of years back:



Admittedly he is a little over 6' tall, but you can tell he's a lot more cramped up than he would be on the VFR! As a comparison, here's me and the missus (admittedly, she is about half his weight and only 5'4" tall!) on my old Aprilia RST1000, which is only a little larger than the VFR, but you can see how much more room there is - note the comparative pillion footpeg/pillion seat height:



Just a thought... Best bet is to test ride both, preferably with your pillion. If you're a biggish chap (say 5'10"+ and more than 11/12 stone) you should be fine, but anything under that and you may struggle with a VFR as a first bike IMO

Spuffington

Thanks Mike - that's really useful; I've shown the wife and unfortunately she's now fallen for the RST!!!

I'm 5'10" and an overweight 13 stone - I'll give both a try and see how things go.

I'll defo let you guys know how things go and may have some ridiculous newbie questions along the way! Thanks for your help with this one!

euan

Lovely Futura Mike - I've always fancied one of these (I like the odd looks).

How does it compare to the VFR? It was meant to be the Aprilia equivalent AIUI?

Spuffington, I am 5'10 and err.. a good bit over 13 stone, and a sportsbike would cripple me if I rode it for more than 10 miles I suspect. I get sore knees on the Viffer after c 140 miles just now.

I too prefer faired bikes, but a sportstourer gives you that with more comfort if you are doing long trips mostly. Plenty of decent ones around - Honda, Triumph, BMW, Ducati all make one. RST is no longer made

san2000

Not if you ride faster.

MikeC'S2k

[quote name='Spuffington' date='Jan 18 2009, 02:18 AM'] Thanks Mike - that's really useful; I've shown the wife and unfortunately she's now fallen for the RST!!!

Nottm_S2

I have sat on the entire honda range . The VFR and Fireblade felt like big bikes and i didnt fancy either as a first bike, I'm 5'8 and 78kg.

Currently pondering my options while running about on a proper chugger, a CB350

Had a quick blast on a TT and enjoyed that and it would be a relatively painless purchase, other than that I quite fancy the CBR 600 RR

Welshman

FireBlade as a first bike - probably not a good idea in any event

You might also find a CBR600RR a bit too track focussed for a road bike.

Why not ride the standard CBR600?

Or have a look at one of the BMW 800s. They're said to be very good and very good value.

Paper Lawyer

Shameless reposting of bike photo