Well MCN have said it will be on display at the Milan show next week - see their update here MCN - MotorCycleNews and as I suspected it's a "parts bin special", in the mould of the Triumph Tiger 1050. Proven mechanical parts in a new "adventure style" chassis with revamped bodywork apeing the BMW GS series of look-a-likes. As is to be expected it features the dual-layer fairing of the VFR1200 which means that it too will be very expensive to repair if dropped or crashed. This isn't because the bike needs a dual-layer fairing but because, by producing another bike featuring it, Honda will eventually find justification for adopting and pioneering it on the VFR1200.
Call me a sceptic but unlike bikers 20 years younger than me and who probably wouldn't know an "oval pistoned" Honda NSR or a "twisted barrel" CX500/650 if they were hit by one, I am not persuaded that Honda design is always better (as in better than went before, better than the competition or better for motorcycling).
These are currently the most difficult trading times for many industries, and the motorcycle industry is one of them. The manufacturers that are turning the best results are also delivering the best bikes. Suzuki has always stacked them high and sold them cheap, and now they are having to close dealerships and re-focus their bikes to meet the expectations and aspirations of their potential clients. Neither the VFR1200 or the VFR800X does that, but, that won't stop Honda quietly dropping the "traditionally styled VFR to bolster sales of the VFR800X.
So right now it's a good job Honda produces the NT700 Deauville and expands it's sales in new markets like they did by taking it to the USA in 2010, because right now, if I was to change my bike and the NT700 wasn't being made then it wouldn't be a Honda that I'd buy, and I've owned more Hondas (4 to date) than any other make. Honda need to focus more on brand loyalty and less on technology and expense that we don't want or need.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
VFR1200
My post below on the VFR800X has attracted a couple of comments – which I have tried to publish, but, for some reason they appear and disappear for no apparent reason, so here they are, as a post:-
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25 October 2010 21:21 Beacham Owen said...
I think you hit the nail on the head. My local Honda dealer is shutting down soon, even though they are small and own the property. They told me that the Honda line can't compete with the others. They've been open since the 1960s and were one of the first Honda stores in the U.S..
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28 October 2010 18:35 TSK said...
Glad I found your blog. Interesting that you can in one breath dismiss the VFR1200 and in the next breath argue the virtues of your "Dullsville". It's a bit hypocritical. I would invite you to read my blog and test ride a VFR1200 before you label it as a "miss"
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So, being open minded and in deference to TSK, here’s a link to his VFR1200FA blog so that you too can read about his passion for a bike that I consider to be inherently flawed from the design through to the execution, so go have a look (while I ignore his “Dullsville” jibe and personal insults of hypocrasy). Please note that he claims to love the VFR1200, but for me the headline to his blog sums it up just right. he says:- “Interceptor? More like "Fighter Bomber"
And that to me says it all, a fighter bomber is the ultimate compromise, not a fighter (fast and agile), not a bomber (slow and clumbersome) a mixture of both – so that'll be fast and clumbersome then, or agile and slow. Whatever, I do know that the VRF1200 (in the UK) is expensive, very expensive for a bike with limited fuel range. So I’ll save my cash by not buying VFR1200 and should I wish to have a spend with the cash saved I could buy a 700 Deauville and £4,000 of fuel – which to me would be much more fun! But then I choose to ride all year round.
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25 October 2010 21:21 Beacham Owen said...
I think you hit the nail on the head. My local Honda dealer is shutting down soon, even though they are small and own the property. They told me that the Honda line can't compete with the others. They've been open since the 1960s and were one of the first Honda stores in the U.S..
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28 October 2010 18:35 TSK said...
Glad I found your blog. Interesting that you can in one breath dismiss the VFR1200 and in the next breath argue the virtues of your "Dullsville". It's a bit hypocritical. I would invite you to read my blog and test ride a VFR1200 before you label it as a "miss"
----------------------
So, being open minded and in deference to TSK, here’s a link to his VFR1200FA blog so that you too can read about his passion for a bike that I consider to be inherently flawed from the design through to the execution, so go have a look (while I ignore his “Dullsville” jibe and personal insults of hypocrasy). Please note that he claims to love the VFR1200, but for me the headline to his blog sums it up just right. he says:- “Interceptor? More like "Fighter Bomber"
And that to me says it all, a fighter bomber is the ultimate compromise, not a fighter (fast and agile), not a bomber (slow and clumbersome) a mixture of both – so that'll be fast and clumbersome then, or agile and slow. Whatever, I do know that the VRF1200 (in the UK) is expensive, very expensive for a bike with limited fuel range. So I’ll save my cash by not buying VFR1200 and should I wish to have a spend with the cash saved I could buy a 700 Deauville and £4,000 of fuel – which to me would be much more fun! But then I choose to ride all year round.
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Helen Lay Centre
Took Mum to see Dad in the repite home today and made a day of it, including lunch out and a cross country ride to and from instead of the usual motorway blast.
Dad was looking as good as I've seen him in the last 2 years. He's been taken out to Coventry cathedral during the week and been getting some physio. And he appears to have established a daily pattern while there and is very comfortable with it. He's been able to do some bird spotting from his room, including Partridge, Rook, Magpie, Blue Tit, Pidgeon, Black Cap and Green finches as well as sparrows (but no Robins this time). He is, however, looking forward to coming back home next Saturday, though mum appears to have mixed feelings on that as she's fighting off the dregs of a cold at the moment.
Dad was looking as good as I've seen him in the last 2 years. He's been taken out to Coventry cathedral during the week and been getting some physio. And he appears to have established a daily pattern while there and is very comfortable with it. He's been able to do some bird spotting from his room, including Partridge, Rook, Magpie, Blue Tit, Pidgeon, Black Cap and Green finches as well as sparrows (but no Robins this time). He is, however, looking forward to coming back home next Saturday, though mum appears to have mixed feelings on that as she's fighting off the dregs of a cold at the moment.
Honda VFR800X
Honda has announced the "new" adventure bike, the VFR800X and the question is, will it sell? You see, Honda has a big problem, and a nuber of smaller ones, that means it has to act now or abandon the European market altogether.
The issues:
* For years it lead the way on technology and build quality, but now the Europeans have taken over
* For years it was a Grand Prix & WSB winner, but Yamaha and Ducati have closed those doors
* For years the UK lead the European thirst for sports motorcycles, but since RWD & LWR sales have dived and continue to do so
* For 2 decades Honda quenched our thirst for new models, in the last decade they have managed 1 a year and nothing REALLY new until...
* The VFR1200 was annouced with all the latest gizmos, but, it's the bike nobody wants, not quick and light enough to be a sports bike, too small a range to be a proper tourer/sports tourer.
And here's the final issue.
* Honda have lost contact with their customers, they don't "know" their client base or what they want.
If you ride a Harley, BMW Ducati, Buell (before they got shut down) Aprillia, Benelli, MV Augusta you are absorbed into "The Family". You get invites to events, sent special offers and are treated as more than a customer. It's the modern way to do business. Contrast that to Honda, until very recently you'd ride/walk in, buy a bike and ride away -- That was it! If you returned nobody knew or cared who you were. So why shop somewhere where you aren't recognised when you can spend your money where you feel "valued"? Honda couldn't even be bothered with attending the UK motobike shows, better to cut costs was their short sighted view.
And now they are paying the price with falling sales. Now they are out to get YOUR name and address so that they can send you details by post, email and SMS, but there's another problem. Honda forced dealers to become SOLUS Honda dealers, and those same dealers don't see the need for this new attitude of customer contact and contact details beyond prising open the wallet for the initial sale.
So now we have a quick "gap filler". A parts bin special based on a bike that WAS iconic and which the press loved (until they rode 200 miles in one stint on it) using proven mechanicals in a "latest, must have" package. Will it be enough to save Honda in Europe? It had better be because otherwise Honda will be left producing basic motorcycle transport for emerging markets such as Brazil and the South Americas where Honda sell enormous volumes of locally produced machines on the smallest of profit margins.
It's still Honda - but not as we know it.
The issues:
* For years it lead the way on technology and build quality, but now the Europeans have taken over
* For years it was a Grand Prix & WSB winner, but Yamaha and Ducati have closed those doors
* For years the UK lead the European thirst for sports motorcycles, but since RWD & LWR sales have dived and continue to do so
* For 2 decades Honda quenched our thirst for new models, in the last decade they have managed 1 a year and nothing REALLY new until...
* The VFR1200 was annouced with all the latest gizmos, but, it's the bike nobody wants, not quick and light enough to be a sports bike, too small a range to be a proper tourer/sports tourer.
And here's the final issue.
* Honda have lost contact with their customers, they don't "know" their client base or what they want.
If you ride a Harley, BMW Ducati, Buell (before they got shut down) Aprillia, Benelli, MV Augusta you are absorbed into "The Family". You get invites to events, sent special offers and are treated as more than a customer. It's the modern way to do business. Contrast that to Honda, until very recently you'd ride/walk in, buy a bike and ride away -- That was it! If you returned nobody knew or cared who you were. So why shop somewhere where you aren't recognised when you can spend your money where you feel "valued"? Honda couldn't even be bothered with attending the UK motobike shows, better to cut costs was their short sighted view.
And now they are paying the price with falling sales. Now they are out to get YOUR name and address so that they can send you details by post, email and SMS, but there's another problem. Honda forced dealers to become SOLUS Honda dealers, and those same dealers don't see the need for this new attitude of customer contact and contact details beyond prising open the wallet for the initial sale.
So now we have a quick "gap filler". A parts bin special based on a bike that WAS iconic and which the press loved (until they rode 200 miles in one stint on it) using proven mechanicals in a "latest, must have" package. Will it be enough to save Honda in Europe? It had better be because otherwise Honda will be left producing basic motorcycle transport for emerging markets such as Brazil and the South Americas where Honda sell enormous volumes of locally produced machines on the smallest of profit margins.
It's still Honda - but not as we know it.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Job hunting - Update
Andy didn't get a job offer from JCB but they did say he was their next preferred candidate but he'd no welding experience which the #1 candidate did have. To me second is nowhere but it gave him valuable interview experiance.
Monday, 11 October 2010
Respite
Saturday saw Dad being loaded into the ambulance taxi for his trip to the Helen Lay Centre at Lemmington Spa for a 3 week break for both him and mother. I took mum down to book/register Dad in, but, he’s now seen as a regular and it’s much less formal than when he first went there. I stopped off at TGI Fridays (Coventry) on the way back as mother needed food and drink. The fare was good but the venue a bit loud for both of us so that’ll be a one-off visit.
Sunday evening I popped down to make sure mother was OK to find her absolutley shining. She had spent the day emptying the lounge ready for Dennis the decorator who started the stripping off of the old wallpaper today. They say that change is as good as a rest, well she certainly looked well on it last night.
Sunday evening I popped down to make sure mother was OK to find her absolutley shining. She had spent the day emptying the lounge ready for Dennis the decorator who started the stripping off of the old wallpaper today. They say that change is as good as a rest, well she certainly looked well on it last night.
All at work
For the first time ever, myself, Suzie, Andy and Mark are all in full time employment as Mark started his job at BMI today. And he liked it – which is good, so he’s going back tomorrow. It sounds interesting and he’s in an office where there’s a young crowd of twenty somethings, and he’ll be late home every Monday night (in future) as they play 5 or 7 a-side football after work. So now he’s looking forward to his first first game of footy and his first pay day.
Holiday – what holiday?
That’s not a fair comment really – it was a fabulous holiday with good friends for company in an excellent hotel in a lovely location. Neither Suzie or I had ever wanted to visit Tenerife even though we have neighbours who holiday there every year. But what a surprise, we really enjoyed it and will probably return in the future (but not every year).
Costa Adege – not as loud as Playa de las Americas, but with plenty to see and do.
Guayarmina Princess Hotel – fabulous food, excellent facilities and attentive staff.
The promenade – 8 miles almost without contact with traffic of any kind.
Car hire – low rent cars for low bucks money (Fiat Panda 32.89 euros a day)
Island attractions – Loro Parque was a full day out with loads of shows, brilliant.
We drove the island in a day including 6 hours at Loro Parque. We swam in the hotel pool, paddled in the sea, joined in hotel activities (including air rifle shooting where I top scored with 44 out of 50 from my first 5 shots, which is all you get) and we walked miles and miles.
It rained heavily the first day – staff at the hotel told us it was only the 4th time they could remember it raining like that in the last 7 years. Drinks varied a lot in price but were cheaper than Portugal earlier in the year with a pint of local beer from 98 cents along the promenade to 3.20 euros in the hotel bar.
But that was just over 2 weeks ago and it now seems like years ago as we returned to the pressures of normal life back here in the depressing and gloomy UK. Ah well, we can always go back….
Costa Adege – not as loud as Playa de las Americas, but with plenty to see and do.
Guayarmina Princess Hotel – fabulous food, excellent facilities and attentive staff.
The promenade – 8 miles almost without contact with traffic of any kind.
Car hire – low rent cars for low bucks money (Fiat Panda 32.89 euros a day)
Island attractions – Loro Parque was a full day out with loads of shows, brilliant.
We drove the island in a day including 6 hours at Loro Parque. We swam in the hotel pool, paddled in the sea, joined in hotel activities (including air rifle shooting where I top scored with 44 out of 50 from my first 5 shots, which is all you get) and we walked miles and miles.
It rained heavily the first day – staff at the hotel told us it was only the 4th time they could remember it raining like that in the last 7 years. Drinks varied a lot in price but were cheaper than Portugal earlier in the year with a pint of local beer from 98 cents along the promenade to 3.20 euros in the hotel bar.
But that was just over 2 weeks ago and it now seems like years ago as we returned to the pressures of normal life back here in the depressing and gloomy UK. Ah well, we can always go back….
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