So with the new year 2017 now well and truly with us the effects on motorcycle manufacturers product line for the year have been revealed with the Euro 4 laws coming into force. As usual most manufacturers are taking the opportunity to rationalise their line-up, dropping the poor sellers. The full picture can be read in these two articles on BikeSocial:
BikeSocial: In Memorium and BikeSocial: Rest in peace
According to the first of these 2 articles it is a surprise that the VFR1200F, Honda’s great hope just a handful of years ago, is being killed off. Well EXCUSE ME but if you check back in my blog to when it was released in 2010 you will see that I dubbed it "the bike nobody wanted nor asked for", and so it has turned out. Good initial sales quickly tailed off and it just never proved as popular as the Blackbird that it replaced. So, no, I am not going to dance on its grave but I am not going to mourn its passing either. Might just raise a glass to the Suzuki Bandit (both 1250 and 650 versions) as it passes into history because unlike the VRF1200 the Bandit (RIP) was iconic, a real world motorbike for real bikers with a strong and loyal following.
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