Ok. I left this morning at 7 am. In the rain. Sigh.
So...the bike being traded in was a 2008 Honda VFR 800 VTEC with ABS. This is a REALLY nice bike, and the v4 sounds and looks AMAZING with the Leo Vince Carbon slip-ons. The sound is just glorious, and pretty unique in the motorcycle work. Not overly loud...reminds me a bit of a small block Chevy or V8 sound. Sounds much beefier than a V4, that's for sure! The build quality is perfect, the ergos are very good, attention to details is flawless. Decent power and great TQ for an 800. The ABS works great! Overall, this is a great all arounder. My friend was just wanting more power...more TQ. So the 800 had to go!
Ok...picking up the B King. WOW! This bike is big looking! The side intakes make the gas tank look gargantuan. His bike is the silver and black version. It is quite stunning. Despite the odd looking exhaust covers (plastic), this bike has TONS of curb appeal. People stop and stare and ask questions. This bike looks very cool, has attitude, and draws people to it when it is parked. It has a look all its own. Very neat IMO.
The dash panel is tiny, but very tidy. Nice large tach...everything else is a digital read out. The dash glows a pleasing cool blue. When you first turn the key, the dash starts up...and all the little LEDS cluster together then disintegrate to form the words "B King". Neato! Digital dash has speedo, gear, fuel level, two trip computers, avg speed, engine temp, etc..Basically just the stuff you need to ride!
Sitting on the bike it feels pretty heavy lifting it off the side stand. 578 lbs full of fuel makes this bike no lightweight. If feels small in a few ways though. First, apart from the small dash, there is NOTHING ahead of the bars giving the illusion of "small". More impressively, once under way, the weight seems to vanish. It feels lighter than a Busa even though it's 15lbs more. Credit goes to the nearly bolt upright seating position and the tall, long motocross-style handlebars. Plenty of leverage for slinging this weight around, if needed. But if feels light on it's feet. I wasn't expecting this, and its a nice surprise.
Ok. Let's have some fun! After adjusting the mirrors (pretty good ones!!), it's time to feel the power. I pin the throttle to the stop. The bike explodes forward. The front tire skims the pavement. A steering damper keeps things in check. The power is just..explosive. Any gear, any RPM, anytime! The power is just THERE. And lots of it! It's actually geared a bit tighter than a Busa....so it feels every bit as fast despite the extra weight and slight HP loss. This bike is Billy Bad Ass. There may only be a bike or two that would give this machine a run for it's money in a straight line...a Busa or ZX14. No standard style bike would be able to take it, that's for sure. On the highway doing 115 km/h registers almost 4,000 RPM in 6th gear. A twist of the wrist even at that speed and the bike just lunges forward. Good times!!
Oh yea...there's also a "B" mode for the engine. You push a button and the ECU runs a different map. In this set-up, the power falls down to ~120 (from 161) and TQ to about ~70 (down from 98). It's actually not bad! Acceleration wise, it reminds me of a 600cc bike...but with plenty of extra TQ. I could see some people being totally content with this setting and enjoying the bike. I liked "A" mode though.
Ergos were good. Seat is kinda hard and my butt was a bit sore after 200 kms. I didn't mind the wind blast at all, since it hits in the chest. There was no buffeting around my helmet. While I wouldn't take it on a purely highway trip, it would work for short stretches. It shines though when driven on county roads...twisty or otherwise. Handling is good. Without even trying hard, I was within 1/2" of the tire edge. Back tire is a HUGE 200 series. Fat. Brakes are great and stops the bike easily.
Anyways...I may be missing a thing or two. But that's pretty much it. Bike rides nice, has TONS of power and handles nice. A very nice bike with unique looks and a killer powerplant.
