Honda VFR - good bike choice?

[buebo]

There seems to be some Honda VFR 400 available in Chiang Mai. I would like to rent something that sporty (riding a Ducati at Home), but I'm a little worried about the road conditions.

Is that kind of bike a good choice for the asphalt roads around Chiang Mai or would a Super Four (or something alike) be a better choice?

Not planing to go offroad but do some touring for about a week (maybe ten days) and I would really like to get something bigger than a 250cc Dirt Bike or AX-1.

By the way, how's the weather up there at the moment? I will probably arriv in about a week or ten days or so and so far I'm a little worried about drowning in rain...

Cheers
buebo

 

[DavidFL]

Fair go Buebo. 21 posts on the GT Rider board, & just about all requests for info / tips.
But youve ridden Laos / Cambodia, bought 'n sold bikes, on the board.
Youve asked help for
1. How to register a bike fast
2. How much to pay for a 250
3. How to cross borders
4. Why cant you get into China
5. What spare parts to carry
the list is almost endless.

But youve never bothered to contribute any sort of road or trip report.
I reckon it's about time to put something back in.
And yeah the weather's a bit stormy here.

 

[buebo]

Fair enough David, I will write something up and post it.
For now there's some stuff at my german weblog: www.buebo.de

Some of it might be a bit outdated though.

 

[tijeroo]

Having owned a VFR400 at home for a few years and having just ridden a couple of loops around chang mai on a CB400 superFour i can safely say that there is very little difference betwean what the two bikes are capable of. As far as i have noticed the SuperFour is slightly the better bike for most of the loops due to the riding position. When riding the VFR at home i found it put alot of weight on my wrists and shoulders which became very uncomfortable on a long ride.

There are of course places i would like to have gone exploring but had to turn back due to not being on an off road bike.

I think next time i shall be renting an AX1. Might sound like an odd choice but they are comfotable for long distance riding and are quite useful off road as long as things dont get too muddy.

Check out Scorpian bike retals just south of the center of chang mai.

 

[buebo]

Having ridden a 250cc around quite a lot in Cambodia and Laos I must say that I find them a little underpowered on the better roads, a 400cc would be ideal espacially in the weight to hp ratio I think.

Maybe I'll just try different loops on different bikes. For now I'm on Samui and heading to Koh Tao tomorrow, but I'll keep the board updated as soon as I'll hit Chiang Mai and there's news.

 

[tijeroo]

Have fun on koh tao! theres some crazy 'roads' on that island. might be worth getting a quad.

 

[buebo]

I will probably finish my advanced open underwater whatever today and do then do some expoloring with one of the local 125cc Bikes. Small Island but maybe some nice riding to have.

Stay posted for a report.