RE: [ST] CW streetbike of the year article

[Cunningham Andrew <Andrew.Cunningham@xxxxxxxx>]

> general.  Also, while they say on one hand that they loved 
> the ST in 99 and voted it sport tourer of the year, it hasn't changed much

> since then. So.... It was the best in 99 but now it's not so good?

Bike magazine in the UK is another publication which firmly has its nose
stuck right up Honda's corporate arse.  They did exactly the same thing you
mention.  In 99 when the ST came out they did "The Ultimate Sports-tourer
test" pitching the VFR800 against the ST and a couple of others.  The ST won
that test.  Then a couple of years later when it was time to do the same
test again the VFR won and the ST was considered old fashioned and stodgy
and very much on the touring side of sports-touring.  BUT neither bike had
been updated over the intervening period.  They were effectively the same
machines as had been tested 2 years previously.  Since then I've taken
pretty much everything the journos in Bike say with a pinch of salt.

> One thing I found interesting was the description of the 
> VFR's engine."..Jekyll and Hyde machine.  ...unintimidating throttle 
> response...high end commuter special...once above 7000 rpm it ....means
business.

I personally can't see what all the fuss is about with VTEC on the VFR.  It
seems to me that all they've done is make the engine piss-weak below 7k so
that when all 16v come in there's this step in power.  None of the reviews
I've seen have shown that the new bike is particularly more powerful than
the old one above 7k.  It just feels like it is because there's a noticeable
power step at that point.

Andy
__________________________________________
Andy Cunningham
Stockholm, Sweden
955i Sprint RS (01)

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