CBF1000 or F800GT? Or another easy sport tourer?

[cdlxxvi]

Objective: light touring on weekends. I won't be commuting to central London, because it'll be even more unpleasant than a train.

GSXF is an entirely lovely bike for me: comfy, smooth, reliable, nimble enough, 8/10 would buy again. Just fancy a change, but to something not too different.

Requirements:
* Comfort > performance. I want to sit on it (6'2 tall) at 80 all day and still be able to walk.
* Ease > thrills. My skill is average at best, it must go where I want it to go and stop promptly when needed. Wheelies and kneedowns are irrelevant.
* Reliability & weather resistance. I will oil the chain and have a garage maintain it by the book, but other than that it will be under cover on the driveway while I have a life.

Why I think CBF or GT: both seem good value for money at ~5k with few years and little mileage (I always bought newish bikes and never regretted); I don't want to spend more for something that will rust in the rain anyway.

Having owned other big Japanese brands I fancy a Honda for completeness, but BMW's belt drive, lightness and mpg appeal to reason.
Then for slightly worse value there's VFR - is it going to be easy enough to live with?

[pepperami]

Mr Polar Bear would be the one to speak to about this matter.

Me, I’d say get a C90
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[weasley]

Kawasaki Z1000SX?
One of the Yamaha Tracers?
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[1198]

Don’t know as to the cost but I’d be fancying the VFR - the 12 though personAlly...

[Ste]

Enter reality?

[Nobby the Bastard]

I quite like my sprint. Whereas the exup Valdes was destroying my elbows shoulders neck and hips I've never been troubled by the sprint.

Its surprisingly agile as well for commuting.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[MarJay]

The VFR 800 is surprisingly sporty in terms of riding position...
The CBF I’d avoid like the plague. They are not very exciting and seem to eat electrical components as I understand it.

Out of your selection I’d be going Z1000SX. I’ve ridden a 2018 model and it was great. A little reluctant to turn in maybe but fast, comfy and filled with gadgets. Also has luggage.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[UncleFester]

Another vote for Z1000 SX

I thought the CBF1000 was plagued with stator issues on older ones?
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Module 1 and 2 passed - October 2014. Happy owner of a 2017 Z1000SX, ex owner of a YBR125 / CB500 / VFR800.

[cdlxxvi]

[Nobby the Bastard]

Pretty good. The stator died but was repaired under warranty but I haven't found any horror stories about them in general.

The only other time it broke down was because one of the bulbs blew and managed to short the fuse that also did the starter. That took me several hours to find.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[MarJay]

[Polarbear]

For anything touring now, if it's not a full blown tourer like mine or a Goldwing, I'd be looking at an adventure bike for the comfort and riding position.

Oh yes, and shaft drive FTW.

As for Triumphs, I've had 4 Hinkley Triumphs and no problems with any but then I rarely keep bikes for any length of time except for the present one.

I suppose it depends on whether you err towards touring or sporty.

My choice of sporty, Kwack GTR1400. My choice of touring, any big adventure bike or a Goldwing,

And no, I wouldn't recommend mine simply because they weren't made for very long (although the engine is common with the 1200 Tiger Adventure).
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[cdlxxvi]

Re Z1000SX: I hate the looks, but sitting on it I won' see it, so not a deal breaker.

However, is its powerful L4 (140hp) any good for leisure riding? I will be (almost) never trashing it on B roads; my aim is to pootle through somewhere pretty towards somewhere very pretty, for which BMW's 90hp twin seems about right.

(In the high power area the thought of VFR1200 has crossed my mind, but that's only because it's criminally sexy).

[Nobby the Bastard]

As we've always said to noobs, the bike will only go as fast as you let it.

How can it have too much power? Does not compute.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[cdlxxvi]

The question is whether it’s still so good when ridden nowhere near its designed capabilities. If yes, then great.

[NJD]

I've got a MK1 CBF1000 (06-10; some say 06-09 but they did a "GT" version in 2010 with some extra's).

Comfort: for my commute it has been fine so far, but I'm waiting for weather to improve to see how it stands up over long distances.

You can adjust seat height (3 levels), screen height (2 levels) and rear suspension (some upgrade to hagon rear shock).

There is a small market for comfort seats but they cost an eye watering amount.

Performance: The bike is fast enough to make up for my limited ability, and enough to wake me up when I'm half asleep some days.

Ease: Every bike ever should do what you require here.

Thrills: The looks divide many, and I can easily see why. I wouldn't say this is a bike that has excited me as much as my previous ZR7S did.

Reliability and weather resistance: Depends what weather you wish to use it in. If you plan to use it in winter or in the wet then you're going to end up paying the garage an awful lot.

Rear has a habit of kicking up an awful lot of crud, and the rear brake doesn't take much before it needs to come out and be cleaned. On the MK1 the manual says you have to remove the rear wheel to clean the brake caliper, and you sort of do, but that can be gotten around after the first time you've done it (no point going into detail until you've got one).

I've had starting issues, but from what I can tell its caused by the neutral switch and an ECU pin fault that Honda never bothered to advertise. Very easy to ignore and get around.

No issues with the stator here, but early ones when first released did have plenty of problems.

Winter has destroyed the paint on things like the centre stand, pannier rails and sidestand. The mid to rear of the bike really does get abused by road salt and grime.

O.E.M exhausts tend to rot where it joins onto the bikes downpipes. Non O.E.M second hand replacements are expensive.

Brakes are A.B.S, and braided lines don't come cheap.

From what I can tell the MK2 has better MPG, an easier to work on rear caliper and a singular exhaust. Honestly if I was going MK1 or MK2 I'd go MK1 as this really isn't a bike that would make me want to spend more than £2,000-2,500. You could be equally bored by the MK1 and save more monies.

On the whole the MK1 Honda provides a lot of bike for the money, but certain parts are expensive if they're not in good condition.

I went from a ZR7-S to the CBF1000 thinking similar to you, but some days I'd go back for the improved MPG.

I wouldn't go CBF1000 again, but I would go ZR7-S again.

I've looked at FZ6 (04 style model), CB1300, ZRX1100/1200, NC 750, CBR600F and probably some more. If anyone of those take your fancy.
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The do it all, T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶l̶u̶m̶p̶,̶ ̶C̶h̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶N̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶

[Tdibs]

I'd second looking at bigger adventure bikes if you want more comfort. Tiger 800/Tracer 900/Vstrom 1k etc.

Also the 1250 of gsxf is very good value for money with full luggage.
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Previous : 09 Vanvan 125| 02' Sv650s || Current: 1999 Xj600n | 1992 DR650 RSE | 2005 Fazer 1000

[Pigeon]

Haven't tried a F800GT, but been considering one for probably similar reasons.
Comfy
Lowish weight for a tourer (more fun?), even lower with a can swap.
Luggage
Frugal
Belt drive

EDIT: As others have said, Tracer 900 can be had for similar(ish) money.

[Kentol750]

A tall tourer is a good bet. 6'2" can be uncomfortable on a vfr for long stretches. Nobby's sprint is a good shout if you can find it unabused. Cbf1000 is as bland as njd writes. If you fancy a tiger, go roadie not spoked. F800st or gt is a good bike, just a bit.... well, meh. When you want to go, it says.... why? A 1200gs(2010 onwards) ticks all your boxes and is a bloody good bike. Z1000sx has a chain, but, very comfortable. A nice blue 1050 sprint with full luggage though?.?.?
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Some bikes.

[UncleFester]

[MarJay]

[F18]

CBF1000 for what you describe, but I'm terribly biased.

Go for a newer one as you can (all 'old' now, last manufactured 2016 I think - but until last year there were the odd one or two "new" ones appearing in the dealers). MkII a better bike in many subtle respects.

Many folk have moved on to the 800GT when they're too old/tired/bothered to move the weight of their honda around the garage. Much less torque, okay on power (revs), newer bike (new toy).
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Summer is just around the corner

[PotatoHead202...]

I would be warey of the F800. Although I personally like the bike and considered getting one on a few occasions I have heard some horror stories surrounding catastrophic engine failure.

Out of those listed I would say either the VFR or CBF. The VFR looks and sounds better but will likely be uncomfortable compared to the CBF. Also not sure how they are on fuel being a V4?

I'd also suggest looking at a Triumph Spring ST1050. I'm about 6ft 1 and 105kg and it fitted me very well. The only issue I had with it was it had a voracious appetite for batteries. Albeit I believe this was due to me only using it on VERY short runs to the train station for quite a long time. The engine is fantastic, they don't tend to run too hot, it looks good, is comfortable and economical.

Out of all of these choices make sure you get one with ABS - I believe they all have it as an option/standard.
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Honda VFR1200F, Honda CBF500 ABS, CZ125 now CZ175

[PotatoHead202...]

Also, avoid ANY BMW made between roughly 2002 and 2006 that has ABS. They used Servo Assist brakes then which can and do fail resulting in almost total brake failure. Anything made 2007 onwards is fine as if the ABS fails it'll only affect that any not general braking.

So far as the VFR1200 is concerned the K1300S/R/GT seemed to have it beat in practically every test. It's also a fair bit heavier than the BMW and supposedly has awful urban fuel economy and a small tank.
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Honda VFR1200F, Honda CBF500 ABS, CZ125 now CZ175

[Easy-X]

I hesitate to say this, as my arseless chaps are at the dry cleaners, but the requirements list also describes a cruiser

Might be a bit under-powered but you could get a Vulcan for 5 bags.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter