I might have to take my for sale ad down. I just scored some VFR bars off e-bay (94-97 version).

 

After doing two 300 mile rides in W. Texas in two days, I declare the VTR not to be a comfortable sport-tourer. Maybe with an aftermarket seat, adjustable rearsets, and a larger tank, yes. Or maybe a 20 something year old rider and a larger tank.

 

My assessment is that my VTR is comparable to either of my VFR's. Of course I'm basing that on multiple 500 plus mile days on the three bikes over some of the same roads and routes. Oh and I'm no 20 something year old rider either. And to go one better I have had neuro-lumbar surgery and am suffering from a severly degenerated disc at present. Actually my back feels better and the nerve pain I have radiating down my legs and into my butt is relieved when I'm on a forward riding position bike.

 

Dang how many of us Arizonians are there on this forum? We should organize a ride sometime soon.

 

I have to agree. for me, there is little difference in comfort between the Superhawk and Interceptor. I have done long rides on both, and I think they are both fine. To put things in perspective, I have done 500 mile days in the family Honda Odyssey mini-van, (read: COMFY) and was a little sore and tired after that trip too.

 

Its all relative. My statement about the comfort is based on a 40+ year old out of shape man. The biggest bother for me was my right knee being sore from being scrunched up. Still, it was better than being at work.

 

+1 on it's all relative and +1 on it's better than work! I'm 44 and have been riding in some form or another since I was 10 or so. My issues with my back revolve around the physical requirements of my job and my general physical condition. I'm pretty out of shape myself. I've noticed that a more upright riding position tends to aggrivate the nerve pain caused by my bad L4L5 disc. But the more forward position I'm in the less I notice the pain. I look at it like this; If I am healthy enough to go to work and suffer through the pain you can bet your a$$ I'm healthy enough to ride. BTW this coming Fri. I'm scheduled for what has become a regurlarly scheduled MRI to check out the affected disc. I know it will look worse than the last time! It has degenerated steadily every year since my surgery six years ago.

 

There's some serious mixed signals going on here! I've done a few 700-800 mile days in vehicles and haven't had a problem. Most recent was a trip to Park City in my 2001 Silverado. That's like riding in a big comfy chair. I'm 30 and not in the best shape, but not totally out of shape either and the s-hawk put the hurt on me for almost 2 weeks after the last 270 mile trip. I tried to find a VFR the other day at a Honda dealer, but no luck. I did find out FZ1's are pretty comfortable.

 

It does not matter if your riding a vtr, vfr, road king or st. it all hurts after a few hundred miles, trailer the bitch or suck it up. My brother and I ride somewhere new every year. This year was a cool 2,000 miles in 4 days.
Hurt like hell but suck it up ***** is the motto. LOL. Oh the last day was from Virginia Beech to Indianapolis in 13 hours. Oh my *** hurts just thinking about it. Goes numb after the 2nd tank though.

 

Around here all the twisties are a bit of a commute. This last ride was 100 miles before we even got to the good stuff.

I just got an offer (full asking price) for my bike but I'm not sure if I want to sell it now. I feel bad yanking the ad and pulling the bike off the market just after someone found it and expressed that much interest. Short of getting something like a v-strom (the "car with the windows down" riding experience) it sounds like the VTR is about as good as they get. I'll have to try the VFR bars bar-endless tonight to see if it makes any difference.

 

Alright, the VTR is officially off the market and staying in my garage. The VFR bars make enough of a difference that my wife's neck isn't in such a bad position and my hands and wrists aren't in as bad of a position. I'm halfway tempted to try to find a few cheap pairs of superbike bars (lower ones like on an FZ-1 rather than full-on dirtbike bars) to see if I could adapt something like those. Having no mechanical stop other than the friction between the clip-on and fork seems a little scary. I suppose if I'm doing something that makes one move I'm probably doing something I shouldn't be doing in the first place. Like others have experienced, my throttle housing and light/horn control housing both hit. It looks like there's enough material in either the frame or triple clamp to drill and tap for an adjustable steering stop. Has anyone done such a thing?

 

Hey try a set of Zr-7 bars. i have a ZR-7 in the garage. never lookedto see if they fit or not. That bike is a good commuter. very comfy not much on speed though. Its the fat girl in the garage. LOL. She has not seen the road for a long time.