First Ride Review: 2016 Honda VFR1200X HD

First Ride Review: 2016 Honda VFR1200X Even though the VFR-X is capable for putting on the big miles, it’s also fun when the road goes all snake-like. Steady and predictable handling is one of Honda’s strengths and it shows up here in the 1200. Think of Honda’s new VFR1200X as a touring motorcycle with styling cues favoring the ADV ranks. Clearly, though, this bike isn’t intended to encroach on the ADV market or play on its turf. In truth, the VFR1200X is a bike best suited for travel over paved highways rather than on unmarked dirt roads and trails. Pause now, for this: the VFR1200X isn’t new at all—it’s been in service since 2012 as an Old World model, marketed in Europe as the Crosstourer. But ADV-style bikes today compose a significant portion of America’s touring-bike market, and with that in mind, when Big Red ramped up the Crosstourer to comply with Euro 4 regulations, it also rebadged it as the VFR1200X for the US market. That move resulted in a few American motojournalists, me included, to gather in Moab, Utah, for a first look and ride of the new/old VFR1200X. So I swung a leg over the 1200X’s 33.5-inch-high saddle for a first ride.