I have had 6 Hondas with V4 engines and loved them all. Two were VFR750's with 180 degree cranks and the other were 1 ST1100 and 3 ST1300's with 360 degree cranks. These had different personalities, as the VFR engines were very quick to rev and had a sporty sound and feel. The ST engines were designed more for torque, as befitting a two up sport touring machine and while not as sporty, were very good engines, lots of power everywhere and very smooth. The ST1300 engine was more sporty in sound and feel than my ST1100 and I liked them a lot.
My dealer sells both Honda and Yamaha and as a part time employee (retirement job) I can get my new bikes at invoice and chose the ST1300 over the FJR1300 each time, because I liked the engine better than the inline 4. They are both great bikes, it all depends on personal taste, in my opinion. That is why, when a customer asks which of these two bikes are best, I will tell them to take a demo ride on each and then decide.
We have the VFR1200 in both standard and DCT versions in stock and I have ridden them both. That new engine is incredible and my plans were that if they came out with a true sport touring version with larger tank, etc, like the ST1300, I would get one. That is, until the Super Tenere was announced in Feb. That is when I called Yamaha USA and told them that I thought they should bring it here. My dealer was even doing some exploration on the possibility of bringing a few Euro models here. We decided to wait to see if Yamaha USA would come thru and they did. I believe mine is the second one ordered in the USA, per the order numbers I have seen posted and I am eagerly waiting for May. In the meantime my 08 ST1300A is sitting on the sales floor.
