Honda VFR1200R

The VFR line has carried Honda's flag since the early '80s, when Honda realized that the motor from the old Sabre could, with appropriate tweaks, power the Interceptor. By the time bikes like Suzuki's GSX-R750 and Honda's own Fireblade had come along, Honda's race-rep V-Fours – the RC30, then RC45 – seemed exotic but somewhat beside the point.
The Interceptor, though, held on to devotees; riders who demanded performance but were unwilling to give up comfort to get it. The Interceptor line, in the last 25 or so years, has been Honda's premiere showcase; sometimes for desirable technology like the single-sided Pro Arm swingarm, sometimes for less-than-desirable tricks like V-TEC variable valve timing.
In talking about the new VFR1200F, Honda's been careful to position it as a new thing, “its own thing.” They've been careful to say that it's not a one-for-one replacement for the Interceptor.

But it is. That was obvious when the new VFR1200F was revealed in a conference room at Honda's Torrance, California HQ. After an appropriate amount of ooh-ing and ahh-ing by the assembled journalists, the curtains were opened and the new bike was wheeled out into a courtyard where it was placed at the head of a line-up of... all the old Interceptors (plus a few other notable V-bikes, including an NR750!)
Such was the anticipation of this bike that when it was first wheeled out, the journos – who normally descend on new metal like vultures on a fresh carcass – formed a circle about 20 feet in diameter around it. It was as if none dared be the first to approach it.
Yet at the same time, the first look was also tinged with a little disappointment, if only because this new platform will “soon” be available with optional dual-clutch technology. That was the bike I thought I was coming to see; it will give riders the option of servo-assisted paddle shifters or even a fully automatic six-speed tranny.