Imagine the unimaginable!

[Nick Calne]

Ever wanted a Honda?  No, me neither - then this happened.

[Bixxer Bob]

 

It'll be ultra reliable, easy to ride and fast enough.  Bastards....

[Chris Canning]

Biggest surprise I had when I saw it was how small it is sure aint no pseudo off roader it's a proper job you really will be able to wear your Arai TourX and pretend  :icon_wink:

[KuzzinKenny]

It'll be ultra reliable, easy to ride and fast enough.  Bastards....

Yea !! but its still a HONDA   

KK

[nickjtc]

Yea !! but its still a HONDA

I'll say this in my very small, quiet, voice....... is that a BAD thing??

[Nick Calne]

If you put 'hondas are' into google the first three results that come up are...

hondas are slow
hondas are gay
hondas are boring

Clearly the first two are incorrect, and boring is subjective, but sometimes they are a little dull in the image department. Not much they make looks 'sexy'.

I kinda think that a motorbike should transcend just being worthy and be something that makes you want it. Maybe Honda will do it this time...

[motoOzarks]

Until Chevrolet makes a motorcycle we're stuck with what they import over here.

[nickjtc]

If we don't lose sight of the fact that Honda is primarily in business to make money and trillions of machines for the low end of the riding spectrum, can we be surprised that the majority of their machines do not 'move' our souls and passion?

They show, periodically, that they can produce exquisite (in some peoples eyes, anyway) pieces of exotica such as the NR750 so they are obviously capable of it.

Look at it this way: how many times have the European brands gone defunct/been resurrected/been sold/been bought/stopped production? How many times has Honda?

Discuss 

PS I'll admit up front that I am a fan, since my first two bikes were small Hondas, bought at a time when there was really nothing out there other than the other Japanese manufacturers. Would I buy an Africa Twin? Even if I could afford it, probably not. Stanley pushes all the right buttons, thank you very much.

[threepot]

I've ridden a few jap bikes,even a new zx10r! But they just don't feel 'alive' like my Triumphs,especially my Super3. Think that's what they lack?? Good as they are.
I read a while back that Mr Honda would have paid a million yen just to have Triumph on his tanks. Don't know how much truth was in that though?

[Nick Calne]

Absolutely Threepot, if one is not in motorcycling for the soul moving aliveness experience thing then either you are a commuter from south asia or I don't get what you are doing really.

I reckon every bike should be designed to be ridden and adored.  I'm a big softy for all that twatwaffle.

I guess we'll see if it is brill like an original fireblade or deep honda boring like a nc700, cb500, varadero, deauviĺle etc.

Ps I suspect one million yen is not worth much either!

[Bixxer Bob]

I was being a bit cheeky because you all know I own and love my Blackbird.  It is typically Honda, reliable, well made, easy to ride and goes like the proverbial without fuss or drama.  Unlike other Hondas I've ridden, it DOES have a soul inasmuch as it'll potter about in a bored sort of way if that's what you want or need to do, but get it above 5000rpm in any gear and it comes alive.  No power step, more of a sort of "so-you-want-to-play?"  then above 7000rpm in 3rd or higher and it's "right, now we mean business...."

It was built to do 100mph all day, and can; sadly we can't.

The Tiger is completely different, in a way I can't describe, but we all understand.

Funnily enough,  my little 650GS had character too.  I expected it to be a 50bhp runabout when I bought it, but in fact it encouraged hooliganism.  Being down on power it wanted to be ragged everywhere.

[nickjtc]

I guess we'll see if it is brill like an original fireblade or deep honda boring like a nc700, cb500, varadero, deauviĺle etc.

Personally I could never see why the Deauville was nicknamed 'dullsville'. I rented one on a return trip to Blighty on which to do the 'Round Britain Rally'. If you look at it as it is, a competent 'small' capacity road bike with an ability to tour at anything up to silly speeds, using little fuel and being ultra reliable, you would not be disappointed. In the course of my travels I met a couple doing the same thing on a Ducati Paso 906. He looked at the Deauville and commented that he wished the Paso was as reliable.

But of course a Ducati has 'soul' and a Honda does not.  :icon_wink: :icon_wink:

[Chris Canning]

All depends on where you are on your motorcycle journey after my Tiger Cub and Norton Jubillee in 1969 I very quickly learned that if I was to spend my time riding instead of fixing it needed made in Japan stamped on the side took me 30 years to get fed up the same old and didn't ride a Japanese bike from 2000 till 2009 and then I realised how good they are soulless but very effective.

What frustrates me with Honda they wonderfull technical ability to do what ever they want and yet seem to loose their corporate way the fact that the VFR should have gone to a 1000 and the a new Blackbird at 13/400 and did a VFR1200 which was a sales disaster anyone who has been close to a factory RVF knows what they can do just a shame those guys don't talk to the marketing dept.

I wouldn't be too keen on throwing stones in glass houses Triumph need to get their act together even after 5 hours at the NEC never even went on the stand!!

[Bixxer Bob]

Especially as I've just read the report on the latest Yamaha MT-09,  everything you could want in a triple including 115 bhp, for just over 8 grand?

[Nick Calne]

Yamaha have really had a go at making something interesting recently. The R1, super tenere, the mt series etc.

None perfect by any stretch but significantly ahead of the other japanese bikes in terms of desirability.

I really hope Honda try and make up some ground by building a properly desirable Africa twin, not another bland old man's bike!