Yes, I went. Amazingly there can’t have been any more than 50 people there. I was expecting hundreds. Apparently, apart from the 7 NSW dealers who saw the bike earlier on in the day at the Hunter Valley lunch, we were the first people in Australia to see the bike, before even Honda’s own dealers. Quite amazing that so few people took them up on the offer to go have a look. Consequently there was plenty of time to poke and prod and sit. Excellent.
The bike is spectacular in the metal, a tribute to Honda’s new and highly secret paint technologies. It looks quite small, even alongside an 800 which was parked nearby. The only time it looks big is from directly side-on, where the long wheelbase becomes apparent. The fit and finish is stunningly good, though I have great concerns about how the exposed header pipes will fare on Australian roads, placed as they are directly behind the front wheel and with a slot in the fairing to allow the gunk in between them and the wheel.
The bike certainly feels nice to sit on; the seat feels very comfy and the pegs and bars feel to be just in the right spot for me (I’m 5’8″”, 173cm) The saleman was kind enough to hold the bike up for me while I put both feet on the pegs and it felt really good with perhaps just a slightly longer stretch to the bars than on my 4th Gen. I asked to be able to heft it onto the centrestand (amazingly no-one else seemed to have thought of that) and it was even easier than my bike The salemsan said “Oh there’s a trick to it.” but, by the time he’d half finished saying it, it was up there. Very easy. Incidentally, Australia is the only country where the bike will be supplied with a centrestand as standard.
Now, the not-so-good news. Are you sitting down? $A26600 on-road. Yes, you read right. No pricing on the DCT model, but that will be available in June. Bikes have been pre-ordered and the Honda exec there said that, while bikes WILL be in the showrooms next week!!! most have been pre-sold and he expects dealers will have to take orders after the release date and customers will have to wait. There were at least 2 people there last night who have already bought.
During the (somewhat amateurish) multimedia presentation, much was made of the technology and the mass-centralisation and one of the salesmen who had ridden the bike for 2 hours in the Hunter Valley earlier on in the day said he was amazed how “flickable” it was for a big bike. The Honda exec did confirm what Trevor Hedge had said earlier on that the FBW throttle delivered a big “kick” of power after you get past 6000 revs but that it was smooth (and, presumably, not like the VTEC, though he, of course, couldn’t say that). 90% of the engine’s torque is delivered below 4000RPM.
Like the rest of the crowd, I ended up being too awed by the spectacle and carrried along in the moment to ask awkard questions about fuel range. I feel like a bit of a wimp now, but, in my defence, you really had to be there to understand.
In conclusion, the bike is luscious, and so much more so in real life. Forget the pictures, it stuns in the metal. At that price only the rich need apply, but something tells me that there will be many who will be prepared to overlook the weight and tankage issues just so that they can be first on the block with it. It really is a wonderful-looking thing.
Now, Mr Honda, how about a pared-down “sports” version, thank you. More details later, I gotta get to work.
sanoptic says
Must be better in the flesh cause it sure still looks like an ugly duckling in the 1st pic.
To me it looks like the seat is too thin for a tourer & because of the step up to the pillion seat you would be locked in position ,not ideal for long trips.
The exhaust muffler looks rather odd too but as you say pics of the bike don’t do it justice.
Did they start err up?
At the price they are asking don’t think many will buy & rich guys usually keep them for show & not as intended.
I check it out at Westerns Motorcycle in a few weeks time & then maybe i’ll change my mind on this bike.
Phil Hall says
Yep, they started ‘er up. It sounded very “gruff”, not the mellow sort of burble that you normally get from a VFR. Still, how it sounds on the road and from the saddle will be the clincher. I can’t wait to see what people like Leo Vince and Taylors and Staintune do with the exhaust. It’s going to be tricky, though, because there’s a flap in the top outlet of the muffler that is activated from the ECU so they’ll need to take that into account.
Phil Hall says
Yeah, my problem is it’s just to damn expensive.
sanoptic says
Was at Western Motorcycles today & had a look at the new Honda,they had one without the panniers & it was grey in colour.
I don’t know why but the rear end just didn’t look right,maybe something to do with australian design rules.
The salesman asked if i wanted a testride but i declined as i’m not interested in this bike.
Guess i’ll end up keeping my almost 15 year old triumph for some time yet.
cheers