A couple of interesting new Hondas

[Fred W]

I still don't want to ride a 500lb anything offroad.

Woo hoo!

I do it all the time with the ManStrom and it's above 550 lbs wet.. You don't know what fun you're missing.

I'm not talking in the real gnarly, deep mud puddle, soft sand, way off road stuff. Just gravel roads, two tracks and Jeep trails, of which there are many in northern New England. Plus a long travel suspension is great on some of the frost heave ripped up roads they consider "paved" up our way (I know you know what I mean there).

Sure it's more of a challenge in the dirt than riding a high bux, ultra light KTM or other true dual sport. But, do you only want to do stuff that's easy? Anyone can do that. All part of the adventure. Plus it's a lot more comfy riding an ADV bike 50 or 100 miles to the dirt than a real dual sport. I'm too old for the buckboard seats on the little bikes.

 

[rushes]

Count me in on 1000cc's of CRF. :thumbsup:

Riding big bikes off road is tons of fun as long as you understand the limits.

 

[spklbuk]

No worries, a big bike will remind soon you of the limits should you even momentarily forget and sometimes even when the limits are crystal clear!

The new Honda sure looks interesting.

 

[Bugnatr]

I still don't want to ride a 500lb anything offroad.

Woo hoo!

Couldn't agree more.

My Gen 1 KLR is a pig at 340 lbs. Those 500 lb bikes are ok for a mellow gravel road or the flat land but when it comes to real off road riding good luck picking up those big bikes in the rough. A 250 looks better all the time.

 

[Fred W]

I owned a KLR before and you are right: It is a pig considering its lighter weight. Not really all that much different than a Vstrom, in the true off road, IMO. Better clearance, spoked wheels and a 21" front do make it a bit better. I've found that either one with the right tires can get through a lot of terrain.

And yes I have dropped the porky 'strom off road, in the middle of a big mud section, when I was scouting out some "dirt roads" with some smaller, lighter bikes, who had all just gone through it. I managed to pick it back up, and get it turned around, by myself, and then rode back out the way I had come in because the terrain was too difficult.

That particular drop was why I switched to flush mount turn signals after the OEM eggshell stalk mounted signal broke into a bazillion pieces. Who knew mud could be so hard?

 

[Bugnatr]

Beg to differ Fred but here is a huge difference between a Strom (man or wee) and a gen 1 KLR out west. Mud is not the issue but rather steep mountain terrain, rocks, single tracks and foot deep dry powder silt will show you where the 150 lbs shows up.

Real off road- these so called 500 plus pound adv bikes ain't.

 

[Fred W]

Real off road- these so called 500 plus pound adv bikes ain't.

I said as much. And real off roads is not a KLR's forte either. Yes, a KLR is more capable off road, just not that much more capable, which was what I said .

They are just different spins at an ADV touring bike, IMO. ADV touring bikes are not intended for "real off road" situations. For that you would want a true dual sport.

 

[teerex51]

There's very little I can add to my post of September 2014 (page 1 of this thread). Since then, I've put a few more miles on my Crosstourer and it's still a bundle of fun. Work constraints have forced me to cut down on longer trips, but between May and late September I've logged a few two-day/one-night sorties into Twistieland. By that I mean the Alps, which I can clearly see from my house as they stretch into the haze to the west of here, but I can see a goodly bit of the eastern Alps before the urban sprawl of Milan gets in the way. The bike has run flawlessly for the 26 months that I've owned it and I have absolutely no complaints. It pulls like an electric locomotive out of every turn as you keep upshifting seamlessly and instantly.

As you enter a blind curve, you have the extra peace of mind of being able to downshift into—say—second gear if the turn suddenly gets tighter and you know you'll never be in neutral when you shift. The bike never loses its composure whatever you do with your gears. Gone, too, is the pesky helmet-bonking when you carry a passenger.

Fuel burn is no worse than that of a FJR1300 when you're having fun and the tires seem to last forever. The Michelin Pilot Roads 4 "Trail" are outstanding rubber and a lot less prone than the OEM Bridgestones to straighten up the bike if you apply some front brake.

The new model (2016) that's coming to the US is virtually the same as my 2013 Double-Clutch Transmission VFR1200, except for the adjustable windscreen and other minor details. According to an article in Rideapart you should not "expect BMW R1200GS or KTM 1290 Adventure caliber off-road performance from this motorcycle". I have to disagree. While the Crosstourer is a heavy bike and more suited to canyon-carving than offroading, it's just as capable as a GS on dirt roads and non-paved surfaces. I've ridden it on a loose-rock trail when I followed a German friend riding an ancient R80GS with knobby tires.up a mountain It was a sobering experience, but the bike performed well and I paid it back by not dropping it.

showing the kind of roads where the Crosstourer rules. There's a near miss in the initial seconds of the video but the wide-angle lens does not do it justice...

 

[MCRIDER007]

Thanks for the update and the video! Its hard to tell what kind of speeds you were running in the video but it looked like you were moving at a pretty good pace as you approached the top of the pass and the double clutch transmission is really smooth.......it wasn't apparent anywhere in the video when the bike decided it was time to do a gear shift.

 

[teerex51]

On the more-or-less straight parts I was doing 70-75 mph, 25 in the switchbacks and 55 to 65 in the open turns. I was switching gears manually all the time.

After you crank her up, the Crosstourer offers you the fully automatic option (through the buttons Drive or Sport near the right handgrip) or you can change gears manually through two buttons located near the LH-side hangdrip. You upshift with your index finger and downshift with your thumb. This electronic transmission will let you choose your gears and, if you don't upshift from the gear you're in, it will not do it for you. However, if you're in—say—fourth gear and come to a stop-light, you don't have to downshift at all—the bike will do that for you.

Just a little drawback here. If you're climbing a very steep and narrow pass with tight switchbacks, the bike might automatically drop you from second gear into first even if you've selected the manual shift mode. The trick is to preempt the bike and shift into first yourself.

I've dueled against BMW R1200GS's and here the Crosstourer's extra ponies and torque, coupled with the DCT tranny, make it pretty much unbeatable. The performance gap narrows almost to nil with the new liquid-cooled Beemers, but a good riding buddy of mine has a tricked-out GS he rides good and hard—but still can't catch my Crosstourer in the twisties.

Where the Beemer is way ahead of the VFR1200X is the price. It does however offer a whole range of extras, while the Honda is pretty basic when it comes to that.

Another aspect worth mentioning. The Beemer has had a number of recalls, the Crosstourer none. Not even a software upgrade.

 

[Uncle Hud]

OK, I realize rickcorwn started this thread when I was still in high school, but I'm surprised no one's offered up a "new" Honda. This one, the NM4, seems interesting. Specs: 670cc, parallel twin, automatic 6-speed, chain drive, ABS, and I couldn't find horsepower quickly so stopped looking.

Don't want one, but it looks a little Star Trek, has innovative storage spaces, and surely has Honda reliability. My dealer (Yamaha + Honda + more) doesn't have one, so I'm curious if they look good or look weird.

 

[wheatonFJR]

OK, I realize rickcorwn started this thread when I was still in high school, but I'm surprised no one's offered up a "new" Honda. This one, the NM4, seems interesting. Specs: 670cc, parallel twin, automatic 6-speed, chain drive, ABS, and I couldn't find horsepower quickly so stopped looking.
[img=[URL="https://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag417/unclehud/NM4_zpsymi6y4el.jpg%5D"]https://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag417/unclehud/NM4_zpsymi6y4el.jpg][/URL]

Don't want one, but it looks a little Star Trek, has innovative storage spaces, and surely has Honda reliability. My dealer (Yamaha + Honda + more) doesn't have one, so I'm curious if they look good or look weird.

Depends on how pretty the bikini clad girl is modeling on them. Looks like a recumbent motorcycle...I vote weird.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Backrest for old farts like us. Bikini-clad girl likely means heart attack for Hud, especially if she smiles at me.

 

[Fred W]

First Ride Report of the New Africa Twin.

Hmmm...

 

[rushes]

I've been anxiously waiting for more info on this bike. I really thought it would be my next.

Right now, I'm still inclined to upgrade my Tenere. I really like the shaft drive for less maintenance, and cruise control would be soo nice for the miles in between big adventures.

I've ridden hard off road on the S-10 fine and I know it would be easier on the CRF, but the in between might be 500 miles apart...

Hmm...

*edit*

I'm talking adventures riding to and fro in the US without hauling.

Worldly adventures or hauling I'd go with a 250cc.