Honda starting to flex it's muscles again?

[Jnich77]

Originally Posted by SteelJM1

Except the S5 FC RX-7. 220hp/2.0l = 110, 160hp/1.3l = 123

;)

and its a POS

[doxiedog]

Brillant engerning! , Take a econ baby car engine,cut in half and put it in a scooter frame.
Call it a adv bike! WE are to stupid to know the differance. Sell a lot.

[AZbiker]

Originally Posted by doxiedog

Brillant engerning! , Take a econ baby car engine,cut in half and put it in a scooter frame.
Call it a adv bike! WE are to stupid to know the differance. Sell a lot.

So the motor in the NC700 is a Jazz motor that has been cut in half?

Prove it.

Or you could just feel free to keep spewing bullshit rumors that you heard from somebody.

[TwinDuro]

Thanks for the video eatpasta, that was great!

I guess we'll all see how things go in the next 5-10 years...

It makes me wonder... what would have happened, and what bikes would be available from Honda USA today, if the before-their-time sales-fails bikes from the late '80s to the mid '90s would've succeeded? For those that don't know or have forgotten, I'm talking about bikes like the CB-1 400, the GB500 Tourist Trophy, the NT650 Hawk, the XL600V Transalp, the PC800 Pacific Coast, the NX125/250/650, the '94-'95 CB1000 etc. etc.

These bikes all had something going for them, something unique that separated them from the pack and made them exciting for different reasons, but yet, not many bought them...

Maybe, like the proverbial elephant (and no, I don't mean a Cagiva Elefant), Honda never forgets?

[KaceCoyote]

Originally Posted by TwinDuro

Thanks for the video eatpasta, that was great!

I guess we'll all see how things go in the next 5-10 years...

It makes me wonder... what would have happened, and what bikes would be available from Honda USA today, if the before-their-time sales-fails bikes from the late '80s to the mid '90s would've succeeded? For those that don't know or have forgotten, I'm talking about bikes like the CB-1 400, the GB500 Tourist Trophy, the NT650 Hawk, the XL600V Transalp, the PC800 Pacific Coast, the NX125/250/650, the '94-'95 CB1000 etc. etc.

These bikes all had something going for them, something unique that separated them from the pack and made them exciting for different reasons, but yet, not many bought them...

Maybe, like the proverbial elephant (and no, I don't mean a Cagiva Elefant), Honda never forgets?

There arent many companies with the engineering, manufacturing and raw capitol to be able to reinvent itself when it begins to wander far of the mark. Maybe we'll see something special, maybe the CB1300 will come finally. Maybe they'll give us a CB600, or a proper adventure bike.

They -are- going after the dakar this year, I think the arrival of the RC213V suggests the seriousness with which they're going after the bike market again.

Yaknow what I really want? a midweight(6-800cc) adventure bike for around 10k. Maybe positioned to compete with the KTM 690, more likely aimed at the F800, Tiger 800 ect. I have always been fascinated with Honda, the old man was an incredible guy and he gave us some incredible stuff. I'd own one now, if they made anything I was interested in.

Why are BMW's so much better thought out than Hondas, market wise? I mean we've seen some motorrad bikes that didnt take off, but Honda just does absurd things. The 599 and 919 seemed to sell well, but were just so expensive. The PC800 was way smarter than the DN-01, but it needed to have hung around longer to gain momentum. They give us the DN-01 but not the CB1300? Where is the new blackbird, or a proper naked bike that doesn't get shipped from Italy?

Come on Honda, if anyone can do this you can.

[rivercreep]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

NSR750 - super exotic, hand machined oval pistons!

So what!...Some KLR 650's have oval cylinders by accident!

[TwinDuro]

Originally Posted by rivercreep

So what!...Some KLR 650's have oval cylinders by accident!

So do some BSAs...

The NR750 was seriously crazy though! This actually worked! Well, kinda...

[The Walrus]

Originally Posted by KaceCoyote

There arent many companies with the engineering, manufacturing and raw capitol to be able to reinvent itself when it begins to wander far of the mark. Maybe we'll see something special, maybe the CB1300 will come finally. Maybe they'll give us a CB600, or a proper adventure bike.

They -are- going after the dakar this year, I think the arrival of the RC213V suggests the seriousness with which they're going after the bike market again.

Yaknow what I really want? a midweight(6-800cc) adventure bike for around 10k. Maybe positioned to compete with the KTM 690, more likely aimed at the F800, Tiger 800 ect. I have always been fascinated with Honda, the old man was an incredible guy and he gave us some incredible stuff. I'd own one now, if they made anything I was interested in.

Why are BMW's so much better thought out than Hondas, market wise? I mean we've seen some motorrad bikes that didnt take off, but Honda just does absurd things. The 599 and 919 seemed to sell well, but were just so expensive. The PC800 was way smarter than the DN-01, but it needed to have hung around longer to gain momentum. They give us the DN-01 but not the CB1300? Where is the new blackbird, or a proper naked bike that doesn't get shipped from Italy?

Come on Honda, if anyone can do this you can.

+1 +1 +1

Every moto event I attend, I say these things to Honda NA, my local Honda shops and anyone else who I can corner. We never saw the Varadero line in the USA and so far we've been skipped by the CrossTourer and CrossRunner lines. Whenever I leave the USA, I pick up local Honda product brochures. It is painful to see what we miss.

First bike after college: 1976 Honda CB760F
Last 3 Hondas: 2001,2002,2003 Honda XR650R's

And that's all until Honda brings something good and interesting here!

[TwinDuro]

I agree 100% Kace, if anyone can do it, Honda can....

I (as well as thousands of others no doubt) would also like to see a mid-weight (6-800cc), more off-road biased adventure bike from Honda for around $8-10k.

I've been extremely fortunate to have had the chance to ride a friend's 1997 Honda RD07 Africa Twin for a short time... Even though that particular bike is 15 years old now, the overall way it worked was awesome! The engine, while not rip-roaring extreme, had plenty of power and torque and was fun to use, the chassis felt planted and the handling was neutral and forgiving, belaying the size of the bike. Overall, it was just flat out perfect IMHO.

It's both an awesome and horrible to ride a bike like that, as it's forbidden fruit and owning one here is near impossible.

I really liked the idea of the last Honda Transalp 700 as well. Although it was a little more street-biased, it still looks like a fun bike:



Even though Honda has a ways to go yet, I'm happy to see the direction they're going in. Just like you said, I'd love to see the CB1300 come over here. I would have loved to see the Honda CB750 concept they teased us with a few years back to come to life as well....

Originally Posted by KaceCoyote

There arent many companies with the engineering, manufacturing and raw capitol to be able to reinvent itself when it begins to wander far of the mark. Maybe we'll see something special, maybe the CB1300 will come finally. Maybe they'll give us a CB600, or a proper adventure bike.

They -are- going after the dakar this year, I think the arrival of the RC213V suggests the seriousness with which they're going after the bike market again.

Yaknow what I really want? a midweight(6-800cc) adventure bike for around 10k. Maybe positioned to compete with the KTM 690, more likely aimed at the F800, Tiger 800 ect. I have always been fascinated with Honda, the old man was an incredible guy and he gave us some incredible stuff. I'd own one now, if they made anything I was interested in.

Why are BMW's so much better thought out than Hondas, market wise? I mean we've seen some motorrad bikes that didnt take off, but Honda just does absurd things. The 599 and 919 seemed to sell well, but were just so expensive. The PC800 was way smarter than the DN-01, but it needed to have hung around longer to gain momentum. They give us the DN-01 but not the CB1300? Where is the new blackbird, or a proper naked bike that doesn't get shipped from Italy?

Come on Honda, if anyone can do this you can.

[rodhersh]

I've been riding Hondas for the last 30 some years, ever since my first ride on a '79 CBX. I now ride a BMW. Why? Because Honda keeps trotting out these "marvels" that are totally irrelevant. I don't need or want a road going GP bike, or a chopper, or an automatic transmission.

Honda can have me back tomorrow...just sell me a CB1300. Please, just sell us the bikes we've been asking for, no need to reinvent the wheel. Build us a standard with modern fuel injection, suspension, and brakes. My 919 was a step in the right direction, now build us a bike with no apologies, no motors detuned for torque.

Oh, while we're at it. Where's our modernized street legal XR650R? To get that I had to buy a KTM.

As nice as the Beemer and KTM are they've got their quirks and are just not Hondas.

[100mpg]

Originally Posted by AZbiker

Or you could just feel free to keep spewing bullshit rumors that you heard from somebody.

it has to be true, it is illegal to lie on the internet...

[jasonmt]

I am another one of the "former" Honda fans and buyer, they just have seem to lost their way in the last 10-15 year's. In my case the Honda quad has been replaced with a Can-Am, my Honda dirt bike has been replaced with a KTM and then a Husqvarna, SWMBO Honda dirt bike has been replaced with a TM and my beloved VFR 800 was just replaced with a Ninja 1000.

In all the cases when looking at the replacement models for the Hondas replacing a Honda with another Honda was going to leave us with a vehicle that was any / some of or all of the following:

Overpriced (compared to similar models from other manufacturers), antiquated (in the case of their quads, dirt bikes still running carbs), or that had really strayed from their previous models ( VFR 800 to VFR 1200).

The fit and finish on their newer stuff just does not seem to be near what it was and to qualify this statement in the past two years I have bought a new quad, two new dirt bikes, a 650 class dual sport and a Ninja 1000.

[AZbiker]

Originally Posted by rodhersh

Honda can have me back tomorrow...just sell me a CB1300. Please, just sell us the bikes we've been asking for,

Suzuki tried with the B1250, they didn't sell.

Considering how well the CB1000 sold, can't say that I blame them for not bringing the 13 over.

In order for the Japanese to bring these bikes over, we have to buy them THE YEAR THEY COME OUT.

The sales numbers for these bikes say that most of the people that want these bikes are cheap cunt douchenozzles that don't put their money where their mouth is. Instead, they wait until the bikes have been sitting on dealer floors for 2 years before they make their purchase. Not a good formula for making money.

The numbers just aren't there for a large company to bother with niche motorcycles. Yamaha does it a little bit but unless Big Red wants to adopt the same kind of distribution model that Yam has with the Super Ten it simply isn't going to happen.

[KaceCoyote]

Originally Posted by AZbiker

Suzuki tried with the B1250, they didn't sell.

Considering how well the CB1000 sold, can't say that I blame them for not bringing the 13 over.

In order for the Japanese to bring these bikes over, we have to buy them THE YEAR THEY COME OUT.

The sales numbers for these bikes say that most of the people that want these bikes are cheap cunt douchenozzles that don't put their money where their mouth is. Instead, they wait until the bikes have been sitting on dealer floors for 2 years before they make their purchase. Not a good formula for making money.

The numbers just aren't there for a large company to bother with niche motorcycles. Yamaha does it a little bit but unless Big Red wants to adopt the same kind of distribution model that Yam has with the Super Ten it simply isn't going to happen.

I was thinking about this earlier today. Honda builds cars and things here, why dont they build bikes? Presumably that'd keep costs down, steal Harley's thunder to a degree and maybe with roots here their moto engineers would actually ride our roads and talk to our riders. I fear they just look through flip books with beautifully colored glossy charts and diagrams of demographics and lack any realistic understanding of the modern american motorcycle consumer.

It seems like every year they lose more ground, and they lose more hondas. Where is the modern "You meet the nicest people on a honda."

[AZbiker]

Originally Posted by KaceCoyote

I was thinking about this earlier today. Honda builds cars and things here, why dont they build bikes? Presumably that'd keep costs down, steal Harley's thunder to a degree and maybe with roots here their moto engineers would actually ride our roads and talk to our riders. I fear they just look through flip books with beautifully colored glossy charts and diagrams of demographics and lack any realistic understanding of the modern american motorcycle consumer.

It seems like every year they lose more ground, and they lose more hondas. Where is the modern "You meet the nicest people on a honda."

They built Goldwings, Valks, and I think Shadow 1100 ACEs here at the Marysville plant.

Plant was closed a few years ago.