Honda To Produce Four New Parallel Twin 750s, Including An ADV Bike: Report - Adventure Rider
For a while, we’ve known about Honda’s plans for the new Hornet, a naked […]
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More rumors of new Hondas....
- Thread starter Phil Tarman
- Start date
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DirtFlier
Site Supporter
I don't think the cylinder head, Fi & exhaust will be from the NC700/750 series of engines because those are tuned for torque and fuel economy but who knows? They can still use the bottom end and transmission and perhaps even the DCT?
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
At least to me, focusing mainly on the upper end of the market is not good for the long-term health of motorcycling. If you look at how Honda started in America, you can see the slow and gradual steps from small-to-large that took place over 10+ years. And it's obvious that the motorcycle consumer base badly needs a rebuild from the bottom.
Moto-Kafe
Site Supporter
Probably a smart move on Honda's part. The mid-sized market has been growing in the last few years. Possibly for those looking to down-size from monstrous GoldWings or other big and heavy touring machines. It also helps to grow Honda's DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) portfolio.
Mellow
Admin
It's Honda... don't believe a thing until you see it for sale on their website. 
mikesim
Site Supporter
The consumer base needs to rebuild it's purchasing base and riding skills base from the bottom up. When I first started riding, we started with small tiddlers and worked our way up through the ranks until we got to BIG 750's. There is an awful lot you learn in riding a smaller bike to start and mistakes made on a tiddler are usually less costly in dollars and road rash. My wife works at the local hospital in Radiology and keeps me informed as to the bike carnage she witnesses. I can't begin to count the number of riders she has treated that just bought their first motorcycle (usually a Harley) and crashed it on the way home from the dealer or within the first week of ownership. Just last week we were driving home from dinner in a neighboring town and over on the right shoulder of the road was a Harley in the ditch with the rider laying beside it. We stopped and offered assistance and other than some road rash and a bad case of the jitters he was unhurt. I helped him get the bike picked up. He said that he had just bought the bike ( his first!) and lived two blocks away. I asked him if he was OK to ride home and that we would follow him. He asked if we wouldn't mind giving him a ride home as he wasn't ready to hop back aboard again. We did, and the next day the bike was gone.
Mike
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
Too many new riders are "well-aged" and want an 800 pound monster as their first bike!
Even those who manage their first year without crashing never seem to improve their meager skills because they are so terrified of dropping their bike. It is well-proven that starting small then gradually working upwards is the best method. And the ultimate goal should be to find a bike size that is comfy for you, regardless of peer pressure to buy a Road King or Gold Wing, etc. Too many in the motorcycling community think of mid-size bikes as only a way station on their way to the top size.
Even those who manage their first year without crashing never seem to improve their meager skills because they are so terrified of dropping their bike. It is well-proven that starting small then gradually working upwards is the best method. And the ultimate goal should be to find a bike size that is comfy for you, regardless of peer pressure to buy a Road King or Gold Wing, etc. Too many in the motorcycling community think of mid-size bikes as only a way station on their way to the top size.
A friend of mine asked me what he should buy for his first bike. He said he sees how much fun I have going on long trips. I told him to find a 500-600cc bike, take a safety course, and get to know how to ride before considering anything else. He called about a week later and said he bought a new Honda CBR1000RR. 189 HP. He is so terrified of the bike that he asked me if I could ride it from his trailer into his garage when he got it home. I've asked him a few times now if he wants to go out, and the reply is always "I don't feel ready yet".
As my late mother used to say. "His eyes were bigger than his stomach."
Your friend bought into the hype and let his testosterone get the best of him.
There is a difference between respecting and fearing a motorcycle. Severe injury or death also is a motivating factor.
1976 and 21 yr old me walks into a Honda dealership, not 100% sure what I wanted, I just knew I wanted to get something and ride. Salesman comes over and chats me up. I feel I have experience, as I’ve ridden a Sears Allstate scooter since I was 16. (The scooter was not registered and I rode it sparingly and illegally on the street, and one day while seeing how fast it would go, I started to run out of room and braked hard on a patch of fine, loose gravel over pavement and went down hard.) So I finally decided on the CB750 and told the salesman. He just shook his head “no” and said no one in this dealership will sell me that bike, that I needed something smaller for now. I left the dealership on a CB360 twin, I rode it two years and went back and traded it for the CB550 Four because they were giving a great deal on leftovers at the time.. That salesman probably did me the favor of my life up to that point.
Who thinks nowadays that they would do that? I surely don’t think they would, they’d just take the $$$ on the larger, more expensive bike.
Funny, my first bike was a CB360 twin as well, a 1974 model, blue. I bought it used for $85. The camshaft chain had broken. I ordered the factory service manual, and it came a few days later... all 30 or so pages of it. A totally simple bike. Fixed it up and rode it like crazy. I'd have to clench my teeth to push the fillings back in after every ride. Man that thing shook.
Yeah, I couldn't believe my friend would drop $17,000 on a bike, not including tax, title, etc. The CBR is just sitting in his garage looking pretty but neglected.
Sometimes it is to just be able to say "Look at me, I have a cool sport bike in my garage"
I owned two CB360s, 1974 G, and 1975 T models. I had the first one, CB360G, when I was 16 years old. It was rough when I got it. I rode the hell out of it and into the ground. Then I sold it to a classmate, and he finished it off.
The second one, the CB360T, was quite shabby but complete. I restored it, rode it, modernized it, and owned it for nearly ten years. I sold it about six years ago.
It was a decent bike and applicable for the time it was created. It started becoming too quirky even with all my modernization to the bike. I had fun with it, and it was time to send it to someone else.
Pfft... I had a $21k 2015 Zero SR. No one bothered to bat an eyelash at it.
When I owned the NT, I really felt like I was getting away with something, because nobody ever noticed it when parked at a public place, and on the move it just blended in. The perfect bike for introverts like me.
Bear
2
My first bike was a 125cc Honda Dream (Wish I still had it) I then moved up to a 250cc NSU Special Max. I then decided that I needed more power and bought a 1954 Vincent. At age 19 that thing scared the hell out of me-- and I sold it. We are not supposed to scare at age 19 because we are invincible. I rode the NSU for ten years before I traded up to a 500cc BMW. The Vincent taught me that anything over 1000cc is not necessary as a solo machine. A sidecar rig, perhaps. Right now the absolute best "First Bike", in my humble opinion is a Honda Rebel.