Ride With Tank

Normally I don’t say too much about new models and gear because this site is about riding, not hardware.  We are in the dead of winter now so I can’t really talk about riding so here is my impressions of some of the new models on display this year.

First off we have the 2010 Honda Fury.

If you are into the chopper thing I suppose it is a nice looking machine, but I am not sure people are all that into choppers anymore.

This bike is all about the looks, but I suspect the people they are hoping will buy will remain with Harley.  Honda keeps trying to sell Hondas to Harley riders.  The people who buy these bikes don’t want shaft drive and they don’t want water cooling.  They want pushrods.  They want the bike to say “potato”.  Those who do buy a Fury are going to be mighty disappointed when they replace that ugly exhaust system and find out this thing sounds like a Honda.  The type of person who buys a bike like this values the sound the bike makes almost as much as the chrome.

I am labeling this as a FAIL.  I can see no reason why anybody would choose to buy this motorcycle, and I believe that those who do will always wish they were on a Harley.

Since we are in the Honda we might as well talk about the DN-01.  I have to say it is an interesting machine.

There did seem to be a lot of interest in this bike, and I think Honda might be on to something here.

I think there is a demand for a sporty motorcycle that can be ridden by short folks.  As it is right now you have to be fairly tall to touch the ground on anything that is not a cruiser, and a lot of people are riding cruisers just so they can touch the ground.

I don’t think this quite fits that bill, but I am not even sure that is where Honda is aiming with this bike.  This bike seems to cater to the sport bike crowd and the new rider crowd,  and this may be its downfall.  The problem is that $15,000 is too expensive for a learner, and an automatic transmission is way too “beginner rider” for someone looking for sport.

By the time a new rider wants to get around the performance limitations of a cruiser they should be well over their fear of the clutch and will not want an automatic, so I have to rate this as a FAIL as well.

Take this back to engineering, loose the automatic transmission and $5,000 off the price.  Add shaft drive, more ground clearance, and saddlebags.  What you would have is a sport touring bike for short people and I think they would sell a bunch of them.