Oh my, oh my oh my ....

[unixronin]

MCN just ran a sneakpeek story breaking the news on Honda's upcoming-for-2006 VFR1200XX.  190HP V5 based on the RC211V, traction control, ABS, linked braking, and who knows what else.  And decent two-up accomodations into the deal.  (Sure, the "Uncrashable?" headline is pure copywriter BS -- the bike hasn't been built yet that some retard can't wad, and probably never will.)

You may drool now.  But ration your drool carefully.  We won't be seeing it in showrooms until 2006.

Comments

[captoblivion.livejournal.com]

*SCHWINGGGG*

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Phwoar!

I gotta learn to ride. I'm an excellent pillion passenger, but _ooo_ would I like to get across something like this...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yup, it looks like being an impressive machine. I cannot recommend any 190HP motorcycle as a first bike for a new rider, though, unless it was someone I particularly wanted to see either kill themselves or scare themselves off motorcycles forever during their first week riding. Which is distinctly not the case, in your case.

Might I suggest a nice Kawasaki EX500 or Suzuki SV650? For that matter, in NZ I'll bet you can probably get the CBR400F, right?

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

As a learner rider I'd be restricted to 250 or under until I had a full licence.

One of the difficulties with me is that I'm _short_ -- a shade under 5' tall. I can't get anything too big or my feet won't reach the ground.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there was a Short Bikers' List in the Bay Area for ... um ... vertically challenged riders, most of whom were female. One of the consistent gripes on that list was "There's lots of nice low-seat-height models like the CBR400F and RVF400 available overseas, but the Japanese manufacturers won't bring them to the USA because they refuse to believe there's a worthwhile market for them here."

[bfudlmint.livejournal.com]

I agree "the bike hasn't been built yet that some retard can't wad"

This bike is uncrashable by virtue of not yet existing. As long as Honda continues with the current production numbers nobody will ever crash this bike.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, I sort of mentioned several times it was an upcoming new model planned for 2006.....

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

*Electronic* steering?? Ummmmmmno. Don't care if it is just a damper. Fly-by-wire has no biz on a cycle yet.

I have noticed that they've started putting something vaguely resembling highway bars on sport bikes. It's about damn time. That's been my big problem with sport bikes for forever now, is that there hasn't been anything to keep your legs from getting mangled if you drop the bike... a topic you know far far far too much about.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Electronic steering damper. I'll bet it's an electronically-controlled speed-sensitive steering damper -- magnetorheological, possibly. It sounds like a good way to get the best of both worlds of having and not having a steering damper, and let's face it -- there's enough electronics on amy modern bike anyway that you're already dead in the water if you lose the electronics.

[radarrider.livejournal.com]

Is it really a V5 engine, or is that a typo and it's a V4 or V6?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

The word is, it is a V5 derived from the RC211V engine. Stroked and detuned, I'm guessing.

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

Blech, linked braking.

-Ogre

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Someone on the NEDoD list found an article somewhere in which Honda said the 1200XX had "the most advanced brake system ever installed on a motorcycle". I'm willing to see what they're putting forward before I write it off. Frankly, I've always thought motorcycles need ABS much more than cars do, and I'll admit to thinking that the linked braking idea is mostly an issue of getting the implementation right.