damo1
25-01-2009, 08:48 AM
This is something i knocked up as a joke after riding the DNO1,What do you think?
Have you ever wondered why bother? For instance, things like lite beer, skim milk, diet yogurt, Soya milk just to name a few, that’s the impression I first got when I first heard about Hondas new DN01 a 700cc vtwin full automatic sports crusier.And yes you did read it right full automatic just like you scooter just "twist and go".
One of the first things you notice when you see this futuristic looking bike is that’s its very long and low looking it has beautiful lines flowing from front to back and every thing seems to have that Honda build quality to it that we have come to expect.
The engine is a liquid cooled,52 degree DOHC Vtwin making around 61hp and about 44kw.This is the same engine being used in the new Transalp and Deville except in an automatic CVT veriant as appossed to the manual gear boxed version.
It has PGM-FI electronic fuel injection for fueling this baby up,but a smallish tank at only 15.1ltrs (Including a 3ltr LCD-indicated reserve).
This bit is the killer bite for this bike.It has a full automatic transmission,it's written up by Honda like this-"HFT (Continuously Variable Transmission)" or in laymans terms "CVT", the same as your average scooter.
Its a big girl with a kerb wieght of 270kg,but it does carry it very low down which makes for a low center of gravity.
LOOKS
I must admit when I first saw this bike it did nothing for me at all in pictures but in real life it really did make a big impact .
This is a bike that draws attention to itself no matter where you go or where you stop.It always draws a crowd and constant stares from every body, not from just other bike riders but the general public as well.It is very distinctive and very space age in its looks and this makes it very unique.One thing I noticed quite a bit when riding this bike in traffic is that cars in the lanes next to you made a habit of stopping big distances back from the vehicles in front just to get a better look at this bike while it is standing still.
This bike is something that has come from far left field in looks and also the mechanical department but this isn’t the first time Honda has dabbled with an automatic(?), large capacity motorcycle if you're old enough to remember the early to mid 80s.Unfortuatly that era of autos did not really take off.So will this bike be the next big technological breakthrough for the motorcycle industry??.Only time will tell.
The bike is very long and low looking and it really does have a very tough and tasty looking stance to it.The wheel base is 1605mm which points at slower steering than your average sports bike.Up front it has very tough looking dimensions and the head lights are styled aggressively to suit the over look of the bike.From the rear it is very much the same as the front, it gives off a fat wide look.From the side it looks very stylish with its single sided swing arm and very attractive rear wheel and flowwing body lines it all helps to make this bike look very different from the norm.
RIDE IMPRESSION
Throwing a leg over the DN01 proves one thing.It is as low as it looks with a seat height of only 690mm and it will suit those who are vertically challenged.As I got settled for ignition on this unique machine it is apparent straight away this aint going to be an average ride as there was no clutch lever, it was missing off the bars, and there’s no gear change lever at your left toe to worry about either.All gear selection and changes are taken care of by a number of switches at the bars on the normal looking and simple switch blocks on both the left and right sides of the bike.
The bars come sweeping right back to you from what seems like a long way away, the foot boards are very cruiser like and the rear brake lever is big and very in your face so its very easy find with your foot to use.
Starting was easy, just thumb the usual business button and the Vtwin fires up easily and at idle just purrs away as you would expect from this mid size Vtwin.
Putting the bike into gear is simple by just selecting D/S/or manual mode it is all your choice depending on the riding that you wish to do.
The three modes pretty much go like this "D" is just simply full auto for around town or cruising the freeway mode "S" is a sport mode of the auto function and it just seems to hold gears longer and let it build more revs in between changes,for quicker riding in the mountains with lots of long sweepers and my personal favorite,"full manual mode", in this mode you have a six speed box that you can hold gears right through to red line and also even rev on the down change, in between shifting, this mode is good for chasing your mates or going for that very spirited ride through some tighter twistier terrain.The shifting of gears is all taken care of via that left hand switch block toggle switch. If you have ever ridden a electronic gear changing quad bike its very similar toggle up to change up and toggle down to change down, simple!
What is very interesting is that you hardly even notice the changes when in auto mode and it makes for a very relaxing ride in traffic without having to deal with a clutch.When accelerating it reminded me of a big scooter, in that it just seemed to make more revs and move along quicker.
I would say that it accelerated quickly but not blindingly.It is more than capable at winning the red light drag against most 4 wheelers other than the most high performance ones.
I got the chance to ride the DN01 for a couple of hundred ks north of Newcastle on some very nice roads with plenty of twisting and undulating type tarmac thgrough the mountains and it was a great place to test ride this bike.
Its quite obvious that this bike is going to be suited to long stints in the saddle as it is very comfortable for my 6 foot build.The screen worked well at keeping some of the wind blast away but it wouldn’t give you much protection from the rain. I found that it did seem to perform better when travelling at speeds of around 100-110kph when left in fifth gear to keep the engine right in the fatter part of the torque curve for best results when exiting curves under hard acceleration.
CHASSIS
The ride was plush and coped well on rough and very bumpy roads.It carries conventional forks up front and single shock down the back connected to a single sided swing arm with a shaft drive. Braking is taken care of with twin 296mm rotors and down the back is a 276mm rotor, both are linked to a Honda combined braking system and also ABS, I did a number of front brake ABS activated stops in a controlled environment and it seemed to cope quite well.But like other bikes ive ridden when using the ABS system it did seem to jack hammer a bit during the prosess,rather than be nice and progressive in its action.
THE WRAP UP
This is a bike that I had seriously doubted and was not very interested in when I first heard about it , but after sampling it I have completely changed my opinion.
It looks hot as, in real life, it’s a dream to ride in traffic for long periods of time.Its low center of gravity makes it very easy to move around for the shortest amongst us.It goes reasonably well when pushed and it is comfortable for long periods in the saddle.Although it wont be as long as some might like with only that 15ltr tank.
I really can’t imagine what Honda was thinking, releasing a bike like this to the general public.It’s usually something that you see at a bike show that everybody loved and then its never seen again.But I can tell you I defiantly have a soft spot for the DN01 after sampling it.
The only real killer blow for this bike that i can see may be the price tag at a wooping, at the moment around $18,300 on the road its a bit pricy.
It is a great bike.So if you are into something a little different, i recomend going and having a test ride to see for yourself how good it is.
So really i quess the question you just need to ask your self is "do i want lite beer or full strength"? Its your call!
Enjoy your riding. Damo
Have you ever wondered why bother? For instance, things like lite beer, skim milk, diet yogurt, Soya milk just to name a few, that’s the impression I first got when I first heard about Hondas new DN01 a 700cc vtwin full automatic sports crusier.And yes you did read it right full automatic just like you scooter just "twist and go".
One of the first things you notice when you see this futuristic looking bike is that’s its very long and low looking it has beautiful lines flowing from front to back and every thing seems to have that Honda build quality to it that we have come to expect.
The engine is a liquid cooled,52 degree DOHC Vtwin making around 61hp and about 44kw.This is the same engine being used in the new Transalp and Deville except in an automatic CVT veriant as appossed to the manual gear boxed version.
It has PGM-FI electronic fuel injection for fueling this baby up,but a smallish tank at only 15.1ltrs (Including a 3ltr LCD-indicated reserve).
This bit is the killer bite for this bike.It has a full automatic transmission,it's written up by Honda like this-"HFT (Continuously Variable Transmission)" or in laymans terms "CVT", the same as your average scooter.
Its a big girl with a kerb wieght of 270kg,but it does carry it very low down which makes for a low center of gravity.
LOOKS
I must admit when I first saw this bike it did nothing for me at all in pictures but in real life it really did make a big impact .
This is a bike that draws attention to itself no matter where you go or where you stop.It always draws a crowd and constant stares from every body, not from just other bike riders but the general public as well.It is very distinctive and very space age in its looks and this makes it very unique.One thing I noticed quite a bit when riding this bike in traffic is that cars in the lanes next to you made a habit of stopping big distances back from the vehicles in front just to get a better look at this bike while it is standing still.
This bike is something that has come from far left field in looks and also the mechanical department but this isn’t the first time Honda has dabbled with an automatic(?), large capacity motorcycle if you're old enough to remember the early to mid 80s.Unfortuatly that era of autos did not really take off.So will this bike be the next big technological breakthrough for the motorcycle industry??.Only time will tell.
The bike is very long and low looking and it really does have a very tough and tasty looking stance to it.The wheel base is 1605mm which points at slower steering than your average sports bike.Up front it has very tough looking dimensions and the head lights are styled aggressively to suit the over look of the bike.From the rear it is very much the same as the front, it gives off a fat wide look.From the side it looks very stylish with its single sided swing arm and very attractive rear wheel and flowwing body lines it all helps to make this bike look very different from the norm.
RIDE IMPRESSION
Throwing a leg over the DN01 proves one thing.It is as low as it looks with a seat height of only 690mm and it will suit those who are vertically challenged.As I got settled for ignition on this unique machine it is apparent straight away this aint going to be an average ride as there was no clutch lever, it was missing off the bars, and there’s no gear change lever at your left toe to worry about either.All gear selection and changes are taken care of by a number of switches at the bars on the normal looking and simple switch blocks on both the left and right sides of the bike.
The bars come sweeping right back to you from what seems like a long way away, the foot boards are very cruiser like and the rear brake lever is big and very in your face so its very easy find with your foot to use.
Starting was easy, just thumb the usual business button and the Vtwin fires up easily and at idle just purrs away as you would expect from this mid size Vtwin.
Putting the bike into gear is simple by just selecting D/S/or manual mode it is all your choice depending on the riding that you wish to do.
The three modes pretty much go like this "D" is just simply full auto for around town or cruising the freeway mode "S" is a sport mode of the auto function and it just seems to hold gears longer and let it build more revs in between changes,for quicker riding in the mountains with lots of long sweepers and my personal favorite,"full manual mode", in this mode you have a six speed box that you can hold gears right through to red line and also even rev on the down change, in between shifting, this mode is good for chasing your mates or going for that very spirited ride through some tighter twistier terrain.The shifting of gears is all taken care of via that left hand switch block toggle switch. If you have ever ridden a electronic gear changing quad bike its very similar toggle up to change up and toggle down to change down, simple!
What is very interesting is that you hardly even notice the changes when in auto mode and it makes for a very relaxing ride in traffic without having to deal with a clutch.When accelerating it reminded me of a big scooter, in that it just seemed to make more revs and move along quicker.
I would say that it accelerated quickly but not blindingly.It is more than capable at winning the red light drag against most 4 wheelers other than the most high performance ones.
I got the chance to ride the DN01 for a couple of hundred ks north of Newcastle on some very nice roads with plenty of twisting and undulating type tarmac thgrough the mountains and it was a great place to test ride this bike.
Its quite obvious that this bike is going to be suited to long stints in the saddle as it is very comfortable for my 6 foot build.The screen worked well at keeping some of the wind blast away but it wouldn’t give you much protection from the rain. I found that it did seem to perform better when travelling at speeds of around 100-110kph when left in fifth gear to keep the engine right in the fatter part of the torque curve for best results when exiting curves under hard acceleration.
CHASSIS
The ride was plush and coped well on rough and very bumpy roads.It carries conventional forks up front and single shock down the back connected to a single sided swing arm with a shaft drive. Braking is taken care of with twin 296mm rotors and down the back is a 276mm rotor, both are linked to a Honda combined braking system and also ABS, I did a number of front brake ABS activated stops in a controlled environment and it seemed to cope quite well.But like other bikes ive ridden when using the ABS system it did seem to jack hammer a bit during the prosess,rather than be nice and progressive in its action.
THE WRAP UP
This is a bike that I had seriously doubted and was not very interested in when I first heard about it , but after sampling it I have completely changed my opinion.
It looks hot as, in real life, it’s a dream to ride in traffic for long periods of time.Its low center of gravity makes it very easy to move around for the shortest amongst us.It goes reasonably well when pushed and it is comfortable for long periods in the saddle.Although it wont be as long as some might like with only that 15ltr tank.
I really can’t imagine what Honda was thinking, releasing a bike like this to the general public.It’s usually something that you see at a bike show that everybody loved and then its never seen again.But I can tell you I defiantly have a soft spot for the DN01 after sampling it.
The only real killer blow for this bike that i can see may be the price tag at a wooping, at the moment around $18,300 on the road its a bit pricy.
It is a great bike.So if you are into something a little different, i recomend going and having a test ride to see for yourself how good it is.
So really i quess the question you just need to ask your self is "do i want lite beer or full strength"? Its your call!
Enjoy your riding. Damo