Honda motorcycles UK

Back in April I wrote 'Honda - identity crisis?' where I mused over the direction (or apparent lack of it) in Honda's motorcycle products. As an outsider but motorcycle enthusiast who has owned a few of their products (400/4, CB360T, ST70, NT650V Deauville and XL700VA) and ridden several more (several 1970's 750s, CX500 & 650, XL650, an early Fireblade, GL1200 & GL1500 to name a few) I was concerned that Honda was churning out motorcycles that had little or no relevance to motorcycle riders (their potential customers) like myself. These included the VFR1200, DN-01 and NC700 and Integra. These all appeared to have an identity crisis, were (respectively) too thirsty with a small tank; trying too hard to be both scooter and motorbike; a step in the right direction, the right idea but not enough of a motorbike and lacking in power; simply quirky scooter come motorbike.

So having today been to the Motorcycle Live event at the NEC - how do I feel today. In a word, encouraged. I got to have a long chat with one of their representatives on Honda's large stand in Hall 4. It seems I wasn't the only one concerned with the state of the Honda model line-up, that concern went all the way to the top of Honda in Japan which is why we have seen an extensive revamp and the release of so many new models over the last 12 - 18 months. The VFR1200 has been given a sports touring focus and as such is finding favour and buyers after getting some much needed updates (including a bigger fuel tank). Today we saw (but could not sit on) the NC750 range which is the much needed update to the NC700 range with 75cc and 5bhp more than the outgoing model. With other tweaks Honda has now made the NC750 an attractive range, the NC700X taking up the slot in the model range that used to be the XL700 Transalp. No, there isn't a direct replacement for the NT700V Deauville, but the Integra with full touring package strangely looks the business.


Honda NC750X inherits the mantle left by the XL700 Transalp - I like this bike but we were not allowed to sit on it although visible evidence revealed that some had!

Honda today displayed a model range that starts at 50cc and goes all the way through to 1800cc that shows a progression for buyers moving up or trading down, for those that want to focus on a type or style that suits them and their needs. There are still some weird inclusions (like the newly announced CTX models) but that is typical Honda. Importantly Honda have moved away from their fixation with sports bikes as the UK market for those machines continues to shrink and have introduced bikes that will be attractive to new and young riders.