2017 DUCATI SUPERSPORT & SUPERSPORT S

Transcription

1 QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 32 LEADERBOARD 120 FIRST TEST 2017 DUCATI SUPERSPORT & SUPERSPORT S Super Stylin

2 VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 TORONTO SUPERCROSS SUPER TOMAC BIG BUCK GNCC IT S ON! ALSO.. OSET TEST: KIDS TAKE CHARGE HONDA VFR1200X TEST: LIVIN THE LIFE GLEN HELEN BIG 6 GRAND PRIX INDONESIA MXGP ALL THINGS HUSQVARNA ARCHIVES: SUMMER OF 69

3 IN THE WIND P32 PHOTOGRAPHY BY FUTURE7MEDIA GOMEZ WINS SPAIN SUPERENDURO, HAAKER THIRD American Colton Haaker (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) survived a tough night at the office at the penultimate round of the FIM Maxxis SuperEnduro World Championship in Spain, March 4, to emerge with his points lead still intact. Admitting to being off form, Haaker ended his night third overall behind the KTM duo of Alfredo Gomez and Jonny Walker, but still heads to the final round of the season will an 11-point cushion over Gomez in second. It was a bit of a rough night for me, admitted Haaker. I did my best to salvage what I could but it certainly didn t go the way I hoped it would. It s hard to say exactly why things didn t go so well for me I m normally fine on a more trials-like track like this one. But third at the end of a not-so-great-night isn t too bad at all. I m still leading the championship with one round to go. I ll work hard during the next two weeks and be ready for the final in France. Alfredo Gomez won the SuperEnduro round in his home country of Spain. With the series picking up speed again following a sixweek break since round two in Germany in early January, all eyes were on the defending champion Haaker to see if he could make it two clean sweeps in a row. But faced with a motivated Gomez on home turf, and a track that was brutal in most places, it proved a long night for Haaker.

4 VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P33 Laying down the fastest lap in the Akrapovic SuperPole, Walker, too, was keen to show he meant business having stepped up to the KTM 350 EXC-F for Spain. When the gate dropped in race one, Haaker got out front quickly. But with pressure coming from behind and the nasty rock garden corner grabbing his front wheel, he hit the deck allowing Walker and Gomez to escape, with the win falling Walker s way. The reversed start for race two again saw the trio hit the front almost immediately, this time Gomez held the advantage going on to take the win, while Haaker rode steady for second. In the third and final race more mistakes cost Haaker a shot at a race win forcing him to settle for third and ultimately third overall. I m glad to come away from that one without too much damage, Haaker said. I felt off tonight, granted the track was a bit of a beast but I should have been on it better. We ve had bad weather in California. I ve haven t ridden enough SuperEnduro. [I ve been riding] snow bikes and extreme stuff and two-strokes. I ve got two weeks to prep for the final round to come back stronger. The SuperEnduro series concludes in France on March 18 for the fourth and final round. CN OVERALL 1. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 3. Colton Haaker (Hus) 4. Mario Roman (Shr) 5. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 6. Xavier Leon (Hus) 7. Pascal Rauchenecker (Hus) 8. Jose Maria Juan Bernabeu (Bet) 9. Aurelien Addesso (Bet) 10. Eloi Salsench (Bet) Defending champ Colton Haaker was third overall but he still maintains the points lead with one round to go.

5 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS P56 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD BY STEVE COX PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOPPENWORLD.COM All any racer wants in a championship chase is to know what it is that they have to do to win the title without the word and included. You have to win, and that guy has to finish fourth or worse. The and is the problem. Racers can only control themselves, and they want to control their own destiny all they have to do is this and that s all it takes. Right now, at this point, Monster Energy Kawasaki s Eli Tomac controls his own destiny. But so does Red Bull KTM s Ryan Dungey. In Toronto, Tomac scored his fourth win in the last six races. One of the two races he lost in that stretch was because of front-brake malfunction, and the other was due to a poor start that left him with a runner-up finish to Dungey, who led from the beginning of the race. As it sits now, Tomac trails Dungey by 24 points with eight rounds left to run. Winning a main event awards a racer three points more than finishing second does. As of now, Tomac needs help from nobody else to win the championship. All he needs to do is win all eight of the remaining races, and if Dungey manages to finish second every single time, the two will tie on points, with the tiebreaker going to the man with the most wins on the season. That would be Tomac. CONTROL Eli Tomac was back to his now-usual self at the Toronto Supercross. He got out front early and pulled away.

6 CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P57 LING DESTINY FOR NOW, ELI TOMAC DICTATES HIS OWN PATH TO THE SX CROWN.

7 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS P58 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD However, the same is true for Dungey. All he has to do is defeat Tomac one time and never finish worse than second place and the championship is his no matter what Tomac does. Is this how the championship will play out? Probably not. But the point is that neither racer needs help from anybody else to win this championship as of today, and only one of them will actually do it. In the 250SX East main, Zach Osborne, riding a wave of momentum following his first career victory a week ago, won again in what was another solid performance to increase his points lead in the championship. Adam Cianciarulo got on the podium for the first time since 2015, and Christian Craig also returned to the podium after a lengthy hiatus. 450SX There just doesn t seem to be anything that can stop Eli Tomac right now. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider has been on an absolute tear, and if not for a mechanical problem in Atlanta, he d be nipping at points leader Ryan Dungey s heels right now. In Toronto, Tomac once again qualified the quickest, and this time he led every single lap in the 450SX main event on his way to the win. Actually, the main event was a carbon copy of last weekend s race in Atlanta, except in reverse. This time Tomac got out front early and began pulling away, while Red Bull KTM s defending champ Dungey started midpack and had to work his way forward. As Tomac pulled away, Rocky Mountain ATV-MC KTM s Blake Baggett ran 450SX Toronto Highlights A chance for another win for Ryan Dungey was quickly erased by a bad start. He still rode well and got up to second place.

8 PHOTOGRAPHY BY KTM IMAGES/SIMON CUDBY CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P59

9 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS P60 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD second in front of RCH Suzuki s Broc Tickle, Baggett s teammate Davi Millsaps, Ride365 Suzuki s Malcolm Stewart, and heat-one winner Chad Reed (Factory Yamaha). Then came Honda s Cole Seely, Dungey s teammate Marvin Musquin and then Dungey in ninth to round out lap one. Dungey worked his way by Reed for fifth on lap six, then went to work on Baggett for fourth as Millsaps fell, moving Baggett back up to third, behind Tickle and Tomac. Dungey made the pass stick for third on lap 12, and then set out after Tickle, eventually catching and passing the Suzuki pilot five laps later. But by then, the race for the win was well over, as Tomac took the checkers ahead of Dungey, Tickle, Reed, Baggett, Seely, Millsaps, and the rest of the field. I definitely didn t make it easy on myself, Dungey said. Man, the start was terrible. I don t even know where I squeaked out. From there, just tried to pick as many guys off as I could. It s so everybody just hitting each other in the pack. I got slammed a couple times. I m lucky I didn t A lot of people were happy to see Broc Tickle (20) get on the 450SX podium for the first time.

10 CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P61 go down. But thankfully I was able to make some passes. I got through the track pretty good. I could see where Eli was. He had a good lead and so I was just monitoring him and where he was at, but we were right there where we needed to be. Just the start killed us in the beginning. Overall I can t be bummed with tonight. We did some good damage control. Thankfully we didn t go down, we were able to have a good run and we re safe. Tickle was elated with his first-ever 450SX podium, which happened to be the same venue where he got his first podium in the 250SX class many years ago. It all started with the start, Tickle said. I ve been working really hard. This whole off-season has been awesome with the whole RCH Yoshimura Team and been just getting up there in the front the first couple laps. I did it tonight and hung in there for the whole race. I m not going to lie, there at the end, I was struggling, riding tight. Dungey passed me, I got in behind him and got a flow going again.

11 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS P62 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD

12 CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P63 Second place in points coming into Toronto, Marvin Musquin finished a dismal 13th. He had been suffering from the flu all week, and that allowed Tomac to move past him in points. When asked if he anticipated having won four races at this point in the season, Tomac hesitated, then stated honestly: You know what? Actually, yeah! Tomac said. We had such good preparation this year. We didn t get it right away, but now we have it, so it s cool to have it rolling. This track was a night of survival. It was really tough. It just had some areas that could come up and bite you. My goal was to get a start and get out there and do it. We ll try to do it again next week. Next week is Daytona. Tomac has won that race the last two years. Chad Reed made a few passes to finish fourth.

13 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS P64 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD Zach Osborne celebrates his second straight 250SX East victory. PHOTOGRAPHY BY HUSQVARNA IMAGES

14 CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P65 It s been a while since we ve seen Adam Cianciarulo on the podium. He rode well and was rewarded with second in the 250SX East main. 250SX EAST Rockstar Energy Husqvarna s Zach Osborne has been the fastest guy on the track in the 250SX Eastern Regional Supercross Championship since the series kicked off three weeks ago in Minneapolis, but round one didn t go his way. Mistakes and crashes cost him, relegating him to third in the race. Since then, though, Osborne has been unstoppable, winning the last two main events and taking a firm grasp on the championship points lead. Heat-one winner Dylan Ferrandis (Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha) took the early lead in the 250SX main event just in front of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki s round-one winner Joey Savatgy and Osborne, who sneaked into third in the early going. Ferrandis led the first four laps before the Savatgy/Osborne freight train came through to the lead, and then Ferrandis fell a lap later, remounting in sixth. Out front, Osborne went to work on Savatgy, eventually finding his way by on lap seven and then setting sail while Savatgy s teammate Adam Cianciarulo began working his way up to Savatgy s rear wheel. With three laps to go, Savatgy crashed in the track s tricky rhythm section, handing second to Cianciarulo, third to Geico Honda s Christian Craig, and fourth to Ferrandis teammate Colt Nichols. Remounting fifth, Savatgy then came under attack from Ferrandis again, who snuck by him on the final lap for fifth. Osborne took the win with almost 10 seconds to spare over Cianciarulo, followed by Craig, Nichols, Ferrandis, Savatgy, TLD/Red Bull KTM s Jordon Smith, and JGR Suzuki s Kyle Peters. Craig had mixed feelings about being on the podium in Toronto. On one hand, it s a big

15 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES P66 Christian Craig, third in the 250SX East main, was another one who hadn t seen the podium for a while. 250SX East Toronto Highlights improvement, but on the other, he expected to be winning by this point of the championship. I d say I rode to my abilities really bad, Craig said. I just locked up. The first two rounds have been terrible for me. I crashed last week and wasn t even able to race, so to be here, I m thankful to even just be lining up. Just put myself in a good place and then two mistakes by some riders and I went to third, so I ll take it. You ve got to have some luck on your side also. It s something to build off of for next week. I m happy to be back up here. It s been over a year, so it s nice. Cianciarulo scored his best finish of the year, but he didn t really take credit for it. It s definitely a good step for me, Cianciarulo said. As far as the validation goes, I was kind of handed second place, to be honest, when Joey fell in the rhythm there with a few laps to go. I didn t feel too comfortable with the track tonight. I kept kind of washing the front end and just not feeling too confident in myself in the corners, so I was happy to ride it in for second place. I definitely think I have a lot of things to work on, but like I said, it s good to get up here on the box, get the new season started of well and carry this momentum into the next race. Osborne now leads the championship by 12 points over Savatgy with six rounds left to run. It s his title to lose at this point. I made some big changes in

16 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS Briefly... Many of the racers will tell you that the tracks have been absolutely brutal so far in 2017, and there s no end to that trend in sight at the moment. While changing the race format for this year to timed races rather than basing race lengths on lap counts seemed like a no-brainer for TV, track design, and so many other reasons, one perhaps unforeseen consequence is that the tracks get much, much more beat up due to the higher volume of laps, especially on tracks with short lap times. The track in Toronto was no exception. We could tell as soon as we went on the track walk it was going to be the way it was in the night show, just broken down and more of a survival race in jumping the jumps and making sure you re clean every lap, rather than burning heaters for 20 minutes, 250SX winner Zach Osborne said. For me, it was kind of just another day. Like it s gnarly at the tracks we ride with the 450 guys; everyday it breaks down. I think that s really helped me this year with bike setup and confidence when it gets the worst in the main. I think that s been one of the biggest benefits to being there. RCH Suzuki s Broc Tickle was pumped to get his first podium in Toronto, and he expects more of that from here on out. I ve been with the team ever since they started, so it s been awesome, Tickle said. We ve made progress every year and it s been really good. I got two podiums last year in outdoors and that was awesome, then I got hurt unfortunately. But the whole off-season, like I said, was the best we ve ever had as a team. We put in a lot of work and finally now it s showing. I m stoked MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES and happy to be where I m at. Things got heated for Broc Tickle and fellow Suzuki pilot, JGR s Justin Barcia, in their heat race in Toronto. Neither made the main event out of the race, as Tickle only managed fifth and Barcia sixth, but they don t call Barcia Bam Bam for nothing. After the heat race, Tickle and Barcia reportedly had words, after which Tickle reportedly took a swing at Barcia. It s unclear if he connected or not, but the FIM fined him and gave him last gate pick on the starting gate for semi two, which Tickle won. Considering Jason Anderson was DQ d from round three in Anaheim for hitting Vince Friese on the helmet, we re going to go ahead and believe Tickle failed to connect with his haymaker, as surely the FIM would ve DQ d him if he had. Right? Speaking of Jason Anderson, the first turn was less of a turn and more of a chicane with a quick jog to the left followed immediately by a hard turn to the right. Somewhere during the start of the 450SX main event, Anderson locked up with another racer whose footpeg apparently made quick work of Anderson s rear spokes. He was forced to pit for a new rear wheel and could only manage 19th place, two laps down from the leaders. Bad luck continued for Red Bull KTM s Trey Canard in Toronto when he went down in the first timed practice session and hit his head. He sat out the rest of the night, but will likely be back in action in Daytona, providing he passes the appropriate tests in the AMA s concussion protocol. cont. on page 70 P68 the off-season to my training, Osborne said. I moved to Florida to train with Aldon Baker. Just riding with those three 450 guys [Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin and Jason Anderson] everyday has been one of the toughest things I ve ever had to deal with. Just getting my butt handed to me on a daily basis, it s a big ol slice of humble pie every time we go out. I just try to take my knocks during the week and know that on the weekends I m going to be good enough and fit enough. It s an unreal feeling. CN 450SX Main 1. Eli Tomac (Kaw) 2. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 3. Broc Tickle (Suz) 4. Chad Reed (Yam) 5. Blake Baggett (KTM) 6. Cole Seely (Hon) 7. Davi Millsaps (KTM) 8. Dean Wilson (Hus) 9. Justin Barcia (Suz) 10. Justin Brayton (Hon) 250SX East Main 1. Zach Osborne (Hus) 2. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw) 3. Christian Craig (Hon) 4. Colt Nichols (Yam) 5. Dylan Ferrandis (Yam) 6. Joey Savatgy (Kaw) 7. Jordon Smith (KTM) 8. Kyle Peters (Suz) 9. Cameron Mcadoo (Hon) 10. Anthony Rodriguez (Yam)

17 ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES P70 My Own Race: 17 JOEY SAVATGY 6TH 250SX EAST Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki s Joey Savatgy was fast in Toronto. He qualified third, and he got the holeshot in the main event before settling in for second behind Zach Osborne, but he came up short on the quad in the rhythm section and went down. The biggest thing I need to do is to minimize mistakes, Savatgy said. It s frustrating because I feel like we re prepared and we come in ready. I m really looking forward to a little redemption next week. 36 ADAM CIANCIARULO 2ND 250SX EAST The last time Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki s Adam Cianciarulo raced in Toronto was in That year, he was leading the 250cc East coming in to the race, but left injured with his season over. This year, he stayed off the dirt and managed a solid second place after his teammate Savatgy went down. I ve definitely been through a lot to get back here [on the podium], said Cianciarulo. This is a really good step for me. It was a night where I didn t necessarily feel my best so I m happy with the end result. I ve gone through a lot to get back here so I m stoked and thankful to be here. 31 RJ HAMPSHIRE 14TH 250SX EAST It was an up-and-down night for the Geico Honda Team with Christian Craig finishing out the night on the podium, but it looks like his teammate is going to sit out the rest of the SX season with an injury suffered in Toronto, despite finishing 14th in the main. My start in the main wasn t the best, so as always, it makes everything more challenging, Hampshire said. I think I was seventh on the last lap when I came up short on the rhythm section and went down. I knew something had happened to my leg but didn t know how bad, so I got up and was able to finish in 14th. I went to the doctor [Sunday] and found out I fractured my lower tib and fib [tibia and fibula]. Looks like I won t need surgery and should hopefully be back within eight weeks or so. 33 JOSH GRANT 11TH 450SX A 15th-place start did not help Josh Grant (Monster Energy Kawasaki) at all. Tonight was intense, said Grant. The track really broke down throughout the main, so it was important to try and stay consistent lap by lap. I had some ups and downs tonight but I moved forward from where I started in the main event and I ll take that and build off it for the next one. 1 RYAN DUNGEY 2ND 450SX Ryan Dungey said of his race that started in the middle of the pack: I just tried to not get ahead of myself and pick off as many guys as I could. I just tried to keep hitting my marks, not make any big mistakes and I didn t for the most part. I hit my lines good and the bike felt good as well. The track deteriorated fast but before I knew it I found myself in fifth. I was really happy with the night and the ride but it would have been better with a start. 15 DEAN WILSON 8TH 450SX I got another top-10, said Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) of his eighth-place ride. That s where I m supposed to be. The day was okay. I m just not really stoked on my riding. My qualifying time was good I was fourth. I mean my speed is good, but doing it in the race is what counts. I just got really tight out there and was in survival mode. It s a little disappointing because I ve beat guys that have already gotten podiums, and I want to be up there. It s just a building season for me, so I ve just got to learn from it and have a good week. 21 JASON ANDERSON 19TH 450SX It was a terrible outcome for Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who was forced to replace a wheel during the main. My night was going pretty well, said Anderson. My heat race was good, and I was riding fast. I was in third at the start of the main, but another rider s footpeg got stuck in my spokes and ripped them all out and bent my rotor. I swapped my front wheel after that, but then I got hit again and it messed my bike up even more. I m just going to focus on next week s race in Daytona.

18 FULL TEST 2016 HONDA VFR1200X P102 Life s An Adventure EVERY DAY, LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE, NOT JUST ON THE WEEKENDS, SO WE WANTED TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE LIVING LIFE ON ONE OF HONDA S NEWEST ADVENTURE BIKES THE VFR1200X STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER AND DREW RUIZ In May, 2016, the VFR1200X made its unceremonious debut in the United States. Known as the Crosstourer in other parts of the world, the VFR1200X first rolled off Honda s assembly line in 2012 after being announced at the EICMA Show in Four years later, we finally get it in pretty much the same dress since its everywhere-buthere introduction in I used the word unceremonious when the bike first touched U.S. soil back in May, because Honda did little to hype the VFR1200X. That s because they wetre busying hyping another motorcycle at the time, the Africa Twin.

19 VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P103 This adventure bike likes to seek out long and twisty back roads and the occasional fireroad (as long as there are no bumps or soft sand).

20 FULL TEST 2016 HONDA VFR1200X P104 In fact, the first time I laid eyes on the VFR was at Honda s Africa Twin world media launch in Moab; Honda had one on hand for us to ride in between stints on the Africa Twin. Unfortunately, I didn t get the chance to ride the VFR, instead opting to spend every single riding moment in Moab on the Africa Twin, after all, that s the bike that I came to test. There would be opportunities to ride the VFR later I rationalized, so I stayed focused on the AT. As it turned out, I was more than right about having my opportunities to ride the VFR. Honda not only gave me the Honda found good use for the VFR1200F engine, which has been re-tuned for improved bottom-tomid performance for the X. opportunity to ride it but also the opportunity to actually live with it and spend months on it riding in the real world. The VFR1200X I rode was a 2016 model, but it returns in 2017 as the exact same motorcycle, except for color. It now comes in red instead of black. Honda markets that VFR1200X as an adventuretouring motorcycle, because it s capable of going both onand off-road. It s powered by a 1237cc, 76-degree Unicam V4 engine that was previously used in the VFR1200F, which Honda recently quit selling here in the U.S. In the X, the engine has been retuned for more bottomend and midrange performance. The VFR1200X is available with a six-speed manual transmission or, here is the exciting part, with Honda s Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) system, also known in simpler terms as automatic transmission. I chose the DCT model. Why? Well, why not? I already know what it s like riding a manual-shift bike, I ve been doing that for 40-plus years; I ve ridden auto bikes before, sure, but never for any real length of time. So, part of the curiosity for me in this test was: what s it like living with an auto-bike? I found out that it s actually quite nice!

21 FULL TEST 2016 HONDA VFR1200X One of my first experiences on the VFR1200X was a sun-up to sun-down ride from Southern California to Central California, nearly all of it on back-country (aka twisty) roads. It was a large group ride and later that evening, many of my riding companions (some of them a few years younger than me) commented over dinner how tired they were and were planning on calling it an early night. I don t blame them; it was a long day. Normally I would ve done the same, but on this night, I was still feeling surprisingly chipper and was down for a few more rounds at the hotel lounge. (Clockwise from above) Sport, Drive and Neutral. Not much to it. With one hand you can easily adjust the height of the very effective windscreen with this mechanical lever. The VFR1200X is offered with a standard manual six-speed transmission or Honda s Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). We ll take the DCT, please. Shifting a manual-transmission motorcycle isn t a big deal and doesn t require much effort or energy, but when you do it thousands of times in one day, well, it adds up! The next day, I soloed it home, stopping only twice to fill up on gas, and when I rolled up my driveway that evening, I was still feeling remarkably fresh and had no problem fulfilling a dinner promise that I had made with my wife. I kept thinking, why wasn t I feeling so hammered after two really long days in the saddle? Then it occurred to me that it probably had a lot to do with the VFR s DCT transmission. Shifting a manual-transmission motorcycle isn t a big deal and doesn t require much effort or energy, but when you do it thousands of times in one day, well, it adds up! Without a doubt, I found the DCT tranny to significantly reduce the workload, a great thing for those long days in the saddle, especially on twisty roads, where the DCT works amazingly well; I felt I was going just as fast through the corners as I would on a manual-shift bike maybe even faster once I got used to it. But even if I wasn t going faster, just the fact that I was saving so much energy not shifting was worth it to me. P106 If you do want to mix things up a bit, you can switch to manual mode and change gears yourself via the traditional gearshift foot lever that is still there like a normal bike (but there is no clutch lever), or via the paddle shifters on the left handlebar, which are great fun to play with. However, when speeds pick up and things get serious, I simply let the DCT do all the shifting work in auto mode while I focused on other things. But, most of my time on the VFR1200X was in the real world, Monday through Friday stuff, like zig-zagging through traffic and splitting lanes on my way to work, or just running errands around town, where, again, the DCT transmission is nice to have. In these situations, I didn t miss one bit pulling in a clutch

22 FULL TEST 2016 HONDA VFR1200X P108

23 VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P109 Honda s other adventure bike, the VFR1200X, arrived in the U.S. last year without much fanfare. It deserves more. lever and tapping a foot shifter every three seconds. I thought I would miss it, but, to be honest, I just didn t. Maybe I m just getting lazy, or maybe I just like doing or, in this case, not doing something different, like riding an auto bike. A lot of the enjoyment came by just how well the DCT transmission works in general. Gear shifts are seamless and the transmission is matched well to the bike s power, though in Drive mode (there are two main modes: Drive and Sport), sometimes I feel shifts came a tick too early a fuel-saving trick. I generally rode the bike in Sport mode, where each gear revs out a little longer. (There are also three levels within Sport mode, so you can vary the length of each shift even more.) In general, the Honda s DCT transmission, now in its third generation, works extremely well and is much smoother than the previous versions. Sometimes the DCT gets a little confused if you grab a handful of throttle at odd times, and downshifts aren t quite as smooth as upshifts (but, hey, that s the same with manualshift bikes), but, overall, the DCT transmission is an amazing piece of mechanics. And so is the VFR s engine. It pumps out a healthy dose of power and has gobs of bottomend and torque. It s still plenty fast on top but it s not a high-end rever; redline is just 9000 rpm, but you ll never feel the need to get to that point. It s a bottomto-mid engine that always feels relaxed in motion but is always ready to respond whenever you open the throttle, at any rpm, in any gear, which is something you never have to worry about when you re on the VFR. However, if you do want instant revs to make a quick pass, or get serious with a turn, you can tap the downshift handlebar paddle (or the foot shifter if you want) a couple of times, wick the throttle, finish up business and let things the transmission settle back to normal again, which it does on its own after a few seconds. You don t have to switch into any kind of manual mode to make physical shifts while you re in auto mode, but

24 FULL TEST 2016 HONDA VFR1200X P110 when you do select manual, you have to make all of the upshifts yourself (however, the transmission will still downshift for you if you roll up to a stop sign and forget to tap the foot lever). I was very impressed with the VFR s reaction to on/ off throttle. Fueling is precise, and I thought there was a good connection between the motor and the transmission, meaning the transition from closed throttle to open throttle is smooth, not herky-jerky like with most other The accessory Honda bags and trunk aren t pretty, but we can tell you that they are built tough. auto-trans bikes and scooters. This is great for low-speed situations, like when you re squeezing your way through stopped traffic on the 405 freeway. Another point that probably factored into my feeling so fresh after a long ride on the VFR is vibration or the lack of vibration. Very little buzzing is felt through the bars, seat or footpegs. And yet another factor is ergos. The bike feels as though it was built specifically for my 6 1 frame it was that comfortable. It has a fairly low 33-inch seat height, so it should fit a wide variety of frames just as well as it does mine. Plus, I like the seat, The VFR1200X is one of Honda s best-kept secrets.

25 VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P111 which is semi-wide and just soft enough. The windscreen does its job nicely and is fully adjustable via a manual lever that is reachable from the cockpit and operable with one hand, but the accessory heated grips (yeah!) don t get hot enough (ahhh) on real cold days; they are no match for heavy winter gloves. Lacking in the comfort department, however, is the absence of cruise control. For some that might be an issue, but for me, it wasn t at all. For a long time, I wasn t even aware that it didn t have it! Hand guards are a nice touch, for sure, but their presence might suggest that the VFR is capable of going off road. Think again. Yes, Honda calls the VFR1200X an adventure bike, and adventure bikes are normally capable of tackling some moderately challenging dirt roads, but not the VFR. I found it was best to leave the adventure to the pavement on the VFR, or you will indeed have a real adventure, but not the fun kind. The VFR really isn t meant to go off road it s just too heavy and the suspension isn t designed for it, neither are the tires. A really well-maintained fireroad is about all the VFR can handle without scaring the bejesus out of you. As I mentioned, the VFR Comfort is one of the VFR1200X s strongpoints. Maybe I m just getting lazy, or maybe I just like doing or, in this case, not doing something different, like riding an auto bike. is heavy, Honda says 631 pounds, ready to ride (about 23 pounds less for the manual-trans VFR). The VFR s excessive weight, however, is more of a factor on the dirt than it is on the tarmac, where you don t notice it nearly as much. That s because the bike is well balanced and handles like a much smaller motorcycle. Suspension, on the other hand, isn t as smooth as the rest of the bike; I found it to lack any sort of plush feel over the smaller ripples and square-edge hits, though it did soak up some of the bigger G-outs okay. I admit, that I didn t fiddle with the adjustments (both the shock and fork feature preload and rebound damping adjustability) as much as I should have, so I will give it the benefit of the doubt in the big picture. However, for the dirt, there is no doubt. This is a street bike. The VFR uses a linked ABS braking system that I found to work beautifully; it s strong, smooth and very predictable, and you have great control at both ends. Unfortunately, ABS cannot be turned off, increasing the VFR s ineffectiveness in the dirt. Traction control, aka Honda Selectable Torque Control, can be disengaged, however, via an easy-to-reach button on the left fairing. There are three levels of control (not including off), and I

26 FULL TEST 2016 HONDA VFR1200X found Level 3 (the least amount of intervention) to my liking most of the time. My VFR was fitted with Honda accessory aluminum saddlebags and trunk. Since most of my riding on the VFR involved lane-splitting, I rarely rode with the side bags in place; they stick out quite a bit. The trunk, however, pretty much lived on the bike. Keep an eye on the four bolts that attach the trunk to the rear rack. One time, my trunk passed me through a corner on a the clutch rolling up to a stop, riding an auto bike does not turn you back into a beginner again. And it s just as easy adapting to the DCT Honda; in fact, it s a fun transition. I enjoyed every minute I had with the VFR1200X. It s one of the most user-friendly everyday-bikes that I ve ever ridden, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the DCT transmission for everyday use and on the weekends. In fact, the more I rode the VFR, the more l appreciated the DCT transmission for what it could Hand guards are a nice touch, for sure, but their presence might suggest that the VFR is capable of going off road. Think again. dirt road with my laptop inside it. The laptop survived and the trunk only had a few scratches and no dents. Pretty tough. I love the fuel range of the 5.7-gallon tank. Two-hundred miles on a tank is pretty much guaranteed under any situation; I managed it easily a number of times. Another handy feature is an accessory socket, which is something I used a lot to power my cell phone while I used it for navigation using an aftermarket mount. After riding the VFR for so long, I was curious as to how I would adjust to manual shifts bikes again; would it be like learning how to shift and use the clutch all over again? No, not even close, other than a few late actions with do and for what it has to offer; it makes your life a lot easier for those mundane day-in and dayout commutes, while still being a blast for the weekend fun rides. Of course, I m not saying that we should replace shift bikes with auto bikes; hell no, but I do feel that auto bikes have their place, and the VFR1200X is definitely one of those places. Pretty much everything else about the VFR1200X is right on the money, though improving suspension a little bit and reducing weight should be at the top Honda s to-do list when it comes time to revamp the VFR1200X in the future. Still, it s a serious adventure bike worth considering if you don t mind sticking to the pavement. CN P112 SPECIFICATIONS 2016 HONDA VFR1200X ($15,999 / $16,399 DCT) ENGINE TYPE:...Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, Unicam, 16-valve, V4 DISPLACEMENT: cc BORE & STROKE:...81 x 60mm INDUCTION:...PGM-FI electronic fuel-injection IGNITION:... Electronic COMPRESSION RATIO:... 12:1 TRANSMISSION:... 6-speed / Honda Automatic DCT transmission (optional) DRIVE TRAIN:...Enclosed shaft CHASSIS:... Twin-spar frame FRONT SUSPENSION:...43mm inverted telescopic fork w/hydraulic damping, preload and rebound damping adj. REAR SUSPENSION:... Pro-Link w/gas-charged damper, preload and stepless rebound damping FRONT BRAKE:...Dual 310mm discs, combined ABS REAR BRAKE:...Single 276mm disc, combined ABS FRONT TIRE:...110/80-R19 REAR TIRE:...150/70-R17 RAKE / TRAIL: / 107mm WHEELBASE: in. SEAT HEIGHT: in. WEIGHT: lbs. (standard transmission) / 631 lbs. (DCT) FUEL CAPACITY: gal. AVAILABLE COLORS:... Black (2016) / Candy Red (2017)