Good article from ADV Pulse ... which normally blows.
They've filled in a lot of the unknowns regards power, suspension travel and the Ti fuel tank. All good.
Did anyone notice that Ti tank only holds 2.1 US gal ?
And can you imagine how hard it's going to be for the aftermarket to fit a bigger plastic tank given the super convoluted shape of the stock tank? Hope I'm wrong on this one but it looks like a puzzle to me.
40 HP range is good, plenty for such a light bike. But will it hold up to long runs at near top speed on highway?
I worry about the massive seat height quoted and assume Honda only intend to sell to riders over 6 ft tall?
And of course the service intervals are absurd for any machine intended to do longer distances.
So, like Ted says, a good weekend bike ... of which we already have MANY as good or better than this new Honda.
Last is the price. $10,400 USD is easily in KTM or BMW range. Bit optimistic on Honda's part, IMHO.
And lets hope Honda has solved disastrous problems with the UNI Cam heads and rocker arm issues. SO MANY failures on those early CRF-R and X engines, both 250's & 450's.
I have been witness to TWO failures, one in Baja and another in Black Rock Desert, Nevada ... the Black Rock guy was on his 3rd CRF motor. Those early CRF's really tarnished Honda's stellar record for reliability built up over last 25 years with XR series bikes and dozens of Baja and other race wins.
Word is that these issues were dealt by Honda a few years back ... but bad news tends to poison reputations long past the "Fixed" date. The good news is the CRF250L (Thai made) seems tough as nails and doing well. But the 450 will put out nearly double that HP ... so we'll see.