Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Left) The 1085cc OHC. liquid-cooled opposed four is smooth and produces power over a wide range. Shifting is clunky. (Above left) The complete tool kit. a la Aspencade. (Above) From the comfortable saddles to the stereo in the fairing. the Aspencade begs to be ridden far. swee tly on th e rotgut ga so line th at is all th at 's availa ble th ese da ys, a n d it ca n use unl eaded o r regular , wha tever yo u ca n ge t. Fu el eco n o m y is 35 to 40 m il es per ga llon th e way we rid e. Once we rode 175 mi les wi tho ut filling. T he five spee d tra n sm ission is im possible to shi ft withou t hearin g gears gnashi ng, bu t it work s exce p tio na lly wel l. A wi de p ow er ra n ge and ni ce gear spacing allow you to p ull co m fo rta bl y fro m 45 mph in top or run th e needl e o ff th e face of th e speedometer in third. Systems abou nd o n the Aspencade. O ver th e long haul , a n a p pr eci ation for m s. This motor cycl e wa s not developed in a sus hi bar; it devours American distan ces. Aspen cade is th e first motorcycle to co me sta ndard radioequipped . T he radio system is splenoid, not o nly for entertai nment, but to ge t vital weather a n d road informa tion when yo u' re a ll a lo ne under the big sky. We wish th ey'd incl ude d th e wea ther chan nel w hi le th e engin eer s were at it. The system incl udes a co n ven ient thumb swi tch on th e left handlebar tha t ch anges sta tio ns or mutes the radio . There is a d igital panel in th e fairing tha t sh ows th e sta tio n number o r th e tim e o f da y. This clock nev er lo st a mi nute in a month. The fairing syst em does its jo b very well for th e dri ver, yet leaves th e passenger o ut in th e co ld. A li tt le more wi n d tu n nel wo rk is ca lled for, to ex ten d th e a irfl ow en velope arou n d the passen ger. Mirrors are strategica lly pl aced o n th e fairing an d gi ve a clear p icture of wh at is ove rta ki ng. Brakes, engine, fairin g , co n trols, ligh ts, a ll th e systems fu nc tioned to give us a grea t sense o f well -being th at only comes from living with a mach in e like th is. The Sil ver Aspencade co m mands res pec t from a better class of peo p le. In Florid a 's Little T orch Key, even the yach tsm en were im pressed . We sto p ped th ere to vis it the tame porpoises who live in th e Dol p h in Ma rina. It is we ll wort h a th ousand mi le side ride to be entertai ned by Dal and Sua, two dol phins who a re free, but depend on a loca l lady for food. Between feedings th e dolphin s fro lic in the chan nel , acco m pany ing boats in a nd o ut . We wo n ' t strain yo ur bo iler by tell in g you what else they do; go therel lt is the best free do lphin show in th e world. One reason th e 'ca de co m ma nds respect is its styling: all o f a p iece, not look ing like a co llection of un iversal pa rts. Mu ch of tha t a ll-togethe r a ppearance is credi ted to th e fin ish, ap p lied in Ohio , with seven coa ts of clear for p rotect ion. T he Aspen cade looks worth everyone o f the $6,800 (p lus tax a n d licen se) th a t it cos ts. O n th e wh ol e, we go t the impression th at H onda h ad though t of everythi ng, done it all for us, a nd a ll we had to do was ride, rid e, enjoy, enjoy. With a 6,000 mile interva l betw een mech anica l in specti on, a ll yo u do is put gas in it. It doesn 't even co ns u me a quart of oi l. Aft er riding th e Aspencade two-up for over 6,000 miles without any mainten ance whatsoever , we find this th e best touring bik e we've ever tested. We use a lO-point ra ting system in 10 categories, so the perfect mot orcycle cou ld ideall y score 100 points. We give the Aspenca de 98, deduc ting points for cornering cleara nce, lo ose lid gas kets. a nd no t-q u ite-state-of the-art passen ger co mfort . T h ese are small criticisms , measured again st the overall exce lle nce of th e machine. Now with 8,406 m iles showi ng, th e tires still h ave pl enty of trea d a nd th e mech anical s a re a ll in tu ne. We have lived o ut of th e sadd lebag lin ers for a month a nd lov ed it . Our a n n ual tr ip to Daytona was the best one yet, for which the Aspencade will be fondly rem embered. • -Definition: Hypoluxo Touring Standard, f actory equipped motorcycle design ed for carefu l riders and passengers wi th em p hasis on safet y, comfort, con venience, carefree enjoyment over long distances . How the Aspencade rates SAFETY: 10 HANDLING: 9 Li ke ma ny luxury to uring bikes, the Asp sacrifices grou n d clearance in turns for co m fort . T h is reduces the h an dl in g potential more th an we thi n k is desirabl e. COMFORT: 9 As in dica ted in th e text, co m fort is outsta n di ng. but not quite state-ofth e-art wh ere th e passenger is co ncerned. We decided that it d idn 't n eed cruise control, after a ll. QUALITY: 10 MAINTENANCE: 10 ECONOMY: 10 Aspencade may not get the h ighest gas milea ge in the luxury tourin g grou p, but low co ns umption of oil an d tires makes u p for it. POWER: 10 LOAD CAPACITY: 10 IMAGE: 10 SERVICE AND SUPPORT: 10 Even though we di d n ' t n eed to ca ll on dea ler service, Honda has the most de al ers a nd all th ose we ta lked wit h a bo ut the Aspencade seemed co rn petent, TOTAL: 98 points. (1977 Go ld Win g to ta l: 89 points) S pacifications Engine 1085cc OHC liquid-cooled. fo u r-cylinder. horizontally opposed four-stroke . Bore and stroke 75mm x 61 .4mm. Carburetors Four 30mm constant velocity with accelerator pump. Ignition .... Transistorized pointless ignition with vacuum advance. Transmission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Five-speed. Driveline ... . . . . .. . . . . ... .. . . . .. . . . . . ..... . . . . . . • . . • . • . .. • . Shaft. Length . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94.5 inches. Wheelbase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 63.2 inches. Seat height 31.1 ir:!ches. Ground clearance 5.5 inches. Fuel capacity 5 .8 gallons. including 1 .1 gallon reserve. Wheels . .. ... . .. .. •. Black-highlighted aluminum alloy ComStarTil Tires Front: 120/90-18 65H tubeless Rear: 140/90-16 71H tubeless Suspension Front: Air-adjustable. Syntallic™ bushing forks. 5.8 inch travel. Rear: . . . . . Air-adjustable Variable Hydraulic DampingTil shocks. Brakes Front: .. • . . .. .. . ... . . . . ... . .. Dual disc with twin piston ca'ip!r5. Rear: ... . ... . . ... • . • • . .. .. . .. ... .. •. . . . .. . . . . . .. ... ..... . DISC. Dry Weight . . . . . ... ... . . ... • . . ... . .... .. .. . . . • . .... • .. .. 705 Ibs. Suggested retail price $6798. 19

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