The electronics suite is very
comprehensive with Sport,
Gravel, Rain and Standard, along
with a fully customizable User
mode that offers lots of rider
aids, although staying in some
of the settings is frustrating.
More on that later. It also comes
with a quickshifter, which works
flawlessly and can be adjusted
to three different shift levels. The
accessory heated grips, fitted to
our press bikes, integrate nicely
into the five-inch, full-color TFT
screen, which is also customiz
-
able with four different display
options—and the bike has
self-canceling turn signals. Who
could ask for more? Oh wait,
there's no cruise control. What?
As we set off on the first of
two days of riding, the smooth-
shifting transmission of the
Unicam 755cc parallel twin
delivers the typical Honda
experience as you roll on the
power. It isn't overwhelming,
but there's enough to excite the
senses from idle to redline, and
the power curve has no holes
whatsoever. Whenever and
wherever you need throttle, it's
always there—and with a surpris
-
ing amount of top-end power
to boot. I found it easy to slip
the clutch in third gear at about
eight thousand RPM, suppress
the suspension, and roll up into
a nice wheelie when the power
setting was full. Sport and User
were the riding modes I ran most
during our two-day ride. Rain re
-
duces the power to nearly noth-
ing, and Gravel was too invasive
for me when riding off-road, as
the ABS and HSTC (Honda Se-
lectable Torque Control), or trac-
tion control to us non-Hondroids,
was constantly engaging. Once
in User mode, the ABS to the rear
wheel can be completely dis-
abled, and the traction control,
sorry, Hondroids, can be shut off,
allowing for sliding of the rear
into and out of off-road corners.
I put the power setting to full
power and the engine braking
VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P85
