VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P109
lever and tapping a foot shifter
every three seconds. I thought I
would miss it, but, to be hon-
est, 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 trans-
mission 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), some-
times I feel shifts came a tick too
early—a fuel-saving trick. I gener-
ally 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 manual-
shift 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 bottom-
end 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 bottom-
to-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. How-
ever, 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
Honda's "other"
adventure bike, the
VFR1200X, arrived
in the U.S. last year
without much fanfare. It
deserves more.
