Honda's Euro-Specials
HONDA'S EURO-SPECIALS
ROUNDUP
LAST MONTH'S RUMOR mill was bumping hard against redline with news of a two-stroke stunner from Honda, a 500cc V-Twin sportbike patterned after Mick Doohan's GP racer. A perfect birthday present on the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary, it was to be a showcase for Honda's much-ballyhooed, clean-burning ARC technology, the supposed savior of the sordid, smoky two-stroke engine.
It'll be a real Vdue Bimota beater, our snoops assured us, on sale in Europe this very winter. Get your deposit down now, while you still can.
So, comes the Milan Show, then Paris, and this alleged mira cle machine is nowhere to be seen. Our moles apparently were fed some bad dope or suffer from overactive imaginations.
Honda does have some other neat Euro-bikes, though-one that definitely ain't coming our way; another that could be here soon.
The no-show is the Deauville 650 commuter/tour er, named after a French sea side town. It is essentially a re-skinning of the Revere 650 V-Twin, itself a steel-framed, shaft-drive derivative of the Hawk GT647 sport-standard sold here in 1988-9 1. The Re vere, equipped with aftermar ket luggage, became a favorite of European inner-city com muters and delivery riders.
The Deauville follows up on that theme with integrated slimline saddlebags and a host of commuter-oriented goodies like a 5-gallon fuel tank, a cen terstand, fairing storage bins and a wiring loom ready to ac cept radio and speakers. op tions include heated handgrips, a heel-toe shifter, a luggage rack and top trunk, and fairing lowers. For touring riders, a second, wider set of saddlebag doors is available that almost doubles capacity. American Honda officials who evaluated the Deauville liked much of what they saw, but figured that a 500-pound commuter Twin wouldn't be ex citing enough for U.S. buyers. Maybe with the VTR1000 motor, but that apparently isn't in the cards.
There's hope, though, for the Hornet 600. This takes Honda's long-running CBR600 four cylinder-detuned slightly for more midrange muster-and crams it into a chassis derived from the home-market Hornet 250 naked bike. Sexy stuff includes the stainless-steel 4-into-i high-rise exhaust, box-section alloy swingarm and fat rims shod with CBR900RR-worthy rubber.
Tying the whole affair to gether is what Honda calls its "Mono-Backbone" frame. This comprises a large, rectangu lar-section steel tube that curves from the steering head to the swingarm pivot. Another length of rectangular tubing weld ed to the main frame serves as mounting point for the rear bodywork. Add a couple of seat braces, pincher-like half-downtubes and bolt-on aluminum swingarm plates, and you've got a simple, rigid structure. Dry weight for the complete bike is a claimed 387 pounds. American Honda types say they're "very interested" in the Hornet 600. Plus, there's per sistent scuttlebutt about a 1300cc version. That could be fun.
Oh, yeah, is there any chance for that Doohan Replica buzzbomb? Hard to say, but we do know this: Honda hasn't let loose with all its 50th-anniver sary fireworks just yet. Sources, reliable this time, hint that the Tokyo Motor Show, fall of 1998, might be one to watch.
David Edwards
