Ok, ready for my assessment?
Remember, this is all seat of the pants and this bike has been well rode
Yeah, it's not a crate fresh, factory prepped, cherry picked, machine.
It is 12 years old!
I spent most of the day in 3rd gear on all the tight twisties, just roll the throttle on and go.
There were some 1st gear, coming around a tree with ruts, sharp turn, then straight up with rocks and ruts.
Then there were some top gear wide open straights.
Lot's of little jumps, 2-4 feet high (hit them in third gear pinned, dirt, gravel, rocks, whoops, and a few mud puddles.
The good.
Plenty of low end torque.
You can't fault the bike for torque.
I never killed it once, most of the time it was bog the engine till it almost died then roll the throttle on and go.
No surprises and great handling.
Considering it's lineage, that's no shock.
Honda is known world over for it's great handling bikes.
Fuel consumption
Are you kidding me? This thing used about a table spoon of gas for 40 miles of trail riding.
All kidding aside, it didn't much fuel at all.
I'll see when I fill it up what it used.
I'm guessing about a gallon and a half.
(Barely a gallon)
Suspension
Not bad for conventional forks.
I'm 220lb and I was pleasantly surprised how the stock suspension handled the nastier sections and it had no problem with small jumps.
The ride wasn't harsh but it wasn't to mushy either.
The overall ride was comfortable and I felt it is a nice compromise between a harsh MX style suspension and a Street/Dirt play bike.
Clutch action and shifting
Shifting was easy with positive engagement.
No mis-shifts and no complaints.
The not so good...
Weight.
Compared to more modern designs, simply put, it's a pig
Although it is a fair amount lighter than my XR650R.
To be fair, you don't really notice the weight as it seems to be very well balanced.
At the end of a yank and bank day you are more tired then with a lighter bike.
Brakes
My biggest disappointment is the brakes.
Yes, they will stop you and do an adequate job.
But, for a bike of this weight, some better braking would be nice.
At the end of the day squeezing the brake handle hard and saying "Whoahhh Nelly!" wears on you.
An easy fix would be some better brake pads, or spring for a larger brake rotor and brake re-mount kit.
So, there you have it.
My overall impression is that it is a good handling bike that is well made.
If you are not into the modern MX scene and want a reliable, good handling, decent power, and good suspension, I think this would be an excellent bike.
I plan to keep this one around for a while longer and give you some updates.
Questions?
Feel free to hit me up.
Thanks!
SB
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.
