On Thursday while my standard 2017 AT was going through its 16k service, Honda Newcastle loaned me their AT Sport DCT so I rode it for about 110 miles and here are some of my thoughts in no particular order of importance.
By the way - I never go off road so many of the points I see as negatives would probably be seen as big plus points by trail riders.
Mike
By the way - I never go off road so many of the points I see as negatives would probably be seen as big plus points by trail riders.
- It's very tall but not impossible for a 5'10 person with a 31 inch seam measurement. And I would imagine with the low seat in the low position it would put me about where I am with my current bike (standard seat in high position). But my current seat and riding position is the best I have had on any bike ever and I can easily do 450 miles per day with no bum ache, so I am loathe to change that. The standard seat on the Sport is taller and therefore slightly narrower, but it also felt harder. Being higher they have made it flatter which many find a bonus but I think the slight angle of my current seat is perfect. I could only manage 110 miles on the At seat and by then I was sore.
- Buffeting was bad - but I am used to the better protection from the MADSTAD. However I suspect that if the Sport had been fitted with both the upper air deflectors and the deflector visors it would have been fine. It was OK-ish when I took off my peak. I don;t think the screen fitted to the Sport is as tall as the optional touring screen I got with the 2017 bike (which was useless BTW)
- Have they fixed the heated grips - well they worked, which is more than can be said for the two pairs I had fitted before scrapping them in favour of Kosos. But it was 11 deg and they didn't get very warm even on maximum so I'm guessing people will be unhappy as per the 2016 bikes. One irritating thing they have done is remove the heat setting number from the diplay. It's there briefly when you press to change the heat level, but then it goes away (why?). Honda have done an excellent job in making the heated grips the same diameter as non-heated grips - but again why? Perhaps if they had made them slightly thicker with bigger elements they would have done the job.
- The suspension is 'harder' whatever that means, and Honda have probably done this in response to criticisms from hard core riders. But for me the 2017 bike had the most sublime suspension for my purposes and I hope the 2018 standard bike is unchanged (it might not be as it has now got dung coloured forks instead of the gold ones that matched the wheels. I found the harder suspension pretty tiring after 110 miles mainly on back roads. (One point worth noting the forks are fitted straight - on many of our bikes they came from the factory with a slight right twist)
- The display screen is different - apart from being smaller it shows more information - not a brilliant idea. What's worse though is that in catering for the trail riders - who presumably couldn;t see important stuff when standing up they have made it worse for the road-only rider. Now the screen reflects a lot more light from the sky. They have incorporated a very long sunshade but I suspect that may interfere with those people using GPS's on the little front rail (if you are by the way, then Vlad's screen brace is brilliant and it looks like it might still fit the 2018 standard bike). I noticed that they have changed the software and included more sensible ways of displaying stuff - when I picked the bike up it told me I had 224 miles range)
- The miles per (UK) gallon averaged 50.2 which is identical to the mpg I have just got on my bike on a trip of 2380 miles. I didn;t get chance to check whether the speedo is now accurate (nowhere to fit my satnav) but it looks like they have fixed the ambient temp sensor.
- The back brake was noticeably better than my bike - can't work out that one.
- The engine is snatchier than my bike - I can only put this down to the ride by wire as I don't think they have had to lean it off for any newer Euro regulations have they?
- BUT .... but .... the improvements to the engine and power delivery are very real. If I can notice them they must be more than subtle. The responsiveness is improved, and the engine just sings with a much creamier delivery. In fact because of this and despite all the negatives above, I am going to buy a 2018 standard bike rather than a 2017 one which would have been cheaper. (I am also assuming that they have taken the opportunity of 'fixing' the 4 or 5 warranty issues which they will not have done on new 2017 bikes. But also I can fit the new deflector visors and maybe dispense with the Madstad. My centre stand, upper air deflectors, and OEM luggage will transfer straight over - the top box doesn;t fit the Sport by the way.)
Mike