Honda VT1300-based Concept Cruisers

In the spring of 2010 Honda released a trio of new cruisers called the Sabre, Interstate and Stateline, making up the heart of the VT1300 line of cruisers. The custom-type cruiser models share the same powertrain platform of a 1312cc, liquid-cooled, SOHC, 3-valve-per-cylinder, single-pin crank, 52-degree V-Twin – the same Twin design found in the wildly successful Fury – which has been a core platform in Honda’s arsenal for some time now.However, each of the three new VTs received a specific design directive, thereby creating three separate models.The VT1300 Sabre, with its long, low and unencumbered look accented by a chopper-ish...

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Honda Gold Wing Unveiled

Today Honda unveiled the updated 2012 Gold Wing as a new model available in May 2011. Although Honda doesn’t list a 2011 model for the Wing, we won’t discount the year-long lapse between 2010 and 2012 (even though Honda does) against what otherwise marks the 37th year since the Wing was set free upon the roads, way back in ’75. We’re sure the new GW upholds classic Wing characteristics – like a stable yet responsive chassis, smooth, linear engine power, and Barcalounger-like comfort – that have made this Honda a favorite among the touring set. Yet this latest iteration of the Wing is well within the previous model’s shadow. The...

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Honda Gold Wing Review - First Ride

Honda’s Gold Wing has for years stood at the pinnacle of the luxury-touring market, providing the best balance of comfort and performance in its class. But that supremacy is now under threat from BMW’s new K1600 GTL that received a very favorable review from Editor Duke a few weeks ago. In the face of increased competition, Honda chose to arm the 2012 Gold Wing with only moderate improvements. This nonchalance begs the question: When will Honda retaliate with a full-model revamp?  Until that event, whenever it may come, “it’s the little things that count” adage will have to suffice for Gold Wing devotees. With Honda providing...

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Honda Fury vs. 2011 Yamaha Star Stryker [Video]

Choppers are as American as Chevrolet, apple pie and Homer Simpson. With lengthy wheelbases deserving their own zip codes, choppers stake a major claim in our motorcycle landscape. Indeed, American bike builders have been chopping and customizing bikes for years, and when the movie Easy Rider played on the silver screen in 1969, the long bikes etched their place in American bike lore for good.So what are the two leading Japanese motorcycle brands doing, producing what appear to be American choppers? Good question, and the answer can be found in the economic side of the motorcycle business equation. Several years ago when cable television programming...

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