First off, let me say that I am a huge fan of Honda motorbikes. Now let the fun begin….
Looks like Honda is going to wipe out the VTX 1800. So far for 2010, all their new “big” cruisers are the 1300 “Fury-inspired” bikes that are “created to fit every riding style.” What’s up with that? I thought the Ducati Multistrada 1200 did that all by itself.
I checked out the web pages for these new bikes; the Interstate, the Sabre and the Stateline. Before I get into the styling, let me bring up the links on these pages that say “INNOVATIONS.” “Hm,” I thought, “what’s new with the VTX1300?” Not much. It seems that the only “innovation” Honda has made in their cruisers in the past decade is, and I quote, “retro-progressive styling.” Whoop-ti-do. That describes everything Harley has been doing since, um, when was dirt invented? Innovations? I found nothing I haven’t seen before.
With these three new models, it seems that Honda is taking a design they should have come out with five years ago (the Fury), making it even more vanilla (yes, that seems possible), and doing what Detroit does by just switching out a few body parts on a motor and frame and calling the model something different. I’m sure it’s an economic stance designed to reduce costs but man, can we have a fresh idea from Honda in the cruiser market before the end of the world?
Here are a few photos.
Now that I’ve written my opinion of the styling and “innovations,” I doubt the legendary Honda reliability will change with these bikes. I bet they will run forever with little maintenance and will ride smoothly and easily on whatever road you take them on. It’s what Honda does. Additionally, these bikes come with fuel injection and optional anti-lock brakes. That’s not bad for a motorcycle built by an international corporate behemoth.
There is no pricing available on these bikes yet, but the Fury is 14k with ABS and a 200 mm tire. These have 170’s. That’s pretty skinny for a bike dubbed the “Interstate.” I doubt a new 2010 Honda 1300 Sabre will cost more than a Fury. If they do, man, the economy sucks.
I’d love to road-test one of these models for a year, put ten thousand miles on it, and get back to you.
For more about each of these bikes, check out the 1300 Custom Line website right here.
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