And Another New Honda

rinty said:

Motorcyclist magazine is estimating that this thing will weigh 675 pounds.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/newsandupdates/motorcycle_news/122_1108_2012_honda_crosstourer/index.html

Has anyone found actual numbers?

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No, but I bet they're pretty much on the mark.

in reading this article, I came across the Honda Crossrunner, which is based on the VFR800 motor and features chain drive. And, um, 530 pounds.

I knew there was another model in there somewhere.... and that there is a more dirt-oriented version on the way.

Visian said:

it was the R1100 GS, and first model year was 1994 (I think).

ian

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Back further than that. My 1991 R100GS had tubeless spoked wheels. My 1993 R100R has them too.

......and now, Triumph enters the fray-
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/N.../oct2411-new-triumph-tiger-explorer-revealed/

even further

ridewv said:

Back further than that. My 1991 R100GS had tubeless spoked wheels. My 1993 R100R has them too.

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My 1989 R100GS had tubeless wire spoked wheels.

Is there any truth to the rumor that Honda is expanding their Crossrunner and Crosstourer lines to compete with the full dress Harley? But how many Harley riders are going to switch over to the new Honda Crossdresser?

Visian said:

it was the R1100 GS, and first model year was 1994 (I think).

ian

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Think earlier, the R100GS had them.

When does an engine become TOO big to be off road.WAY back when I enjoyed off the hard pan trails my fav.ride was a 125cc Kawy.Light,nimble,and it could handle highways with light packing.1200ccs for off roading...sorry but bigger is not always better.
Sorry rant over.

PALADINWEST said:

Think earlier, the R100GS had them.

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i knew that!

froggy said:

When does an engine become TOO big to be off road.WAY back when I enjoyed off the hard pan trails my fav.ride was a 125cc Kawy.Light,nimble,and it could handle highways with light packing.1200ccs for off roading...sorry but bigger is not always better.
Sorry rant over.

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well, how would your little Kawasaki do while riding to Alaska with a full load camping gear?

the dirty little secret here is that very few of these big adventure bikes ever see "off road."

while their owners might go "off pavement" on dirt/gravel roads, that's about as adventuresome as you want to get on a big heavy bike like these. They're much better for big road days, where power and heft help you deal better with trucks and cages and 80mph cruising speeds. Then a little toodle up a dirt road to find a nice quiet BLM or NFS campground.

Weight, center of gravity and power characteristics are where the GS still appears to have an advantage over the Japanese, British and Italian contenders. Most are heavier and have a higher CoG, along with motors that don't pull like tractors down low.

ian

Point received and understood

Visian said:

...the dirty little secret here is that very few of these big adventure bikes ever see "off road."

while their owners might go "off pavement" on dirt/gravel roads, that's about as adventuresome as you want to get on a big heavy bike like these. They're much better for big road days, where power and heft help you deal better with trucks and cages and 80mph cruising speeds. Then a little toodle up a dirt road to find a nice quiet BLM or NFS campground....

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Thanks, Ian. Makes me feel better, that I'm not a chicken for avoiding single track and mud on my 1200GS - just using common sense.

So is there any place in the GS Giant for these big bikes, or is this whole enterprise primarily for the 800cc and smaller bikes? Just wondering, as I should have but did not observe any of the GS riding at Bloomsburg.

froggy said:

When does an engine become TOO big to be off road.WAY back when I enjoyed off the hard pan trails my fav.ride was a 125cc Kawy.Light,nimble,and it could handle highways with light packing.1200ccs for off roading...sorry but bigger is not always better.
Sorry rant over.

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I all depends what you mean by 'offroad'. If you define offroad as 'just' soms dirt/gravel roads, it doesn't really matter what bike you have. Check out our own Sjaak Lucassen (R1 Sjaak, a Dutch guy) who went around the world on a Yamaha R1 and went literally everywhere with it.

I was in Morocco on my R850RT and did gravel/dirtroad there. No problem. My RT is an ex-police bike and has the spokes and a bash plate, which is handy on the backroads in Morocco. I think the differences between my RT and a GS are just the higer suspension, more groundclearance and less tupperware to damage when you go down.

Fact is that a lighter bike is nicer to drive offroad, and a bigger/heavier bike is better suited for long distances on tarmac. Obviously, there are lots of people who'd say that you can do 1,000's of miles on a 125cc bike. True, it's possible. But on a GS it's more comfortable

I just returned from my own 'Paris-Dakar' adventure on a Yamaha XT600 Tenere. We went from Holland to The Gambia, crossing the Sahara desert and visited Dakar. My Tenere was also a bit heavy for the sand in the dunes. My friends had XT600's which were about 20kgs lighter. They had a bit more fun than I had. The same goes for the GS. You can do a lot on it, but when you get deep, loose sand or deep mud, you're finished on such a heavy bike. No discussion, it's just too heavy. Most of the things you can do on a GS, you can do on virtually any bike. The GS (and the likes) are a bit more suited because of the ground clearance, higher suspendion and more trave. Also, spoked wheels are better on bad roads, where you can break an alloy on a pothole.

dancogan said:

So is there any place in the GS Giant for these big bikes, or is this whole enterprise primarily for the 800cc and smaller bikes? Just wondering, as I should have but did not observe any of the GS riding at Bloomsburg.

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with the right tires, the big GS can do impressive things. Even with more street-oriented tires, someone who is good with the clutch can also ride on pretty gnarly stuff, as long as it's not mud.

when we built the GS Giant track, we had three different courses in one... easy, medium and hard. Lots of guys rode the hard on the big bikes, even with street tires, and survived. And the easy and medium tracks were really good fun, and great practice. (we are thinking of adding a "with luggage" class next year...)

So if you didn't go out and ride that track, even just for fun, you really missed something. If you're planning on riding to Sedalia, *please* give it a try!

here's a pic by Jon Beck of a big bike on the "hard" track... mud, no less.

Visian said:

with the right tires, the big GS can do impressive things. Even with more street-oriented tires, someone who is good with the clutch can also ride on pretty gnarly stuff, as long as it's not mud. ...

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Thanks, Ian. If we make it to Sedalia I'll be sure to give it a try!

Does anyone have problems toasting their dry clutches when they go off-road? Granted Im not talking about making your own path amongst the trees,but there are some paths that have fallen trees,stream crossing,and gravel.Many of these areas require slipping the clutch.

froggy said:

Does anyone have problems toasting their dry clutches when they go off-road? Granted Im not talking about making your own path amongst the trees,but there are some paths that have fallen trees,stream crossing,and gravel.Many of these areas require slipping the clutch.

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you can slip the clutch a bunch *as long as* you don't over-rev the engine.

the trick is to use the clutch's friction zone (between engaged and disengaged) in conjunction with just enough throttle to keep from stalling.

ian

I think the spokes through the edge came in 88 when the paralever also came out on the GS.

FWIW I do not think the spokes through the edge of the wheel are a BMW patent, I think someone else had the design and BMW licensed it. Could be wrong, just seems like I remember that.

I understand this is a brand oriented club and forum, but the people on here suffer myopia just as badly as the chrome and leather crowd, perhaps worse. Talk about elite snobs.........

It is an interesting bike, I'm curious.

Great video

I can't wait to learn more about this bike.

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