[ Kenny Sagawa, Webike News Chief Editor ]

A New Motorcycle Life Presented by Honda

Honda has made an official announcement about the production start of the “X-ADV” in 2017.

The X-ADV is the Honda’s new motorcycle developed based on their “City Adventure Concept”. It had been previously presented at the 2015 EICMA motor show in Milan. Its technical details are scheduled to be showcased at the upcoming 2016 EICMA motor show held in Italy.

[City Adventure Concept]

According to Honda, the new X-ADV will be aiming to create a new motorcycle category that features design and equipment full of adventurous spirit, while combining the comfort and practicality for urban rides in a sophisticated manner. Its upright riding position and the impact absorbing suspensions enable the riders to handle unpaved rough roads.

On the other hand, X-ADV will grant comfortable ride and high convenience to urban riders with its equipment, such as the 5-stage adjustable windscreen or the storage space that can store a full face helmet.

Honda has also confirmed that the X-ADV will be equipped with the Honda’s original Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). X-ADV will propose a new motorcycle life along with its new concept.

The teaser video of the X-ADV (“Every road is my road”) is released on YouTube. So go check it out!

[Sagawa’s view of the teaser video] Got a feeling that it can tackle serious off-road tracks!

Now, let me talk about my impression.
As its extreme title “Every Road Is My Road” tells, it’s so exciting to watch the X-ADV blasting up the flat dirt track swaying its tail.

It does look like a motor scooter at first sight, but you’ll notice its large wire-spoke wheels and on/off-road tires when you take a good look at it. The inverted front fork, the link mono-shock system, and the ultra thick aluminum swing arm also declare its capability.

Even in the scenes where the X-ADV strolls through the street, you’ll see its stroking long suspension and its ample ground clearance, absorbing the impact from the rough stone pavements.

For your information, the “City Adventure Concept” motorcycle, unveiled at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, wore tires of the size of a general road sport model, 120/17 for front and 170/15 for rear. In other words, it isn’t just a motorcycle of a road sport taste.

[City Adventure Concept]

Actually various messages that tells the concept of that model are hidden in teaser videos, and it is interesting to examine those messages closely.

You’ll hear its engine noise in the short scene, and you can assume that it mounts a parallel twin cylinder engine of quite a large engine displacement volume from that exhaust sound. Though its specification is not yet officially released, according to the overseas media, it is probably based on the Honda NC750 type water-cooled parallel-twin engine.

Broadly speaking, it is a motorcycle that added some off-road taste to the conventional Integra to make it become more modern. Or, you may say that it is like a Africa Twin style commuter.

Its initial model started from “combining the urban ride and the spirit of adventure.” Yet this new X-ADV seems to have become a perfection model that can even handle serious off-road rides. First, let’s see what comes out at the 2016 EICMA.

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