Honda's Fully automatic DN-01

Starting the day with a puncture was not my idea of fun, already running late to pick up the latest DN-01 concept bike from Honda, I abandoned the ZZR and jumped on the back of Trigger's (CB Nick, today's cameraman) GS1150 BMW and we sped over to Chiswick Honda.

I was greeted warmly by Stephen Weller of Honda who took me through the controls and gave me a great piece of advice, "Forget what you have read in the press, take it out and form your own opinion." Wise words.

So far; all I had picked up was bad vibes about this 'bike', I say bike but I'm not sure it can be classed as a motorbike; this is a very different vehicle from what I expected.

I have ridden all sorts of two wheeled transport, I have never been impressed by scooters and automatics have always bored me silly, Stephen passed me the keys and as I sat on the DN I felt at home, this completely threw me, straight away it felt comfortable, very light and my hands dropped onto the bars without thinking about it. It was only when I looked for the footrests I got a little confused, although once I realised the footboards were forwards of where I was used too; I was fine. The feet forward riding position and pull back bars; reminded me of my old XS650 lowrider.

Starting off was easy, fire it up, flick the drive switch on the right handle bar to 'D', open the throttle and off you go, that's it, no need for a clutch or changing gear, just go. The handling felt very secure, it holds the road well enough to get within a quarter of an inch of the edge of the tread, I have never been a fan of ABS; I like to use the rear brake to 'help' me round corners; but ABS suited this bike well, it stopped quickly and smoothly from any speed, always feeling sure-footed and safe.

The 680cc engine provides power though HFT, (Human Friendly Transmission) using a swash plate to drive fluid through hydraulic pumps and motors to vary the speed and transfer the drive from the engine to the shaft.

Unlike most automatics the drive on this was incredibly smooth, I have rarely come across any auto that didn't snatch at low speeds; usually making the bike feel very unstable, this was so different, after half a mile I was throwing it around through the Brentford traffic, low speed, making progress, it did what it says on tin. Having a long wheelbase does mean it is not going to react like a sports bike in the twisty bits, but it makes up for that with an astonishing inherent stability. A quick blat up the road found it reaching 70mph with no bother at all, it felt like it had loads more power as well (Quoted top speed – 110) It was not very quick compared to my ZZR, but why compare it to a sports tourer, it is not from the same stable. Mostly I kept it in 'D', although there is a manual setting which does allow you select the gear yourself, but I preferred to leave it in 'D' and let it sort itself out. I did find the 'S' mode useful for quicker getaways, this acts like a kickdown on an automatic car and holds the gear further through the rev range, giving it a bit more go. Having a 680cc engine I did expect it to be a bit quicker than it was, so the fluid drive must absorb a fair bit of power, it never let me down though, pulling away from the front of the traffic lights it had sufficient speed to leave cars behind no problem, while not tyre rippingly quick; I would say the acceleration is 'brisk' it is not the sort of bike you race other bikes with.

This is where I feel other reviews have been misguided, you can not compare this to any other motorbike, it is too different, the feel, the ride, the concept put this in a class of its own, I can see quite a few practical applications and apparently it is very popular with young Italians living in the Kings road area of Chelsea; and the Italians know style.

In my humble opinion though, I think the styling is where Honda have made a mistake, the lines may look good to some but not to me, it is trying to look like a sports bike and this does not suit the bike, you either make this a proper commuting style scooter or go in another direction. I would raise the bars and move them forwards, then lose the boards, replace them with pegs that are back about a foot, then raise the screen so it protects you more from the elements, this would make it work well for commuters, then stick loads of luggage on and sell it to couriers in town. Saying that; I feel the way it works; will make twist and go riders who want a bit more power buy it.

As it is, I think this vehicle would appeal mostly to the 20-30 mile commuters, put more weather protection on and you have a perfect commuting vehicle for those of us that live in the sticks but ride into work. It is also powerful enough to take you and a pillion for longer distances without too much effort; I would like to try a longer test though, to see just how it holds up on a run of 100 -150 miles.

Another thought crossed my mind, disabled bikers, I can see this engine configuration and drive unit being of great benefit in the building of special bikes, for those of our brethren who are short of a limb or two.

I have to say I had fun on it, I wished I could have had it for about half a day or even longer to really get to know it. I really enjoyed throwing it around town and can safely say that if you forget all about normal bikes and take one of these out, you will enjoy it too, it is that easy to ride.