[pushkin_9]

My God the Honda Valk Rune is goddamn ugly. How do you take a nice looking pure bike and slap art deco...and I mean the bad art deco...the art deco floorlamp thing that your weird uncle who was still single when he was 70 years old had in is living room.



Sigh....when will the honda company go kidnap the yamaha designers.

 

[mergenex]

well, that was depressing. looks like yamaha will have no trouble being top dog in the 600s this year.

 

[Lowrez]

Silver VFR!

Oh please let the VFR be a color other than red next year. Please, please, please!!! If this is a taunt or a Honda UK photo, I will kill.

 

[1747]

thim are both manufacturers' claims sven. Their scales are notoriously inaccurate. Bet they weigh within about a Ritz cracker of each other...

 

[crescentcircle]

I dunno, the zx6rr looks pretty tight for the trac, and the 636 looks sweet for the street...Guess we'll have a better idea on Monday...

 

[3655]

Wow, Honda really dropped the ball there. The VTR, CBR1100XX, and the 919 are all in need of replacement. According to motorcyclenews, the SV1000 is a reality. I hope that the insurance companies don't realize that a standard can have performance too!

 

[12er]

Hey!! I inherited that lovely lamp! Actually I am so sick of the same old same old vtwin clone, this thing is the biz. Looks like a muscle car on two wheels. Almost weighs as much too but thats not the point, should fit my 6'6" frame like a glove, well the old Valk did.

 

[3833]

If they are keeping teh F4i, do we at least get the Euro version?

IF they are keeping the F4i, do we at least get the euro version with the banana seat, centerstand, and other such niceties?

 

[33992]

The pix of the RUNE look awesome. Hope it looks as good in person.

 

[12er]

Suzuki will sell every SV1K they build. FZ1 and the 919 are dead now. Now where the hell can I find the money for a SV1k, GS Adventure, Rune, and a KTM 525 EXC?



Thats it, Im starting a charity, email me on where to send your donations! Remember while you may not be able to make the world happy, you all sure can help make me happy. So send cash today.

 

[jmeyn]

Sure we know about the gearing...

The UK spec bike had complete gearing specs; would ours be that much different?

I translated the Primary, 6-gears and Final ratios into speed at 15,000 rpm redline.

Talk about close ratios! With a 150 lb rider it goes to 75 mph in 1st in 3.3 seconds with 1 G of grip. Assume the torque isn't changed, I figure it takes 580 lb of thrust to get it there and about 10% more than that is available in 1st. It won't power wheely in 2cd with the rider tucked.

Speed in gears:

1 75

2 95

3 115

4 135

5 155

6 172 all at 15,000 rpm shift points.

I'm assuming a 150 lb rider. Sorry, big guys.

 

[1747]

Re: Sure we know about the gearing...

howz that compare to F4 then?

 

[38817]

Ugly?...maybe but in silhouette it looks like the original "BatCycle" in the '50's Batman comics. I wonder if it comes with free self adhesive signs that say "THIS VEHICLE MAKES WIDE RIGHT TURNS".

 

[grover750]

Dissapointing that there is no new blackbird, but it is about time Honda split to two 600s. Now, they should step back with the F4i and give it a good seat and better ergos.



Also, looks as though they missed the boat, not offering any new sporty v-twin. I really think the v-twin sports are going to continue to sell well, as are the standards. Combine the two, give Suzuki a run!



I suppose it was way too tempting for the cruiser dept to just ignore that beastly engine down the hall, the 1800. The Rune will haul ass, without a doubt. I test rode a goldwing (only 2 more weeks to do that - I really suggest everyone take one for a spin - what a blast), and if the Rune is souped up (like the Valk 1500 was), it's got to be the most powerful, torqiest cruiser on the planet. It could get into the 11s in the 1/4 mile, since it has to be lighter than the wing.



They should have just named the Ruckus the Honda Pitbike. There is enough ruckus in the pits the way it is.

 

[wwalkersd]

Ruckus

The Ruckus is the first salvo of the coming bombardment in the very latest two-wheeled market microsegment: NAKED SCOOTERS!

You guys like naked bikes? By God, we'll give you naked all the way down the line!

I think the Rune is kinda cool looking, but what's up with that fork? Of course, some will say they took the Valkyrie and runed it.

 

[Cyberj10]

Honda Needs to rethink their pricing

Honda, Honda, Honda. Where to begin? Oh yeah, $8,599!!!!!!! I guess they are really betting that their under-the-seat tail pipe makes it all worth it (it is pretty tight actually, hehe). But seriously, $600 more than the competition? They really better hope that their new CBR 600RR totally spanks the other 600’s in the comparo’s or they might find themselves trying to offload a lot of inferior more costly bikes come EOY 2003. Without any specs on the ZX-6R my personal favorite for the performance (and styling) winner crown is the new R6. Roughly the same output at the crank (125 hp I think) as the CBR 600 RR and 13 pounds lighter definitely puts the odds in Yamie’s favor.

I am totally sitting on pins and needles waiting for the riding reviews to come in since I am in the market for a new 600 this season. But based on the info so far, Yamaha is definitely in the lead. Honda should really rethink its pricing strategy if they want to totally dominate the market. I could maybe see paying $200 more for a similar product but $600??? No way.

*Enters local motorcycle shop*

"Hi, yes, I would like to put down a deposit on the 2003 Yamaha R6 (black and silver of course), oh and what the hell, I’ll take that trick black and silver Teknics Violator jacket and the matching gloves as well." "Oh, what’s that you say?" "I still have $100 dollars left over after purchasing the R6, jacket and gloves instead of just buying the CBR 600RR?" Wow, what a country, competition rulez.

Now bring on the comparo’s damn it.

 

[vasiliotis]

What about the Varadero???

Why does Honda always have to wait? Bring over the Varadero! It just got a fresh re-design, sounds like it should have cleaner emissions than my dog, and looks great. I know several people who would drop what they are riding now if the Varadero came over...but alas...Honda must wait and see how the Suzuki V-Strom does. If I see another 800-lb BMW GS in California I'm going to PUKE.

 

[sarnali]

I don't think the Rune looks that bad myself, Kind of got '40's Mercury lowrider look going, at least it don't look like another Harley knock-off, Does the unchanged but for new paint-and-BNG's go for the 919 as well? the badass primer look is only supposed to last 'till you can afford paint, as I recall, Too bad Honda couldn't spare some adjustable forks/shocks for the 919 as well, I'm sure they'd sell a few more with a little effort in that direction, as nekkid sport bikes sell pretty well around here

 

[sarnali]

AN-another-thing,,,,,, If Hondas going to call the new Valk. a Rune, why didn't they paint a few discrete runes on the side like the Kenji letters on the Hayabusa, you know Valkyrie-Odin's handmaidens- runestones.... Surely they could come up with something without getting carried away? Geez, where are these guys from, anyway?.........Ok, I'm done now

 

[itchface]

I agree! I can't believe that Honda didn't improve the suspenders on the 919, or even touch the VTR1000! It would take SO LITTLE fine-tuning of these bikes to make them class leaders, that I'm simply astounded by Honda's inaction. I hope Suzuki (and everybody else) swallows up a huge bite of Honda's market share in '03 as punishment for their laziness!



Lazy though they may be, it appears that some folks at Honda have got some real large huevos! That new Rune is the most outrageous production bike I've ever laid eyes on. It's not even close to resembling my cup o' tea, but I'm always pleased to see a manufacturer break out of the mold with some new concepts. And this, from staunchly conservative Honda, no less...