Honda X-Adv, CB650R and CB1000R mini reviews

[eisfeld]

I've recently had the chance to try the three bikes mentioned in the topic at Bigwing Khon Kaen while having the 30,000km service done for my Africa Twin. I was pleasantly surprised that they offered all these for test rides and it was a very unburocratic experience. As to the bikes themselves:

 

TLDR: X-Adv meh / CB650R pretty good / CB1000R hmmm

 

X-Adv

 

The X-Adv always seemed like an interesting bike to me. Kind of a mix between a scooter and my Africa Twin I thought. Well I can say it's much more a scooter than Africa Twin. My AT is the DCT version and the X-Adv also comes with a DCT so I was very familiar with the gearbox but the X-Adv version seemed a bit less sporty and crucially lacks the manual mode where you can shift with paddleshifters on the handlebar. This is the main mode that I ride in with my AT so I would really miss it. The power of the 750cc engine is OK but not exciting. It's redeeming quality is the torque which provides just enough punch. The soundtrack is pretty good as well but again not AT level. The seat was really comfy for both me as well as my pillion. It's pretty big ????As negative has to count the suspension, it didn't handle bumps all too well. While not really stiff, it just transfered a pretty noticeable hit into my spine. The biggest negative though was the handling. At low speeds the bike felt like it wanted to fall over and the front very heavy. At higher speeds this sensation completely reversed and even with me shifting my whole body to the side, the bike wouldn't want to lean. It reminded me a bit of the floating boat like handling of the (old) Forza 300. I guess this is because the bike is indeed pretty heavy, nearly as much as my AT but the AT is way way better balanced. I think the geometry combined with the weight just doesn't work well. At 420k THB I also think it's overpriced. Where does the 56k premium compared to the NC750X come from?

 

CB650R

 

I tried this bike before in Phuket and like the bike quite a bit but was turned off by the vibes. I wanted to try it again to see if it was maybe a bike specific issue but can confirmed it was exactly the same with this one. The power at 95hp is pretty sweet for a 650cc, throttle control is smooth and easy at low speeds. The suspension also is very decent considering the price point, handles well in corners but also can take bumps without upsetting your spine. No idea why it felt a lot better than the X-Adv but it did. Handling is very neutral, it doesn't tip over at slow speeds but can lean properly at higher speeds. Nice and agile. Overall I'd say if the vibes are not an issue then this is maybe the best contender in the middleweight class, definitely gives the MT-07 a run for its money.

 

CB1000R

 

Really surprised that they had this moddle for testing. The short summary I'd say is: Take the CB650R but crank everything up a notch. It feels very very similar to its smaller sibling in pretty much every way. But of course it has quite a bit more power, though not crazily so. What I mean is you will feel a very noticeable step up from the 650 but it's also very far from what you'd get from other liter bikes. Honda does not specify the HP of the bike in Thailand. In other places the bike produces around 140HP but I suspect it's restricted in Thailand because iirc the Fireblade makes only 130HP here and they wouldn't have the naked make more power than the supersport bike. The bike did *not* have a quickshifter and I don't think you can order one from the factory. That's a bummer and I don't get why they'd do that. But AP Honda is not surprising me anymore with weird decisions for Thailand at this point. It also has similar vibes to the CB650R. Is it a good deal? At 515k THB it's not so clear to me. It provides more power than the CB650R but in terms of features nothing really. Yes you can adjust the suspension and it sounds a little bit louder but overall the feel it gives is quite similar. One can have fun on the smaller displaced version too. A Z900 will probably offer quite comparable performance for 115k less. Same for the MT-09 which I think is even a bit more on the fun side of things. So in the end I felt like the CB1000R was lacking a little bit something but I can't really say what.

[Kwasaki]

In Thailand they offer pussy bike indeed why not get a test ride on a BMW-S1000RR maybe still not the same as europe.

ChiangMai Yams years ago had full power R1's so they said ?? 

Edited July 19, 2019 by Kwasaki

[eisfeld]

13 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

In Thailand they offer pussy bike indeed why not get a test ride on a BMW-S1000RR maybe still not the same as europe.

ChiangMai Yams years ago had full power R1's so they said ?? 

 

I friend of mine has the S1000RR and pretty sure it's not restricted. BMW also specifies 199HP on the Thai website. Yamaha Thailand also specifies 200HP. Ducati Thailand specifies 214HP. Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda are careful to not specify power or torque numbers anywhere in their pages and specs. Very suspicious and we know that they heavily restrict certain bikes.