Honda Phantom Ta200 Limited Edition.

[Michel1980]

First of all, i want to thank this forum (and so there members) that helped me out making this decision. To buy the Honda Phantom, instead of the Tiger 150.

Honda service, very good yet slow...the waiting begins, thaistyle !

Rrrrring....rrrring..sawadee crab, sorry sir, youre bike is not here yet takes 2 more weeks.

Klik, i hangup the phone. Pretty annoited but yet calm, my girlfriend looks at me "mmm i know not there yet right ?" Indeed, 2 more weeks driving around with a crappy Mio (that run 26000km) babe im sorry it doesnt do you good i know.

Offcourse woman are forgiving, she knows i was so waiting for the bike the said 2 weeks. Well i should have known, 4 weeks later. I got home from work, i see my bike arriving! My father picked it up allready and offcourse he gave me his humble opinion as expierenced motorcycler.

It drives like a dream, specially seen the fact it a lightbike. It shift very smooth, and got enough power to lift me up the hill with my 115kg of weight. Pretty impressive for that price, iff i known this i would not even bought the 130cc kawasaki.

Although there always downsides to bikes doesnt matter witch one you drive. The suspension is pretty hard/sturdy in the back. Could be that is will loosen up a bit its after all new, the bike itself consist of a 6 gearbox. I personally dont like that specially here you keep on shifting (used to drive kawasaki vulcan 1500cc 4 gear). But you will get used to that after a while.

My first motorcycle, lesson...shifting

After a short intake conversation about handling the bike, we both took a drive just to feel the bike handle in the road. On the back i hear him screaming in front of me "ok, now you see car infront of us slow down, clutch en shift down one gear at the time. Listen to the engine! iff it sounds heavy, shift down. Overtake the car like so (gear went down and a loud roar and were passed it) "

I felt a vibe going true my body, little bit nerves offcourse. Lets face it never driven anyting heavier then a 180cc automatic 2 stroke motorbike (in my own country). Well after the short but yet powerfull lesson.

So at home again, he got off and made sure that he was sitting in the sala infront of oure house. "OK, now get youre ass on it, remember gas, clutch gently loosen it until you feel traction"

Its pretty scaring at first, because you have no idea what youre doing. So offcourse the first two times it was PRRRRR....POM...restart...prrrr POM..restart. I found myself getting even more nervous when that occured. To make this story about my lesson to drive this thing short. Within 10 minutes i driven to winners without even on time stalling.

Easy to handle and great for beginners to learn!

After that i driven allot, just to get use to what i can and CAN'T do with the bike. Its a wonderfull bike to learn on. And so easy to drive with! Shifting goes smooth, sometimes i screwup a gear but can anticipate it very fast and with great ease to keep me concetrated on the road. I can say its very easy to drive this bike. Within really no joke 10 minutes you get the hang of it, within a few days you get more convident and there for youre skills improve!

Tips for beginners (like me)

* Stay calm, even iff you stall (happens to even veteran motorcylers from time to time) stay calm very important. The more you get worked up, the more mistakes you make in a row.

* Listen to the engine, what i do is every 10 km or so i shift, (E.g. 60km 6 gear, drops to 50 shift down ectra) i find it pretty conviniant for myself. Because you cannot hear youre engine purr all the time with the noise around you.

* Drive relax, dont act tought because of friends or ppl that might look at you. I seen that happen to here keep to youreself. More important and when you shift for godsake dont look at the kmph meter. Keep eyes on traffic. Try to do as much as you can from day one on pure feeling. The better it will go en the better you will drive (imho)

The looks are fantastic, so is the preformance,and so are the extras you can get for it!

The looks of the phantom, is all that there is to it . You dont have the idea youre on a little plastic feel bike. Its a impressive machine, with a small engine 200cc that does precisely what it needs to do. Its no speeddemon on the road, i find 80kmph a good cruising speed for the phantom. But a quick powerboost to 100 a 110kmph is not a problem for this bike either. I will overtake pickups with ease and the little motorbikes be carefull there really dangerous sometimes (as in getting in youre way) easy to overtake.

I let go the handlebar and the bike is perfectly in track. No wobble, no drifting it really a amazing bike certainly for the price. That is really LOW iff you ask me, not everybody will agree on that. Iff youre used to a bigbike then this no is no comparing to it. But heeij a apple isnt a tangerine either you know

The extras, are really that of a bigbike, floorsteps,other fender parts, chrome parts for the lights, more usefull for instance saddlebags, other handlebars (not that i want that) tons of options are there for the phantom. To make it even a more sick bike then it allready is imho. I got a tankbag (thanx dad) that holds on to the tank with magnets. Saddlebag will come on it as soon as i get some cash free for it.

Conclusion

Cons: Easy to drive (10 minutes without ,ever having shifted before), Smooth shifting, and very comfortable my girlfriend loves it on the back. Room enough. And powerfull enough to get up hill without a feel that the bike gets killed almost, getting up there. Great looks and tons of usefull options (saddlebags ectra)

Pros: 6 gearbox, its allot of shifting specially here with drivers infront of you, that cant drive. Thailand (samui) is known for it. But you will get used to it. Suspension is a tad sturdy but that loosens up after few days allready.

PICS WILL FOLLOW VERY SOON, TODAY !