Test drive: Honda DN-01 (2009) – Declassed element

The new product from Honda - model DN-01 - has become one of the most discussed among motorcyclists and all those who care about powerful two-wheeled vehicles. This motorcycle comfortably coexists with a stylish original design, a powerful engine, an automatic gearbox, an ABS system and other useful functions. Thanks to these qualities, Honda dn-01 motorcycles can be called unique equipment that will not only impress others, but also make travel as comfortable as possible.

For whom

Here are the main advantages of the Honda DN-01:

• excellent balancing, smooth running;
• comfortable, but extremely low rise;
• sustainability;
• ease of operation;
• Quite impressive performance.

The model may be of interest primarily to those bikers who like futuristic technology. Of course, the company made a mistake when it positioned the motorcycle as a touring machine. If they had called their bike a motorcycle for the city, perhaps his career would have turned out differently.

Dimensions and weight

This is a fairly long bike – 2343 mm. The model reaches 837 mm in width and 1120 mm in height. The wheelbase here is 1609 mm, and the height of the bike at the saddle is 713 mm. Together with fuel, the car weighs 270 kg, and the volume of its gas tank is 15.3 liters. Taking into account the average gasoline consumption of 5 liters per hundred kilometers, this is quite enough.

External links [edit]

• Official page of Honda DN-01
• Illustration of how a human-friendly drive works in Popular Science

Chassis and brakes

DN-01 has a frame made of steel. This is a duplex type. It looks very modern even now. There is a lot of futurism in the appearance, especially with regard to the front shape of the motorcycle. The wheel rims and steering wheel look minimalistic, but at the same time, quite bright.

The rear suspension is a pendulum version with a shock absorber. At the front, a telescopic fork measuring 41 mm was used. The rear brake is a 276 mm disc with a two-piston caliper, while at the front there is a pair of 296 mm discs with three-piston calipers.

Honda DN-01 motorcycle review

The motorcycle is made for the city and good roads, i.e. You can, of course, ride on bad roads, but the motorcycle, with blows to the butt, makes it clear that it was clearly not made for this. First impression. Before that I had road, sport, supermoto and cross. At first you get used to the feet-first position, the heavy weight of the motorcycle and the hefty steering wheel. And to the fact that at every intersection motorists lean out of their windows and ask “is this a Honda with an automatic?” Second impression. I rolled into it for an unusually long time. I couldn’t get used to the fact that before stopping, it tilted to one side and I had to struggle to hold it. And it was also difficult to understand how he turns at low speed. But after a month of rare trips, I quietly adapted to it, began to feel the dimensions, and for commuting to work (and I mainly use a motorcycle for this) I began to choose it (I also have a supermoto in my garage). Final diagnosis. I think the words “driving pleasure” best suit the dn-01

What can I say about the bike, it’s not a sport bike, of course, but it shoots well for the city, in my opinion, it’s an ideal option. The suspension is moderately stiff, there is a fix. adjusting the rear shock absorbers. It steers great, but don’t forget the weight, it’s over 200 and I wouldn’t recommend it for girls, it’s a bit heavy. Consumption is about 6l/100 km, tank is 13 liters. The brakes are a separate story - the combined system, when you brake with the rear, it also brakes with the front - if you need to brake sharply, you help the front ones sharply and the vehicle stops rooted to the spot, abs also contributes to safety, this, of course, does not give the right to take speed and driving lightly in principle, but it forgives small mistakes and gives a feeling of certain confidence and comfort. The engine on the bike is a proven, well-known transalpine unit. About gears - in general, there are none in principle - the HFT system is a high-precision unit, which, if you simply explain, is a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor combined into one crankcase. the torque from the engine is transmitted through a closed cardan with an almost ideal power characteristic to the rear wheel gearbox. Not a hint of failure—everything is just powerfully confident. But for those who like to switch things up, there is an imitation, in my opinion, like 6 steps or 5, I don’t remember on the right grip (or on the left :-)). And there is a sport mode, I hardly use it

Not long ago I finally bought exactly what I wanted, a Honda DN-01 cruiser. For those who are too lazy to read a lot of letters, I will say that I am very pleased with it and this is exactly what I needed.

In general, I can say that this is still a cruiser. It has the ergonomics of a cruiser, it handles like a cruiser, it handles like a cruiser on the road. Just plastic. What I mean is that on the official website he is listed as a tourist.

Unfortunately, I have only driven it for a short time so far, a little more than 2000 km, but this was quite enough to evaluate its driving performance. The impression from the motorcycle that is created from the first ride until now is that it is calm and reliable. It's not a racing machine, but you can sit on it and it will really get you where you need to go with minimal effort. And also crowds of people who will look around when you pass by and stop when the motorcycle is just parked by the side of the road. So, perhaps the thing that takes the most time and effort from the owner of a Honda DN-01 is communication with onlookers -) Many people cannot understand what it is, but sometimes you come across people who have seen the DN-01, for example, on the cover of a magazine.

The DN-01 motorcycle is low, so it would be more correct to say that you don’t even sit on it, but lower yourself. For any fan of sport bikes, the sensations from the DN-01 will only cause “eee!” from the first to the last minute of being within reach. Even the stock seat is very soft, it feels the same as if you were sitting in a good chair.

The default suspension settings are also very soft; if you press on the front or rear of the motorcycle, it happily squats. In general, everything so that His Majesty the Owner does not knock his ass off on the next bump, of which there are plenty on our roads. So, judging by the suspension, the motorcycle is still a tourist.

Again, the heart of any high-tech fan, in addition to the appearance and high-tech automatic transmission, will be won by such little things as automatic engine shutdown when the motorcycle is placed on the stand, and setting it to neutral if you inadvertently forgot to remove this very stand. The motorcycle refuses to start when the gas tank cap is open, and also refuses to move away while using the handbrake. In this mode, when you try to add gas, it also goes into neutral. The default built-in HISS immobilizer, cardan and other little things in the form of a digital display will add a sense of belonging to the future. The motorcycle will do everything for you, you just need to press a button. In the computer sense, this “megagadget” best fits the description of “user-friendly”.

Sitting in a wide saddle and slightly reclining on the small backrest, we get a good view in the huge mirrors, as well as easy access to all the controls of the motorcycle. Ergonomics at its best! But unfortunately, only for those who do not have very long legs, and the person himself is no taller than 180 cm tall. Large people will find it uncomfortable on a motorcycle, and the sensations, it seems to me, will be even less pleasant than the “shrimp” position on a spot bike. For a person of my parameters, everything will be perfect. In the mirrors you can only see the road from the sides and behind, the tips of the handles, as well as the tail of the motorcycle - very convenient for estimating the exact distance. The display is easy to read, the low windshield is positioned just so that “a little more and the view would be blocked, but...”

The ignition switch, as well as the gas tank, despite being futuristic, are in a “classic” place. Immediately under the lock cylinder there is an alarm button and, in fact, the gas tank cap, which is locked with the same key.

The LCD screen is simple and informative, everything is perfectly readable both day and night. The engine speed scale runs at the top, and the speedometer is in the middle. To the right is the fuel level and mode screen (automatic drive/sport or current gear indicator in manual mode). On the left is the clock (which I can never get around to setting) and the odometer, which can be switched to the "miles driven this trip" mode.

It is immediately clear that Honda, unlike Yamaha, carefully thought through the ergonomics of the motorcycle. This is also expressed in the controls on the steering wheel grips. If on the FJR1300AS, with a semi-automatic transmission, the gear shift button on the steering wheel is at the back and not everyone has enough finger length to reach it (I just didn’t have enough), then on the DN-01 everything is much more convenient.

On the opposite side, just under the index finger, there is a button for flashing the high beam headlights. The thumb moves smoothly between the high/low beam switch, drive/sport transmission mode (in manual mode, these buttons allow you to up/down gears), as well as turn signals and horn -)))

The only negative that I noticed is that when you reach for the turn signals, sometimes you can still accidentally press the horn button. But in my opinion this is not so critical.

The other handle houses the engine on/off, neutral/drive, and starter buttons. At the back, in the same place where the headlight flashing button is, there is a lever for switching to manual gearbox mode.

You put your feet on wide footpegs, which by the way fold up and work like sliders, if the motorcycle falls, you remove the paw, remove the handbrake, insert the key, unlock and straighten the steering wheel (the motorcycle must stand upright and be completely unlocked, otherwise HISS will not let you start it) , start it, press the starter, then the D button on the ND selector and go.

Before you ride, you can put something under the seat, such as a bottle of soda, tissues, or a soft helmet bag. Something big won't fit in there, no matter how hard you try. There is a separate space for a U-shaped wheel lock.

Riding it matches the feeling of just sitting in the saddle. Again, I repeat, you shouldn’t expect super-speeds or acceleration from it, and it’s not designed for that. At low speeds, thanks to the low center of gravity, the motorcycle steers well up to 2-3 km/h, completely unwilling to fall or roll to one side even on gravel. Again, I didn’t notice any “slips” either on wet or dry ground/asphalt or wobbling when the front wheel got into a hole. The motorcycle rides like it’s on rails, and is so easy to fold and shift in turns that at small radii it seems as if it has not only an automatic machine, but also an autopilot -)

By the way, sportbike tires, even at the maximum tilt angle, still have a very good surface area for traction. Roughly speaking, part of the tire around the edges is simply not used.

Opening the throttle and accelerating can cause a strange sensation for the average motorcyclist. In mode D, you open the gas, there is a delay for a few fractions of a second, and then the motorcycle begins to accelerate smoothly. Not even smoothly, but Plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa The acceleration is noticeable, but so smooth that you hardly notice it. Basically, you understand that you are already driving more than 100 solely because at a speed of 130 you begin to be noticeably blown off the motorcycle, at a speed of 150 you are already desperately clutching the steering wheel, at a speed of 180 you no longer understand whether it is you driving or the motorcycle pulling you, and you hold on so you don't get blown away.

Therefore, a comfortable speed on a stock DN-01 is 90 km/h. You ride for yourself, don’t disturb it -) Recently I had the opportunity to ride it in a storm along the Kronstadt Dam at a speed of 150, I can say that the motorcycle has a very low windage and even on a wet road it rides as if glued.

The Sport mode changes things a little. When switching to it, there is a slight jerk, as if the motorcycle had been given a good kick in the ass, the revolutions increase by 500, and the motorcycle switches to a “lower” gear and changes its shift map. Acceleration becomes faster and there is no delay before the reaction to unscrewing the handle.

I didn’t drive in manual mode, and in general it’s not needed. There are enough automatic modes for driving around the city and on the highway, unless, of course, you purposefully play “vzhzhzh-gone-to-the-point” on the road. In general, overtaking someone on the DN-01 is about the same as on a powerful car. I took aim, took a turn, and overtook. It’s better not to poke your nose into every crevice without first thinking through your maneuvers.

By the way, about the cracks. Thanks to its good handling, the DN-01 drives like a charm in a traffic jam; the only obstacle is the mirrors - they are at approximately the same level as the mirrors of passenger cars, so it has already happened a couple of times that I accidentally caught them. So, one of the first points in tuning a motorcycle, as trivial as it sounds, is electric mirrors, much like on a Burgman. I hope one of the folk craftsmen will be able to do this.