This is a brief report on my initial impression of Honda’s new VTX 1800. A more thorough analysis of this bike will follow in Part Two.
After putting a hundred miles or so on the VTX in the first two days, I was sitting in my garage thinking … and staring at my 1996 Triumph Trophy 900. I had been arguing with my wife, and I was trying to forget the argument and come up with an idea for an MD article. Not much luck on either count.
Suddenly, I looked toward the VTX, and with an empty-headed perspective, it hit me. This bike looks like it was built around the engine. It looks like the engine was pre-existing and serving some other purpose (it could have been powering a mill or a generator) when someone decided to pluck it and build a motorcycle chassis around it.
The low seat is function, not sytle. This huge, tall motor required it. Everything existed to fit the motor — the motor was not designed to fit everything else.
When “v-twin cruisers” were made by Harley, Indian and others, years ago, their “style” was dictated largely by function. The v-twin engine configuration itself was chosen for functional reasons, but the chassis was built to work around the motor.
The fact that the VTX struck me with these thoughts made me appreciate what Honda has done with this design. The bike is absolutely stunning when you first see it in person (whether you are a cruiser fan or not). Looking almost outrageous in some photos, it looks balanced, and even organic, in the flesh. It is rooted in a functional approach to utilizing the massive v-twin engine for two wheeled transportation.
Oh, yes, I did mention the engine. What can I say about the engine? This ain’t no cruiser engine … at least, not any cruiser engine I have been famaliar with. I knew cruiser engines very well, and you, sir, are no cruiser engine. You’re too stinkin’ fast! Much more in Part Two.
