The Honda DN-01: automatic + motorcycle = smooter?

To drivers, we motorcyclists seem like a unified group. We’re death-wishing two-wheelers, splitting lanes, cutting to the fronts of lines and otherwise conspiring to make their daily commutes miserable. But those of us who are actually on those two wheels know differently. We’re one of the most segregated communities around.

Cruiser. Sport bike. Scooter. The bikes we choose to ride are often shorthand for the sorts of people we actually are (or at least believe we are), which is why the Honda DN-01 is such an interesting machine. Billed as a "crossover," it blurs the lines between the biggest categories in two wheels, and it does so in a way that doesn’t feel like an abomination or identity crisis.

New to the U.S. for 2009, the automatic transmission DN-01 may look like a blenderized version of Honda’s entire motorcycle catalog, but it is, truly, its own thing. Lacking a design or market corollary, the only clues the DN-01 offers about its rider is that she (or he) is open-minded enough to try something different, is either bored (or scared) of shifting and probably has a job. Priced at $14,599, the DN-01 isn’t exactly cheap.

But you get a lot for that money. The biggest news about the DN-01 is, of course, its groundbreaking transmission. Employing fluids to push a series of swash plates back and forth, its hydro-mechanical, aka human-friendly, transmission, or HFT, is the first of its kind on a street bike. First engineered for Honda’s off-road products, the HFT can be operated in two modes -- fully automatic and manual.

Both operate flawlessly, offering different versions of the same sort of fun. In fully automatic mode, the DN-01 is a no-brainer. You just fire it up, twist the grip and go. Moving through the six gears is almost magical, i.e. you don’t feel the gears shifting. At all.

For the marginally more involving experience of the bike’s so-called manual mode, you simply press a switch on the right grip and rip through the gears with buttons that appear to have been designed for both non-English-speakers and the intellectually unendowed. Press "+" to shift up, and "–" to shift down. No need to roll off the throttle; the butter-soft HFT smooths out the gear shifts on your behalf.

Despite its billing, the manual mode is actually semi-automatic. The bike will downshift for you if it senses you’re too low in gear for the level at which the engine is revving. It won’t do you the same favor on the upshift, however. Redline it at 8,700 rpm, and the tach will flash and honk while the bike itself will shimmy.

Powered with a liquid-cooled, 680 cc V-twin, the DN-01 offers a lot more grunt on takeoff than even the maxi-est of scooters. Its top end is also likely to satisfy anyone with even a moderate need for speed. But anyone who comes to the DN-01 from a manual-transmission motorcycle will likely miss the immediacy and responsiveness of a rider-operated clutch-throttle system. The DN-01’s throttle is more responsive than any of the scooters I’ve ridden, but it isn’t quite as reactionary as a traditional motorcycle.

It is, nevertheless, impressive -- and not only for its performance. Stylistically, it breaks the mold of what has ever before come to market. Depending on the vantage point, the DN-01 could be mistaken for any of the three types of bike it draws from. Looking at it from the front, its aerodynamic nose, mirror-embedded turn signals and 17-inch hoops are sporty enough to elicit knowing waves from Gixxers. From the side, its long and low profile, flip-up floorboards and V-twin motor say cruiser. And its rounded rear with the wraparound rear lights are pure scooter.

Strange? Yes. Even stranger: It’s a combination that actually works. The more I looked at the DN-01, the less it seemed like a freak show. Its bodywork effortlessly flowed from one style to the next, with one exception -- its 2-into-1 pipe, whose triangular ugliness was trumped only by its large size and chrome sheen.

For a bike with such an unusual look, I was expecting a lot more eyeballs on the DN-01 than I  got while riding it. Maybe people are just preoccupied these days. Maybe I just like attention. I don't know.

It's the way a bike actually rides that really matters -- right? -- and in that area, the DN-01 was also an anomaly. At high speeds and at low speeds, scraping pegs in the corners or cruising fast and straight, the DN-01 does everything its component parts suggest the bike would do, and it does them all exceptionally well. Now, if only Honda could bring down the price.

2009 Honda DN-01
Base price: $14,599
Powertrain: Liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 52-degree V-twin, SOHC, four valves per cylinder, shaft drive, hydromechanical two-mode automatic transmission with six-speed manual mode, anti-lock brakes
Displacement: 680 cc
Seat height: 27.2 inches
Curb weight: 595 pounds
Road test MPG: 48 (based on 356 miles traveled)

-- Susan Carpenter

Video: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Jack Meoph]

Nice to see you back Susan. I can't believe that the LA Times would dump a MC reviewer in the biggest MC market in the country. The DN.....it's ugly, it's heavy, it's slow. A perfect Honduh.

[Ham Radio]

I miss Susan's regular column "Throttle Jockey" since discontinued by the Times. Blog on, Susan!

[steve parker]

Susan-
Great to see the Times has at least kept ONE biker as a contributor ... Here's my DN-01 question: Where's the damn airbag? Doesn't Honda want those who can afford a $15K bike to survive those awful Flying W's? Or must one be able to buy and heavily-insure a Gold Wing in order to be a hoped-for "returning customer?"
Remember back to the days when car airbags were for drivers only -- car makers didn't care if passengers survived or not; they wouldn't be buying a replacement car, anyway.
Thanks for the piece ...
Steve

[Jack Meoph]

I forgot to mention that it's over priced as well. I recently bought a used 2006 Pontiac Solstice with less than 7K on the odo for $500 more. This is a motorcycle answer to a question no one asked.

[Ronbo]

Dumbest. Idea. Ever.

[Daniel H.]

Thank you LA Times for keeping Susan Carpenter ... more motorcycle news and reviews please!

Good review and video on the DN-01. My first bike was a 1978 Honda CB400A "Hondamatic," and I was slightly tempted by this DN-01 as a possible second bike. (I ended up with a BMW K75 instead.)

If the DN-01 were a few inches more upright/standard, and a few thousand dollars less I would have been much more tempted. I think little bit of storage or luggage space would help too?

Anyway, thanks again Ms. Carpenter and the LA Times for the continuing attention to things two- (and occasionally three) wheeled!

[Paul]

Can anybody explain why a vehicle that weighs only 600 lb and with a 680 cc engine gets only 48 mpg?

This is something I've wondered about all motorcycles and scooters.

[WendyM.]

Should have been named the DOA. Perfect storm time to launch such a controversial machine. Not is it ugly, slow,and overpriced, it requires the most conservative group of purchasers in the world to buy something they don't understand.
Top that off with no luggage capacity, it is really am Massive FAIL. The DN-01 will find a few buyers, and become another Honda cult bike, but really, Honda, why not just release the Goldwing auto youve always wanted to build?

It is great to read Susan here in the TImes. Too bad abput the fishwrap industry.

[JenAZ]

I look regularly for your column, Susan, and it was nice to see a reward for my efforts. Great article... Honda has had other "automatic" transmissions and you'll find them on bikes that go back to the late 70s. There are folks that collect and restore them, although they're not so easy to find. Maybe we're in for a new trend?

[Shawn Annis]

If all that isn't bad enough, they put a darn foot brake on it, cutting out one of this bikes best potential customers, that being handicapped individuals like myself.
I have two artificial legs and have owned 7 Silver Wing scooters so far, logging well over 125,000 miles in the last 7 years.
I really looked forward to the coming of the DN-01, but it turned out to be a big disapointment.

[Paul]

Like the concept, but the bike is way underpowered. Got to try one at a demo day. Honda was trying to attract new riders to the sport and tried to keep the bike manageable and driveable for newbies. Anyone whose ridden a bike for even a few months will think this is a dog with fleas though. Personally I liked the auto transmission concept, but Honda should have put this out with two engine options 600 CC or 900-1100CC with some umph. Styling didn't bother me. I say keep it coming Honda. Keep pushing the envelope on new technology.

[FredB]

Honda must be insane.

Overpriced and underpowered, with sci-fi styling. You can get a real bike (such as the VTX) for what this costs and have money left over for gas.

I agree that this bike must be the predecessor to an automatic transmission Gold Wing.