Honda Crosstourer Highlander DCT

Nick Marshall

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Owned the bike for about a month now.

This was purchased from this site. From Andy somewhere in Kent. I had no intention on going all the way down there to view. Price was right, so i paid a bike courier to go collect it and deliver it to me. Cost £179. Bit on the expensive side. But worth it to me. Not sure how much the train journey would cost. Or hiring a van. Wife didn’t want to drive me. That’s more than understandable, given my track record of changing bikes.
Thing is. It’s only a bike. Don’t get attached to them. If I didn’t like it, there was the option of selling it on or px for something else.

In the time it took from payment, to the bike being delivered, I had got myself up to speed on the Crosstourer forum. Reading as much as my brain would take in.
Before the bike arrived I had a good idea how much extra the bike was going to cost if it was a keeper.

I had already ordered a sat nav mount for my Nav V. That would be the minimum requirement that I needed.

Had a shortlist of accessories I wanted. But didn’t order anything else just in case I hated it.

Anyway... the bike... well it’s fun. The engine and the DCT make it different from more or less any other bike I had previously owned. Had many bikes with higher top speeds and more power. But this just seems to be a great mix of torque, sound and tractability. It pulls well in every gear. There are two auto mods. D and S. Would say D stands for Dull. It changes up to 6th in no time at all. Only really useful if you want to save money on fuel, or ride motorways. Or anything at a constant speed. But not in 30 mph limit as your probably in 2 gears higher than you want.

There is a manual mode that you can change into with a switch on the right. That then allows you to change up and down with the buttons on the left bar.
There is a foot change option. But that’s around £400. Maybe nice to have the option, but I don’t think I would spec it if I was buying the bike new.

Most of the time I ride in S. Then change gear, either up or down if I feel the need.

The riding position is relaxed. The bike is reasonably tall. I’m 5’11” with a 31” inside leg in old money. I can nearly flat foot the bike with the new Touratech Tall seat very recently fitted. But it’s easier if I don’t try and get my heels grounded.

Speedo is digital. Very clear unless the sun is directly behind you. Then it gets lost in its own reflection. But that doesn’t usually last long. Brakes are good. There linked with abs. There is also selectable traction control. Adjusted by a button on the left fairing next to the tank.

Bike is doing about 45 mpg at the moment. Guess you could get 50 mpg if you try. Or 40 if you ride it hard. Not great, but acceptable. I have been getting about 170 miles before it reaches reserve. Then there is a nice clear count down of miles on the speedo, starting at about 30. So i guess you plan to refuel at around 185 or there abouts.

After a couple of weeks of ownership I thought now is the time to spend money and get it looking good. It already came with full Honda Silver Luggage.Adjustable screen, Radiator grill, hugger and fender extender. So that was a good start.

I wanted crash bars. The Honda items aren’t really crash bars. There accessory rails. So not suitable really. Had a good look at the options. I thought the HEED version were the best. There terrific value, well made and nicely finished. Available in black or silver. Thought black would suit the bike better. If I was wrong, I could sell them and buy a silver set.

Wanted a matching Bagstar tank cover. Shocked at the price (£150) but there is quite a bit of work in the Highlander version. Could have saved about £20-£30 and got a plain one. But wouldn’t have liked it. So what’s the point.

Exhaust next. Loads available. Arrow, Remus etc etc. But like KTM, BMW etc. Honda recommend the Titanium Akropovic. No deal to be had with my Honda dealer on that purchase. So saved a few quid by buying elsewhere. Nice thing about Akro silencers. They fit, and work. Also. Very easy to sell if your the sort of person who usually puts the bike back to standard and sells the accessories.

Next up was sump guard. Found a nice one that looks good. It’s black and made of 4mm plate. The bike isn’t going off-road. It’s just really to clear up the underside of the bike and make it look better. Well that’s a work in progress. Have the guard. But it doesn’t fit. It was meant to fit both the standard and the DCT. But the seller was guessing. There needs to be a different support made for the front right mount. It needs to clear the extra bits that control the auto gear change.
When I get some spare time, probably tomorrow, I might fit and then see what needs to be made to make it secure. I have the option to return it. But happy to wait for a fix.

Lastly for the time being, I wanted a set of white Barkbuster VPS handguards. Didn’t want anything else. They don’t make them for the DCT version of the Crosstourer. So I puchased the standard set. Then look to see what needed adapting to make them fit. Well it was easier than I thought. Purchased a few engineered spacers from an eBay supplier. I had to modify the left hand mirror support, the handbrake lever on the bars wasn’t the problem I thought it was going to be. So all went well.

So that’s about it for now. Done about 1000 miles so far. Enjoying using the bike for my 27 mile commute to work and a bit of weekend riding in mid wales and surrounding areas.



 
A great review. How is the suspension working?

Thanks.
The rear seems ok to me. About 5 clicks out from fully clockwise. Front probably dives a bit too much on the brakes. But most bikes do if your used to older BMW’s.
Probably get some hyperpro springs and oil fitted in the coming weeks. But no rush as it’s not terrible.
 
Steady on Nick, your sounding like your enjoyig this one and almost sounding like it could be a keeper :D glad to see your enjoyig it, I’ve read a few reviews on them and most people seem to love them.
 
Nice one Nick, great honest review of the bike and your choice of accessories. Good to hear your enjoying it and hope to catch up with you, sometime soon.
 
Surprised you haven't had one Big Den, mines certainly a keeper!
 
Well I did like the engine in the 2 vfr12's I had , bit of an odd riding position till you got used to it. These being taller should fix that, so will add to my list . Like the superten been overlooked due to more highly promoted bike's
 
I’ve owned two Crosstourers, manual first then a DCT. Very underrated bike.

DCT was superb.

If Honda had kept the updates coming, added some of the things other bikes in this sector offer now I’d very probably be on my third.
 


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