I had a test ride yesterday on a manual version and I was a lot more impressed than i expected to be. Gearbox & clutch very light & smooth, and the whole bike seemed to be very easy to settle into & ride straight from the off. Riding position very comfortable for me, mirrors good with no vibration, and the motor was smooth, even though it had little mileage on the clock. It was fitted with the standard screen and I experienced quite a bit of buffeting at higher speeds, exactly like the KTM 1190 standard screen. The bike hides its weight well once on the move and did fell very nimble and easy to manouvre.
I have not ridden a bike with a tall skinny front wheel before & I didn't know quite what to expect, but I felt perfectly happy with it, although the road conditions were wet & greasy so not easy to push too hard. Brakes also felt good, although again with the road conditions, not much of a test.
The engine note sounded rather nice and seems to perform well with good torque & probably ample oomph for most road riding/overtaking situations, although it obviously hasn't got the out & out blast capability of the 1190 which I currently own - not sure how much of an issue this would prove to be in reality.
I have no offroad experience, so I am not sure how much (if any) I would use its off road capability, so the bike may be wasted on me, but if I did buy one I would definitely have a crack at Honda's off road school offer.
Only two things bother me about the bike (bearing in mind most of my mileage in on foreign road tours), the comparatively small fuel capacity and tubed tyres.
