I bet most here have never even seen an XLV750,let alone ridden one,so I thought you might like to come for a ride with me.
First a bit about the bike - I had a go at this before,but used up my post word count just about the bike,guess I'm kinda passionate about it.So let's be simple...the motor was designed for dirt track racing in the USA,mile and half mile tracks,and is based on the layout and dimensions of the HD XR750.To homogulate the cases for dirt track Honda also built a bike for privateer Paris/Dakar use - to compete with the big BMWs...so they used a big aircooled twin,shaft drive and hydraulic lifters for ease of maintanence in extended racing with 20min service breaks.The RS750 proved to be very sucessful,beating Harley at their own game...the XLV750 was not a sucessful desert racer,but Honda kept at it and were ultimatly able to develope the bike into a winner,somewhat removed from the XLV750,but not really the same as the XRV750 which resembles the racer.
So,let's try it out - walking up to it it's a big sucker,swing a leg over and try to touch the ground...tall for a street bike,but normal by dirt bike standards,the bike is very wasp waist,narrower than my XT400,but the tank dominates,this is a bike you sit in,not on,the tank flaring out and up,filler cap on one side,fuel tap on the other,with the air filter in the middle...up high in clean air it's hoped.Another ease of maintanence feature,the air filter element can be remove in a matter of seconds,one screw and just twist.It's heavy,195kg dry,and it's all up high,to me this is the worst thing about the bike,I'm small and light and if it goes over too far it's a goner.Key on and thumb it into life...hey,that sounds cool,what's up here? This is an unusual motor for Honda - a 45deg V twin,air cooled and dry sumped,with bore and stroke measured in inches rather than mm,this is a Harley,not Honda layout.The RS750 used a single crank pin,but for balance Honda staggered the VLV crank,like their other V twins of the period - the pins are 90deg apart,thus it sounds like a Ducati,not a Harley.This gives perfect primary balance,but gives a rocking couple,you can feel this as you ride...it has a waddle at low engine speeds,but is smooth as any V twin without a balance shaft at speed.
CLUNK into gear and we're off - oh,good grief,what the hell - this is a 1970s BMW gearbox!,there is no way you can do a clean shift,it's as slow as a truck gearbox,you can feel each dog as you move it through the gears,you just have to live with it,I don't even notice now,but fast shifts are not part of XLKV750 riding.There is a hell of a lot of movement as you ride - long travel suspension and shaft drive making it feel like you are using all the suspension travel just going through the gears.A sports bike rider may not feel comfortable with such long travel soft suspension,but dirt bike riders will know not to worry.
For me the handling is exactly what I want in a bike - but it will depend on where you're coming from to enjoy it.If you have ever ridden an XR250 hard up an open fire break,the XLV750 will feel at home on a sealed road,dirt bike riding on the road.This thing is superb lunging up the saddles on SH43...XR style,sit on the nose of the seat,hunched over the bars,chin over the steering head,elbows out...look with your eye,and the bike follows,no thought required...flick,flick,charge,toss it down and punch the gas - fire break riding on a sealed road...nothing better!Sports bike riders have asked me how it handles in the twisties with the weight high up,the wide bars and 21 in front wheel - uh,hellooo! what are the fastest turning bikes? dirt bikes of course,you don't see them on an MX track head down arse up with narrow bars and small front wheels...you can change direction a hell of a lot faster on a dirt bike than a sports bike,tight twisties are the home of adventure bikes and motards.
This is an off road bike,so how does it do off the seal.Not too good for me - on gravel you probably won't go much faster in the 750 class,but it's a big heavy bike,with a ton of grunt - just wheel spin to hell and gone again coming out of corners,it builds up some stupid speeds and then takes a hell of a lot to slow down again...we are using the same size tyres as a lightweight 250 after all.So you just get scary lunges between corners and panic brake slides to slow it down for the next one,kinda like a V8 compared to a zippy rally car,all noise and show,but no real speed at all.It also carries too much weight on the front wheel,on a real dirt bike you don't even notice the front wheel in gravel,but it's all you think about with the XLV750,if you punch the front out it's a goner,it's slipping and sliding in mid corner.A few times in perfect conditions I have been able to use it to the max in gravel,it's one hell of a feeling to be going as fast as you can on a bike of this size.
In real dirt? No way! at least for a short arse weakling like me - this is a real mans bike,you got to be a front row forward to be able to make use of it,you need the legs to hold it up,you need the body weight for transfer,no matter how I move I don't have the weight to use body English,no response.This thing need much bigger inputs than I am able to give it.In easy going it's ok,I can see it has potential for the right person,you can stand up,pick a line,do all the right things,but not for me.Too much weight on the front comes back to haunt me...if it slips in a muddy rut I just can't hold it,fishtailing up a hill and I just fall over.No,it's not my off road bike.
The most impressive part of the bike is the motor,it's just magic - max torque at 5500rpm,max HP at 7000rpm,rev limiter and red line at 8250...the motor only drops a couple of HP between 7000 and 8000rpm,this gives a very useful over rev,on the road you can just change gear where you like,between corners you can just keep it nailed without shifting up and down too much.On gravel it allows the bike to rev out on loose spots,bumps etc,come out of a corner,over the wheel track and she screams with wheelspin,just let her go and snap back in with a huge kick on the hard pack.
I just love this bike,it's heritage,the sound,the dirt bike set up on a big bike,it's imposing,rare,totaly off the wall,it's me in a motorcycle.
It's biggest stength is maintaining speed point to point,nothing is a problem,bumps and slips,potholes,gravel,roadworks,road kill,wandering stock - it just takes everything in it's stride,the ultimate New Zealand back road bike.
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Originally Posted by Posh Tourer :P
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