Another market segment Honda has identified/is attempting to create?

[Ecklund]

Who's us?

Again, a guess, but us are old guys that use reading glasses and forego much pop music.

we are gratefully not hip enough for Honda to build this 'thing' for us.

[JJ]

One word.... YUCK!

[Ecklund]

One word.... YUCK!

I try to leave open the possibility that I am missing something and that large groups of people may see value in a thing where I don't.

But yeah, a good argument could be made that this Honda is demonstrably imbalanced, goofy and in a word, ugly.

[83GS1100E_Tornado]

Bulldog or bull$hit?

[JEEPRUSTY]

LTDs L models and Viragos are not ugly...........................

[Ecklund]

LTDs L models and Viragos are not ugly...........................

I don't know... Some of those early Viragos and LTDs were roundly panned as being hideous by both the mags and regular people back when they came out. And time has not been good to them either.

The Japanese looked at how many bikes Harley was selling and found it was cheap to take a bike they were already selling, rake up the frame and throw on some buck horn bars, call it a Custom and sell an HD wanna be for cheap.

I remember reading something about needles in eyes in an article about either the LTD or the Virago.

Of course style is fairly subjective. But in this case, eh. But I'm sure those bikes have a good personality...

[Grimly]

I don't know... Some of those early Viragos and LTDs were roundly panned as being hideous by both the mags and regular people back when they came out. And time has not been good to them either.

The Japanese looked at how many bikes Harley was selling and found it was cheap to take a bike they were already selling, rake up the frame and throw on some buck horn bars, call it a Custom and sell an HD wanna be for cheap.

I remember reading something about needles in eyes in an article about either the LTD or the Virago.

When I was up close to a factory custom that went too far, the Kwack VN750 Vulcan. I was looking at it in the dealer's showroom when a salesman sidled up to me and said, "It's nice, isn't it?"
"Nah" I replied, "It's like a tart's handbag."
The Vulcan...

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_vn750_vulcan86.htm

My opinion hasn't changed and most of them still look like that, to me.
Oddly, I'd already been exposed to the earlier factory custom of the XS650Special and found it ok, but promised myself that if I ever owned one I'd ditch the bars, seat and tank. Which I've done.
The Z750LTD, which I found more acceptable, as it could be easily "de-Ld" as known around here.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_z750ltd%2080.htm

Perhaps it's because I grew up with a lot of guys who chopped and modified some dreadful old crap British twins into some very nice bits of kit and created amongst the dross some incredible pieces of urban art (some of it even roadworthy) that I was always going to look askance at 'factory customs' and see them as nothing more than a marketing ploy; as an attempt to cash in on those who wanted the look but had no skills or talent and nothing but a credit line.

[8ball]

Coukld it be any uglier?

Yes, they could paint all the black, pink, to go with the baby blue frame!

[dorkburger]

I saw a couple of Honda sportbikes the other day it occured to me that I generally find Hondas to be bland.
I think the last Hondas i really dug were the Blackbird and the CB 1000 "Big One"