Honda 1200 CROSSTOURER DCT 2016 — Specifications

Imagine an engineer at Honda, one late night in the office, overlaying the plans of a VFR 1200 onto those of a versatile trail bike. The result is this VFR 1200 X, which we call the Crosstourer, a machine that frankly leans towards grand touring on the scale, without ever completely turning its back on dirt roads. And this 2016 version marks a concrete step: Euro4 compliance finally unleashes the 129 horsepower of the 76-degree V4 on French territory. Previously restricted for regulatory reasons, the engine can now express itself without restriction at 7,750 rpm, with a torque of 125.5 Nm available at 6,500 rpm. It’s not nothing.

The chassis deserves attention. Beneath the plastics and fairing, we find the perimeter aluminum twin-spar frame of the VFR 1200, sized to handle more than 170 horsepower. Honda has, however, reworked the valve timing, camshafts, and intake ducts to favor torque at mid-range rpm rather than peak power. A deliberate strategy: facing a Ducati Multistrada 1200 or a KTM 1290 Super Adventure, the Crosstourer does not claim to play in the same league on the track. It aims for something else, and it does it well. The DCT gearbox, available as an option, benefits in 2016 from a new map for the S mode with three distinct sub-programs, to adapt gear changes to your mood of the moment. Downshifts, already refined in 2014, are more predictable and better dosed.

The Honda 1200 Crosstourer DCT test reveals a motorcycle designed from the ground up for autonomy. The 21.5-liter tank, the revised saddle, more comfortable at the front, the adjustable screen, the three-position adjustable handguards: all contribute to allowing long days on the road without arriving exhausted. The shaft drive inherited from the VFR’s monoswing guarantees maintenance-free and perfectly linear transmission. At 275 kg fully fueled, the machine is not lightweight, but this figure remains within the norms of the segment. The seat height at 850 mm will suit average builds without too much penalty for smaller riders.

Where things are slightly less impressive is off paved roads. The 180 mm ground clearance and spoked wheels give an impression of off-road capabilities, but we are far from the 261 mm of a KTM Adventure. A few back roads, degraded forest roads, yes. The Moroccan desert or the trails of the Andes, clearly not. The Honda 1200 Crosstourer DCT is a road bike disguised as an explorer, and that's what you have to accept it as. Its target audience is the great road travelers who want to swallow up kilometers comfortably, with the possibility of cutting through secondary roads without asking questions. Not adventurers in search of the absolute.

At €15,899, the price positioning is consistent with the level of technology on board: three-mode traction control, ABS, shaft drive, and the DCT transmission, which remains one of the few available in this segment. Within a Honda range that now offers crossover from the NC 750 X to the Crossrunner, this VFR 1200 X represents the top of the pyramid, the choice of the demanding traveler who refuses to choose between comfort and dynamism. Two rare assets in the category truly distinguish it: its distinctive V4 character and its automated gearbox. Not enough to do everything, but largely enough to do a lot of things very well.