Honda City Adventure (the
production version)
These patent images show the
production version of Honda’s City Adventure concept bike – a weird mishmash of
scooter, adventure bike, tourer and commuter.
When the City Adventure
first appeared at last year’s Milan bike show most dismissed it as nothing more
than a crazy concept to draw crowds to the Honda stand. But it turns out that
it was actually a lightly-disguised production machine.
Since its showing last year,
the firm has trademarked potential names for the production bike, filing
applications for rights to the name ‘ADV’ and ‘X-ADV’. Neither name was used on
press information about the concept, but the letters ‘ADV’ were stamped on its
sides and emblazoned on its licence plate, suggesting it’s the title Honda has
in mind.
A prototype of the machine
was also spotted testing in Rome under heavy disguise. These pictures show what
the final version will look like, and far from being toned-down for production
Honda has actually upped the bike’s specifications compared to the concept.
Changes include radial front
brake calipers instead of the concept’s conventional four-pots, a smaller
exhaust can than the concept featured and intriguing wire wheels with spokes
that run right to the edges of the rims. It also gains legally-required
reflectors on the fork legs and new, larger hand guards on the bars.
The changes accurately
reflect the alterations that could be seen on the earlier, disguised prototype
spotted in Rome, but show much more clearly on these CAD images taken from
Honda’s official design patent for the bike.
You can also clearly see the
mechanism for the adjustable screen and that Honda has retained the flat-panel
instrument pod, which on the concept contained a full-colour TFT display.
Mechanical parts for the
bike come from the NC750, including the DCT semi-auto gearbox and 54hp
parallel-twin engine, tuned for incredible fuel economy rather than performance.
While some are sure to point
out that despite this bike’s ‘adventure’ styling it has no place going
off-road, that’s missing the point. Honda has clearly taken aim at the same
trends that have seen SUVs replace estate cars as the vehicles of choice for
anyone looking for a hefty dose of practicality in their transport. The
‘off-road’ bits might not stand up to a motocross track but they will surely
help with knackered, potholed city streets and the occasional leap from a curb.