After seeing the Ten Best Designs article in MCN this month, I decided to post my own, one-at-a-time. This list is not necessarily in order of preference. I'm just listing my favorite bikes, by design, as I think of them.
My first pick is the 1988 Honda NT650 Hawk. Ahead of its time, the NT650 had a super cool dual spar aluminum frame frame and single-sided swingarm and was advanced for 1988 and is pretty far ahead of most sportbikes today. If there was one, the downside was the mild-mannered twin-cylinder motor. Honda over-estimated the public's ability to deal with future-think. The bike bombed. In 1992, Honda was still trying to unload 1988 models.
My first pick is the 1988 Honda NT650 Hawk. Ahead of its time, the NT650 had a super cool dual spar aluminum frame frame and single-sided swingarm and was advanced for 1988 and is pretty far ahead of most sportbikes today. If there was one, the downside was the mild-mannered twin-cylinder motor. Honda over-estimated the public's ability to deal with future-think. The bike bombed. In 1992, Honda was still trying to unload 1988 models.
Regardless of the marketplace, I think this was one of the most fun-to-ride bikes ever. A friend owned one and every time I visited him I borrowed this bike. The thing most obvious about the NT650 was that the frame, brakes, and handling were way above the motor's capability to get the rider into trouble. It is a great ride, especially when corners are so tight that the lack of a 110+ mph speed motor doesn't seem an inconvenience.
Interesting to know.
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