| | | | 2006 Honda XL1000V Varadero |  Written: 06/12/2006 : 10:13. Read 6497 times (13/day). | | The integrality of this filed article is for Premium Members. | The big XL Varadero is still going strong. In 2006 it is still very comfortable, big and with more Adventure looks than go. It was never in the exact same playing field as the mighty BMW GS or KTM Adventure, but more in-line with Aprilia ETV1000 Caponord and Triumph Tiger 955.
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The low seat height and the big comfortable seat made me relax straight away. It’s still a heavy bike, but the weight feels more manageable at stand still than I can recall from the Caponord for instance. Since the Varadero have that low seat (838mm) compared to its competitors it’s a smaller step from a sportbike to the XL than from a sportbike to the GS. The Varadero handles well through the bends despite all it’s got against it. The lightweight cast aluminium wheels and narrow 150 section rear tyre plays a big part and with the big wide handlebar it is easy to wrestle it from side to side. Even though the XL1000V is big doesn’t mean we have to be weight lifters to manage one. The standard tyres are Bridgestone Trail Wings on a 17inch rear and 19 inch front wheel. They were quite good on the road allowing you to flick about a bit. On the gravel they are obviously not as good as on the road, but for light work they grip and allows for some play, but plan where you are going to turn the big bike around first! -Because you can’t go seriously offroad on the Varadero. There is no problem standing up riding on the gravel and the Varadero feels stable enough. The Triumph Tiger 955 is for instance not made for standing up riding as the fuel tank comes in the way for your knees. So the Varadero can do some light riding on gravelled roads or emergency offroading to get you out of trouble. The wheel travel is limited to 155mm up front and 145mm at the rear. With a pillion and luggage you would need to increase the preload a bit on the rear pro-link shock and that’s all the adjustability there is on the suspension.
The gigantic 25 litre fuel tank is a big feature on the big Honda. It’s needed too as the 996cc V-twin is a thirsty engine. Honda has not done too much developing on the good old 996 since the Firestorm was launched in 1996. No one knows whether Honda ever will, but there is certainly some reluctance somewhere in the big organisation regarding the small V-twin programme. A horrible thought just crossed my mind, how would a CBF1000 engine fair in a Varadero chassis! The 996cc V-twin engine has a lot of character and it both sounds a ...
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Bonnot (06-12-2006): salut eI84
Sans hésitation aucune, prend une Triumph Tiger. Cette année j'ai parcouru 40.000 bornes et je ne désire plus rien d'autre. Bien sur je n'ais plus 20 piges et ce depuis belle lurette. Cette machine est fabuleuse, du couple et une vivacité de moteur inouïe. 2.000 tr en 6 à deux en côte, ouvre et tu repart sans à-coup et ce jusqu'a dix mille.... Et je ne parle pas de la nouvelle "1050" qui dois m'être livrée en février 2007... comment tenir 
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