A new addition to the stable

We are now a family of 2 Suzuki's, a Toyota and just recently a shiny red Honda (plus a dog, 3 fish and 20 budgies but that's not what this is about :-) )

The mrs could no longer tolerate riding the Wee due to pretty extensive knee surgery. No matter what we tried it just wouldn't work for her, so we decided that it was time to look at some other form of 2 wheeled transport.
Next thing I know, this comes home



She recons it looks a bit hows ya father, but once on and riding, she recons it's a great bike. In her words, Stuff what it looks like, I can't see it when I'm riding, and it rides great.

I haven't had a ride of it yet but dying to try it out if for no other reason than curiosity

So ugly its kind of interesting and it does have 2 wheels .

Dare I say, what the **** is it?

It's a Honda NSA700A, or more commonly known as a DN-01.
Not my cut of tea but the mrs likes it and she gets to stay riding.

We would look pretty silly if we all wore the same clothes and rode the same bike. So good on her. I look forward to reading your opinion.

I was given one of these as a loaner once.Very different,but comfortable.

It was a while ago,aren`t they an auto from memory,like a big scooter?

There is a black one that gets around south Canberra - it always attracts my attention due to the unusual looks. The weight, power and torque figures shown here are interesting.

Dad brought one home for a weekend of test riding. I didnt end up riding it, but he thought is was brilliant to ride.

IIRC what killed them was the price, far too expensive for what they were offering

I've had a bit of time on the DN-01 so here are my thoughts.
I'll start by saying I personally wouldn't own or ride one unless I had to as it doesn't suit my frame/size.
Now that you know that, read on if you feel like it but please keep in mind these are my thoughts and yours may vary.

Looks
All I can say about this is WOW. It looks very sleek and fast just standing still. The paint, fit and finish is very good for a bike that is nearly 5 years and 12k kms old The previous owner looked after it (have spoken with him) very well but it's also been out in the weather and used as it should be yet stood up to it all with no rust, no bad marks on the paintwork and no bits falling off.

Body
I've taken a bit of time to pull things apart to see what is what and I have to say that all that body work is a PITA to remove/replace. To change the battery (using the Honda method) takes about 30 mins before you even get to the battery, some to top up the coolant reserve tank. Having said that, it all fits together very well, no gaping gaps, just click/screw/pin together and your done. It just fits.
There is very little (next to none at all) space under the seat for stuff. I managed to squeeze our roadside puncture repair kit in there next to the Honda tool kit (what a joke that thing is) but only just

Cockpit
This is my biggest bugbear with the bike, I don't fit on it. When I sit in the seat I can not see the gauges properly unless I scrunch down and tilt my head a bit. This is due to the very low windscreen obscuring my view of the gauges.
I can't see out of the mirrors very well as they look under the handlebars so my elbows get in the way somewhat due to my orangutang like arms. If I duck down a bit it's OK, but not a natural look behind unfortunately. The seating position is cramped for me and I found I had to sit back in the seat so wasn't sitting comfortably as I could have been if the foot boards where places a little more further forwards. Same with the bars, I found them too close for my liking. For me to be comfortable in the seat I recon I'd need a back rest as I found my back really was very very sore after a 150km ride plus another 50 a couple of days later. I think it was more due to the way I had to sit to get comfortable and see stuff (like the gauges etc) rather than the actual comfort of the bike (mrs recons it's like a lounge chair)

Brakes
These things are pretty dam good for a 270ish kg bike plus another 100 (or so)kg lard arse on top. Squeeze the front brake and it stops, jam you foot on the back brake and it stops. I will point out that the bike has combined ABS brakes fitted so when you use the bake brake, it works the front at the same time. Pretty sure it's something like 30% effort goes to the front when you only use the back brake. use both and it stops dam quickly and straight as an arrow. Good feel, great ABS, enough said I recon.

I've more to write but ahve jsut been called away, so will add more soon (engine and trans to come)

I cant get me head around the handlebar set up and steerability, will be interested to hear your view on that aspect of it.

You're right thoght it does look sleek and fast just sitting still.

Suspension
Suspension on the bike is what I'd term as simple. No adjsutment at the front end and only preload on the rear which is by a stepped rotating ring. Even though it's simple, it's not too bad. It absorbed the small bumps well given that my lard arse was on it. The larger bumps were a bit harsh IMO but I think this ws due to bottoming. Once I'd increasing the preload from the standard 2 up to 4, it helped a bit.

Handling
In reality, the DN-01 is a pretty easy bike to ride. It was a bit weird at first as it doesn't handle like anything I'm used to. Once I'd figured it all out (didn't take long) it was as simple as look, shoot and you'll hit the target. I found I needed to lean a different way, kinda from the hips if that makes any sense but it was easy to do and the bike turned, tracked and did it easy.
Slow stuff was a different ball game tho and I found myself paddling around more than I'm used to. I put this down to inexperience on this type of bike and the way the transmission works as it's not as intuitive as you might think. The long wheel base makes things a little harder in tight spaces and at first I thought it's be easier to turn the space shuttle around than this thing. I kinda still do.

Engine
Nothing really to say here, It's a Honda. Boring as bat shit but gets the job done. It seams to run out of puff pretty early in the piece (about 7k) so reving it hard is pointless I recon. Much like the bandit, use the tork and motor forwards.

Transmission
This is what this bike is all about IMO. It's not a true auto as many think, and it's not a CVT in a way you currently think of a CVT. Instead of me dribbling on about how it works and what it does, have a read here.
In real life the trans is easy to use, works and works well. It has 3 modes, D (Daily or IMO Dawdle), S (Sport or IMO Slightly more energetic than dawdle) and manual mode. I ended up just leaving it in S when in town and put it into D when I was on the freeway. While it was fun for the first couple of minutes to us the buttons the pick my own gears, I soon tired of it and just let the transmission do what it does. Less work, less hassle and just as much fun to ride.

So there you have it, what I think of the Dino

Great report dhula, on something that most of us will never get a chance to ride ourselves. I guess when "Mr Honda" went to the designers and said , build me something that has never been seen before, It would be pretty difficult considering you must have two wheels and a aet of handle bars. We need this kind of radicle thinking to progress in everything. Good on them I say.

I think there is a reason Mr Honda stopped making this bike. It doesn't fit as a scooter, cruiser or sports tourer.

Good write up Dhula. I doubtI'd ever buy one, but I'd have a ride to see what the quirky looking bike is like to ride. Hope you got a good trade in on the 650 Strom