Honda VTX1800: Test drive from Motorreview

For whom

Here are the main advantages of the bike:

• monumental exterior with an abundance of chrome surfaces;
• enormous traction, which is felt from the very first seconds of control;
• the highest quality of both main components and small parts.

The bike is not suitable for beginners. The car will feel good and delight the owner if it falls into experienced hands capable of masterfully driving this high-speed monster. With all its advantages, this is far from the best option for uneven roads, because the front suspension travel is small.

Main modifications

Technical characteristics, layout and basic design have not changed in all versions. They differ in external details.

So the basic version with the C index has shortened fenders and alloy wheels, a speedometer on the steering wheel and a 2-in-1 exhaust pipe.

Version R – alloy wheels and shortened fenders; S – the wings remain elongated, but the wheels are already spoked; N – new retro style.

The Honda VTX 1800 F motorcycle features wheels with low-profile radial tires on rims made in the form of double spokes, but cast. It has a clock and an LCD tachometer.

Dimensions and weight

The model weighs a lot - as much as 359 kg including fuel. The seat height here is average – 695 mm, and the wheelbase – 1715 mm. The bike is 1155 mm high, 990 mm wide, and 2630 mm long. Its gas tank has a volume of 20 liters, which is very decent. Average fuel consumption per 100 km of road is approximately 7 to 8 liters.

Optional equipment

On the Honda VTX 1800 cruiser, a backrest trunk and voluminous side cases are the most necessary attachments. And the passenger can sit comfortably on a long journey, and there is somewhere to place luggage.

And in order not to get bored, you need to install a music system. For example, the radio is installed on the steering wheel, the speaker system is installed in special podiums on the footrests and in the trunk on the sides of the rear seat back, and the amplifier is in the trunk.

Protection from headwinds is important for the driver, because at such speeds it is strong, and its gusts can throw small debris in the face. Therefore, a high windshield is installed, which also relieves the driver of the stress of resisting the dense air flow.

Chassis and brakes

The tubular frame is made of durable steel. The exterior of the VTX 1800 is truly majestic. It doesn't have the fussy bombast of many other cruisers. No, this is a real classic of the genre, a lot of chrome elements, neat and sophisticated outlines. The steering wheel, of course, has standard dimensions and shape, and the wheel rims are cast.

The pendulum suspension at the rear is equipped with two shock absorbers. Its stroke is 100 mm. The front suspension is represented by a telescopic fork, the dimensions of which are 45 mm. Its stroke is 130 mm. The rear brake is represented by a 316 mm disc and a two-piston caliper. At the front there are two discs, 296 mm each, assisted by three-piston calipers.

Honda VTX1800: 1795 cm3, 107 l. s., 320 kg, $ 17,000

At the end of the 90s of the last century, the “historically” established cubic capacity for cruisers became the size of 1500 cm3 (plus or minus a hundred cubes). This indicator satisfied everyone, both the fathers of style - the Americans, and the great and, it must be said, skillful imitators - the Japanese. The latter, however, cherished plans for more active promotion of their products in this class. Well, some radical and unconventional move would help to successfully implement them. For example, a sharp increase in engine displacement. It is not surprising that the debut of the 1800 cc first-born of the new Honda VTX series of cruisers in the fall of 2000 caused a revolution in minds. The bar has been raised.

The model was positioned for both the American and European markets. But in fact, the US market has been and remains the tasty pie for the Japanese. That's why the design of the VTX1800 carries the pretentious features of Yankee vehicles, which are skillfully mixed with traditional attributes of customization, be it a powerful fork, a wide rear wheel, a low-down style seat, and, of course, a V-twin automobile cubic capacity. The developers did not reinvent the wheel. The design of the VTX1800 is more than traditional for Japanese cruisers. It features a robust tubular steel frame, a high-tech powertrain with three valves per cylinder, fuel injection, liquid cooling and a driveshaft drive to the rear wheel. Everything is clear here: the future owner should be engaged in driving, and not in maintenance or repair. Well, if you don’t like something in terms of “appearance,” then there is a huge assortment of branded tuning to choose from. A little investment and the device can easily turn into a Japanese Electra Glide.

It should be noted that Honda, as always, has added additional proprietary ingredients to its product. These include powerful brakes with a combined system, which came in very handy in addition to the enormous weight (almost like the Valkyrie Rune). The designers also moved away from soft, comfortable suspensions, installing, on the contrary, fairly short-stroke shock absorbers (the rear travel is only 100 mm), thereby emphasizing the driving capabilities of the model. The device, of course, did not revolutionize the market, but it established itself quite successfully there. In the States, the model immediately became a success (in 2002, an even heavier Retro modification was released) and is still selling successfully. That is why in 2003 Honda decided to consolidate its success with the release of the 1300 cc VTX modification, which should gradually replace the old Shadow series.

In Russia, the motorcycle is represented by both official dealers and second-hand sellers. Despite the high price, the devices quickly find their buyers. What is the secret of this phenomenon?

Vladimir Zdorov, Motor Review expert Height – 193 cm, driving experience – 13 years, rides a Suzuki TL1000R sportbike Here it is, real size XXXL! It’s just right here with my dimensions, but I don’t think that my enthusiasm for this will be shared by motorcyclists who weren’t hooked on “growing up” like I was at one time. But the main number of the program in our case is not the dimensions inflated to the state of a small truck, but an almost two-liter V-twin, twisted by chopper standards to a mind-blowing 107 hp. and corresponding torque.

Anticipating how this small machine-building factory will catapult me ​​from speeds below idle, I taxi out onto a country highway - away from the city. After all, on such a colossus it is simply indecent to talk about slalom in dense city traffic. Yes, and physically it is very difficult to implement it. Of course, outside the city, no one will be able to estimate how big the device is hiding between my legs, but I am sure that motorists also see off these almost four hundred kilograms (I’m talking about a motorcycle!) of iron, mixed with chrome and pathos, with a very attentive gaze. And what enormous size the steering wheel handles are! If the hands of the possible owner have not grown to the dimensionless grip of your humble servant, then he will be uncomfortable! But what spirit, what immense machismo and undisguised power!

There was no desire to check the maximum speed even on a subconscious level. The only thing is that the pursuit of power was not in vain for this giant. Aw! Where is the crowbar?! There is no tachometer, but apparently for more or less decent acceleration this gigantic two-cylinder engine has to be turned to an indecent 3000–3500 rpm. Not solid. No, of course, I wasn’t lazy and experimented, “lowering” in fifth gear to about 40 km/h; I won’t say that the engine strongly resisted this circumstance, but I also didn’t find complete indifference to the load that arose, which you expect from such a volume... And the vibrations with this approach become painfully persistent, somewhat blurring the picture in the very stylish rectangular chrome mirrors. It's a pity, although I suspect that to some extent this was done by the designers specifically so that the owner would change gears more often. After all, owners of cult HDs can envy such a savory and “tasty” sound on shifts... At the same time, both the stroke of the shift lever and its size are designed for at least 45 shoe sizes. An absolutely tough and politically incorrect move on the part of the company: anything smaller, they say, is not for this motorcycle...

The thought of traveling that had just appeared was rudely interrupted by literally the very first unevenness, hard compacting my spine into the cornflower blue “family boots”. Yes, with such a short-travel rear suspension, I wouldn’t go anywhere further than the nearest bar for any (or almost any) price. The positive aspect of such a tight setting was the handling, which is not typical for such “behemoths,” which somewhat sweetened the pill for me from discomfort even on small bumps. But the appearance of the front headlight in the style of monumental Stalinist high-rises instilled in me indifference to absolutely unimportant little things when dealing with such a chopper, such as handling and braking dynamics. Ultimately, I didn’t care at all where and in what moments the HondaVTX1800 was not perfect in some way.

All this is unnecessary vanity. After all, the main task of a chopper is the mood it sets for its owner, and here Honda is definitely at its best. Now I’ll say something terrible (only quietly, until my colleagues hear): if I had twenty “American rubles” to spare, I would definitely buy myself such a two-cylinder “monster”.

Nikolay Bogomolov, Motor Review expert Height – 183 cm, driving experience – 8 years, rides a Kawasaki KDX250 VTX – a motorcycle for real men. I came to this conclusion after I tried to push a huge heavy car out of a densely crowded parking lot. The device did not fit well into narrow passages and tried to fall on its side with all three and a half centners of its loaded weight. Driving in traffic jams was also not much fun. VTX did not always pass between the rows. We had to, like motorists, stand still, waiting for the whole stream to move.

But on a half-empty highway the motorcycle behaves perfectly - it accelerates quickly and easily changes lanes when overtaking. The character of the engine is not at all chopper-like: as soon as you turn the handle, you, having received a kick in the ass, are already rushing along the road, scaring motorists with the growl of a V-twin, which is larger in volume than the engines of their “kopecks” and “sixes”. The only thing that confuses us is the lack of a tachometer, because sometimes, especially during intense acceleration, you still want to know where the red zone is. Moreover, the gears cannot be called long: when driving you have to actively work with your left foot. The motorcycle easily reaches 180 km/h, however, the driver, open to all winds, does not feel at all comfortable at such a speed. My hands are torn from the curved steering wheel, and a hurricane wind blows into my trouser legs hanging somewhere in front. So we had to abandon attempts to reach the 220 km/h declared by the manufacturer.

I was once again convinced of the unique dynamic qualities of the motorcycle while traveling with a friend on country roads. A friend driving a Suzuki Intruder 800 stubbornly ignored red traffic lights. I, as a law-abiding citizen, constantly stopped and waited for the green light. Having waited, he opened the gas and after a minute or two overtook the fugitive.

I got on my motorcycle early in the morning and returned home long after midnight. I went for a ride alone, took some friends for a ride, but never got around to it. Perhaps, if I were going to buy myself a chopper, I would first of all pay attention to the VTX. All shortcomings can be easily eliminated in the process of further customization. The first thing I would do is replace the mirrors. I spent half an hour setting up the standard ones, and still, in order to see the road behind me, I had to change my body position. Some people may like riding forward with their feet and holding on to the wide arms that “look down”, but not me. So the footpegs and handlebars would have to be replaced. Well, I would have installed a more modest muffler. So that people don’t think anything bad.

Mikhail Lapshin, deputy editor-in-chief of Motorreview Height – 193 cm, driving experience – 12 years, rides a Yamaha TDM900 and a Yamaha YBR125

The behavior of such a heavy car on the track delighted me from the very first meters. And drawing simple curves in turns on the VTX is easy. The center of gravity is super low, the steering wheel is wide and grippy - and if so, the handling is excellent. They told me that he was stubborn and all that – I didn’t notice. Some neoclassicals are much more inclined to drive in a straight line. The large-volume engine allows you to easily accelerate to impressive speeds (it reached 200 km/h and it became scary) - not every cruiser is capable of this. Moreover, such modes do not affect the overall handling, but on the contrary, in such modes the brakes demonstrate all their advantages: two 296 mm discs in front, 316 mm in the rear plus a combined system. When I first decided to slow down in front of a huge hole in the asphalt, I was simply stunned by the dynamics of the deceleration. I stopped five meters earlier than I expected. And, of course, since we are talking about the engine, it is worth mentioning the torque value - 156 Nm. Yes, just for them it’s worth riding a motorcycle. Due to the ergonomics and low seating, the entire “croup” formed by the wide “truss” of the fork and the gas tank diverts the oncoming flow well. In an open helmet you can easily reach 140 km/h, and in an integral helmet 160 km/h is not a problem. Why are there such modes on custom? But just having tasted all the power and controllability, you simply don’t want to drive “quietly and sadly”. I've only experienced something like this on a Harley V-Rod.

Supercharged chopper VTX 1800 Tuning

You will see a custom one based on the Honda VTX 1800. There is little left of the previous motorcycle.

Here is an incomplete list of improvements: – air suspension – nitrous oxide – combined brake system – 240/40x18″ rear, 130/70x21″ front wheel and of course stunning wheels – and much more, watch the video

Brief characteristics: – engine capacity 2.5 liters. – 210 hp – 0-100 km/h – 1.9 seconds.

Photo review of the model range of all VTXs

In addition to different model years, colors and design options (Spec 1, Spec 2, Spec 3), the devices also have different letter indexes.

VTX 1300:

VTX 1300 C (custom) Alloy wheels, 9 spokes. Small wings. VTX 1300 R (retro) Alloy wheels, deep fenders. Perhaps the most popular model from the VTX 1300, in contrast to the 1800 - the “C” model predominates there VTX 1300 S (retro spoke) Spoke wheels, otherwise very similar to the R model. Spec 1-3 modifications differ from each other only in the different number of chrome parts (Spec 3 is the most richly decorated and naturally the most expensive), as well as the color of the engine crankcase and other parts.

VTX 1800:

VTX 1800 C. The most popular modification of the VTX 1800. With a little effort it often turns into a really good custom. VTX 1800 R. Retro. classic look, that's all. Easily converts into a long-range tourer. VTX 1800 S. Spoke wheels, like on the 1300. VTX 1800 N (neo-retro). Restyling modification R. The model debuted in 2005. VTX 1800 F. Also a relatively recent model, restyling modification C. Pay attention to the wheels and the stock plow. VTX 1800 T (tourer). Everything for touring is stock. Detailed descriptions of all models by year can be easily found at www.totalmotorcycle.com

PHOTOS of
Honda VTX-1800C series motorcycle; R; F; T; N

Advantages of a motorcycle

Installing a cardan drive instead of a chain drive is a positive thing, since this design does not require frequent maintenance.

Like all motorcycles from Japan, at least from the Honda concern, the VTX 1800 is distinguished by the precise operation of the gearbox. The big plus is the long engine life. And it only starts making unpleasant noise at high speeds.

With such a powerful engine, parasitic vibrations are practically absent.

According to the comments of happy owners, the appearance of the motorcycle with plenty of chrome and solid finishing gives them no less pleasure than riding on a good track.

The quality not only in the main components, but also in the small details of the Honda VTX 1800 motorcycle deserves a superlative degree.