The Honda DN-01 combines the user friendliness of a scooter with the image of a performance cruiser and totally original, futuristic looks. Its unique selling point is the Human Friendly Transmission, a CVT programmed to work like a six-speed manual or a full automatic.
It uses a V-twin engine developed from the Deauville’s 65bhp, 680cc unit. But instead of conventional gears, the DN-01’s engine is connected to a hydraulic pump, which sends hydraulic fluid to a turbine driving the rear wheel via a shaft.
The DN-01 could offer enormous appeal to current car drivers looking to make the switch to motorcycles, but waiting for the right machine to come along to prompt them to do so. By offering them things they’re used to (automatic transmissions and storage space) combined with an image that adapts traditional outsider opinion of what a motorcycle should look like into a package that doesn’t scream “I have back hair,” the DN-01 could be the right bike for a lot of new riders. Combine all that with its sensible engine capacity and incredibly low seat height and you have an upmarket product that’s appealing and accessible in ways never before possible on two wheels.
