2009-2010 Honda DN-01
At the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, everyone looked at a cool prototype bike named HFT, which stood for "human friendly transmission." Most didn't give it much of a thought. It was just another futuristic looking ride that would probably disappear into the mists of time. In 2008 the Honda DN-01 arrived in Europe and changed everything. It looked and handled like a motorcycle, yet had a butter-smooth automatic transmission. It wasn't exactly a tricked-out scooter, and it wasn't exactly a more refined motorcycle. The DN-01 defied classification...
View Honda DN-01 Motorcycles for sale on Honda-CBR600.com
The Honda DN-01 catches the eye no matter what angle you're looking from. Compact and form fitting, it responds like a motorcycle, but there's no clutch and no gear changer. What has Honda invented now? The DN-01 still has its "concept bike" looks and is powered by a V-twin engine, so it's definitely a motorcycle. But the DN-01 is something unique, in that it has the most advanced fully automatic transmission ever put on a two-wheeled vehicle. The rider is free to simply enjoy riding.
When the DN-01 appeared at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, little did people know that a lot of long years of research and development were going to bring to the market a new production model unlike anything that had come before. DN stands for "Dream New," and it's a perfect name for this dream-cycle, a bike which will appeal to people who never thought of having a motorcycle before.
Honda wanted to combine the performance of a sportbike, the comfort of a cruiser, and the ease of driving of a scooter. And they wanted to throw in features like low environmental emissions levels and up-to-the-minute safety. The eye-catching design was to reflect the looks of a performance cruiser, the rider friendliness with its feeling of control that comes with a low seat and firm knee grip, and a rider/machine combination that would appeal to every skill level of rider.
The Honda DN-01 uses a strong 4-valve 680 cc, liquid cooled V-twin engine that's connected to a hydraulic pump. The pump sends hydraulic fluid to a turbine driving the rear wheel by way of a shaft. The engine features programmed digital fuel injection (PGM-FI). But the real star is the advanced hydromechanical automatic transmission that is completely new to the world of two-wheelers.
Honda spent 20 years studying and developing the continuously variable transmission, engineering it to provide infinitely variable power conversion ratios with smooth, seamless control. It would also have to automatically adjust to any number of load conditions and maintain brisk acceleration in any riding environment. The fruits of their labor have certainly taken the motorcycle world by storm.
The Honda DN-01 is available in candy dark red and black at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $14,599.