2010 Honda Interceptor
The Honda Interceptor is a sport touring bike with a 781 cc engine that can mess with the 1000 cc sport bikes due to its prestigious racing pedigree. In addition, it adds practicality, style, and perhaps most important, a very enjoyable ride. If you're torn between the zip of a sports bike and the comfort of a cruiser, then you should check out the Interceptor, which uses the best features from both worlds.
The Interceptor is equipped with Honda's liquid-cooled 90-degree 781cc V-TEC engine. The V-4 engine has 4 valves per cylinder, but only operates on 2 valves (one intake, one exhaust) per cylinder at low rpm, then transitions to operating on all 4-valves at 6500 rpm and above. The beauty of the V-TEC engine is that it gives the bike the benefit of better torque and fuel efficiency of a 2-valve engine at lower revs, with the better flow and top-end power of a 4-valve at higher revs. Under dyno testing, just before redlining, it achieved 107 hp at 10,800 rpm. Maximum torque was 59.49 foot-pounds at 7750 rpm.
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But it isn't perfect. You can tell when the motor switches from 2 valve to 4 valve operation on the older models, but Honda has smoothed this out some in recent years. The bike gets up and goes from idle and is rider friendly in high traffic stop-go environments. Once it goes into 4 valve operation, watch out! This bike can positively scorch along.
On the freeway, the 6 speed transmission has a good spread between gears, and on winding roads, it dances like Baryshnikov. The bike's 57.4 inch wheelbase gives this bike a sporty feel with good response and good stability mid-corner. When it's topped up with fuel, it weighs around 550 lbs., distributed almost equally between front and back. You can get the Interceptor with anti-lock brakes with front and rear brakes linked. While ABS is a great choice for cruising, particularly when weather is unpredictable, sometimes the front brake can feel inconsistent under hard braking because the ABS tries to regulate pressure and wheel speed, thinking that heavy braking is wheel spin. But this only happens under extreme braking conditions. In front, the brakes are two 296 mm rotors connected to 3-piston calipers in front, and a single 256 mm disc brake on the back.
One the sport-cruiser continuum, the Interceptor is slightly more toward the "sporty" end, but it does have a relaxed seating position, and you can get it with hard bags which give it cruiser cred. It will probably feel cramped on long rides for large riders. That may be why Honda puts the Interceptor in the "sport" category on its website. The fuel tank holds almost 6 gallons, giving you a range of 200 miles or more between fueling stops, depending on your riding habits.
Available in black, white, and gray color schemes, the Honda Interceptor retails for $10,999 without ABS, and $11,999 with ABS.