**gasp** YOU MONSTER. There are things you hate about the slow little red butt hurter?
No. 5 is alive: I wish there were 100,000 of these roaming around, I would likely be able to get gaskets, tire options, etc. in substantially wider availability. It's also like when you see hundreds of cyclists - people will see the hundreds of cyclists and pay attention to them. They know that you're not going to go fast because there's been like 99,999 other riders out there who look just like you. We kinda get by with the retro styling that makes people go, "whoa, I had one of those as a kid" but in my area at least there aren't enough people like that and I get people in Teslas trying to race me. Like buddy - I have 9 of the horses and 8 of the torques.
For #3 I think the part that annoys me about this is not so much that they didn't add those provisions, but also that they make it decently hard to add them. It's not just a "screw something into this place and you're done." I'm generally a fan of singular manufacturing standards where possible, because it simplifies tooling and whatnot. There's no good reason why they didn't make the NA model the same as the .JP model. They're two different model numbers when you look up the OEM parts. It would have been better to just have one, and not bolt the additional hardware on for the feet pegs.
I think #2 was a mistake not to include the hi-lo range that can be partially negated by the use of a 13T front sprocket, but I've been thinking about it more and more and now I think I understand why. I think the ABS would not work at all in the low range gearbox and that would be a problem when getting it market approved. Additionally, it's been discussed before for engine standardization and approvals in various countries, which is why we'll probably see the engine as a platform with multiple bikes and small shifts in tuning using it. With downshifting, yeah, it's reasonable to hate on it but I think it can be a learned skill. It's definitely a muscle memory thing. I'm still iffy on if I like the transmission or not; I'm trying to learn brakeless low speed figure 8s, an easy task on any other motorcycle when you can easily feather the clutch, but really difficult on this one.
Which brings us to #4 and #1? Yah. Hard agree with the choice, but not the reasoning. Went out for a 5 hour ride today, and I had to let people past multiple times because yah, it's too slow, but also no one knows what my bike is and thus they're all, "Why is this slow fat f**k blocking the road?"
It's a pretty well known thing among bicycling enthusiasts/aficionados that soft seats that are shaped like the Honda Trail seat are pretty much the worst possible comfort seat for longer rides. Good for 20 minutes, terrible for 20 hours. In a strange Honda choice, I think this is one of those rare situations where they didn't get someone who knew what they were doing on the job. I've referred to this as a big bicycle, and it honestly should have taken inspiration from bicycles in that area. The CT110 seat was famous for being pretty comfortable, but it would have cost more to produce. My ass says that the seat was not comfortable - I shouldn't be sitting on that hard metal grab rail to get ass relief. I was on the fence for replacing the seat until today. Nuh uh. Gonna go find that Diablo seat now.